Matrox MXO2 Mini is the Missing Link in Your Tapeless Editing Workflow!
 

Matrox MXO2 Mini is the Missing Link in Your Tapeless Editing Workflow!

Regardless of what tapeless formats you shoot on (P2, XDCAM, AVCHD, DSLR or H.264): what platform you use (PC or Mac, Workstation or Laptop) what NLE you edit with (Apple Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere Pro or Avid Media Composer) the MXO2 Mini is the perfect HD monitoring solution for you. No other hardware is as powerful, flexible, portable or affordable.

With the Matrox MXO2 Mini you can monitor your timeline in full HD resolution on a flat screen HDTV via HDMI or component video. Matrox's exclusive monitor calibration utility lets you turn your off-the-shelf HDTV into a professional broadcast monitor suitable for color correcting and color grading. Using the Matrox MXO2 Mini as a preview output to an HDMI monitor allows you to use your workstation to spread your workspace over multimple computer monitors. The MXO2 Mini provides an additional full resolution HD output to your workflow. If you edit on a laptop, the MXO2 Mini gives you the same ability to output your timeline in full HD.

For under $500, the Matrox MXO2 Mini is the MUST HAVE hardware for your
Adobe, Avid, or Apple editing suite.


If your workflow requires SDI connections for integration with broadcast level gear, the Matrox MXO2 LE is simply the best SDI I/O solution on the planet for under $1,000! You get all of the features of the MXO2 Mini plus additional SDI and XLR I/O.

Videoguys Blog - Matrox MXO2 Mini is the Missing Link in Your Tapeless Editing Workflow!

Gary

Gary,
The mini looks interesting. I like the additional analog capture options.Does this support Sony Vegas?
Thanks,
Ken

i think i would be interested in the MAX technology aspect also.
it is faster than Compressor, but are the results significantly better (specifically for HDV to SD-DVD)?

Unfortunately mini does not support Vegas

Not only is the max h.264 encoding faster then realtime. The image quality is outstanding

Gary

I'm very happy to hear you say this. We'll see how it works with Avid MC5...

I really wish Sony Vegas Pro had some hardware support like this. Any chance that is coming from Matrox or someone else?

I wouldn't hold my breath. Many are hoping Vegas 10 opens the door to a lot of new things, like GPU acceleration and other modern things. But I had to move on.

Can this scan convert MBP output to component, say for instance I can output a PPT to projector or LCD display? I specifically need component output as we have distribution/amplifier & 60ft cabling that is all component.

the mxo2 mini is not a scan converter at all. if you require scan conversion, check out the Matrox Convert DVI. It is a fantastic HD scan converter. We have some really big name broadcasters using it to put web video, youtube, Skype, computer generated graphics and more on Air & Cable.

Videoguys.com - Matrox Convert DVI

Gary

Thanks Gary - is there a HDMI/SDI IN/OUT product that does the following:

1. HD HDMI and/or component OUTPUT for FCP monitoring
2. HD-SDI input for prores 422 (HQ) capture
3. component output from MBP 17" (expresscard34) of the Finder or PowerPoint so we present PPT presentations.

Matrox MXO2 Mini is the Missing Link in Your Tapeless Editing Workflow!
 

Hi Gary & Gang! My question is: If someone purchases an I/O device, do you also then need a high powered graphics card onboard your computer, or does the I/O eliminate that need? I've been studying all these gadgets and was leaning toward the MXO2 Mini. Some of the high end GPU cards are quite expensive and I'm trying to weigh where I should make the investment--with dollars always being tight.

Thanks for the collective feedback!

TW

They serve different purposes. The Matrox mini drives your monitor. Rendering still goes through the card. Very different tasks.

To be a bit more specific, the MXO2 mini drives an external tv monitor. It also provides good calibration tools so you can do more accurate color matching, adjustments, and grading. It seems to work pretty well with Avid MC5 and does a great job (at least for me) with PPro CS5. The video card accelerates some effects, filters and the like during playback and enhances rendering of some (but not all) effects and transitions. So when Perrone says these are different functions, they are.
Do you need an expensive (i.e. Quadro) card? Maybe yes, maybe not for PPro CS5. Probably a good idea with MC5, although you can get by without one. I manage with a GTX 260 rather than a Quadro. This has nothing to do with external monitoring through an MXO2 Mini, however.

