by Don Engstrom

Global Village claims their VideoFX hardware/software will turn your Mac into a "virtual video-editing studio." Does their product live up to this claim? Read on to find out.

Installation/Setup: The VideoFX hardware setup is straightforward. Global Village includes all of the RCA cabling you need for video capture. You will need to supply your own S-Video cable, if this is your setup. The VideoFX unit also sports a "video pass-through" port allowing you to preview your video on TV. Note that this is a pass-through port, not a video out which would allow you to bring finished projects back to tape. The VideoFX software bundle is comprised of four different packages: VideoImpression is the video editing program you use to capture and arrange video clips, PhotoStudio allows you to adjust and apply effects to still photos, PhotoPrinter is a simple layout program for framing and arranging your photos. Lastly, PhotoMontage allows you to create a camposite image out of "micro images." Unfortunately, each application (and the VideoFX drivers) must be installed separately, a non Mac-like experience that foreshadowed things to come.

Use: In terms of capturing video, VideoFX worked reasonably well. I did notice a slight jittery effect at the beginning of each captured clip but this can be easily edited out. Unfortunately, the VideoImpression software is both limited and non-intuitive to use. VideoImpression lacks any form of transitions (dissolves, wipes, blends etc) to connect your collected clips. Instead, one video clip cuts directly to another. As a result, finished projects have an abrupt, unpolished feel. VideoImpression's interface is awkward as well making navigation a difficult and frustrating experience. Even less forgivable, video editing is a one session proposition, there is no way to save or open a project in an unfinished state. In contrast, Strata's Videoshop (which comes bundled with XLR8's InterView video capture package) is both powerful and easy to use. It contains a variety of transitions, filters and compositing options and can produce a very slick finished project.

You can, of course, save and open works in progress. Global Village would do well to land a license agreement with Strata and abandon the VideoImpression software.

On a positive note, the Photomontage software, which produces an image comprised of hundreds of smaller images, is relatively easy to use and produces a quality end result. You simply specify the image you want transformed and the source of the imaged to be used, to generate the final graphic. Global village provides images that can be used or you can opt to use your own graphics. Again, the interface is far from Mac standard, but it is relatively easy to master.

Conclusions: I got the impression that Global Village was trying to develop a hardware/software combination that was simple and easy to use. Unfortunately, they didn't succeed in either area. The Photomontage software is fun and relatively easy to use, but this alone is not enough to make this a worthwhile purchase.

Product: VideoFX

Company: Global Village

Hits: Captures video via USB, video passthrough for monitoring, Photomontage software is fun.

Misses: Video editing software is feature bare and difficult to use, more expensive than superior competing products.

Rating: (5 possible)

Requirements: - G3 or G4 processor - Available USB port - OS 8.6 or newer - 32MB RAM - 15MB hard drive space plus space for captured video (up to 4MB per minute)