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Matrox MXO Article
Thanks for a great article Shane. Your timing is impeccable. My JVC CRT monitor went down and there’s a good chance it might be unrepairable. There are a few questions I have about the MXO though – things not addressed in the article.
1. I’m used to using two monitors to edit in FCP. Does using the MXO mean you’d have to re-task one of these monitors from desktop duty to broadcast monitor duty? If so should/could you use another video card dedicated to the MXO so you don’t lose the desktop real estate?
2. I use a Decklink HD Extreme capture card. Any way to input the output of this card into the MXO and use it as a component to DVI converter?
3. Has anyone compared the output of a capture card like the HD Extreme with the MXO’s output on the same monitor (Say a Dell that has component and DVI)?
4. According to Matrox’s website there aren’t many monitors supported by the MXO – Apple’s 20″ (not full HD res.) and 23″ Cinema Display and 2 older Dell UltraSharps. That’s it. Any word on support for the Apple 30″ Cinema Display?
Thanks for bringing this device to our attention Shane. I have a call into Matrox but the guy I talked to needs to talk to a tech to answer these questions . (Why I can’t just talk to someone who knows . . .) I’ll report back.
Tim
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11 Replies
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[Tim Gibbons] “1. I’m used to using two monitors to edit in FCP. Does using the MXO mean you’d have to re-task one of these monitors from desktop duty to broadcast monitor duty? If so should/could you use another video card dedicated to the MXO so you don’t lose the desktop real estate?”
Yes. Unless you get a DVI splitter..which Matrox also makes. They have a dual and a triple splitter. BUT…I have yet to get them to work on my system…so…take that as you may. Another way is to have two graphics cards, but this means that you might lose performance with a RAID card…but I am not sure if that would be an issue, or how two graphics cards would work. If I had this in my system, I’d have to lose one monitor. So I’d save it for the color correction phase, where I really only need one monitor for the tools.
[Tim Gibbons] “2. I use a Decklink HD Extreme capture card. Any way to input the output of this card into the MXO and use it as a component to DVI converter?”
Nope…sorry. The MXO takes a DVI input only. But, if you have the Decklink, just get the HD Link and use that on your Apple monitor.
[Tim Gibbons] “3. Has anyone compared the output of a capture card like the HD Extreme with the MXO’s output on the same monitor (Say a Dell that has component and DVI)?”
Yes…the KONA LH and the MXO on the Dell. I got better control with the MXO, as I could use the BUILT IN proc amp…I couldn’t with the Kona. But, I think the Decklink HD Link has a proc Amp too.
[Tim Gibbons] “4. According to Matrox’s website there aren’t many monitors supported by the MXO – Apple’s 20″ (not full HD res.) and 23″ Cinema Display and 2 older Dell UltraSharps. That’s it. Any word on support for the Apple 30″ Cinema Display?”
That is because the ACD and the dells are a 1:1 pixel ratio. 1920×1200 (so some black on the top and bottom of the screen) shows 1920×1080 rather well. It upscales 720p…or you can leave it 1:1. It would work on the 30″, but not look as good, as it would be scaling.
Shane
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[Shane Ross] “It would work on the 30”, but not look as good, as it would be scaling. “
I don’t think the MXO will work on the 30″ as the MXO is not a dual link DVI passthrough.
Jeremy
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[JeremyG] “I don’t think the MXO will work on the 30″ as the MXO is not a dual link DVI passthrough.”
DOH! Duh…
Shane
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I realize the advantage of going from the mxo to a flat panel.
I have a multibridge extreme that has hdlink built in.But what if you want to feed the mxo component output to a PVM 14L5 for color correcting and monitor?
Surely that works right?
I actually ordered an MXO just to be able to do this, it arrives friday. The system its going into is a multi purpose room that also does pro-tools, but the slots are all full and I thought this would be a great way to get video output since there is 1 dvi port free on the display card.
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[Borjis] “But what if you want to feed the mxo component output to a PVM 14L5 for color correcting and monitor?
Surely that works right?”
I tested that and it works fine. I mention that in the article too. The MXO to a PVM works grand. But since it is as much as a Decklink card…and the MXO is OUTPUT only…you’d be better suited getting a Decklink…get the capture abilities. The MXO is good if you have a laptop or iMac…or DON’T have an HD CRT or HD LCD…and capture all your footage via firewire.
Shane
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[Shane Ross] “But since it is as much as a Decklink card…and the MXO is OUTPUT only…you’d be better suited getting a Decklink…get the capture abilities. The MXO is good if you have a laptop or iMac…or DON’T have an HD CRT or HD LCD…and capture all your footage via firewire.”
Yeah it was really tough buying the mxo instead.
If there was one more darn slot in my g5 dual in that room I would have gone for an aja.Its just a temporary solution (we capture everything in the main edit room and sneaker net the caldigit hdpro from room to room)
until we expand next door and buy a dedicated 2nd editing station. -
Shane,
So do you recommend the HD Link as highly as the MXO? Do you think it could be paired with the 23″ ACD and be used for color correction? The HD Link was a SDi input to DVi so that would couple great with the Decklink HD Extreme. No need to give up a DVI port on the Graphics card too and I am running a RAID so the issue with adding an additional graphics card and slowing down the bus would be averted too.
Thanks for the insight.
Tim
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[Tim Gibbons] “So do you recommend the HD Link as highly as the MXO?”
I really can’t because I don’t have any experience with it. I do know that the image it produces is nice (seeing this at NAB and IBC in their booth), and I am TOLD that it too has a blue only option in it’s software drivers, but I haven’t laid my hands on one to test. This, of course, only works if you have a capture card with HD SDI out…but then if it did work you could save your dough on an HD LCD.
Black Magic doesn’t make any claims that this indeed works. When I asked them at IBC (in Sept) they indicated that it was for reference only, not accurate for color correction.
Shane
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Thanks Shane,
Good information to know. Matrox never got back to me yesterday. I’ll check into the HD Link with Blackmagic today.
Tim
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I have an HD Link. They are built in to the multibridge product line.
They do not offer any kind of accuracy for color correction.
I still can’t see how the MXO could be used for color correction when todays LCD’s can’t do accurate contrast, but I have one coming in today so I guess I’ll see.You will notice the sharpness of HD mapped 1:1 pixel for pixel though. Its a great solution if you don’t have an HD monitor and you work on HD projects.
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