Is use of the MXO2 Mini absolutely seamless? Not exactly. But what is?

Number 1 for me is that for those of us who have both CS5 and MC5, the MXO2-Mini uses different and incompatible versions of the drivers for the two programs. CS5 needs the Matrox 3.0 drivers while MC 5 uses the 2.2 drivers. There doesn't seem to be a way (yet) to use the MXO2 mini with both programs under the same Win 7 installation.

Additionally, there are quirks with multi-cam editing under PPro CS5. For me with an I7/920 - GTX 260 system, the MX02 Mini works with 3 AVCHD streams in my multi-cam sequence but not 4 AVCHD streams. When I need to work with 4 AVCHD streams, I either have to convert the camera streams to Cineform intermediates (NeoScene or NeoHD) or else I have to use one of Adobe's AVCHD presets without external monitoring via the MXO2 mini. If you can live with those limitations (I can), you'll probably find that the MXO2 mini is very much worthwhile. I should note that this is just an issue with PPro CS5's multi-cam window. video plays fine from the timeline and to external monitors. It is only the four-way multi-cam window itself that has trouble. Use Adobe's AVCHD sequence presets and there is no problem.

I should mention that I bought my MXO2 mini from videoguys and think highly of the service I have received. If that counts as bias, so be it.

So is this just a monitoring device? Or can you capture to the formats listed on that page. Being able to capture to AVC-Intra would be awesome for keying.

Daniel --

Not sure what you are asking here, What page of formats are you referring to?

Also, are you asking about something other than the MXO2 Mini we have been discussing?

I'll give a shot at an answer if you meant to ask about the Mini.

The MXO2 Mini is a monitoring device with two capture options for HD video: analog-component or HDMI. If you have AVC-Intra cams with HDMI output, it seems like you could output AVC-Intra through the Mini.

Not sure what you meant by "capture." I thought AVC-Intra was recorded to P2 cards. Wouldn't it be easier to move the P2 files to your media drive and edit or transcode to Pro Res or whatever from there?

Or did you mean taking a live, uncompressed feed from a camera sensor through HDMI directly to a computer? If the Panny AVC-Intra cams will send an uncompressed sensor signal out the hdmi, you can use a Mac to capture it to Pro Res. On the PC, however, the MXO2 Mini converts the signal to Matrox MPEG2 which does not seem to be what you are after.

PRO CS5 with a Matrox MXO2 Mini does have sequence presets for AVC Intra 100 and AVC Intra 50. This means that once you get the AVC-I footage into PPRO, the MXO2-Mini and PPro CS5 will display AVCI 100 and AVCI 50 footage from the to an external tv monitor. Not having tried it, I can't say how well that works or how easy or hard it will be to edit with AVCI/100 or AVCI/50.

But maybe you were asking about an MXO LE or something else in the Matrox line?

re: testing on mxo 2 mini with max
 

I look at the encoding speed comparisons vs with Compressor using a local quick cluster so that all/most CPUs are used and wonder, what would have happened if the Mac Pro they used for the test actually had 8 to 16GB of RAM like real video editing machines do so that each core could have enough RAM to do its job effectively? Seems like an unrealistic test designed to hurt Compressor+quick cluster's results.

Sure mxo 2 mini max would be a monster timesaver for laptop users who need to encode h264 a lot and want better quality than that USB stick encoding accelerator. And it'll be nice for those who want the accurate monitor for color correction. Note that not all monitors play nice with all frame rates though.

There are costs besides the substantial money too. Note that the mxo 2 mini uses up the laptop's expresscard slot one might want to use for reading SxS cards or more likely connecting an external RAID drive while editing (though you could use FW800 on a MBP). Also if it works just like an MXO, and your external monitor switches between being used as your main/second editing screen and a video playback screen, be prepared for a couple seconds wait with each changeover.

