Skip to main content
Known Participant
June 19, 2012
Question

Matrox MXO2 Mini and CS6 Windows?

  • June 19, 2012
  • 5 replies
  • 21572 views

I got a Blackmagic Intensity Pro card to monitor the Premiere CS6 timeline, which turned out to have very mediocre performance since half the times I press play the audio lags one second behind the video. So I'm going to return it and get something else, and the next logical choice by price would be the Matrox MXO2 Mini, and there's a promotion running until the end of July to get the Max model $200 off, so I have two questions for those of you who have this kit.

Does it perform as it should with CS6.0.1? Meaning, no A/V sync issues, no lockups, proper video timings sent to the TV set or broadcast monitor, etc.

And, what about the h.264 encoding quality? I keep trying to find anything on it but all I get are results that talk about its features, like it has super fast encoding, but I can't find any reviews on the actual quality of the encoding, and speed means nothing to me if quality can't be as good as encoding with x264 in at least the normal setting.

Thanks,

Sebastian

    This topic has been closed for replies.

    5 replies

    Videowilk
    Known Participant
    June 22, 2012

    I used Axio LE for years with CS4 and CS5 with many stability issues. Since dumping Matrox drivers, it's been a dream. A couple of months ago, I bought a $50 HP USB monitor splitter on a whim with a large project that required having a large space for bins. It has done amazingly well - I have two  22-inch computer monitors, splitting the second monitor with a 37-inch Panasonic LED. Works great. From time to time, I have to wait for USB signal to update, but I am amazed how this has worked. Sorry Matrox, but that $50 adapter was better for me, especially when looking at the $ and stability. Anyone interested in an Axio btw?

    Now that I'm shopping for a CS6 workstation, I'd like to see Adobe release some kind of statement on what is best for folks who want more monitoring options - external box, dual GTXs, or dual Quadros? Any thoughts from our experts?

    Cheers,

    Diane

    Brainiac
    June 22, 2012

    Since dumping Matrox, it's been a dream.

    That was my experience as well.

    New Participant
    June 21, 2012

    Sebastian,

    I have SEVERAL Matrox products, and they all work great.  I have an older "Axio" system, an MXO2 Rack Max, and a DVI Convert Plus.  I believe ALL of these products IMPROVE our efficiency in post production.  I like them so much, that I have told many of my friends who have also purchased Matrox products, specifically the Mini and the LE!  They are all happy as well. 

    I truly believe sometimes things go wrong... it can be set up, it can be hardware/software/drivers, it can be the physical product... People develop a "bad taste" in their mouth over certain products, companies, or experiences.  I'm no different.  However, I can tell you that I have NOT had a "300% drop" in performance of my machine due to adding anything Matrox.  In fact, I'd say quite the opposite...

    Let's say something does go wrong...  One of my buddies was ready to throw the MXO2LE in the garbage because he was convinced it was terrible... "It doesn't work as well as yours..."  I was honestly too busy to help him at that moment but suggested he contact Matrox customer support, as they are quite good at solving problems, and they do so in an expediant manner.  It ended up that HE didn't have HIS SETTINGS properly configured, and that was the issue.  He created conflicts himself.  Now that it's all set up correctly, he's wearing a huge smile.  The guys at Matrox support were able to figure out his problem and get him on track... (He was using the MXO2LE to record files "live" as H.264 files and it was dropping frames... it was due to his codec choice... )

    I agree with the post that the MXO2 line does so much more than provide a secondary monitor.  There is an extensive toolset that comes with the box.  In my case with the Rack... I can still use practically ANY device to get in or out of the system, which is very helpful when editing broadcast masters, as believe it or not, most broadcasters STILL want tape, usually HDCam or HDCam SR for programming. 

    As for the encoding of H.264 material... the Max will change your life.  In our world of post production... time is money.  Money is everything.  Let's not kid ourselves.  The Max feature is beyond fast!  The quality is great.  I don't see a difference between it and what AME does, only it's faster.  We have been able to secure new clients because of our ability to quickly make changes and then post preview videos to clients on the likes of Vimeo or YouTube.  

    The other REALLY cool thing about the MXO2 line is that you can use them in your post facility and on the road.  I travel extensively, and it's great to know that I can take entire projects with me and use the same hardware/software configurations while NOT in my studio.  Matrox are the ONLY company that offer that solution.

    Good luck with your decision.  I think you're on the right track!

    Curt

    Participating Frequently
    June 22, 2012

    Adobe chooses to allow self proclaimed experts to substitute for support that Adobe should be providing. This practice is below my expectations from a leading software company.  Is it a liability issue Adobe worries about or possibly Adobe is being cheap to please investors? Some of these self proclaimed experts can be helpful but at times I find them providing information that is not well researched.  When pressed on a issue there can an unprofessional response that baffles us with obscure information unrelated to the problem being discussed. I am asking Harm Millaard to please elaborate on his Copyrighted Benchmark document that I find very confusing.  What Matrox card and what Matrox software was installed? How was the study conducted?  Are these results scientific and repeatable. 

    I have been doing integration sales, service and support for NLE systems for over 10 years and now find myself on the creative side. There seems to be a  issue with credibility with some of the experts I've done business with in many of the manufacturers support departments. Some manufacturers are no longer in business because they had bad technology and lied about it to cover up their faults.  My recent experience Matrox is with owning the MX02 LE. While there have been problems, finding a solution has been much better than average, Matrox tech support employees do seem to care.  Problems are escalated to higher levels and Matrox employees have stuck with me with telephone support to solve complex installation issues.  Sometimes it was the Matrox drivers but just as often it was Adobe to blame and yes I was the cause of one issue.  Once Matrox identifies the problem they worked hard at finding a fix. Eventually they get it right. 

