Editor's Note: This is an extended version of the review that appears in the March 2009 print edition of DV magazine.

By Ned Soltz

As the production world evolved to easily accessible flavors of HD such as HDV and DVCPRO HD, editors were confronted with the dilemma of how to monitor output without pricey capture cards and dedicated component or SDI monitors.

Matrox came to the rescue with the development of the Matrox MXO, a device that takes DVI output from your Mac’s video card (desktop or notebook) and converts it to frame-accurate, color space-accurate video. This video can be displayed on an Apple 23" display or compatible 23-24" display, which can then be calibrated with color bars through the MXO application. The device also includes SDI output with embedded audio and component/composite output. It will down-res HD to SD on the fly to these SDI and analog outputs. MXO supports output from any Mac QuickTime-based application, including Avid Media Composer 3. It remains the most economical-yet-accurate display solution on the market today.

But what about those who need capture capabilities from HD or SD, analog or digital sources? And what about those who need capture and display capability both in the studio and out in the field? Matrox offered an answer with the introduction of the MX02 at NAB 2008.

Our MX02 test unit fit perfectly in the footprint of my Mac laptop.

The MXO2 is a full capture and output device designed for both PCIe-based Macs and MacBook Pro notebooks. Right out of the box, it includes a PCIe card for desktop computers and an Express/34 card for MacBook Pros. Unlike its competition, the MXO2 is truly field ready owing to its 12V DC option. Power it with any professional battery for four or five hours (cable available at extra charge) and you have a complete field-acquisition unit.

The MXO2 is designed to fit perfectly under a MacBook Pro. This form factor, however, necessitates configuring inputs and outputs on opposite faces of the unit and power, computer and RS-422 connections on one of the sides.

The MXO2 works seamlessly with all Final Cut Studio applications and provides preview in After Effects and Shake as well. It is a true capture card and, unlike the MXO, does not convert DVI to video; it does require a component, SDI or HDMI monitor. HDMI output represents a significant part of the feature set. While certainly not as accurate as a dedicated HD monitor, using even a consumer HDMI HD set still allows viewing in video color space rather than computer space.

And while I’m talking about HDMI, let me mention that MXO2 includes a feature that no other HDMI-output card includes. Put up some color bars in your FCP timeline. In the MXO2 utility in the Mac’s System Preferences, click Calibrate HDMI. You can now calibrate your HDMI monitor using those color bars, including a blue-only mode. This assures as much accuracy as the monitor is capable of delivering. MXO2 also maps to HDMI monitors pixel for pixel. All outputs are simultaneously live. I often find myself monitoring both to SDI and to an HDMI HD set just to get some feel of how the video will actually appear on a consumer television.

Let’s first look at MXO2’s inputs. Video inputs are provided for SDI (HD or SD), Y/C, component, composite and HDMI. The SDI and HDMI inputs recognize up to eight channels of embedded audio. Additionally, there are two unbalanced RCA, two balanced XLR and two AES/EBU audio inputs. Video and audio inputs can be selected independently in the MXO2 control panel.

On the output side of the MXO2 are interfaces for SDI, HDMI, component and Y/C outputs. Up to 12-bit video is supported. It is in audio outputs that MXO2 really shines with its ability to output 5.1 surround. Outputs include four XLR balanced, six RCA unbalanced, two AES/EBU and embedded audio in SDI and HDMI (supporting up to eight tracks).

MXO2 provides an excellent workflow for those who are shooting cameras with HDMI output and want to capture on the fly in FCP to ProRes rather than to an HDV codec. Simply connect the MXO2 HDMI to HDMI and use Capture Now in FCP. Note that this works only on Macs with quad-core processors. MacBook Pros with their duo-core processors cannot capture HD ProRes in real time (but they can capture SD ProRes).

I’ve been testing and using the MXO2 since its beta release, and I’m very pleased at its stability and ease of use. It controls any RS-422-capable deck and with its full range of Easy Set-Ups for Final Cut Pro, capturing from any source as well as outputting to any source is seamless.

MXO2 is strictly a 1920x1080 maximum device. It does not support 2K, nor does it support Dual Link 4:4:4 RGB. While one might potentially fault Matrox for these limitations, realistically, the MXO2 satisfies the needs of the majority of users who work with any format up to HDCAM. I have successfully captured 10-bit uncompressed HD via SDI without dropping frames or experiencing any glitches. Obviously, we’re talking here about capture via a Mac Pro to a very fast RAID 5 storage device. Capture on notebook Macs will be limited to whatever individual drives or arrays will interface through Firewire since the Express/34 slot is in use by MXO2, thus eliminated the possibility of eSATA drives.

It also must be noted that the MXO2 does not up-res SD to HD for acquisition. It does, however, output real-time up-res from SD to HD via SDI or component video. It will pillarbox 4:3 SD and up-res full-frame HD from 16:9 material. The quality of the up-res is quite good, and this is a tribute to Matrox’s years of experience in codec design on the PC side of editing. And, of course, it will down-convert in real time. It also cross-converts 720 to 1080 and vice versa. Again, my experience here has been positive. It correctly displays 2:3:2:3 or 2:3:3:2 cadences or outputs 23.98 timelines to 29.97.

I’ve taken the MXO2 into the field for acquisition via SDI and use it in studio for a variety of I/O scenarios. It’s most useful to have one device that can move between notebook and desktop computers.

The best part of the MXO2 is the price. I can’t think of another portable or desktop unit that delivers what it does for $1,595. There are more expensive options in the marketplace, and if you need real-time HD ProRes 4:2:2 capture in the field, the MXO2 may not be for you. But it meets my needs, not just in terms of price and features but, most importantly, in terms of its quality, stability and dependability.

There are other features I’d like to see, such as a melding of the MXO and MXO2 features with the inclusion of DVI output on the MXO2. No product is perfect, but the MXO2 makes some very important strides in that direction. I strongly recommend it for anyone who needs to acquire video from just about any HD or SD source, edit it in Final Cut Pro, monitor 5.1 surround audio, and deliver in just about any format to just about any device.

Of note, Matrox recently announced a rack-mount version of the MX02.

MATROX MX02

SCORE:

PROS: Portable acquisition and output of virtually every format. 5.1 audio monitoring. Real-time up-res, down-res and cross-conversion. HDMI pixel-for-pixel output with calibration of HDMI monitor.

CONS: No up-res upon acquisition. Does not support Dual Link 4:4:4 or resolutions beyond 1920x1080.

BOTTOM LINE: Strongly recommended for anyone who needs to acquire video from just about any HD or SD source.

MSRP: $1,595

CONTACT: www.matrox.com