Also check out the comment from last year over at the B&H reviews for it about it not automatically creating a keyframe at scene changes (cuts) like compressor does. Did they fix that yet?

By the way if you do go look at the B&H reviews someone complains about matrox support there and I have to disagree, my experiences with Matrox support for an MXO were excellent.

Some very fair comments. I just wanted to make you aware of the imrpvements MAtrox has made witht he 2.0 drivers which are now available:

Matrox MAX Technology 2.0 for Mac Delivers H.264 Video up to 500% Faster Without Sacrificing Quality

Montreal, Canada – July 14, 2010 — Matrox® Video Products Group today announced the immediate availability of Matrox MAX Technology 2.0 for Matrox MXO™2 I/O devices and the Matrox CompressHD card for Mac. Matrox MAX 2.0 for Mac is a unique technology that implements faster than realtime H.264 encoding for resolutions ranging from iPod to HD. It uses a dedicated hardware processor to accelerate the creation of H.264 files for the web, mobile devices, and Blu-ray. 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 and support for other applications on the Mac such as Telestream Episode, Final Cut Pro and QuickTime Pro through the QuickTime codec component.

The key feature of this release is the addition of many new control parameters such variable bit rate, constant quality, scene detection, noise filtering and many more, that let users optimize encoding speed and video quality. Web video publishers, in particular, will appreciate the ability of Matrox MAX 2.0 to deliver superb quality video at low bit rates.

"Video professionals delivering H.264 content for the web, iPad, iPhone, iPod, or Blu-ray discs, know how painful it can be to wait for the long encoding times needed to create high-quality video files using software only," said Wayne Andrews, Matrox product manager. "They might even be tempted to sacrifice quality for speed. With Matrox MAX 2.0, they no longer need to even consider making that trade off."
Key features of the Matrox MAX Technology 2.0 for Mac

* Faster than realtime creation of H.264 files, for resolutions ranging from iPod to HD
* A specialized, dedicated hardware processor liberates system resources for other tasks
* Accelerated encoding for Blu-ray, Apple TV, YouTube, Flash, web formats, and mobile devices including iPad, iPhone, and iPod from various video sources including SD, HD, and RED proxy files up to 2K
* Direct integration with Apple Compressor to simplify workflow
* Support for Telestream Episode, Final Cut Pro, and QuickTime Pro through the QuickTime codec component
* Customizable encoding parameters including VBR, CBR, constant quality, scene detection, noise filtering and many more
* Creation of Blu-ray H.264 files that can be authored in Apple Compressor, Adobe Encore, and Roxio Toast then burned without re-encoding
* Support for Apple Qmaster to take advantage of multiple systems with a Matrox MAX processing engine for distributed encoding across a network

Price and availability
Matrox products are available through a worldwide network of authorized dealers. The 2.0 release for Mac is available to registered users of Matrox MXO2 devices and Matrox CompressHD cards as a free download from the Matrox website.


As you can see, Matrox is not standing still on MAX. They continue to improve the features and performance. At IBC they have made 2 more announcements that Will make MXO2 family and MAX even stronger!!

Matrox Announces Vetura Capture Application – a Powerful Complement to Adobe Premiere Pro CS5, Apple Final Cut Pro 7, and Avid Media Composer 5

Montreal, Canada – August 5, 2010 — Matrox® Video Products Group today announced Matrox Vetura Capture for Mac OS X, a stand-alone capture software application compatible with the Matrox MXO2 family of I/O devices. Matrox Vetura Capture lets users quickly and easily capture QuickTime files using popular codecs installed on their editing systems. With Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 the Matrox MPEG-2 I-frame codec and Apple Uncompressed formats are supported. With Final Cut Pro 7, ProRes, DVCPRO HD and other popular Final Cut Pro codecs are supported. With Avid Media Composer 5, the Avid DnX, DnXHD, and other popular Avid Media Composer codecs are supported.