    Al Mooney a Product Manager, Adobe introduced Premiere CS 6 to the San Jose Adobe users group.  He admitted previous Premiere Pro versions had many faults including not providing enough support to the vendors that support Adobe like Matrox. At this moment, I am having a serious issues with Adobe premiere Pro CS6 tearing video from a Sony EX1.  The Matrox MX02 is NOT the problem and it is very stable with CS6. The good thing is Adobe acknowledges the bug.  So I'll need to revert to CS5.5.2 until it is fixed.

    Known Participant
    June 22, 2012

    nickdbomb wrote:

    Adobe chooses to allow self proclaimed experts to substitute for support that Adobe should be providing.

    I just know that Adobe would benefit immensely from making their own monitoring card, and not being so tied to Nvidia for proper playback. How is it possible that Edius has better real time playback even after adding tons of effects and layout modifications, such as rotation and scale plus 3-way color correction, YUV curves, etc, and still playback in real time, when it doesn't use the graphics card for that at all, only the CPU? And we're talking about a  32 bit application, not even a 64. Premiere is 64 bit and needs a fast Nvidia card with lots of CUDA cores to offer the same kind of playback Edius offers with just the CPU. To me that doesn't make any sense. Even with my GTX570 card and its 480 CUDA cores, Edius still offers better real time on my computer. Can somebody please explain that to me?

    The other thing is that Edius is the most stable NLE or software of any kind I've ever seen. Premiere CS6 is far more stable than predecessors, but I still had some crashes for no good reason. With Edius, I'm surprised if I have one crash per month and usually it doesn't happen that often. But part of that stability is because the same company that makes Edius also makes their monitoring cards, and you cannot use other brands with it.

    New Participant
    June 21, 2012

    Hi Sebastian

    In My Experience you will Benefit Using Matrox 100% as you can Preview Composite, HDMI and Component, Use the external Audio in the Mini with a mixer and take advantage of the Quick and Fast Encoding wit hthe Max Technology inthe Card for H.264 that works Great with Media Encoder, I run in my Studio the Mini with the HD Compress Card in My windows and also same setup for the Mac. If you buy the matrox I sugest you to buy the Longer Cable as it comes with the 90cm Cable sometimes not long enough.

    Also the best thing is if you love the good Color Presets that matrox supplied with the Software they are Fantastic, To boos the power of your machine use an Nvidia card that works Fantastic with premiere pro CS6.

    For preview you can Use a second Monitor with premiere or WYSIWYG from matrox that is Awesome

    Remeber all thos Bench marks have no prove and if you have a goos strong machine and Know how to fully use the software and take advantage of It you will be more than happy

    Best Regards

    Julio César

    New Participant
    June 20, 2012

    Hi Sebastian,

    I do beta testing for Matrox and I can confirm that Mxo2 Mini works just great with CS6 and audio sync problem, if this is your major problem with Black Magic! Btw if you need to fast export H.264 I would suggest you to buy an MXO2 Mini MAX to let you export H.264 for bluray, Iphone, Ipad, Ipod and for internet faster than realtime.

    With MXO2 Mini Max you can capture in H.264 so you will be ready to burn to bluray or upload on the net as soon as you finished your capture.

    MXO2 has a unique HDMI Calibration that let you calibrate your HDMI Monitor and turn your HDMI screen into a professional grade video monitor with the unique Matrox HDMI Calibration Utility.
    The MXO2 works as a streaming device so if you connect any source to the MXO2 it can be streamed on the ned using softwares like Adobe Flash Media Live Encoder...

    So is not just an I/O product is much more... and I think you will not regret you will buy it....

    Btw, much more info the can be found at : http://www.matrox.com/video/en/solutions/adobe/

    Hope this is helpfull for you!

    Regards

    Mark

    Participating Frequently
    June 20, 2012

    Mark Editor wrote:

    I do beta testing for Matrox and I can confirm that Mxo2 Mini works just great with CS6 and audio sync problem, if this is your major problem with Black Magic!

    What do you really mean by saying " and audio sync problems"?

    Known Participant
    June 20, 2012

    "What do you really mean by saying " and audio sync problems"?"

    He meant the audio sync problem I'm having with the BM Intensity Pro.

    Harm_Millaard
    Inspiring
    June 19, 2012

    the next logical choice by price would be the Matrox MXO2 Mini

    Disagree, the next logical step would be not to get any third party card, and especially not from Matrox. It is a pretty sure way to create mysterious errors and it surely degrades disk performance significantly and does not show gains on other aspects.

    Known Participant
    June 19, 2012

    Sorry to state the obvious, but unless you edit video only for the web or for playing in computers, it's absolutely necessary to preview the timeline with a proper monitoring card connected to at least a decent consumer TV set. The second monitor preview in Premiere is useless, especially when editing 1080i.

    Harm_Millaard
    Inspiring
    June 20, 2012

    Harm Millaard wrote:

    Why? It works great if you know the right keystrokes.

    This is what we all need to know. So the better we all know, then Matrox cards will be left for the "doorstop" but since we don't know the right keystrokes, then Matrox cards becomes a priority.


    CTRL + tilde ~