Ok thanks will have a look to do this.

The box I have doesn’t have any images it’s a plain box, but heavily stickered with eBay label tape. So not much to see. There is evidence of the original address of CNF under the tape so I suspect it’s original and it came foam packed.

But as a image to share I don’t think it adds anything. But happy to do so if wanted.

Hi Lolo799, thanks for the PM. Yes sounds good I’d be interested. I’m a new member so unable to reply. If you can share a pm with an email address I’d be happy to reply and maybe suggest a proposal 😀 I’ll get those details posted soon

Here's the device drivers i've just added into a zip files as there's multiple files in the directory:

Image, with zip file attached containing these files:

Pics of box to follow, I suspect it's an oem packaged box.

Box images:

Found this card - Simple Tech SimpleVision MPEG-1 Multimedia PCMCIA Card. There is no info about this card online. I'm wondering if it's a rebranded version of above mentioned cards? It's for sale on ebay right now, BTW.

Interesting the idea of having that MPEG2 decoder card on a 386 with the PCMCIA to ISA card adapter. Would it works?

386SX wrote on 2020-06-16, 09:24:

Interesting the idea of having that MPEG2 decoder card on a 386 with the PCMCIA to ISA card adapter. Would it works?

I think it won't work. These cards require Zoomed video port (a direct connection between PC card slot and VGA controller), which is not supported by ISA.

Bondi wrote on 2020-06-16, 08:45:

Found this card - Simple Tech SimpleVision MPEG-1 Multimedia PCMCIA Card. There is no info about this card online. I'm wondering if it's a rebranded version of above mentioned cards? It's for sale on ebay right now, BTW.
mpeg-1 pcmcia.jpg

Interesting find, you're right, no mention of it on the
archived simpletech.com website.
The company sold a lot rebranded hardware, must be the case for that mpeg1 card too.

386SX wrote on 2020-06-16, 09:24:

Interesting the idea of having that MPEG2 decoder card on a 386 with the PCMCIA to ISA card adapter. Would it works?

Not only you would need a ZV port, as Bondi wrote, unless you use the tv out of the card only, it might work.
But you'd still need Win9x running the drivers and software, plus you'd need a fast enough hdd or optical drive for the mpeg2 data transfer, so on a 386, not sure you can, or going scsi all the way perhaps.

Feel free to try though!

lolo799 wrote on 2020-06-16, 09:49:

Interesting find, you're right, no mention of it on the archived simpletech.com website. The company sold a lot rebranded hardw […]
Show full quote

Bondi wrote on 2020-06-16, 08:45:

Found this card - Simple Tech SimpleVision MPEG-1 Multimedia PCMCIA Card. There is no info about this card online. I'm wondering if it's a rebranded version of above mentioned cards? It's for sale on ebay right now, BTW.
mpeg-1 pcmcia.jpg

Interesting find, you're right, no mention of it on the
archived simpletech.com website.
The company sold a lot rebranded hardware, must be the case for that mpeg1 card too.

386SX wrote on 2020-06-16, 09:24:

Interesting the idea of having that MPEG2 decoder card on a 386 with the PCMCIA to ISA card adapter. Would it works?

Not only you would need a ZV port, as Bondi wrote, unless you use the tv out of the card only, it might work.
But you'd still need Win9x running the drivers and software, plus you'd need a fast enough hdd or optical drive for the mpeg2 data transfer, so on a 386, not sure you can, or going scsi all the way perhaps.

Feel free to try though!

I've always been a fan of the MPEG2 decoder cards in all their various solutions. Even if at the end they never get to find a perfect combination back in those days.
Maybe in a 386 would really be too much but it sounds so "extreme" as upgrade. Also lot of others PCMCIA cards would (beside the o.s. requirement for sure) be theorically possible.

Found the existence of other models, happy hunting!

New Media made a 16bit PCMCIA SVGA card, model number J9MSVGA, it was only sold as an option for the Gateway 2000 Handbook486.

On the Cardbus side, IO Data made the CBMLX and CBMLX2, both based on the Silicon Motion Lynx3D chip.

