With the RT.X2, Matrox brings users real-time preview capabilities for editing HD, HDV, and SD in the same timeline. Like its SD-only predecessor, the RT.X100 ("Real-Time DV Editing Boards," Jan. '03 DV), the RT.X2 blends onboard hardware horsepower, the graphics chip of the host unit's display card, and the processing power of the host CPU to create real-time preview of effects, transitions, and composites.

Click To Enlarge The RT.X2 blends onboard hardware horsepower, the graphics chip of the host unit's display card, and the processing power of the host CPU to create real-time preview of effects, transitions, and composites.

The RT.X2 consists of a full-length PCI-Express (PCIe) board and a compact breakout box. Because the unit depends on the host CPU and graphics processing unit (GPU) for part of its real-time processing power, the board must be installed in an approved host computer with a PCIe motherboard and two processing cores-either a single dual-core processor or two single-core processors. I tested the RT.X2 in a PC outfitted with two dual-core AMD Opteron processors, a Gigabyte GA-2CEWH motherboard, 4 GB RAM, and an ATI X1800XT graphics card with 512 MB. Two 250 GB Serial ATA (SATA) drives in a RAID-0 configuration handle the system's video storage. Matrox estimates the RT.X2's host machine costs $2,451, but you can assemble a host machine with approved components for less than $1,500. The RT.X2 uses Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0 (included with the product package) as its editing application.

Connections

Judging from the RT.X2's breakout box, Matrox is clearly targeting a below-pro customer base. The box features a full-size IEEE 1394 (FireWire) port, but all other audio and video connectors are RCAs. The box lacks balanced XLR I/Os for audio and also requires an adapter for Y/C video input or output. Although the video connectors are not really an issue, some folks will find the lack of XLR audio a serious problem. Users have no option for higher-end connectivity such as SDI or HD-SDI. To get professional I/O connections, you'll have to bump up to Matrox's $4,495 Axio LE hardware. (See Reviews, Jan. '06 DV.)

Features

HDV editors have long faced difficulties in obtaining full-resolution preview from the timeline. The RT.X2 solves this neatly by offering a variety of display options. You can preview SD video in component, Y/C, or composite, and you can output HD in component or display it directly on an HDMI-compatible monitor via a DVI connector. In addition to previews from the Premiere Pro timeline, the RT.X2 includes plug-ins for real-time previews from Photoshop and After Effects. If you do a lot of HD work in After Effects, real-time previews may be worth the entire price of the RT.X2. The ability to see a full-resolution, pixel-for-pixel display from the After Effects composition timeline is stupendous, especially for critical applications such as bluescreen compositing or color correction. The preview output is easily switchable between HD and SD and 16:9 or 4:3 aspect ratios. The live display to an HDMI monitor, an intriguing option, provides pixel-for-pixel display of full 1080 video for a relatively low price.

The RT.X2 ships with a good assortment of hardware-accelerated effects and transitions. Although the system does a pretty snappy job playing back many of Premiere's stock transitions and effects, the proprietary Matrox effects allow more robust real-time playback. The precise timeline load your system will be able to play back without rendering will vary depending on CPU speed, memory, and so on. You can count on being able to play back two streams of HDV (one with color correction plus a title or move or scale) without difficulty on even a base-level approved machine. Obviously, the more computing horsepower, the more effects and layers you can pile on.

Some editors will be very happy with RT.X2's more flashy features, while other users may never use them. The Matrox chroma key filter performs better than the stock Premiere version (that's not saying much!), but it lacks the ability to choke or soften edges, and it does not appear to up-res chroma from undersampled sources such as HDV and DV. This seems like an oversight in a contemporary system promoted for editing DV and HDV material.

Click To Enlarge The RT.X2 breakout box features a full-size FireWire port, but all other audio and video connectors are RCAs.

Conclusions

For those working primarily in SD DV, the RT.X2 performs snappily and has fairly deep real-time playback. But as with the previous incarnation, you won't be able to export a project without rendering, no matter how well it plays back from the timeline. The RT.X2, like the RT.X100 (as well as the company's RT.X10), is a real-time preview device only. DV projects, nevertheless, should import and export quite smoothly to any common DV device. The unit allows you to mix SD and HD footage on the same timeline and has automatic scaling to match output.

The system does not bear quite as much joy on the HDV side. Although you can capture and export all normal flavors of HD and HDV via the component connectors using Matrox's proprietary MPEG-2 codec, FireWire output is fairly limited. The newly released v2.0 Matrox Video Tools software, which allows 720p projects, can capture from the JVC HD100 camera. However, users cannot export 720p projects at all; they must convert the projects to 1080i for export. While Matrox points out that this is in part a limitation of Premiere, other manufacturers have found 720p export workarounds. FireWire export to the Canon XL-H1 camcorder is not possible, though again, this appears to be an issue with Premiere rather than the Matrox product. JVC HD100 and Canon XL-H1 owners may find these limitations unacceptable. The RT.X2 appears to export to Sony HDV camcorders with no problem.

All in all, the Matrox RT.X2 functions as a top-notch, semipro display and preview device for both SD and HD projects. For some folks, it may be the ideal device. For others, particularly JVC HD100 and Canon XL-H1 owners, there are drawbacks. The real-time full-resolution preview is excellent, however, and may outweigh the drawbacks for many users.