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The DVI2PCIe is compatible with PCI Express (PCIe) 1.1 or higher interface. Epiphan offers a (x4) 4 and (x1) 1 lane interface for the DVI2PCIe. While the standard card uses a x4 interface, the x1 interface card has lower performance on some resolutions, depending on the application.

2. How can I verify whether my system has PCIe?

Nearly every recently made PC or MAC since 2007 comes with PCI Express support. Please refer to your motherboard specifications to see if it has support for PCIe 1.1.

3. How many frames per second can DVI2PCIe capture?

It depends on the resolution of your screen, the screen refresh rate, your operating system and the speed of the computer that is acquiring images. Please consult the Specifications for appropriate capture rates.

4. Does DVI2PCIe reduce the resolution of the images it captures in order to transfer it over the PCIe bus?

No. DVI2PCIe captures and transfers every pixel of the original DVI frame in RGB24 format. DVI2PCIe may optionally perform on-the-fly color-space conversion before transferring the image over PCI Express. In this respect, DVI2PCI provides better quality than a DVI-to-video converter paired with a Composite or S-Video grabber.

5. Can DVI2PCIe work on Windows NT, Windows 3.x/95/98/SE/ME?

No. Unfortunately, some of those systems have very poor support or no support at all for PCI Express.

6. The video mode that I am using is not listed in the list of supported modes for DVI2PCIe. Can DVI2PCIe capture it?

Yes. You may add custom modes through the DVI2PCIe software, available as a free download.

7. What Linux kernel does DVI2PCIe support?

The Linux drivers are available. Please contact us ahead of purchase if you require a driver compiled for a specific kernel version or kernel setting.

8. Can DVI2PCIe save captured signals as a movie?

Yes, the DVI2PCIe application has the ability to save captured signals as an AVI file (Windows) or MOV(Mac). Refer to #12 for more info.

9. Which codec works best with DVI2PCIe?

The choice of codec and codec settings depend on the requirements for the quality of the AVI or MOV. You may need to try several codecs with different settings to see which codec best fits your task.

10. Images grabbed from some sources appear to be slightly shifted right or left. How this can be fixed?

DVI2PCIe has an automatic algorithm that crops visible images from the DVI frame. The algorithm may make a mistake, however, and be off by a few pixels. Please refer to Configuring Image Adjustments in section 18 of the Frame Grabber User Guide.

11. Can I connect two or more DVI2PCIe devices to one computer and capture signals simultaneously? What is the resulting rate of capture for each DVI2PCIe?

Yes you can connect two or more DVI2PCIe devices and capture multiple signals simultaneously. You will need to run the DVI2PCIe application for each DVI2PCIe device attached.

12. With what software can I interpret the digital signal generated by the DVI2PCIe device?

The DVI2PCIe frame grabber works by emulating a high resolution video camera for Windows. DVI2PCIe is a DirectShow compatible device, which means that virtually any video capture software designed for Windows is compatible with DVI2PCIe. For example, VirtualDUB can be used to record .avi files, Microsoft Media Encoder to record .wmv files, and RealProducer to record .rm files. DVI2PCIe also supports QuickTime in Mac OS X and Video4Linux in Linux operating systems.

13. Does the frame compression on DVI2PCIe hamper the quality of the output?

No. DVI2PCIe devices do not use frame compression, resulting in a high quality of the output.

14. Is DVI2PCIe software compatible with Mac OS X?

Yes. DVI2PCIe is compatible with Mac OS X 10.4 and up. Drivers and software can be downloaded from DVI2PCIe download page.

15. Can I capture HDMI with DVI2PCIe?

Yes. You may capture the video only from an HDMI signal using DVI2PCIe using a HDMI-DVI converter cable, included in the box. Note that DVI2PCIe cannot capture a protected or encrypted HDMI signal.

16. Does DVI2PCIe support other inputs such as BNC/component, DisplayPort and Thunderbolt?

Yes. DVI2PCIe can capture unencrypted images and video from BNC/component, DisplayPort, Mini DisplayPort, and Thunderbolt outputs. In order to capture video from these formats, the appropriate converter cable needs to be purchased seperately. Epiphan does not guarantee the result when using 3rd party cables.