The CBMLX works under Windows 95/98 and supports DirectX 6.1:
https://www.iodata.jp/products/graphics/cbmlx/index.htm

The CBMLX2 has drivers for Windows 98 upto XP a.d supports DirectX8.1:
https://www.iodata.jp/products/graphics/cbmlx/index.htm

And for MPEG1 decoding, Smart Modular sold a card under its Apex Data brand, the Media Express card:

https://web.archive.org/web/19970111203637/ht … ta.com/mpeg.htm

The more famous Toshiba Noteworthy MPEG:

Panasonic sold one as well:

I'm not sure if that last one is a rebranded version of the other cards out there.

Another Cardbus video card AXELL AS51952 AG902

Nice find!
The url isn't archived sadly.
Do you own that card?

lolo799 wrote on 2021-03-15, 09:37:

Nice find!
The url isn't archived sadly.
Do you own that card?

No, I don't have it. But it's on Yahoo right now.

Bondi wrote on 2021-03-15, 09:46:

lolo799 wrote on 2021-03-15, 09:37:

Nice find!
The url isn't archived sadly.
Do you own that card?

No, I don't have it. But it's on Yahoo right now.

I’d been watching this one for a few months and equally couldn’t find anything more about it but I’ve many old machines with cardbus that I could try it out.

I’m now the new owner and can share some more detail when it arrives.

Mike

Man, crazy there's a thread on this now, especially since I picked up a "VersaVideo" a few months ago (NEC's rebranded version of a NogaTech Nogavision 16-bit PCMCICA card). I'm still working on getting that thing working on my various NEC Versas (40EC, V/50, M/75, and P/75). It's basically a NogaTech LLZ NV256 DV capture card and the install program aims primarily at the era of NEC versa laptop I'm into (Ultralite Versa, Versa E, Versa V, Versa M, Versa P).

I got it in the original box with all of the manuals and dongle. It comes with 2 applications, one for WIndows 3.1 called "VersaVideo" which is supposedly the DV capture version of the card, it seems it does not capture audio though, and the other application which is for DOS and called fullTV.exe - which apparently allows you to use your DOS based laptop as a television/monitor for gaming. I also believe, if I'm not mistaken, this is an mpeg1 card.

The issue I'm dealing with in getting it working is getting it to be picked up by VersaVideo and consistently be picked up by fulltv as well. I think I might have to install a different card services application since it seems (oddly) the default one NEC shipped with the Versa Ultralite/E/V/M/P models (scirrus.exe) is not the preferred/default method and is a bit janky.

Here's pics of VersaVideo

creepingnet wrote on 2022-02-02, 15:08:

Here's pics of VersaVideo

Interesting! Thanks for the pics.
Is this indeed a video card as they call it? Or it's a MPEG decoder? How does it work? And does it work in DOS?

Bondi wrote on 2022-02-02, 16:28:

creepingnet wrote on 2022-02-02, 15:08:

Here's pics of VersaVideo

Interesting! Thanks for the pics.
Is this indeed a video card as they call it? Or it's a MPEG decoder? How does it work? And does it work in DOS?

I tried to post that in the thread above, but was kind of excited to see the thread 🤣

- The card is a mpeg1 Decoder (will confirm again later) card, it seems (per the manual) it does not record audio though (though it could probably be rigged to if one were to pass the audio source from the heaphone jack to the line-in of say, a Versa M or P laptop which has a sound card using alternative software).

- It does work in DOS. There's a program called "FullTV" that allows playback through the card to be displayed on the laptop's screen. Seems it uses 320x200 mode as well (not sure if true color or 256 color).

- The card seems primarily aimed at NEC Versa Ultralite/E/V/M/P model laptops such as those I own (I have a NEC Versa 40EC, V/50, M/75, and P/75) which are PCMCIA x2 16-bit Systems. The install program specifically lists off the NEC versa laptop computers I have + the one I don't (Ultralite) to determine installation I believe.

- The Dongle is composite input and has a "headphone out" on it, which makes sense, the Versa Ultralite/E/V models don't have a sound card so all sound is handled through the PCMCIA card, likely as just a passthrough. But the P/75 had ESS AudioDrive and the M/75 & M/100 have Crystal CS-4231-KQ WSS chips in them so those might be usable to record MPEG1 off of to a hard drive with sound.

That said, reading the manual for the laptops vs. the card, they tend to point to the Phoenix Card Services as being better, which is highly odd since I have the entire drivers collection from the NEC FTP, and the Ultralite/E/V/M/P all shipped with Cirrus card services (SCIRRUS.EXE being the main TSR). However, it seems I'm getting something out of Cirrus.

