I have the same problem. As far as i can see there is no program installed on my XPS 420 thats usable for a videocamera / Xcelerator. On different stories i read about the 420 theres mentioned that Adobe elements should be installed on a new 420. Dont know if thats true but its not on mine. I sent a mail to Dellsupport and wait for the answer
Software Supported * Roxio Creator 9.1 Premier DVD burn and authoring software that makes it easy to get movies onto disc. It allows you to import standard and high-def movies, photos, audio and video content from camcorders, digital cameras, and other sources. Create and edit home movies and slide shows into polished productions, and then record onto DVD or Blu-ray Disc., or convert for use on the web, portable devices, mobile phones, etc.
* Dell Xcelerator. MCE Plug-in 1.0 (with Xcelerator feature) replaces MyDVD for media conversion (transcode, transrate, transcale)
* Drivers use standard Microsoft DirectShow property sets. The drivers can be found on the Dell Resource CD.
Driver Software * The Dell Xcelerator hardware ships with the following driver software:
Driver setup utility (DrvSetup.exe)
WDM driver (LazerUsb.sys, LazerUsb.inf, LazerUsb.cat)
Filter (LumanateX.ax)
Diagnostic utility (LazrDiag.exe, LazrDiag.dev)
Xcelerator Diagnostics * Start- Windows Explorer and open the C: drive
* Open Program Files- Lumanate- LazrUsb and select LazrDiag.exe
* Click the Run button to start the diagnostic tests
Check the hardware
* Power off the PC
* Remove the PC
cover * Locate the Xcelerator hardware and verify that there is a cable that connects the Xcelerator board to the motherboard
* Verify that this cable is firmly installed into each connector
* Reinstall the cover back onto the chassis
* Power the PC on
Driver Installation
* Insert the Dell Resource CD into your CD/DVD drive
* If the Dell Resource CD window does not open automatically, double click on My Computer on your desktop and then double click on the CD/DVD drive containing the Dell Resource CD
* Follow the instructions provided by the Dell Resource CD to locate the video driver package for your Xcelerator card
* select the Lumanate setup.exe to unzip the drivers on to the hard drive and install the drivers
* At the Setup Complete screen, select Yes and click Finish to restart your system.
Does the Sonic V10 they refer to mean Roxio DVD creator 10?
The machine came with DVD Creator 9, I tried video capture with a camera connected to the Xcelerator card, but it didn't see it. Do I need to upgrade to V10?
I have spoken to Dell Tech support by on-line chat, then by phone (but the line was so quiet I couldn't hear them!!!!) I also sent an email which is supposed to be replied to in 1 working day, but there has been no reply.
This thread has now returned to my original question, that is, how do you use the plugs on the front of the Xcelerator board.
What I want to do is to record the video off another machine (video recorder or camera) using the composite video plugs. I don't particularly mind if these are the plugs on the Xcelerator board or the TV tuner but since I paid extra for the Xcelerator card I do expect to be able to use them. (I had the same problem with the diagnostics but that all passes ok now).
I am also happy with using MCE but I cannot find in MCE where the option is to record from a video stream rather than the TV tuner. I expected that the plugin would have shown up somewhere to choose from.
Sonic (i.e. Roxio) Creator is not available from the Dell Aust website where I bought the computer from but I did find it on the USA site at
It appears to be very similar to the Adobe Elements that I paid extra from with the system - so I don't want to spend money on a similar Aoxio product. Additionally, I only bought the Adobe product because I thought that it supported the Dell hardware that I was buying at the same time - through the MCE plug-in or similar.
Chris, or anyone else, can you please point me in the direction to be able to input the video through the front of the Xcelerator card?
I must say, I have the same questions. I received my 420 just last Saturday (12/15), and I too received Roxio 9 (which, as far as I can see, offers no support for the Xcelerator). And, I can find no way in MCE to utilize the Xcelerator.
Very strange, and a response from Dell would definitely be appreciated.
We have only tested Sonic Roxio 9.1 with the Xcelerator on the XPS 420. There is some confusion about how the Xcelerator is used. For a PC with the Xcelerator installed and detected by Roxio, Roxio will automatically prompt the user if they want to use the Xcelerator for transcoding or when converting video file. There is NOT a screen to display Roxio has detected the Xcelerator. If the Xcelerator is not detected, Roxio will simply continue to convert video file using the CPU resources.The Media Xcelerator is only for transcoding MP2 (mpeg-2) to MP4 (mpeg-4). It does not enhance video capture nor does it do anything else in capture or transcoding of other formats. The advantage is the performance for transcoding media files into MP4 (I believe MCE uses MP2), which is about 4x compared to software transcoding. The front AVIO board has front composite connectors for ease of use as XPS 420 is a studio PC. A lot of digital camcorders use the MP2 format in one form or another. So, a user can transcode directly from camcorder mpeg-2 to mpeg-4 using AVIO, Xcelerator, and MyDVD 9.1. The composite inputs are connected directly to the TV Tuner card, so the source for the video input will still be the TV Tuner (not the Xcelerator despite the connectors located on the Xcelerator).
