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ALL MIXED UP...
STANDFIRST
Over the past couple of years digital video
mixers have become a lot more affordable, now Hama have thrown their hat into
the ring, with the DVM 1000
COPY
Mixing or wiping two video sources is one of
the most basic post-production effects, yet it requires a lot of expensive
technology, that has until fairly recently been out of reach of most home video
movie makers. Hama are the latest camcorder accessory company to market a ‘low-cost’
video mixer, the DVM-1000 is just starting to appear in dealers showrooms,
where it will be selling for just under £600. Low cost in this context is a
relative term, £600 is still a lot of money, but when you consider that less
than a couple of years ago the cheapest two-channel digital video mixers cost
well over £1000 it’s fair to say that the technology has become a lot more
affordable.
The DVM-1000 is an unusually straightforward
design; Hama have decided not to kit it out with lots of additional effects and
post production facilities, that may be duplicated elsewhere in the system. The
two input channels are designated A and B. A is the main effects channel and both
channels can handle either composite or S-Video configured signals. For some
strange reason Hama have used a SCART socket for channel A, and phonos plus an
S-Video socket for Channel B; the VCR output is another SCART. Phonos and
S-Video all round would have been preferable, but this odd mixture of socket types
only confuses matters.
Basic facilities include cross fade and wipe,
there are around 30 rather geometric wipe patterns to choose from, we gave up
counting and there’s no list or chart in the instructions. Mixes and wipes can be performed manually, using the
T-bar, or automatically, with a time
delay of between 1 to 8 seconds. Wipe selection is via two control knobs, for
selecting the vertical and horizontal curtains. The two audio channels can be
set to follow the video, or controlled manually, each channel has it’s own
level adjustment.
The extra video effects include a variable
speed strobe/freeze mode on channel A; and there is chroma and luma keying with
presets for red, green or blue backgrounds. Unfortunately keying levels for
both effect are fixed, which seems like a bit of an oversight as it makes scene
and background lighting that much more critical. The ‘Paint’ option exaggerates
colour contrast on channels A and B (or both) but again there’s no level
control. Lastly, brightness and colour levels can be reversed separately, or
together on both channels using the ‘invert’ function.
If you’ve only got one video source it is
still possible to create some eye catching effects by splitting the signal so
that it passes through both channels. The signal passing through channel A can
be processed using the strobe/freeze and invert functions, and mixed or wiped
to channel B. Effects can be triggered externally -- via an edit controller or PC -- using the mixer’s GPI interface. Suitable connecting cables are
available from Hama.
The mixer is built inside the same familiar
sloping two-tone consoles that Hama use for most of their other post-production
devices. The controls are spread around the top panel in a slightly haphazard
fashion, though you quickly get used to the layout. The three sliders on the
left side set audio levels for channels A and B; the third one controls the speed of the strobe effect. The five
buttons running along the bottom edge switch audio-follow mode, strobe, invert
and fade/wipe mode on and off, the last two buttons engage the paint and
automix facilities. Five rotary switches in the middle are used to select the wipe
effect, key and invert modes and set the automix speed.
In spite of the S-Video inputs and outputs
the mixer only processes composite video signals, so the potential for
cross-colour effects exists. However, this depends on the source material, and
provided you avoid subject material with a lot of fine patterning, it needn’t
be a problem. It has no impact on resolution and a S-Video test signal passed
through the B channel virtually unscathed. A very slight increase in noise is
evident on channel A, though it’s so small as to be almost insignificant.
Wipe edges are sharply defined and the
autofix/fade facility is quite smooth. The only minor disappointment is the
rather staid selection of wipes, they’re all very conventional horizontal and
vertical patterns. True, they can be combined to make some vaguely interesting
steps and grids, but where are all the swirls and spins? Even a few angles would have helped livened
it up a bit... Chroma and luma keying are a bit restricted without any manual fine-tuning,
as it stands you may have to do quite a bit of fiddling around with the lights
to achieve a convincing superimposition effect.
The DVM-1000’s simplicity is both a strength
and weakness. It’s possible to get it up and running, and doing useful things
almost immediately, but once you get beyond the basics there’s not much else to
get excited about. For a lot of video movie makers the facility to mix and wipe
two video sources is more than enough -- and the DVM-1000 does all that very
well indeed -- but we can’t help
feeling that Hama may have been just a tad conservative. Those looking for a
little more creative stimulation might well be tempted by more exotically
appointed mixers in the same price
bracket.
SPECIFICATIONS
Make/model: Hama DVM 1000
Typical price: £600
Features: 2-channel digital vision mixer,
Effects: mix/cross-fade, chroma & luma
keying, wipe/fade, strobe, invert, fade, paint, 2-channel audio mixing,
Sockets: audio and video in (SCART, phono and
S-Video), video out (SCART), GPI trigger (mini DIN) DC power
Dimensions: 382 x 260 x 60 mm
Weight 2.2kg
Distributor HAMA Unit 4 Cherrywood, Chineham
Business Park, Basingstoke, Hants RG24 OWF. Telephone (01256) 708110
Picture quality ****
Sound quality ****
Features ***
Ease of use ****
VC Rating 85%
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Ó R. Maybury 1997 2407
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