"Matrox Vetura Capture enables new on-set workflows when used with a Matrox MXO2 device and a Mac Pro equipped with a Matrox CompressHD H.264 encoding accelerator card," said Wayne Andrews, Matrox product manager. "While recording XDCAM EX, P2, or RED footage as usual, users can also feed the output of their camera through their Matrox MXO2 device and capture directly into H.264 .mov files using Matrox MAX technology that is built into the CompressHD card. Dailies are immediately available as low bit rate, manageable-sized files for delivery to the client."

"We're continuing to add value to the Matrox MXO2 product line," said Alberto Cieri, Matrox senior director of sales and marketing. "With Matrox Vetura Capture we have started to implement our vision of expanding the capabilities of Matrox MAX technology beyond simple H.264 export acceleration."

Matrox Vetura Capture will be demonstrated at IBC 2010 in Amsterdam, September 10-14, on the Matrox stand 7.B29.

Availability
Matrox products are available through a worldwide network of authorized dealers. The Matrox Vetura Capture application for Mac will be available in release 2.1 to registered users of Matrox MXO2 devices as a free download from the Matrox website in October 2010.

Matrox Announces Adobe Creative Suite 5 Production Premium Support on Matrox MXO2 Family for MacBook Pro and Mac Pro

Montreal, Canada – August 5, 2010 — Matrox® Video Products Group today announced support for Adobe Creative Suite 5 Production Premium software with Matrox MXO2 I/O devices for Mac OS X. The key features of this new release include professional audio and video input and output with 10-bit hardware up/down/cross conversion and HDMI video monitoring with the unique Matrox calibration controls including blue-only. In addition, WYSIWYG support for Adobe Photoshop and After Effects is also provided.

"Users of file-based workflows will love the built-in color calibration tools on the MXO2 devices that turn their inexpensive HDMI displays into professional-grade HD monitors they can trust, even for color grading," said Wayne Andrews, Matrox product manager. "When they need to capture from analog or SDI sources, we have them covered too, with the new Matrox Vetura Capture application and the high-quality, highly-efficient Matrox MPEG-2 I-frame intermediate codec."

"This release rounds out the Matrox MXO2 cross-platform story," said Alberto Cieri, Matrox senior director of sales and marketing. "We are the only I/O hardware manufacturer that can claim support for the three most popular professional editing applications: Adobe Premiere Pro, Apple Final Cut Pro, and Avid Media Composer."

The entire family of Matrox MXO2 devices will be demonstrated at IBC 2010 in Amsterdam, September 10-14, on the Matrox stand 7.B29.
Key features of the Matrox MXO2 family for Mac with Adobe CS5 Production Premium

* Convenient form factors for use in studio, on set, in the field, and in OB vans
* Works with MacBook Pros and Mac Pros
* Broadcast quality HD/SD video and audio input/output
* Flexible support for leading codecs, file formats, cameras, and workflows
* Matrox Vetura Capture application for fast capture to HD and SD codecs – highly-efficient Matrox MPEG-2 I-frame at up to 300 Mb/s and Apple Uncompressed
* Matrox Vetura Playback application for convenient playback of H.264 and .mov files
* Extensive application support including Adobe Premiere Pro, Photoshop, and After Effects
* 10-bit HDMI input, output, and monitoring with calibration controls including blue-only
* 10-bit realtime hardware up/down/cross conversion on capture and output
* Three-year hardware warranty and complimentary telephone support

Availability
Matrox products are available through a worldwide network of authorized dealers. Adobe CS5 support for the Matrox MXO2 devices for Mac (release 2.1) will be available to registered users as a free download from the Matrox website in October 2010.

Matrox has also announce a customer loyalty program that can save RTX or Axio owners up to $500 on an MXO2 with MAX Videoguys Blog - Matrox Loyalty Discount Program

Gary

Tutorial on calibrating monitor
 

Hey Gary,

What I would LOVE to see is a tutorial on how to properly calibrate your Dell 24 LCD or equivalent using the Matrox MXO2 mini (or equivalent).

