Why don't most modern cards have VIVO functionality?

[vj8usa]

At one point, just about every decent graphics card that came out had VIVO (video in/video out) functionality, as far as I can remember. These days, nothing seems to have that. It was pretty useful for me - I remember using it with my X1900 and my old VCR to convert ancient VHS tapes to digital video, and using that VCR's tuner to watch TV at my computer. Was it just costing the companies too much money to implement?

 

[videogames101]

I agree, I want VIVO back!

 

[Andrew1990]

Originally posted by: videogames101
I agree, I want VIVO back!

 

[DaveSimmons]

Because VHS is dead, the last pre-recorded tape factory shut down this year.

Camcorders now transfer digitally using firewire or USB.

 

[bendixG15]

If you want to hook up your VCR, check out TV cards.

 

[vj8usa]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Because VHS is dead, the last pre-recorded tape factory shut down this year.

Camcorders now transfer digitally using firewire or USB.

I was asking about VIVO in general, not just the ability to connect a VCR. Just to clarify: VIVO lets your video card accept video input instead of just outputting video. You could, for instance, connect something like a gaming console to your video card and have its output be a window on your monitor.

Originally posted by: bendixG15
If you want to hook up your VCR, check out TV cards.

Right, but if using a card with VIVO, you wouldn't need to spend extra and use up a PCI slot for another card.

 

[exar333]

Because most monitors have this functionality now. 5 years ago you didn't see CRT monitors with HDMI, component, and S-video in ports. Now, most monitors come with a myriad of options, so it is not really needed with the video card anymore. If you really want to actually record what is coming to your PC, then those people get a TV card or something similar.

 

[PCTC2]

I like having an onboard tuner and dedicated encoder on video inputs. That would add a lot of circuitry to a already crowded GPU card. I liked the All-in-Wonder's but I like my Hauppauge PCIe 1x card better.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: vj8usa

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Because VHS is dead, the last pre-recorded tape factory shut down this year.

Camcorders now transfer digitally using firewire or USB.

I was asking about VIVO in general, not just the ability to connect a VCR. Just to clarify: VIVO lets your video card accept video input instead of just outputting video. You could, for instance, connect something like a gaming console to your video card and have its output be a window on your monitor.

Sure there are other uses, but analog TV turning and capture from tapes (deck and camcorder) where the main reasons why people wanted this.

And as ExarKun333 mentioned monitors have added their own extra inputs to take over connecting other devices.

 

[themisfit610]

I loved playing PS2 games on my 7800gt's S-Video input. It looked surprisingly good through DScaler. I used to cap replays all the time and make kickass youtube videos of Gran Turismo 4!

~MiSfit

 

[Slugbait]

Probably the biggest reason is money. Adding VIVO added to the manufacturing cost, and sales are lost to competitor cards that are cheaper because the buyer decided s/he didn't want to spend extra for VIVO.

A good example is HDCP: it has been supported as far back as the nVidia FX5700 and the Radeon 8500. However, not a single card sold for years afterward was capable of HDCP at 1920x1080 resolution because no manufacturer wanted to increase their costs, which included licensing the HDCP decoding keys from Digital Content Protection, which they would have to pass on to the consumer...and sales are lost to competitor cards that are cheaper because the buyer decided s/he didn't want to spend extra for HDCP.

I remember buying a Ti-200 Personal Cinema card that blew away my old Marvel G200 (and put AIW playback quality to shame). If I remember correctly, nVidia supported Personal Cinema thru the 6000 series...but while a few manufacturers released FX5200 versions, I think the last Personal Cinema card released was the eVGA FX5700. Once I needed to upgrade my Ti-200 for a Gallatin core box I was building, I realized I could have saved several hundred bucks if I had bought a separate PCI tuner at the very beginning...so I bought a Compro VideoMate Gold, and it's still in my box after several more video card upgrades. It's the oldest component in my current box.