The MXO2 LE with MAX (Thunderbolt) from Matrox is a device designed to provide all the features of an I/O card in a sturdy, portable breakout box. It's got connections for both professional audio and video, including an input and output each for HD HDMI, component video, composite video, and Y/C (S-Video); for audio, there's dual XLR ins and outs as well as stereo analog audio I/O. In addition, you've got an HD/SD-SDI input and two such outputs. Your options for high-quality monitoring couldn't be more versatile. And of course, this MXO2 LE box includes a Thunderbolt adapter, which supplies the blazing-fast connection to a computer for a data transfer rate of up to 10 Gb/s.
Designed for Mac laptop and desktop systems with a Thunderbolt port, this model features Matrox MAX, a technology that implements faster than real-time H.264 encoding for resolutions ranging from iPod to HD. It uses a dedicated hardware processor to accelerate the creation of H.264 files for Blu-ray, the web, and mobile devices. By using specialized hardware acceleration, jobs are finished more quickly and system resources are freed up for other tasks. This technology allows direct export to higher-quality H.264 Blu-ray compliant files from Compressor.
Along with broadcast-quality audio & HD video input and output, the MXO2 LE provides calibration controls that include blue-only. You also benefit from a wide variety of HD and SD workflows with Adobe Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro thanks to Matrox MXO2 LE's 10-bit hardware up/down/cross-conversion scaling engine and support for a wide variety of file-based formats and industry-standard codecs.
Note:
Requires a Thunderbolt cable.
Key Features
- Works with Mac desktop systems and laptops with Thunderbolt ports
- Lightweight
- Fits in an equipment bag
- 4-pin XLR power connector for AC or field battery operation
- HD/SD-SDI, HD/SD analog component, Y/C, and composite inputs and outputs
- Genlock – SD analog black burst (bi-level) or HD tri-level sync
- 10-bit HDMI input, output, and monitoring with calibration controls including blue-only via the Matrox Calibration Utility
- 10-bit real-time hardware up/down/cross-conversion on capture and output
- Up to five user selectable simultaneous video outputs: HD and/or SD on HDMI, SDI, and analog
- RS-422 machine control for frame-accurate capture and print-to-tape
- Captures to virtually all codecs, including Apple ProRes 422 HQ and 10-bit uncompressed HD
- File-based workflow support – XDCAM, XDCAM HD, XDCAM EX, P2
- RED workflow support
- HD-SDI closed captioning support
- Works with Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, Apple Color, Adobe After Effects and all QuickTime applications that support the V-out component
- Three-year hardware warranty and complimentary telephone support from Matrox
Portable
Matrox MXO2 LE is a portable I/O device for the Mac. It fits into a travel bag and connects directly to standard field batteries or the included AC power adapter
HD and SD Inputs & Outputs
Matrox MXO2 LE features professional inputs and outputs. RS-422 machine control is provided for frame-accurate capture and print-to tape with Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere Pro. A 4-pin XLR power connection is provided for AC or field battery operation. Up to five user-selectable simultaneous video outputs – HD and/or SD – on HDMI, SDI, and analog are supported
Genlock
Matrox MXO2 LE provides SD analog black burst (bi-level) or HD trilevel sync genlock. It can genlock to any type of video input or to house sync. Timing offset controls can be used to align your video output relative to your external genlock source to compensate for cable delays within your facility
Capture to a Variety of Codecs
Matrox MXO2 LE lets you capture to HD and SD codecs supported by Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere Pro. On a Quad-Core MacPro, you can capture HD to ProRes 422 HQ, DVCPRO HD, DV, DVCPRO, and DVCPRO50. On systems equipped with proper storage you can capture uncompressed 8- and 10-bit HD
File-Based Formats
Matrox MXO2 LE lets you work with file-based formats such as XDCAM, XDCAM HD, XDCAM EX, P2, and P2HD. You can play out these formats directly from Adobe Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro. No intermediate codec is needed. Matrox MXO2 LE lets you play out these formats from a MacBook Pro without dropping frames
RED Workflow
RED users can benefit from Matrox MXO2 LE to capture, monitor, and play back on set. Back in the post suite, they can use Matrox MXO2 LE to work with 1K and 2K RED timelines and output to SD, 720, or 1080 via MXO2 LE's real-time 10-bit hardware scaling feature
HD-SDI Closed-Captioning Support
You will no longer need to spend time and money recreating HD captioning data that is typically lost when editing projects in Final Cut Pro. Matrox MXO2 LE offers a unique workflow to capture, play back, and preserve closed-captioning data while editing. Nothing is destroyed even when trimming or color-correcting video clips. In addition, Matrox has worked with CPC, the closed-captioning software leader, to develop an innovative solution that allows the MacCaption software to encode, decode, edit, and create HD & SD closed captioning for use with Matrox MXO2 LE. Matrox MXO2 LE also provides a cost-effective way to monitor HD timelines containing closed-captioning data on SDI and component SD monitors, while also inserting closed-captioning information into line 21 of active video for SD deliverables. You can deliver HD and SD masters containing closed captions simultaneously
