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iRez Debuts Essential PowerBook Video Accessories

At MacWorld Expo last week, iRez, a well-known maker of PowerBook peripherals, introduced an exciting update to their already proven PowerBook video products.

Other sites have just given the products a passing mention. We've waited until now to give them the attention they deserve, and this calm after the storm of MWNY gives us that opportunity. iRez, which is a division of PAR Technologies, unveiled three products, two hardware and one software, which will form their core product line for months to come.

First is the CapSurePRO, a much-improved edition of their venerable CapSure card. While the original CapSure could capture full-motion 30 fps video to a PowerBook, the CapSurePRO can capture that full-motion 30 fps video, then output that video, in decompressed real-time, to another video device, such as a VCR or monitor. This truly provides a relatively cheap video studio for professionals with a need for portability. The original CapSure card had inputs on the card itself, while the improved CapSurePRO has a 'sting-ray' dongle with both S-Video and Composite in/outs.

One of the best features of the CapSurePRO is that it uses no processor cycles to do its job. iREZ says "The CapSurePRO...is designed to be the ultimate non-linear editing system for the mobile warrior." The card is quite a high-powered device, with 32 MB of RAM, two hardware M-JPEG processors, and a Zoomed Video enabled PC Card.

The card will be available in September for an undisclosed price. It requires a PowerBook with Zoomed Video (3400 or later), but a PowerBook G3 with 4 MB of VRAM is suggested. QuickTime 4.0 is fully supported. For more detailed specifications on the versatile card, visit iREZ's info page on the product.

The next product is designed to work in conjunction with the CapSurePRO, or the original CapSure card. The iREZ Kritter2 is a full motion digital camera suited to video conferencing, video captures, or video emails. The camera sits nicely on top of the any screen with its unique 'feet.' Like the CapSurePRO's improvement over its predecessor, the Kritter2 has been fine-tuned. The CCD is rated at 350K instead of the previous 270K. Better low light sensitivity and focus are other features of the Kritter2.

The original Kritter had its own Zoomed Video PC Card. However, the Kritter2 simply has a S-Video plug at the end of its 24 inch cable. So this means you can use it with the iREZ CapSure or CapSurePRO with PowerBooks, or any PowerMac with a S-Video input. Also available in September 1999, the Kritter2 has a suggested retail price of $149.00. Again, for more detailed information on the Kritter2, visit iREZ's info page.

iREZ's third major product release at MWNY last week was Reel-Eyes, their video recording and capture software, to be used with their CapSurePRO and Kritter2 products. Reel-Eyes can edit, transfer, interpret, process, and view full-motion 30 fps video. When capturing video, its primary function, Reel-Eyes can automatically switch from drive to drive as each fills up, with no loss of data, which works up to three drives. Reel-Eyes is highly integrated with Apple's QuickTime multimedia software, and can export in any format that QuickTime uses.

iRez Reel-Eyes requies Mac OS 8.5 or higher, QuickTime 3.0 or higher, 32 MB of RAM, and costs only $34.95 via a download from iREZ's website at www.irez.com. Reel-Eyes' LE version is bundled with the original CapSure card and Kritter, while the newer product of each comes with the full version of Reel-Eyes. And again, for full information, visit iREZ's Reel-Eyes info page where a free version is available.

iREZ has clearly revamped its entire product line with these three introductions. Laptop users, especially the content-creation heavy Mac world, have always taken a back seat to conventional desktop video solutions. However, with iREZ's improved versions of their proven products, PowerBook users can get real video work done on the road for a very affordable price. Though these products ship in September, we hope to get a demo unit of each to put them through their paces. We already have a CapSure and Kritter we've been holding on to until these new products shipped. We are planning to have a head-to-head test to see which of the four products you should buy for your needs. We'll have a full report on their performance then.