Matrox MXO2 Family of Products – More than just I/O

We recently sent out an email to our customers highlighting the Matrox MX02 products. We try to limit the wordy details in our emails so we decided to post this to give you more information.

Choosing an I/O device for capturing and playing back video on your computer system can sometimes be a little confusing. There are so many solutions out there and with everyone moving to digital workflows, it's important to have a solution that keeps up with today's demands and tomorrow's technology. The MXO2 Family of products will help you accomplish this by providing features that go beyond just I/O.

One of the primary features customers in Post Production and Broadcast seek, is the ability to work on a tower at home and also be able to edit in the field on a laptop using just one box. Matrox solves this dilemma by providing users with an affordable solution that is both Laptop and Desktop compatible.

Video connectivity is very important for several reasons. Sometimes legacy tape material needs to be ingested and digitized. To help with this process, the MXO2 utilizes a 10 bit uncompressed video stream that allows you to up/down/cross convert on the fly while capturing to any codec your system supports. This same uncompressed stream is what allows TV Stations to edit HD or SD XDCAM files on a Mac Book Pro in the field and play them right off the timeline in real-time (no rendering) into the news van's microwave transmitter.

One additional video connectivity feature is the very powerful HDMI output. The Matrox MXO2 features a Monitor Calibration Utility which allows users to edit and color grade confidently on a standard LCD or Plasma display and save a great deal of money over the cost of purchasing a broadcast monitor.

And finally when it comes time to delivering footage and dailies, Matrox offers one of the most powerful tools yet: MAX technology. For customers who need to deliver anything from web based content to iPod videos, the MXO2's available MAX option will help accomplish it FASTER than real time. By using a hardware H.264 accelerator, Compressor and Adobe Media Encoder deliveries can be a breeze allowing users to deliver up to 500% more content.

So whether you have time sensitive projects to complete or just need reliable video connectivity, the Matrox MXO2 offers more than just I/O to help get the job done.

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Avid Further Expands Open Workflow Innovations and Enables Customers to Reduce Editing Time and Costs with New Productivity-Boosting Solutions

Source: Avid.com

Burlington, Mass., 2011-02-15

Media Composer, Symphony and NewsCutter Now Support AJA Io Express Hardware and External Control Surfaces, Expand Avid Media Access and Avid Nitris® DX Capabilities, and Offer New "In-App" Phonetic Searching for Increased Editorial Collaboration

Avid® (NASDAQ: AVID) today underscored its leadership position in open media production solutions with the introduction of new versions of its flagship editing systems—Media Composer® version 5.5, NewsCutter® version 9.5 and Symphony® version 5.5—in response to customer requests for increased third-party hardware support, enhanced "in the box" functionality, and more open, collaborative workflows with added control integration and format flexibility. New features include:

• Support for AJA Io Express input and output interface, offering increased options between accelerated Avid hardware and cost-effective third-party solutions when using Media Composer and NewsCutter systems
• Improved search capabilities and the new Avid PhraseFind powered by Nexidia phonetic searching add-on option to streamline clip and project management, speeding editorial and simplifying the dialogue editing and logging process
• EUCON™ support for integration with Avid control surfaces—Avid Artist Control, Artist Transport and Artist Mix devices—delivering greater flexibility for effects, audio and transport manipulation
• Increased performance with Panasonic AVC-Intra material with the new Avid Nitris® DX AVC-Intra video accelerator
• Native support for Sony HDCAM SR Lite, providing high-quality, file-based media transfer of this popular tape-based format over a GB Ethernet connection to reduce costly deck usage, and increase the workflow flexibility and productivity with this format
• Enhanced Smart Tool functionality for direct transition manipulation within the timeline, enabling "on the fly" editing.

"The new AJA support is paramount and just proves Avid is committed to giving us customers what we’ve been asking for," said Jon Mauldin, director of operations and technology, Fotokem. "Adding support for a third-party hardware device that is so popular with users of other platforms is a direct message about Avid’s open, mixed environment. This started several versions back in Media Composer and continues to expand with the latest iteration bringing even more flexibility and choice."

Increased Hardware and Control Device Support—More Open, Expanded Workflow Options

Media Composer version 5.5 and NewsCutter version 9.5 both support the popular AJA Io Express, a cost-effective video input and output interface. This adds to the previously announced support for Matrox MX02 Mini monitoring hardware (in Media Composer version 5). Editors can also now leverage Artist Mix, Artist Control and Artist Transport control surfaces (formerly from Euphonix) to handle media transport, and audio and effects parameters within Avid editing systems. The fine adjustment controls and physical interfaces (e.g., sliders) of these external controllers are ideally suited for customers working with projects that require extensive audio manipulation.

Additionally, taking advantage of Avid Nitris DX expandability, customers can now benefit from real-time capture and increased playback streams of Panasonic AVC-Intra material, significantly boosting productivity and accelerating workflows with this process-intensive format.

Expanded AMA, Smart Tool and Search Capabilities—Increase Productivity with Streamlined Editorial

New editorial capabilities in Media Composer, NewsCutter and Symphony editing systems include:

• Avid PhraseFind powered by Nexidia add-on: enables better storytelling by instantly finding clips within Media Composer bins using the same Nexidia phonetic indexing engine in Avid ScriptSync®. The new "type-to-find" interface taps indexed audio material—any word or phrase—for expedited retrieval without a script or transcript, accelerating editing across all program types by finding the right take fast
• Sony HDCAM SR Lite format support via Avid Media Access (AMA): provides an innovative workflow, developed in conjunction with Sony, allowing tape-based HDCAM SR material to be handled as files over a GB Ethernet network connection. This offers greater deck efficiency and savings to ease collaborative workflows by streamlining footage into a shared storage environment for content sharing with other editors
• Smart Tool enhancements: bring expanded editorial power within the box, offering direct timeline control of transitions as an alternative to using separate transition tools
• Expert search: improves generic search capabilities, allowing customers to easily find material using text-based searching in fields and across bins on local or shared storage

Additional Features to Meet Customer Needs—Faster Audio/Video Collaboration with Pro Tools Compatibility and Integrated Broadcast Workflows with New Playback Options

• Media Composer is now compatible with Pro Tools® hardware for greater workflow flexibility, including audio capture and monitoring of Media Composer projects through Pro Tools hardware and voice-over recording into Media Composer to enable faster collaboration between sound and picture departments
• New playback options for audio routing and mixing improve broadcast workflows for tighter newsroom and station integration. Broadcasters now have increased flexibility to route audio signals when sending material to air, meeting multiple delivery demands for picture content with a variety of associated audio tracks, such as mono, stereo or surround

Pricing and Availability

• PhraseFind starts at $495 USMSRP, including one language of choice, with further language packs available for $149 USMSRP each. PhraseFind is currently available in U.S. English, U.K. English and Latin American Spanish. Customers purchasing PhraseFind from the Avid store will be eligible for a complimentary upgrade to Media Composer 5.5
• The Avid Nitris DX AVC-Intra accelerator is bundled with new Symphony systems, and also available as a user-installable upgrade to existing Avid Nitris DX hardware customers
• Support customers are entitled to preferential savings and should check with local resellers or Avid Support online.

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