How the Cirrus services work is it sends a command to power up the PCMCIA port and then uses a series of "reference files" to determine the settings for the card, IIRC this card lives at address 380h (heck, the reference files for Cirrus are plaintext). These card services also tend to connect themselves to a NEC provided PCMCIA utility that allows you to hot-swap PCMCIA cards in Windows 3.1 in real time and it can auto-detect the card type if there's a resource file for it - picks up this card + my Aironet, WaveLAN Silver, PCMCIA Ethernet, and Xjack modems all surprisingly well, though it can be janky at times.

I have managed to get this card working somewhat - once - in DOS using the FullTV app, but I have not yet got it working in Windows 3.1 yet. I might want to do some exploring to see if I can find some more DOS programs for this kind of card. Part of why I picked it up is to make some YouTube videos with my old Windows 3.1/DOS laptops....just to claim I am one of the few, if any others, on YouTube recording on a 486 :XD.

creepingnet wrote on 2022-02-02, 17:06:

Bondi wrote on 2022-02-02, 16:28:

creepingnet wrote on 2022-02-02, 15:08:

Here's pics of VersaVideo

Interesting! Thanks for the pics.
Is this indeed a video card as they call it? Or it's a MPEG decoder? How does it work? And does it work in DOS?

I tried to post that in the thread above, but was kind of excited to see the thread 🤣

Ah, sorry, missed your earlier post.

- The card is a mpeg1 Decoder (will confirm again later) card, it seems (per the manual) it does not record audio though (though […]
Show full quote

- The card is a mpeg1 Decoder (will confirm again later) card, it seems (per the manual) it does not record audio though (though it could probably be rigged to if one were to pass the audio source from the heaphone jack to the line-in of say, a Versa M or P laptop which has a sound card using alternative software).

- It does work in DOS. There's a program called "FullTV" that allows playback through the card to be displayed on the laptop's screen. Seems it uses 320x200 mode as well (not sure if true color or 256 color).

- The card seems primarily aimed at NEC Versa Ultralite/E/V/M/P model laptops such as those I own (I have a NEC Versa 40EC, V/50, M/75, and P/75) which are PCMCIA x2 16-bit Systems. The install program specifically lists off the NEC versa laptop computers I have + the one I don't (Ultralite) to determine installation I believe.

- The Dongle is composite input and has a "headphone out" on it, which makes sense, the Versa Ultralite/E/V models don't have a sound card so all sound is handled through the PCMCIA card, likely as just a passthrough. But the P/75 had ESS AudioDrive and the M/75 & M/100 have Crystal CS-4231-KQ WSS chips in them so those might be usable to record MPEG1 off of to a hard drive with sound.

That said, reading the manual for the laptops vs. the card, they tend to point to the Phoenix Card Services as being better, which is highly odd since I have the entire drivers collection from the NEC FTP, and the Ultralite/E/V/M/P all shipped with Cirrus card services (SCIRRUS.EXE being the main TSR). However, it seems I'm getting something out of Cirrus.

How the Cirrus services work is it sends a command to power up the PCMCIA port and then uses a series of "reference files" to determine the settings for the card, IIRC this card lives at address 380h (heck, the reference files for Cirrus are plaintext). These card services also tend to connect themselves to a NEC provided PCMCIA utility that allows you to hot-swap PCMCIA cards in Windows 3.1 in real time and it can auto-detect the card type if there's a resource file for it - picks up this card + my Aironet, WaveLAN Silver, PCMCIA Ethernet, and Xjack modems all surprisingly well, though it can be janky at times.

I have managed to get this card working somewhat - once - in DOS using the FullTV app, but I have not yet got it working in Windows 3.1 yet. I might want to do some exploring to see if I can find some more DOS programs for this kind of card. Part of why I picked it up is to make some YouTube videos with my old Windows 3.1/DOS laptops....just to claim I am one of the few, if any others, on YouTube recording on a 486 :XD.

My understanding may be wrong, sorry for that, but I'm a bit confused. Is this a capture card or a mpeg decoder or both? Does it play avi files from HDD(decoder) or video from the composite input(capture)? In a way you referred to both in your description.
Anyways the fact that it works in DOS is quite unique. If it turns out to be a MPEG decoder card, then it's the only one that I know of that works in DOS. As for capture cards, there are IBM/Ratoc cards that work in DOS as well.