LaCie Announces Real-Time DV to MPEG Encoder

< a href="http://www.lacie.com">LaCie will introduce a new tool for video editors and home users to aid in DVD creation at Mac Expo this week, the company has announced.

The LaCie FastCoder is a hardware encoder that allows people to convert DV NTSC video files to MPEG-1 and/or MPEG-2 in real-time on G3-equipped Mac systems, or newer, with a native FireWire port. With the LaCie FastCoder, conventional software encoding times are reduced by two to 15 hours.

In addition to MPEG-1, users can create MPEG-2 streams that are compatible with the bundled CaptyDVD authoring software or MPEG-2 elementary streams that are compatible with Apple DVD Studio Pro.

FastCoder works with Mac OS 9.2 and Mac OS 10.2.6 or greater and supports full quality DV-compatible QuickTime file exported from Apple Final Cut Pro, Final Cut Express or iMovie.

FastCoder will ship next month and will retail for US$249.