I've tried it several times and I just never have real 'confidence' that it's calibrated correctly.

Are there monitor settings that need to be taken into consideration along with the adjustments you can make?

Thanks

Jim

What *I* would love to see is 720/24p in Avid...

i would also be really interested to see this!

Matrox Mini vs. Second Monitor
 

I'm trying to figure out if the mini will make my life better and am interested in hearing some opinions. Here's my scenerio:

Using FCP on an iMac 27" I7. Editing HDV. Output is to wide screen SD-DVD. I have no problems with my set-up and work flow but, I do want to get a second monitor so I can see my canvas larger. I was planing to get the new 27" cinema display when it becomes available. Now after reading about the mini, I'm wondering if the mini and an HDTV is a better way to go.

Which would be a better way to go and why?

Thanks.
--JL

Maybe I just don't understand enough about FCP (and that is ENTIRELY possible) but I don't see how the mini would have anything to do with your "canvas". It's great for driving a confidence monitor, or a client monitor, but won't extend your computer display at all.

Perrone,

I realize the mini is not a second monitor and doesn't extend my desktop. I just need to see my output larger without constantly resizing windows. I know I can do this with a second monitor but reading about the mini I was thinking it might offer some additional features that might speed things up.

It may be a moot point as upon doing further research, I'm not sure the mini can connect to an iMac.

Ahhh gotcha... I was thinking you were trying to drag a window to it. But yea, if you're just trying to see a full sized screen of it, I see what you're saying. I guess the iMac doesn't have too many connections or slots eh?

Yeah the iMac lacks expansion options (thanks Steve) but still is a hell of a computer for the money. There is an express card 34 to USB adapter available which would connect the laptop version of the mini to an iMac. But, I'm skeptical as to whether the lower throughput of USB would be a problem with the mini.

No way USB can handle the speed of uncompressed video... that's a bad option.

From further research, the original Matrox MXO will work with an iMac but it's twice the price of the mini.

The $449 Matrox MXO2 Mini would handle item 1.

The $995 Matrox MXO2 LE would handle items 1, 2.

The $995 AJA IO Express would handle items 1, 2 and 3. (edit, only the AJA Kona card handles 3)

For Josh's iMac, your only expansion connection for HD Video IO would be Firewire 800 which limits you to a couple of options:

AJA IO Io - AJA Video Systems
MOTU V4HD MOTU.com - V4HD Overview

Hopefully soon we'll soon USB 3.0 on the Mac then you can use a Blackmagic Intensity Shuttle at $188.05!


and Jim, this tutorial I made might help you calibrate your HDMI monitor a bit.

Not according to AJA, I sent them my enquiry, they replied thus:

Mark,

You're correct, before responding I had called a tech and both of us assumed that the AJA control panel was like the Kona where you can display the desktop. My apologies for the confusion. I wonder if we could get Jon Thorn (AJA Product Manager and dvinfo.net member) to chime in on why it's not a "feature" on the IO Express.

Hey Gary (bettan),
I am interested in the MXO 2 mini I just recently started using Premiere 5 over Edius the question I have is I have a Black Magic intensity pro right now and I am having stability issues. I am looking for a monitoring solution that doesnt integrate itself into the software that much. Like needing a plug-in to work for me that seems to be where the instability starts. Also with this Maxx encoder will work out of Encore? or just Premiere?

I'm going to assume you mean Premiere CS5. We ahve found the Matrox MXO2 new drivers are very stable with CS5.

The MAX technology only accelerates H.264 encoding for blu-ray or web.

The MAX does now unlock additional realtime features in CS5. check it out here in our FAQ in the newly updated CS5 section

Videoguys Blog - Videoguys' FAQ: Matrox MXO2 Family of Products

Gary

yes I did mean CS5, so when you edit do you need to pick a special preset? or just like in my case DVCpro HD 1080i 29.97? Or do I need to use a "plug-in" preset like Matrox MXO DVCpro HD? or something like that?

you select one of the Matrox pre-sets

oh bummer...does it have a preset for DVCpro HD? How does Premiere's mult-cam function work with it? thats a big feature for me that doesnt seem to work with my BM card. Also not to change the topic but have you had much luck editing AVCHD native?
Sorry for all the questions but im not one of those people who buys something and then sends it back. I like to make sure its what I want first.