Message Edited by DELL-ChrisM on 12-21-2007 12:30 PM
zorki
5 Posts
0
December 12th, 2007 05:00
DELL-Chris M
Community Manager
•
56.9K Posts
0
December 13th, 2007 11:00
* Roxio Creator 9.1 Premier DVD burn and authoring software that makes it easy to get movies onto disc. It allows you to import standard and high-def movies, photos, audio and video content from camcorders, digital cameras, and other sources. Create and edit home movies and slide shows into polished productions, and then record onto DVD or Blu-ray Disc., or convert for use on the web, portable devices, mobile phones, etc.
* Dell Xcelerator. MCE Plug-in 1.0 (with Xcelerator feature) replaces MyDVD for media conversion (transcode, transrate, transcale)
* Drivers use standard Microsoft DirectShow property sets. The drivers can be found on the Dell Resource CD.
Driver Software
* The Dell Xcelerator hardware ships with the following driver software:
Driver setup utility (DrvSetup.exe)
WDM driver (LazerUsb.sys, LazerUsb.inf, LazerUsb.cat)
Filter (LumanateX.ax)
Diagnostic utility (LazrDiag.exe, LazrDiag.dev)
Supported Video Formats
Video Input Formats Supported: MPEG-2 (MP/ML), MPEG-2 (MP/HL)
Supported Input Resolutions [SD]: NTSC: 720x480; PAL: 720x576
Supported Input Resolutions [HD]: HDTV: 1080-30i, 720-30p, 720-60p
Video Output Formats Supported MPEG-2 (MP/ML); MPEG-4 (SP, ASP)
Supported Output Resolutions [SD]: NTSC: 720x480, 320x240, 368x208, PAL: 720x576, 320x288; 320x240, 368x208
Xcelerator Diagnostics
* Start- Windows Explorer and open the C: drive
* Open Program Files- Lumanate- LazrUsb and select LazrDiag.exe
* Click the Run button to start the diagnostic tests
Russetsprint
6 Posts
0
December 13th, 2007 11:00
DELL-Chris M
Community Manager
•
56.9K Posts
0
December 13th, 2007 11:00
Check the hardware
* Power off the PC
* Remove the PC cover
* Locate the Xcelerator hardware and verify that there is a cable that connects the Xcelerator board to the motherboard
* Verify that this cable is firmly installed into each connector
* Reinstall the cover back onto the chassis
* Power the PC on
Driver Installation
* Insert the Dell Resource CD into your CD/DVD drive
* If the Dell Resource CD window does not open automatically, double click on My Computer on your desktop and then double click on the CD/DVD drive containing the Dell Resource CD
* Follow the instructions provided by the Dell Resource CD to locate the video driver package for your Xcelerator card
* select the Lumanate setup.exe to unzip the drivers on to the hard drive and install the drivers
* At the Setup Complete screen, select Yes and click Finish to restart your system.
Russetsprint
6 Posts
0
December 13th, 2007 11:00
DELL-Chris M
Community Manager
•
56.9K Posts
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December 14th, 2007 20:00
* MYDVD is not going to work. The Dell Xcelerator is supported by the following software:
Sonic Creator v.10
Dell Xcelerator MCE Plug-in v1.0
* What is the Dell Media Xcelerator?
Russetsprint
6 Posts
0
December 14th, 2007 20:00
Russetsprint
6 Posts
0
December 14th, 2007 21:00
Russetsprint
6 Posts
0
December 14th, 2007 21:00
peter-e-nz
2 Posts
0
December 14th, 2007 22:00
zorki
5 Posts
0
December 15th, 2007 04:00
zorki
5 Posts
0
December 15th, 2007 07:00
wynand32
366 Posts
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December 18th, 2007 02:00
DELL-Chris M
Community Manager
•
56.9K Posts
0
December 19th, 2007 11:00
Private message me your service tag numbers with a brief summary.
DELL-Chris M
Community Manager
•
56.9K Posts
0
December 20th, 2007 03:00
We have only tested Sonic Roxio 9.1 with the Xcelerator on the XPS 420. There is some confusion about how the Xcelerator is used. For a PC with the Xcelerator installed and detected by Roxio, Roxio will automatically prompt the user if they want to use the Xcelerator for transcoding or when converting video file. There is NOT a screen to display Roxio has detected the Xcelerator. If the Xcelerator is not detected, Roxio will simply continue to convert video file using the CPU resources.The Media Xcelerator is only for transcoding MP2 (mpeg-2) to MP4 (mpeg-4). It does not enhance video capture nor does it do anything else in capture or transcoding of other formats. The advantage is the performance for transcoding media files into MP4 (I believe MCE uses MP2), which is about 4x compared to software transcoding. The front AVIO board has front composite connectors for ease of use as XPS 420 is a studio PC. A lot of digital camcorders use the MP2 format in one form or another. So, a user can transcode directly from camcorder mpeg-2 to mpeg-4 using AVIO, Xcelerator, and MyDVD 9.1. The composite inputs are connected directly to the TV Tuner card, so the source for the video input will still be the TV Tuner (not the Xcelerator despite the connectors located on the Xcelerator).
Message Edited by DELL-ChrisM on 12-21-2007 12:30 PM