Eric Jurgenson
Forum Replies Created
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The RTX2 actually exports considerably faster than real time for standard def, depending on the power of your CPU. On my single Core2 Quad workstation, I get about 4x real time. As to why it is stopping in the middle, I don’t know. You could try importing your project into a non-Matrox project, and render from there to see if the problem is with the RTX2 or something else. The RTX2 export seems about 30-40% faster than the non-RTX2 export on my system.
What are your system specs? -
I’m a director/editor at the Video Workshop in Portland, Maine. We have an Axio HD and an RTX2 system in-house, and have been using Matrox products (DigiSuite and RT products) since 1996 (first on our Inscriber CG in our old 1″ online suite). I am a paid technical consultant for Maine Video Systems, who is a Matrox Gold dealer, also in Portland. I have also been a beta tester for Matrox in the past.
We have been in the production business since 1978. Our projects here run the gamut from TV spots to HD series.
I’m not a Matrox fanboy; I’ve carefully checked out the competition. If I thought we could do better with FCP/Kona, or an Adreneline, that’s what we would edit on. But I don’t.
Frankly I’m amazed that more people don’t appreciate the performance/value of Axio ant RTX2. But if they don’t, that’s their problem. Most people, i understand, aren’t really professional editors. They may do a project here and there, and for them, Pinnacle Studio is all they really need (although they’ll buy FCP anyway to be cool).
For me it’s important to export the DVDs as quickly as possible, so I can move on to something else. Speed is important to me. That’s why I like Matrox.
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If you are formatting the C: drive, use the XP installation disk. It gives you the option of formatting at the beginning of the Windows installation procedure.
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[videoworx] “There is nothing the Axio has that could have made this work process go any faster.”
Did you have to render or export anything? In that case, Axio would have made the process go faster.
[videoworx] “Also, 400MB/Sec is great if you want HD, but the original poster didn’t specify that.”
Who wouldn’t want HD capability these days?
[videoworx] “188MB/sec I get from my (very well ventilated) Dell is more than enough for SD work, and certainly adequate for a couple of HD tracks”
The faster the array, the more tracks you can play back. Dual stram uncompressed HD (with assorted graphics and audio tracks) requires 400 MB/sec. or thereabouts.
Sorry, my mistake. The Dell 690 is certified for the RTX2 and Axio LE, but not for Axio HD, which is a two board set that runs considerably hotter.[videoworx] “For the same price as a fibre-channel RAID 5 Array, you could buy an entire additional video editing system with a slightly slower hard drive. That, in effect, would double your performance.”
Yes, but you’d have to hire another editor.
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I think Cineform’s codec is as good as any of them – DnxHD, ProRes, even Matrox MPEG I-frame. It’s just that any transcoding is going to affect the quality slightly, and the key to maintaining quality is minimizing unnecessary transcoding steps, and using uncompressed codecs if necessary. if you are color correcting, 10-bit will help maintain your effective bit depth. As we all know, multiple transcoding steps, especially using compressed codecs, will rapidly turn HD video to mush.
Matrox’s RTX2 is a unique product – specifically tailored to HDV and P2 editing without a pro deck (HDCAM, D5, DVCPRO HD). There are many people out there who have no intererst in HDSDI or $40K+ tape decks. So a Kona or a Xena card have limited usefulness to them. They just want to shoot, edit, and deliver a Blu-Ray DVD or other digital file on a data DVD. The RTX2 is perfect for them, with software features identical to, and performance close to Axio.
RTX2 software is now on version 3. I suspect, like any card, eventually it will become obsolete. But it just came out last year, and it’s FPGA technology can be upgraded in the field. I’d give it another 4-5 years at least.
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I would suspect that few people with an up-to-date system would be in a position to upgrade to a Matrox card, since their system would be unlikely to meet the Matrox spec.
However, anyone building a new system should seriously consider Matrox. What’s not to like about multi-stream real time native HD file playback, a real-time effects package, and accelerated rendering and export?
Frankly, anyone working in HD, especially HDV and XDCAM HD (long GOP MPEG) should build their system around the RTX2 or Axio LE card. It does so much more than a Xena card, but it’s not that much more money.
I tried Cineform, but I was unhappy with transcoded files. They ate up a lot of disk space, lowered the quality somewhat, and complicated file management. I also had problems with long captures.
I do wish Matrox (or the VideoGuys) would give you a system to check out. As a forum leader, your opinion is highly respected, and you have helped many people here, including myself. Keep up the good work.
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Regardless of what some people say about Matrox, their current boards are by a large margin the best solution for editing with Adobe Production Studio. The features they bring to the table – additional format support, native file format multistream realtime playback, realtime effects package (that works in After Effects as well), accelerated rendering and export, superior breakout box design, in a highly stable system is simply unmatched by any other PC/MAC solution. But you have to build a certified system for it to be guaranteed to work. The reason some people give Matrox a bad rap is that they built their own systems without doing the proper research into what will and what won’t work. The information is on the Matrox website, and Matrox dealers are mandated to stick with certified systems. If you insist on building your own wacky system, (as many people seem to), you will get burned.
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That is if I was editing with Adobe Production Studio CS3.
If I was playing checkers, I’d go with Harm’s rig.
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Not bad, but we’re talking high performance here, and that would require a Matrox card. The Xena LHe is only an I/O card. The 690 would be OK with an RTX2, but the case isn’t well ventilated enough for an Axio card.
Also, you have to remember to back up your video drive frequently. Personally, I feel much more secure with a RAID 5 array; something that exceeds 400 MB/s read speed for Axio. (By the way, that’s megaBYTES, not megabits.)
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If they change over to H.264, what will it play in? QT player? That seems unlikely. The beauty of Flash is that the player can be incorporated into the web site design, and the clips aren’t easily downloadable for later playback (or stealing). Can someone substantiate this?