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Matrox MXO2 and MXO2 Mini with MAX |
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by Herbert J. Kellner
Why buy an I/O card and a breakout box when you can get all the features of both in Matrox MXO2? This award-winning device also gives you the added advantage of portability. It can easily be moved among the Mac Pros in your facility as the need arises and you can take it on the road with a MacBook Pro. It gives you highly-reliable, broadcast-quality input/output via HDMI, SDI, and analog; professional audio inputs and outputs including built-in 5.1 surround sound monitoring; and HDMI video monitoring with calibration controls including blue-only. You also benefit from a wide variety of HD and SD workflows with Final Cut Studio thanks to Matrox MXO2’s 10-bit hardware up/down/cross scaling engine and support for a wealth of file-based formats and industry-standard codecs. Enjoy maximum I/O flexibility with Matrox MXO2 – edit anything, anywhere!
Matrox® Video Products Group announced that versions of its popular I/O devices for the Mac (Matrox MXO2, Matrox MXO2 Rack, and Matrox MXO2 Mini), are now available with Matrox MAX technology for faster than realtime high definition H.264 file creation. The unique Matrox MAX technology uses a dedicated hardware processor to accelerate the creation of H.264 files for Blu-ray, the web, and mobile devices. By using specialized hardware acceleration, jobs are finished with amazing speed and system resources are liberated for other tasks. Quality and flexibility are ensured through direct integration with Apple Compressor on the Mac. As an added benefit, the Matrox MAX technology allows direct export to higher-quality H.264 Blu-ray compliant files from Compressor.
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"Content creators today need to deliver material in resolutions ranging from HD to iPod and H.264 has become their codec of choice due to its high-quality and low bandwidth requirement," said Wayne Andrews, Matrox product manager. "By incorporating Matrox MAX technology into our popular MXO2 devices, we are providing our customers with the extra productivity boost they need to profit from today's most popular workflows on laptops as well as towers." |
Key features of Matrox MAX Technology
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Faster than realtime creation of H.264 files, for resolutions ranging from iPod to HD, at bitrates up to 50 Mbps |
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A specialized, dedicated hardware processor liberates system resources for other tasks |
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Accelerated encoding for Blu-ray, PS3, Apple TV, YouTube, Flash, web formats, and mobile devices including iPhone and iPod from various video sources including 2K files |
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Direct integration with Apple Compressor3 on the Mac to simplify workflow |
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Creation of Blu-ray H.264 files that can be authored in Adobe Encore CS4 and Roxio Toast 10 then burned without re-encoding |
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Support for Apple Qmaster to take advantage of multiple systems with a Matrox MAX processing engine for distributed encoding across a network |
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Works with Intel-based MacBook Pros, Mac Pros, and Apple Xserve systems |
Flexible workflows
Capture to a variety of codecs
Matrox MXO2 lets you capture to HD and SD codecs supported by Final Cut Pro. On a Quad-Core MacPro, you can capture HD to ProRes 422 HQ, DVCPRO HD, DV, DVCPRO, and DVCPRO50. On a MacBook Pro Core2 Duo 2.4 GHz or faster, you can capture HD to ProRes 422 HQ (720p at 24, 25, and 30 fps), ProRes 422 (LT), and DVCPRO HD. On systems equipped with proper storage you can capture uncompressed 8- and 10-bit HD.
Use your favorite file-based formats
Matrox MXO2 lets you work with file-based formats such as XDCAM, XDCAM HD, XDCAM EX, P2, and P2HD. You can play out these formats directly from Final Cut Pro – no intermediate codec is needed. Matrox MXO2 lets you play out these formats from a MacBook Pro without dropping frames.
RED workflow support
RED users can benefit from Matrox MXO2 to capture, monitor, and playback on set. Back in the post suite, they can use Matrox MXO2 to work with 1K and 2K RED timelines and output to SD, 720, or 1080 via MXO2’s realtime 10-bit hardware scaling feature.
HD-SDI closed captioning support
You will no longer need to spend time and money recreating HD captioning data that is typically lost when editing projects in Final Cut Pro. Matrox MXO2 offers a unique workflow to capture, playback, and preserve closed captioning data while editing. Nothing is destroyed even when trimming or color correcting video clips. In addition, Matrox has worked with CPC, the closed captioning software leader, to develop an innovative solution that allows the MacCaption software to encode, decode, edit, and create HD and SD closed captioning for use with Matrox MXO2. Matrox MXO2 also provides a cost effective way to monitor HD timelines containing closed captioning data on SDI and component SD monitors, while also inserting closed captioning information into line 21 of active video for SD deliverables. You can deliver HD and SD masters containing closed captions simultaneously.
