Matrox Marvel G200

The Marvel G200's box says it all, as a 15-in-1 graphics solution what is the card capable of?  According to Matrox it can make moves on your PC, allows for advanced 3D gaming, supports TV on your PC, give you the fastest 2D/3D, accelerates DVD-Video, has PC to TV output, supports true color graphics, supports frame capture, video conferencing, digital VCR, features an A/V connection Box, a PC-VCR remote, and comes with three software titles.  While that may seem like a lot on the back of the Marvel's box, it's hyped considerably, so let's take a look at what AnandTech got out of the Marvel G200-TV.

Video Output

We've already discussed the first plus the Marvel G200-TV brought to the market, which is the MGA-G200 chipset providing us with outstanding 2D performance as well as high quality 3D rendering at resolutions up to 1600 x 1200 with actual gameplay designed to be experienced at 800 x 600 for maximum performance.  Aside from the performance factors, the Marvel G200-TV brings Matrox's high quality TV-Output that has received acclaims and awards from virtually all users that have ever touched a TV-Out equipped G200 board.  From the perspective of a G200 card with TV-Output, the Marvel G200 doesn't differ at all from the Mystique G200, the same TV-Output DAC is used in both boards.  The outstanding quality of the TV-Output even does the software DVD MPEG playback supported by the card justice, and will definitely tide you over until you take the steps towards the future upgrade path lying in a hardware DVD decoder module. With those two familiar issues already tackled, let's get to the truly new features of the Marvel G200:

Video Input

The long awaited Rainbow Runner in a single card solution is finally here, for those of you that aren't familiar with Matrox's past multifunction capabilities, the Rainbow Runner was provided as a Video Editing add-on board to Millennium and Mystique owners who wanted more out of their cards.   Unfortunately the cost of the Rainbow Runner Suite kept most home users away from that upgrade path.  The Marvel G200-TV's first obvious feature is it's Video Input support.  Doubling as both, a TV tuner and a Video Capture card, the Marvel G200-TV does its name justice as the card's marvelous qualities can first be seen in its Video Input capabilities.

Allowing for full motion video to be placed directly on your desktop, the Marvel G200-TV is ideal for the TV-less population away at college or those with computers in rooms lacking the space for a bulky TV set.  The crisp display controlled by Matrox's PC-VCR Remote can be placed in virtually any location on your desktop, and the useful "Always on Top" window option allows it to reside harmlessly in the corner of your screen while you peck away at the keyboard, or surf the next with your mouse.

While it can be a bit space consuming at resolutions under 800 x 600, on larger monitors you will want to resize the window to give you a better picture of your favorite comedians on SNL, the most vivid explosions from your VCR, or even today's weather.  If you find yourself having to turn your head every few seconds to see what's on the TV, the Marvel G200-TV can help your productivity while making sure you don't lose complete contact with the outside world as you work.

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