Is the Matrox RT.X2 Worth the Money

[Jeffrey Fuchs]

Ok, This is my first post on this forum. I have learned lots and lots reading this forum for a couple of months now. However, I cannot seem to find much discussion on the Matrox RT.X2. I was able to sit down with the system for about 30 min and it did impress me with how easy it was to edit HDV, it was like editing DV!

Is there anybody using this product? What do you think? Is it worth the money?

I am using the Matrox RTX100 currently and I like it for many reasons. One being the footage on the external monitor and of course much more real time editing.

I mostly do weddings and I plan to buy the Canon A1 to go along with the RT.X2. As with many of you, editing time is important to me.

The card is now $1700, down from $2000...still a pretty big chunk of change. Should I skip the RT.X2 and use the $1700 on a faster computer? I plan to build my own computer to get it just right either way I go :)

Thanks for any thoughts on this issue.

[Bart Walczak]

If you need output to external monitor, it is cheaper to invest in Matrox APVe graphic card which has a plug-in to Premiere to do just that.

[Jeffrey Fuchs]

Little surprised that not to many people use this product.
Below are some reviews of the RT.X2.

http://videoediting.digitalmedianet....e.jsp?id=65328

http://www.trustedreviews.com/graphi...deo-Editing/p1

If you are under pressure to get things done, who not, I would think this would pay for itself with-in a year, with the faster editing of HDV. I would just like to hear from anybody that uses this product.

Anybody have any thoughts?

Thanks in advance

Jeff

[Peter Ferling]

I get 7 streams of SD and three or more streams of HDV using cineform intermediate on my dual opteron 270 workstation. No extra hardware if your sticking with 8bit HDV for aspect. I use prospect coupled with an AJA Xena HS board, but again, the AJA is just a conduit for HD-SDI ingest and preview, where Prospect does all the work and makes PPro slice through HD like Emiril cuts a tomatoe... BAM!

Better yet, I'm not tied to any one machine, I have an old Dell Precision 650 dual 3GHz xeon at home, with no AJA and I can transfer the license via a server online and continue editing the project, in software, without skipping a beat.

I do enjoy working at 10bit on even 8bit files, no banding, etc. All at full raster 1920x1080. With HDlink, I also enjoy on the fly scaling of HD/capture to SD without having to crack open PPro. If fact, as I'm typing this response, Cineform is writing a full raster, high quality Cineform HD avi. It's like working with DV all over again.

[Kevin Shaw]

I'm with Peter in saying that software-based solutions are preferable if they meet your needs, because they don't tie you to any one computer or manufacturer. Plus using hardware cards limits you to desktop editing systems, while today's fast notebooks are more convenient. I'm using Canopus Edius Pro 4 on a notebook with a Core 2 Duo processor and can work with two layers of native HDV in real time or many layers of DV, so no need for a hardware card here.

Plus I think the Matrox RT.X2 is primarily limited to working with HDV files, which could be a problem if you ever want to work with other HD formats. That's too limiting for the price.

[Peter Ferling]

I forgot to mention that I'm editing/working entirely from a portable, single 7200 SATA hard drive! I do have dedicated 320 scsi array's on both workstations (which is great for capturing uncompressed HD-SDI -about 25% of my work). However, for cineform, I haven't seen the need to use them yet. In fact, one particular project is over 270 GB on a 400BG disk, hundreds of clips and stills, dozens of nested sequences, some of them 6-layers deep...which in theory, shouldn't be flying, but it does.

You should check out their trial software before you commit. The Matrox reviewers seemed a little skeptical about it's overall performance and price (at least that's my take on the read).

[Gary Bettan]

While the software alone can edit HDV footage, it really sdoesn;t handle it well, even in a killer machine. The RT.X2 ads a level of real-time performance that will save you time and money. The workflow is really smooth and the previews while you work are always full speed & full resolution.

