"Make Movies on the PC" - The Marvel G200 allows users to be able to add special effects, titles and soundtracks to their previously taken videos. Hardware JPEG capture/compression ability allows up to 16x more image detail than conventional AVIs.

To assist in this endeavor, Matrox throws in Ulead's Media Studio Pro 5.0 and the popular Avid Cinema software packages.

"Advanced 3D Gaming" - This is how Matrox refers to the G200's Direct3D acceleration ability. SharkyExtreme readers already know about the G200's game playing potential from out previous reviews on the Mystique and the Millenium, so we're not going to elaborate here.

"TV on the PC" - Just like it sounds, the Marvel G200 integrates a programmable TV-Tuner into the package, allowing channel surfers the ability to watch their favorite soap operas while running Win95/98 apps. It also lets you record the programs as well, something we know subscribers to the Playboy Channel *cough*Mossad*cough* will find useful.

"Blazing Fast 2D Graphics" - Matrox is well known for their pedigree in 2D speed, again our earlier reviews show the G200 line to be fast in all Win95/98 applications.

"DVD Video" - Yes and No. The Matrox Marvel G200 allows support for Software DVD playback, but full Dolby Digital 6 channel audio compatibility along with full resolution requires Matrox's specific DVD daughtercard (ESP $70). In practice, the Software DVD ability was among the best we've seen, with very little color saturation or loss of frames.

"PC to TV Output" - This is a natural for the G200 chip, and the Marvel allows a user to throw either their games or their DVD images out to a nice large TV. It works well, up to a resolution of 1024 x 768, which is pretty high for TV-Out. It also allows users to record edited material back to a VHS tape.

"Frame Capture" - This again is the Marvel's ability to dump images from a TV, VCR, or Video Camera. A digital camera fits here as well, if it has an RCA or S-Video Out.

"Video Conferences" - Provided that the person or persons on the other end has a similar system, the Marvel will perform image and audio compression on the fly and send it out via whatever connection you use for the Internet. Being that Binky's the only other person with a Marvel G200 card right now, it's needless to say we didn't test this feature. (C'Mon Binky, I kid because I love.)

"Digital VCR" - This is the term Matrox uses to describe their "Virtual VCR" software (Your Hard Drive basically) and the manipulation of it's controls. It's very easy to capture and create video databases with the software, but be warned - The space the video takes up is extreme when set to the maximum visual quality settings. Expect 30 minutes of captured material to occupy between one and six Gigabytes of space, again depending upon resolution and audio quality.

"A/V Connection Box" - This refers to the external connection box that houses all of the ports and ins/outs for the Marvel. It's a novel idea, and very easy to position and move around. Basically one monster-sized cable connects externally from the Marvel to this box, thereby eliminating a massive amount of cables and jumble. Some might complain that offering the ports internally via a 5.25" case bay might have been a better choice, but we'll always take external peripherals when there's no performance hit.