Broadcast monitoring experience Matrox/BlackMagic

[Jordan Mena]

I’m running the BlackMagic UltraStudio Mini monitor. I had to buy this so I can run FCPX, Premiere, AE, and of course Davinci Resolve (due to Resolve not seeing AJA). For the most part it works fine except once in awhile if I switch NLEs or in and out of Davinci my monitor goes all crazy. Only way to fix is if I quite everything and replug the Thunderbolt from the Mini monitor. If I wasn’t working in Davinci I probably would have bought the Aja T-Tap instead.

Also, if you are changing frame rates in between projects you have to set it inside System Prefs and not inside FCPX. That drove me crazy before I figured that out.

Hopes This helps.

J

[T. Payton]

[Jordan Mena] “Also, if you are changing frame rates in between projects you have to set it inside System Prefs and not inside FCPX. That drove me crazy before I figured that out.”

That is how Matrox works too. I think that is just FCPX.

So does BlackMagic let you do any kind of calibration with your HDMI display?

——
T. Payton
OneCreative, Albuquerque

[Jordan Mena]

I looked into that and found nothing. It was amazingly hard for me to calibrate my HDMI LCD. If you have an easier time let me know.

J

Jordan Mena|Editor|Colorist|Producer
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJitHxgajDS3y4C0gZjH_ZJihqPLHB32p

[John Davidson]

We have two mini-monitors and like them.

John Davidson | President / Creative Director | Magic Feather Inc.

[Oliver Peters]

[T. Payton] “I have used the AJA Io XT with Thunderbolt also (which worked flawlessly) but that is 10x the price and I really just need monitoring.”

Check out the AJA T-Tap.

– Oliver

Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com

[Bret Williams]

I love my BM ultrastudio express. I switched to it after mxo2 mini PCIe, then the thunderbolt adapter. But I needed SDI with occasional analog input. Otherwise the mini monitor would be the way to go. Matrox drivers are a pain in the … But, BM drivers work for all apps. One driver fits all. Plus their tape capture app is decent. I don’t have any trouble switching apps. You might have to quit one to see the other, but no rebooting the device neccessary.

Get the BM for sure.

[Andy Mees]

Hey Tim

Another option with potential value for a general use Thunderbolt (w/MXO2) system is the MXO2 Dock … it’s more expensive at $349, but it adds a general purpose docking station to the Matrox Thunderbolt Adapter … you can think of it as a regular Matrox DS1 Thunderbolt dock with an MXO2 host port tacked on (for an extra $100).

We just picked up a DS-1 for one of our laptops … but I’m wishing we’d ordered up the MXO2 Dock instead.

Cheers
Andy

[Michael Garber]

I have an Ultrastudio Express. If I had it all to do over again, I’d get the AJA Io XT.

Lots of little issues with the BM box. Doesn’t update monitor as frequently when scrubbing. In Premiere, can’t set a master frame rate (like you could in FCP7) – you can do that with AJA and Premiere.

Also there are issues playing 23.98 when monitoring is set to 29.97. Support says they are fixing that one, but couldn’t give me a timeframe.

Michael Garber
5th Wall – a post production company
Blog: GARBERSHOP

[Bret Williams]

Funny, I love that about how it works with premiere. I want it to show everything natively. I always thought that was a problem with legacys setup. I’ve been playing with Premiere lately and found that to be a nice surprise. When I work with AJA on FCP 7′ half the time it won’t even show the viewer on the client monitor. Especially stills. I’ve had matrox and a couple bmd devices on Mac Pro and iMac and I see not difference with scrubbing. Same scrubbing experience with AJA. Scrubbing is scrubbing for me.

I did encounter some problems with 23.98 in a 1080i sequence recently. Renders and export went ok though.

[Michael Garber]

With AJA on Premiere, you get the option to go native or global on the frame rate. I prefer that option. If I am editing in a specific frame rate, I like to see everything in that frame rate when I’m logging and working. For me, there’s a delay on my monitor when it has to change it’s frame rate/sync.

With my Kona 3 and Premiere, playback at 29.97 from all footage seemed to work just fine. No delays and all footage loaded and played out. I know what you mean with FCP7 not doing that correctly with lots of footage.

The issue with 23.98 is when the BMD monitoring is set to 29.97 and you are playing footage from the viewer on FCPX. It just gets it’s wrong. Didn’t have that issue with the Kona 3 or with a Kona 3G card.

Last, I found that scrubbing with a Kona 3G on my iMac (and Tbolt Expansion Chassis) updated skimming as expected. Whereas the Ultrastudio tends to feel sluggish.

Michael Garber
5th Wall – a post production company
Blog: GARBERSHOP