We've got a user article on our website that is very good reading
http://www.videoguys.com/edit1media.html

Matrox has also put out an informatiove comparison of the RT.X2 vs Software alone:

Matrox RT.X2 vs. Adobe Premiere Pro software-only
Matrox RT.X2 provides the realtime editing power and additional productivity tools you need to get the most from Adobe Production Studio. To help you gauge the significance of RT.X2’s time-saving benefits, we have compared RT.X2 to Adobe Premiere Pro software-only by providing a feature summary as well as performance measurements for some of the key tasks you do daily.
http://www.matrox.com/video/products...ison_Adobe.pdf

MAtrox has just lowered the price onthe RT.X2 to $1695. They aslo now have some very cool bundles with the full Adobe Production Studio Premium. If you own Premeire (any flavor or After Effects or Photoshop) you can upgrade to the RT.X2 hardware and Production Studio Premium for just $2195
http://www.videoguys.com/rtx2.html

Gary

[Kevin Shaw]

Originally Posted by Gary Bettan

While the software alone can edit HDV footage, it really doesn;t handle it well, even in a killer machine. The RT.X2 ads a level of real-time performance that will save you time and money. The workflow is really smooth and the previews while you work are always full speed & full resolution.

Sounds like it's time for another real-time editing shootout, with an emphasis on HDV processing. Last year I put a modest dual-core editing system running Edius (software only) up against an $8000 Matrox Axio setup and Edius held its own, with the exception of the specialized Matrox effects. I'm sure the RT.X2 is useful for those who can afford it, but to say the same results can't be achieved in software is partly a question of what software you're using...

[Peter Jefferson]

no its not worth the money

Im yet to meet someone who can edit 720p with it, despite the new claims on the matrox site that it supports 576p and 720p, when initially launch specs touted it as being 540lines max (ie 1080i)
Also, good luck with advanced pulldown...

thing with hardware is that your restricted to codecs and conformity of files to achieve said results.
It doesnt support DVCProHD or XDCam HD (it can however ingest it )
Edius however, software driven CAN do all this in realtime too.. throw on an SP/NX card and well.. you'll notice the difference..

what happens in 2 years when AVCHD is released and available above HDV?

Im all for hardware, but the Axio would be the only thing i'd consider..

[Jeffrey Fuchs]

Thank you all for all your feedback.

I will definitely look at Aspect HD from Cineform and also Edius, they seems like they are more of a industry standard.

So, with Aspect HD I can get real-time preview on my HD monitor with a Matrox APVe graphic card? I do like the idea of software only product...

...It seems like the people that do have the Matrox RT.X2 really like it. More research is needed...

Jeff

[Peter Ferling]

Jeffrey, Software is where it's at (all the hardware you need is already on the mobo)

I've used both DVStorm and Newtek hardware for SD, and was trapped in a world of dedicated and often archiac editing methods, driver conflicts and limited PC configurations. I've found myself becoming more of an PC expert on solving issues and workarounds vs. editing.

Cineform is dead simple and seemless in PPro. No archiac methods or extra input boxes, no fussing with hardware conflicts. Just capture and edit.

[Graham Hickling]

What the Matrox provides is 3 outputs - dual monitors plus HDTV.

If you are satisfied just 2 outputs - say a large computer monitor plus HDTV - then most any halfway-decent Nvidia card above a 6600GT will give you realtime component output to your HDTV. Personally I use a fanless 7600GS card ($100) and am happy with it.

[Jeffrey Fuchs]

Originally Posted by Graham Hickling

What the Matrox provides is 3 outputs - dual monitors plus HDTV.

If you are satisfied just 2 outputs - say a large computer monitor plus HDTV - then most any halfway-decent Nvidia card above a 6600GT will give you realtime component output to your HDTV. Personally I use a fanless 7600GS card ($100) and am happy with it.

Graham,
Thanks! That is what I was looking for.


Peter,
Thanks for your input; I will probably try the free download of Aspect HD.

Jeff