Elgato Turbo.264 Software Update: Version 1.1
Adding iPhone Support, Customizable Settings, and Much More
Munich/San Francisco, August 06, 2007 — Elgato has released a
complimentary software update adding a number of new features to
the Elgato Turbo.264, a hardware video encoding accelerator in USB stick
format. Elgato Turbo.264 now supports iPhone video, offers
user-customizable settings for video conversion, and enables manual
selection of sound tracks from DVDs. Furthermore, this software update to
Turbo.264 version 1.1 includes improved widescreen detection, performance
improvements, and a number of bug fixes.
The Elgato Turbo.264 1.1 application now supports Apple’s latest
bestseller, the iPhone. Two iPhone presets follow Apple’s recommendations;
4:3 source material produces 480×360 pixel video, 16:9 source is encoded as
480 x 270 pixels.
Elgato Turbo.264 1.1 offers more than just two iPhone presets, however. By
popular demand, users can set, save, and name their own presets. Users can
choose video parameters such as size, aspect ratio, frame rate and bit
rate, as well as audio encoding parameters, and save those settings for
future exports.
Many DVDs have multiple audio tracks. With Elgato Turbo.264 1.1, the user
can easily choose the main feature and choose the sound track to use in the
improved Info dialog.
Widescreen format feature films are sometimes encoded on DVD as 16:9 video
with horizontal black bars at the top and bottom (letterboxed). The Elgato
Turbo.264 update recognizes such content and automatically offers
“Widescreen” encoding. When this option is active, Elgato Turbo.264 encodes
only the actual video information, resulting in smaller files sizes without
compromising picture quality*
In addition, the update offers numerous improvements and bug fixes. Encoder
firmware and software decoder optimizations lead to improved performance,
higher video quality, and improved stability. Auto-detection of 16:9
sources was improved, and some problems decoding 1080i HD sources were
fixed.
About Elgato Turbo.264
(http://elgato.com/index.php?file=products_turbo264) Elgato Turbo.264 is a
hardware encoder in USB stick format, which accelerates video conversion on
the Mac by a factor of 4 to 10. The combination of hard- and software
relieves the Mac of the processor-intensive task of converting video into
high-quality H.264 (MP4) format for iPod, iPhone, Apple TV und Sony PSP.
Elgato Turbo.264 frees up the CPU for other tasks – like a co-processor for
the Mac. Elgato Turbo.264 supports all Macs with USB 2.0 ports and
accelerates exports by a factor of 4 (Intel Core 2 Duo) to 10 (PowerPC G4),
dependent on destination format and processor speed.
The box includes a hardware encoding dongle and Elgato Turbo.264 video
conversion software. Elgato Turbo.264 converts videos, using simple
drag-and-drop, into four preset formats (iPod, iPhone, Apple TV and Sony
PSP). It also offers user-defined conversion settings, supports batch
conversions and the export of non-copy-protected DVD contents (VOB files).
Elgato Turbo.264 also accelerates the export from leading Macintosh video
programs, such as iMovie , QuickTime Player Pro, Final Cut Pro and EyeTV.
Price and Availability
Elgato Turbo.264 is available for $99.95 in the Elgato Online Store, the
Apple Store and in retail outlets. The box includes a USB 2.0 hardware
encoder, Elgato Turbo.264 software, a user guide on CD-Rom, a Quick Start
Guide and a USB extension cable.
About Elgato Systems
(http://www.elgato.com) Elgato Systems is the home of internationally
acclaimed EyeTV software, the world’s leading TV software for the Mac.
Elgato’s award-winning EyeTV hardware offers a complete range of solutions
to watch, record, and edit Standard Definition Television (SDTV) and High
Definition Television (HDTV) on the Mac, and to create video content for
the iPod, Apple TV, and iPhone.
Founded in 1992 by Markus Fest, the creator of Toast software, Elgato is a
privately held company with headquarters in Munich, Germany and a US
subsidiary in San Francisco, California. (http://www.elgato.com)