matrox mxo2 mini vs. matrox mxo2 mini max
 

I'm considering one of the two... Is there really a big difference in them?....I will primarily use it for color correction..

You can check the specs on the Matrox site, but I believe the max version has added functionality for accelerated H.264 encoding. If that's useless to you, get the regular one.

Hi Reggie,

As mentioned, the MAX version offers faster than realtime H.264 encoding for Blu-ray, web and mobile device formats. If you do any of these encodes on a regular basis, this is a huge time-saving feature!

Will you be using this on the Mac or PC? Not sure about Mac, but on the PC with CS5, using the MAX version will offer Matrox RT technology to eliminate rendering for Color Correction and a few other things. Again, big time savings with MAX option.

Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers

Yes, the MAX version has h.264 accelleration, but it's only available from specific encoders (Adobe Media Encoder, not sure what else). If you don't need to encode h.264 at realtime, and you don't have one of the supported apps, save yourself $400. I bought one with MAX in HOPES that in the future it might be supported in something I use. I'm not holding my breath.

Perrone you might have a point.....I'm on a Mac using Final Cut Pro....

I'm not sure if Compressor is one of the accelerated apps or not. Check into that first. If it is, and you do a lot of h.264 encoding, then maybe the MAX is worth it. Or maybe, like me, you just don't mind coughing up the extra cash.

yes it supports FCP and Compressor. Same with QT7 which is the engine of Compressor. Works like a champ!

Remember that MAX uses the same "pipe" that the I/O does so if you buy it in the MXO2 BOX, while encoding, you lose the Input/Output capabilities of the MXO2. If you buy the separate MAX encoder PCI-e card and the MXO2 without MAX, you get I/O AND acceleration at the same time. Your call on what you need.

Shaun,
So if I wanted to encode a project and work on another project totally seperat its best to buy the Matrox mini seperate from the Max if I want i/o options?

Reggie: IF you want to encode at the same time as you either monitor or input video using the MXO2, yes, you would be further ahead to purchase the MXO2 and the MAX accelerator card separately. Of course, now you are using 2 of your 4 available PCI-e slots... your call as to whether you can afford to give a second one up...

You also need to realize that using the Max for encoding limits you to its formats and settings for each format. Digitalcontentproducer.com tested the Mini MXO2 w/ Max with Compressor and Adobe Media Encoder, and I believe it was limited to only single pass using variable bit rate. They also compared the quality of Max encoded video to regular software encoding and I think the software produced slightly better quality. You should look for the article to help you decide.

I was at a joint Sony/Matrox roadshow very recently and Matrox showed the opposite results, I BELIEVE as a result of new firmware and software update. If memory serves, the presets are adjustable and I'm PRETTY positive I saw an option for multiple passes using MAX. I'll see if I can dig up my literature...

I'm guessing the MAX option won't increase encoding performance from an H264 format to something else, right? So Canon 7D footage encoded to ProRes, for example, wouldn't get a bump in performance using the MAX option. Is that correct?