Digital And Analog Compatibility.(digital video)

The DV Master Pro, from FAST Inc. (www. fastmultimedia.com), is an upgrade for DV Master, which I reviewed for Camcorder & ComputerVideo when it first came out.

The DV Master had an MSRP of $3,999.95 almost two years ago, a price that has since dropped to $2,499.95. The DV Master Pro, also called DVM Pro, has an MSRP of $3,999.95.

The DV Master comes bundled with Media Studio Pro and is targeted to users of Windows 95 and 98. The DVM Pro, on the other hand, comes bundled with In-Sync's Speed Razor Mach 3.51 and is designed for Windows NT.

First, A Few Basics

After I cover some of the basics of digital video (DV) and FireWire, I'll cover the benefits of the DVM Pro. You can then decide if it's worth the additional expense to buy it over the DV Master or its competitors.

A friend in the video business recently described an incident he observed in an electronics store. A customer called over a salesman and asked, "Where are your FireWire tapes?" Apparently, the salesman had heard this question before, because he immediately knew that the customer was looking for a DV tape.

This story illustrates the confusion that exists over the terms FireWire and DV. If you, too, are confused, let me briefly explain the difference.

DV is a way to save, in a totally digital world, your precious video images. …