Frustration with MXO and EX1 footage
 

I've got the MXO driving an external 23"ACD. (For the record, OS 10.5.6, Nvidia 8800, 8-core xeon, QT 7.5.5, FCS 6.0.5)

I'm finally starting to work (trying to) with EX1 footage and the MXO connection is not working, or rather, works intermittently. The symptom is that video does not play from the timeline or viewer or canvas - the playhead does not advance the picture does not move, though audio is playing (but not thru MXO, only level meters are moving). After reinstalling the latest MXO update ("force update") it worked for an evening and then today does not work.

I suspect that there is some magic combination of sequence settings, clip settings and the right MXO version of "video playback." I am shooting 1080p24 (35Mbps vbr).

I would love to hear from someone using the MXO and this format of footage exactly what settings are necessary for both the sequence "preset" and the "video playback." I may just have a defective MXO, but the fact that it works sometimes is the most irritating!

Check your Video Playback frame rate. Normally when it won't play it's because you have it set, for example: 30p when you should have it set for 29.97p. I don't know off the top of my head what 24p should be. Maybe 23.97p? Try switching to different 24p frame rates (you should only have 2 choices), I bet that will fix it.

Here's what I do in FCP to setup to play to an external monitor:

1) Go to Easy Setup and choose XDCAM EX 1080 24P (35mb VBR). This will set everything up for correct play back of your footage EXCEPT the Video Playback setting. (your sequence settings will be correct, etc...)
2) Go to Audio/Video Settings and set Video Playback to your Matrox 1080 24p setting. NOTE: This is where you should try both the 24p and the 23.97p setting and see which works for you.

That should do it! :) (hope that works!)

MXO "secret" to working right with FCP
 

I have solved the problem, thanks to various folks with good advice, including Matrox and Ken Stone.

As you state, Mitchell, setting it up that way is the best. However, the piece that was causing the frozen video in the canvas and viewer is this. You have to check, that is, enable "Mirror on desktop" under Settings in FCP.

Normally, you would use this to use a "plain DVI monitor" to simply view the footage on an external device. But this does not support any kind of color calibration, so I assumed it was the wrong setting. However, if you are driving that DVI display THRU the MXO, the MXO is what gives you the color calibration / proc amp settings and all is good.