HD & SD Video Monitoring
Matrox MXO2 LE turns your HDMI monitor into a true-color video display you can trust, even for color grading. It's packed with features that make it the ideal monitoring solution for Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere Pro, Apple Color, Adobe After Effects, and other QuickTime-based applications. You won't need to buy expensive HD monitoring equipment. In addition, MXO2 LE's real-time downscaling feature lets you view your HD projects on an SD monitor
HDMI Monitoring with 10-bit 4:2:2 Color Precision
Matrox MXO2 LE lets you adjust and control your HDMI monitor exactly like you would a broadcast HD/SD monitor. Controls for hue, chroma, contrast, brightness, and blue-only are provided. This unique control gives you accurate color representation so that you can use your HDMI monitor even for color grading
Pixel-to-Pixel Mapping on HDMI Displays
Matrox MXO2 LE provides 1:1 pixel mapping on HDMI monitors that support this feature
Real-Time Conversion, Capture & Output
Matrox MXO2 LE lets you deliver in any format your clients demand. The 10-bit hardware scaling provides high-quality mastering
Hardware Acceleration
Matrox MXO2 LE offers hardware acceleration of Final Cut Pro Dynamic RT segments, HDV, and DVCPRO HD
HD to SD Downscaling
Matrox MXO2 LE provides real-time HD to SD downscaling with proper conversion of the HD color space to the SD color space and proper aspect ratio conversion to anamorphic, letterbox, and center cut. You can monitor or record an SD master of your HD project in real time
SD to HD Upscaling
Matrox MXO2 LE provides real-time SD to HD upscaling with proper conversion of the SD color space to the HD color space. MXO2 LE will "pillarbox" 4:3 footage and scale 16:9 SD footage to full screen
Cross-Conversion
Matrox MXO2 LE offers real-time cross-conversion from 720 to 1080 and 1080 to 720 lines. Real-time frame rate conversion is also supported with 2:3:2:3 and 2:3:3:2 cadences. This feature is useful if, for example, your source material is recorded at a different frame rate or resolution from the delivery format that your client requires. It also facilitates monitoring when, for example, you need to work with 23.98 fps footage but your monitor does not support that frame rate. You can use MXO2 LE's real-time frame rate conversion to view your project at 29.97 fps. Conversion from 23.98 fps to 25 fps is handled by Final Cut Pro and the host
H.264 & .MOV Playback Application
The Matrox Vetura standalone application conveniently plays back your H.264 and .mov files
Matrox MAX
Faster-than-real-time creation of H.264 files supports resolutions ranging from iPod to HD at bitrates up to 50 Mb/s. MAX technology is designed to save you time
A specialized, dedicated hardware processor liberates system resources for other tasks. Matrox MAX offloads CPU-intensive encoding tasks to a dedicated hardware engine to crunch out your files for Blu-ray, the web, and mobile devices, without sacrificing quality. The Matrox MAX hardware engine offers sophisticated encoding capabilities such as:
- Baseline and main profile encoding algorithms
- CABAC entropy encoding for high quality
- CAVLC entropy encoding for mobile devices
- High-quality scaling with de-interlacing
- Color space conversions: HD to SD, SD to HD, RGB to YUV
- GOP structure controls
- Bitrate controls from 100 Kb/s to 50 Mb/s
Accelerated encoding is available for Blu-ray, PS3, Apple TV, YouTube, Flash, web formats, and mobile devices, including iPhone and iPod from various video sources, including 2K files
Direct integration with Apple Compressor lets you quickly create H.264 files for Blu-ray, PS3, Apple TV, YouTube, Flash, web formats, and mobile devices including iPhone and iPod. You can take advantage of all the familiar settings in your favorite application or use the Matrox MAX presets – or customize your own. As an added benefit, Matrox MAX technology lets you directly export to higher-quality H.264 Blu-ray compliant files from Compressor. A growing list of presets are available, including:
- HD 1080i, 1080p, 720p
- NTSC, PAL
- Apple TV
- iPod
- iPhone
- YouTube
- Customizable settings can be created easily to meet special needs
Matrox MAX technology is also accessible to all applications that support the QuickTime codec component, such as Final Cut Pro and QuickTime. You get delivery of H.264 files at resolutions from iPod to HD directly from the application
Matrox MAX technology lets you create Blu-ray H.264 video files directly from Compressor that can be authored in Adobe Encore CS5 and burned without re-encoding. To create a Blu-ray disc without Matrox MAX technology, you typically rely on your authoring application and your system CPU to re-encode your project into a Blu-ray compliant file
Support is available for Apple Qmaster to take advantage of multiple systems with a Matrox MAX processing engine, for distributed encoding across a network