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Matrox MXO2 Mini Now Provides Inexpensive HDMI Monitoring for AVCHD Editing with Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 and CineForm NeoScene
Matrox® Video Products Group announced Matrox MXO2™ Mini support for the popular CineForm NeoScene editing workflow that streamlines AVCHD editing with Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 on the PC. The Matrox MXO2 Mini I/O device provides inexpensive HDMI monitoring with 10-bit 4:2:2 color precision. It turns an HDMI screen into a professional-grade video monitor with Matrox's unique color calibration tool. Controls for hue, chroma, contrast, brightness, and blue-only are provided. Users get accurate color representation so that an inexpensive HDMI monitor can be used even for color grading. Matrox MXO2 Mini even provides 1:1 pixel mapping on HDMI displays that support this feature so video will not be stretched and distorted by the monitor.
"CineForm users appreciate the high visual fidelity and realtime editing capability NeoScene brings to their AVCHD workflow but until now, they have not been able to enjoy full-screen previews of their work," said Francesco Scartozzi, Matrox sales director. "Matrox MXO2 Mini provides an affordable, high-quality, video output solution that greatly improves the AVCHD editing experience."
"The AVCHD camera format is designed for recording, not editing, but now with a few simple steps editors can benefit from professional realtime editing performance," said David Taylor, CineForm co-founder and CEO. With NeoScene, users can easily convert difficult-to-edit AVCHD files into CineForm's professional 10-bit Wavelet compression format for faster editing performance, plus conversion to 24p (24 progressive frames) for users who desire a cinematic presentation. We're excited about our collaboration with Matrox because of the enhanced editing experience that results; users can now drop their CineForm content on a CS4 timeline using a Matrox project preset and enjoy realtime playout through MXO2 to their preferred monitor or television.
Key features of Matrox MXO2 Mini
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Works with Mac and PC, laptops and desktops |
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Small, lightweight, external box that's easily connected to cameras and monitors |
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Capture high definition video via HDMI or analog component; NTSC and PAL via analog component, S-Video, or composite |
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Playback high definition video via HDMI and analog component; NTSC and PAL via HDMI and analog component or HDMI and S-Video and composite |
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Output HD and SD video simultaneously |
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Turns an HDMI screen into a professional-grade video monitor with color calibration tools including blue-only |
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High-quality 10-bit hardware scaling engine for realtime upscaling, downscaling, and cross conversion on capture and playback |
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Stereo RCA and up to 8 channels of HDMI audio input and output |
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5.1 and 7.1 surround sound monitoring on the HDMI output |
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Easily edit AVCHD footage by capturing into an edit-friendly compressed or uncompressed format |
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Works with leading applications including Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe Photoshop, and many more |
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Also available with Matrox MAX™ for faster than realtime H.264 encoding |
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Three-year hardware warranty and complimentary telephone support |
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Conclusions
We found using the Matrox MXO2 very rewarding. Setting it up was quick and simple. We used the MXO2 with Final Cut Pro and a Sony PMW-EX1. Capturing, editing, monitoring in HD and SD and exporting footage in different formats was easy and resulted in excellent videos. The MXO2 comes packed with input and output options. It converts from SD to HD and back. This is one of the important features for training departments and training production companies. You can still use your SD equipment and up convert to HD. In our opinion, the MXO2 and the MXO2 Mini are the most advanced and cost-effective I/O devices of their kind to date and provide a professional solution for training departments and training production companies to bridging the gap between the ever-increasing number of formats present in professional video today. The MXO2 with MAX has quickly become one of the most valuable additions to our studio and field production equipment, therefore we recommend it to anyone.
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Price and availability
The Matrox MXO2 product line is available through a worldwide network of authorized dealers. Matrox MXO2 Mini with the MAX option is priced at $849 US (£644, €758). Matrox MXO2 with the MAX option is priced at $1,995 US (£1,495, €1,695). Matrox MXO2 Rack with the MAX option is priced at $2,395 US (£1,749, €1,995) not including local taxes.
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About Matrox
Matrox Video Products Group is a technology and market leader in the field of HD and SD digital video hardware and software for realtime editing, audio/video input/output, DVD/Blu-ray authoring, capture/playout servers, clip/still stores, and CGs. Matrox's Emmy award-winning technology powers a full range of content creation and delivery platforms used by broadcasters, post-production facilities, project studios, corporate communicators, and videographers worldwide. Founded in 1976, Matrox is a privately held company headquartered in Montreal, Canada.
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For more information visit www.matrox.com
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