Randy:

Your ability to muti-cam edit native AVCHD under CS5 depends on your hardware. I do multi-cam editing of AVCHD with PPro CS5 with two computer monitors while using an MXO2 mini to feed a third, external monitor. My system is basically a Videoguys DIY7 recipe set-up except that I'm using a GTX260 video card.

Right now, I'm editing an outdoor wedding that I shot with six cameras: four for the ceremony, one on the musicians and one placed inside the building to catch the preliminary and "behind the scenes" stuff. For the main ceremony views I used three AVCHD cams (NX5 & two CX550vs) and an HDV cam (FX1000). The other two cams were HDV). The ceremony timeline is roughly 30 minutes long. I use the Matrox HD 1920x1080/60i preset in Premiere. I have multi-cammed the four "ceremony cams" and use the other two tracks for cutaway shots and audio for when the musicians played. Three of the ceremony cams are native AVCHD. Does this answer your question about using the Matrox presets for external monitoring with native AVCHD?

There are some quirks. When I've got four tracks of AVCHD to mutli-cam with a timeline of any length, things can start bogging down pretty quickly. So, I do one of three things. First, I do the multi-cam edit using a PPro AVCHD preset and then, when I've got a rough-cut, drop that sequence into a new Matrox sequence to do all the externally monitored fine tuning, color corrections, extra cut-aways, etc. Or, I use Cineform to convert to intermediates, kind of like using Canopus HQ with Edius. Or, I just pull the cursor through the multi-cam timeline with the mouse making the cuts visually to make the rough cuts.

Second, when I have three or more AVCHD tracks in a multi-cam sequence and I hit the play button in the multi-cam window (as opposed to hitting the space bar or the play button for the main editing window, all four multi-cam panes get horizontally squished to about half their normal width. (This is another place where, if I want to view the four multi-cam windows playing in real time, I'll use a PPro AVCHD sequence preset.)

On my system, at least, there is no Matrox Preset specifically for DVCPro HD just as there is no specific preset for AVCHD. I think you use just use the appropriately proportioned HD preset -- 1920x1080i, 1440x1080 etc. The MXO2 Mini is supposed to handle DVCPro HD and I believe it can even capture in that format. (Gary might be able to better answer that.)

Thanks for the response. I have a i-7 920 and I havent had much luck editing native although I dont have a MPE video card. I dont do many effects anyway. It plays o.k. but it freezes a lot when scrubing even with one track. so I just convert, I just want a stable way to monitor the video.

It is stable on my system and works pretty well (subject to the quirks noted above. I started this with CS4. I've found it much easier with CS5. Using an MPE enabled GTX260 seems to help a lot.. Monitoring Cineform conversions (I use NeoHD but NeoScene will also work) seems the easiest for longer timelines and going with four or more video tracks.

Steve Kalle has posted about using a calibrated Eizo or Dreamcolor monitor rather than feeding out via an MXO2Mini to a tv because PPro CS5. Apparently, CS5 has the capacity to feed color accurate video to a second monitor screen. Steve's set up --- monitor, Quadro card and calibration software --- is probably more accurate than an MXO2 Mini set up but it is also a lot more expensive than my budget allowed. My set-up works fine for as much critical monitoring as I and my customers need. If you have a bigger budget, you might search for Steve's posts on this.

Oh, and one other thing about your system. Are you using an ASUS motherboard in your I7/920 system? I'd suggest that you try going into the BIOS and switching on the AI tweaker program and putting it on auto. It seems to give you some automated overclocking combined with monitoring that keeps things from getting too hot.

Randy

I see that you and Randall Leong have been discussing in another thread that you have only 6g of RAM. I second his recommendation to get another 6g. The hardware MPE can help with playback but more RAM will help with the software MPE.