multiple Firewire Cams vs. Quad Splitter

paulklee's icon

I am planing a setup with 4 camera inputs, preferably on MAC.

I read the other posts concerning this topic but was not able to identify the benfits/problems of a multiple Firewire Cam solution vs. a PCI Card or external BOX Version with 4 analog inputs.

Up to now I always worked with multiply usb cams on a PC. Wihtout real problems but a high CPU Load.

Could anyone with some experiences with both (FireWire and Quad Splitter) solutions say something about the CPU/Speed issue?
Or problems that occured?

I would like to get a resolution of approximately Pal (for each camera) - or 640x480 each for a digital solution.

In case of a Splitter option, I now that there are differences in latency/ delay time. Are there specific product you know with a good performance? Unfortunaltely most of the pci cards I found are just supported for PC. If there is no alternative I could buy a PC but I'd prefer to use a new G5.

Thanks a lot

Paul

paulklee's icon

come on.

no experiences?

yair reshef's icon

i think you'll enjoy working with fw cameras a lot more then those
splitters.

firewire:
+less latency
+proven support
+more resolution
+more settings control
+cheaper

to get a 1280x960 quadmatrix + grabber + analouge cameras will cost you a
lot more then 4 good quality fw cameras.
as for the reliable multiple usb cameras on a pc, my experience was far from
yours.

On Sun, Apr 13, 2008 at 1:35 PM, tom
wrote:

>
> come on.
>
> no experiences?
>

jazmatajz's icon

If you are going to use Mac with DV Cams , there is Apple DV driver issue that you can connect only one DV/FW Cam.I use 4 DV cams on my Mac pro but wit bootcamp Windows and it works.
You can connect multiple IIDC cams on Mac but i have no experience with that.