What MPEG decoder chip does the X-Card use

KraGorn

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Can someone tell me which decoder the X-Card uses? One option I'm considering is getting the SDI version of this card and using it to feed a scaler but want to know how good (or not) the decoder it uses is compared to that in my Pio868.

I asked David at Plugged-in but sadly never got a reply to my e-mail.

Ta.
 
And how exactly do you think to get an SDI output out of xCard ?

You would need a xCard PDI --> SDI. Does this exist ?

regards
 
Yes, hence my interest in this option, £99 IIRC :) .. I'd post a link but www.pluggedin.tv is broken at the moment, all links give a 400 error, but it's a daughter-board mounted on the backplate, I'm guessing it connects to the PDI connector.

Thanks for that info John, just what I was looking for.
 
Indeed :), I see their site's back up now. Thanks.
 
Sorry Robin I thought I had answered the decoder question. Quick point about the Xcard SDI, you need to ensure that you get / already have an Xcard with the original PDI implementation. Recent changes to the XCard design have removed the PDI interface so the original cards are in short supply.

regards
 
David, you replied to my first enquiry but I then asked about the deinterlacer chip, it was that e-mail I was referring to above.

So it seems they've buckled to Hollywood's pressure in removing the ability to add an SDI output, presumably the sort of thing Jim from Lumagen alluded to some time last autumn, like they've removed the ability to disable HDCP on DVI output from the 8550.

Oh well, strike one option then, I can't consider a product already deemed obsolete by its' makers before I buy it .. okay, so that's standard practice in the HC industry, but you generally don't know it. ;)

Cheers.
 
well if anything it shows Sigma are committed to the Xcard - which in a world increasingly dominated by software DVD players would be a surprise to many. So overall I think it is not something to worry about, as you point out the Xcard has probably already outlived most PC components, and is still going strong!
 
But how does removing the highest quality output show committment to the product? :confused:

It's also a major blow to the Sweetspot if it can't process digital data from a DVD player.
 
But how does removing the highest quality output show committment to the product?
Well the easiest thing to do rather than go through the costs of revising the card would be to stop selling it, clearly they believe there is still a market for the product that makes the change worthwhile.

As you rightly point out, this is just one of many cases of legal and technical people not really understanding one another. Nobody would ever use the PDI interface to make an illegal copy of video content

It's also a major blow to the Sweetspot if it can't process digital data from a DVD player.

Not at all - remember the Xcard is still available from us with the PDI enabled and we expect it will be for the forseeable future. Remember also SweetSpot can take digital data in via the SDI daughter board so you can still take DVD digitally , albeit from a standalone player.
 
I don't understand .. above you say the new design eliminates the PDI interface and old style cards are in short supply, here you say you'll be supplying them for the foreseeable future.

Me confused. :confused:

My interest here is an alternative to a Momitsu networked player, they both use the same decoder (I assume the 8550 contains the same firmware/logic as the 8430 for MPEG decoding).

I admit I wasn't aware of the SDI board for the Sweetspot until I just visited your site.
 
sorry - not meant to be confusing. The Xcard is not an item that is widely stocked by PC suppliers due to its specialist nature, but we have access to supplies of the PDI enabled version, and we are looking at other options as well.
 
OIC, in that case I'll re-instate the option. :)
 

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