VideoExpress from Miglia

Miglia has announced the VideoExpress, a device about the size of a standard Apple remote that can convert video for the iPod, Apple TV and other Sony PSP using hardware-based encoding. Miglia claims that the VideoExpress will encode into h.264 video up to 5x faster than real time export, and it also does not require any processor time from your Mac, allowing other operations to proceed normally. It's accompanied by a drag-and-drop application that requires you to pick the destination and the quality, for example 'iPod High Quality.' In addition there is a separate QuickTime plugin that allows you to export from any supported application.

The device delivers the same quality as DVD Video and purportedly uses less than 50% of the storage space than other solutions. Charles Kennard, Director of sales, said: "(VideoExpress) offers a quick and easy interface, changing the way you save your files into the latest video format (h.264) and with minimum effort. [...] It's an uncomplicated way to compress video content and keep the same high quality audio and visual clarity you expect."

VideoExpress connects via USB 2.0, and no external power supply is required. It can accept MPEG-2, DivX, DV stream, QuickTime movies, or any other unprotected .vob file (DVD). Output is to h.264 (simple and main profile) in the following resolutions: 320 x 240 or 640x480 (low, high) for iPod Video, 320 x 240 or 640x480 (low, high) for Sony PSP, 720 x 480, 720 x 576.. It will carry a retail price of $100.

by MacNN Staff