Blackmagic DL HD Extreme 3D vs AJA Kona LHI vs Matrox MX02 Le

Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic DL HD Extreme 3D vs AJA Kona LHI vs Matrox MX02 Le

Posted by Andrew Karczewski on April 29, 2010 at 8:23 am

Hi all,

Like most people in the market for some new capture hardware i waited for the outcome of NAB 2010 and was impressed with all the offerings from Blackmagic. Leaving the Davinci Resolve aside, i was impressed with the new Decklink HD extreme 3D, but now i am a bit unsure as to what will be the best capture card for me to purchase, either

Blackmagic DL Extreme 3D
AJA Kona LHI
Matrox MX02 Le

Basically i am in the market for one of the above and can afford any of them. initially for my needs the 3D capability of DL Extreme is a bit overkill, but the card is future proof and at least for now is required to use the Davinci Resolve.
The Matrox MX02 LE also a good idea, but when truly comparing it to the BM and AJA, the MAX Technology does become a bit of a novelty.

Having read through manufacturers websites and Creative Cow, i am still unsure as to which unit is right for me.

Essentially what i want is a unit that offers:
1) Some RT/final cut pro acceleration (yes for AJA and BM)
2) RS422 control (All 3)
3) The ability to output to a HDTV/HDMI monitor for color grading (Matrox only? i realise all the arguments about getting a pro monitor such as an FSI etc, but i can;t afford that – yet, 4 months time, yes.)

4) The ability to do real time hardware based Up/Down/Cross conversions.
5) Accelerated encoding (Matrox only with MAX? – bit of a novelty)

I mainly work with HD, HDV and the occasional DV project, with that in mind, what does everything think?

Kristian Lam replied 16 years ago 3 Members · 2 Replies
2 Replies

Bob Zelin
April 30, 2010 at 3:04 am

Digital Voodoo 64AV is the way to go.

Bob Zelin
Kristian Lam
May 2, 2010 at 7:21 am

Hi Andrew,

[Andrew Karczewski] “3) The ability to output to a HDTV/HDMI monitor for color grading (Matrox only? i realise all the arguments about getting a pro monitor such as an FSI etc, but i can;t afford that – yet, 4 months time, yes.)
“

So will the HD Extreme card as it has HDMI outputs as well.

[Andrew Karczewski] “4) The ability to do real time hardware based Up/Down/Cross conversions.
“

A yes as well for the HD Extreme 3D.

regards

Kristian Lam
Blackmagic Design

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