If you're a professional video editor concerned about getting maximum productivity from Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 and Adobe CS3 Production Premium, have a look at the Matrox RT.X2 product line - the ideal solutions for corporate communicators, event videographers, project studios, educational facilities and digital filmmakers. If you need the flexibility to edit and view HDV or P2 MXF 720p and output HD, choose Matrox RT.X2.
Matrox RT.X2 goes far beyond the capabilities of software-only editing and systems that combine Adobe Premiere Pro and a simple I/O card. With Matrox RT.X2 you get:
- Many more real-time layers of video and graphics in HD and SD
- More effects in real-time including color correction, chroma/luma keying, speed changes, blur/glow/soft focus, and much more
- Broadcast-quality, real-time 3D effects with soft edges and realistic shadows
- Capture from analog sources to compressed MPEG-2 4:2:2 I-frame HD and SD
- Real-time mixing of HD codecs and SD codecs on the same timeline
- Real-time mixed-format multi-cam
- Accelerated export to DVD, all multimedia formats including Flash Video, and Adobe Clip Notes
- Audio VU meters on capture
- Full-resolution HD monitoring on an inexpensive flat panel display via independent DVI output
If you use Adobe Production Studio, you’ll be happy to know that Matrox RT.X2 lets you work seamlessly with the other Adobe applications, fully supporting Adobe Dynamic Link and providing WYSIWYG video output support for Adobe After Effects and Photoshop, as well as other industry-leading animation and compositing packages.
Matrox RT.X2 is based on the award-winning Matrox Axio architecture that incorporates Matrox Power of X and Flex technologies to leverage CPU and GPU power. You get a high-performance, future-proof HDV and SD editing environment while joining the ranks of well over 200,000 users worldwide who currently enjoy the amazing value, stable reliability, and superior productivity of Matrox-based real-time nonlinear editing systems.
Key features
- Real-time multi-layer workflows that combine HD and SD material from analog and digital sources
- Real-time Matrox Flex CPU effects color correction, speed changes, chroma/luma keying and many more
- Real-time and accelerated Matrox Flex GPU effects 2D/3D DVE, blur/glow/soft focus, shine and many more
- Native HDV and MPEG-2 4:2:2 I-frame HD editing
- Native DV, DVCAM, DVCPRO, and MPEG-2 4:2:2 I-frame SD editing
- Real-time mixing of HD codecs and SD codecs on any timeline
- Real-time mixed-format multi-cam
- Real-time high-quality hardware downscaling for SD output from an HD timeline
- Accelerated export to DVD, multimedia formats including Flash Video, and Adobe Clip Notes
- WYSIWYG for Adobe After Effects and Photoshop, Autodesk Combustion and 3ds Max, eyeon Fusion, and NewTek LightWave 3D with dynamic Alt+Tab switching
- Composite, Y/C, HD/SD analog component input and output
- Full-resolution HD monitoring on an inexpensive flat panel display via independent DVI output
Scalable system design
Your particular workflow requirements and budget will determine the specific components you should choose when designing your Matrox RT.X2 editing system. If your budget allows, you can combine a top-of-the-line computer system, the fastest GPU, and the largest, most robust storage subsystem to get the absolute maximum number of real-time layers and effects, in all cases. If your budget is more modest, there are many tradeoffs you can make to design an editing system that will give you maximum performance to do exactly what you need to do on a daily basis.
Matrox RT.X2 relies on the power of your CPU to perform Matrox Flex CPU effects and to decode and encode compressed video streams such as HDV and DV. It relies on the power of the GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) in your system to process Matrox Flex GPU effects. Note that what we refer to here as a GPU has various other names that may be more familiar to you, such as display card, graphics card, or VGA adapter. The type and size of storage you require depends largely on the video formats you are using and the number of hours of video you need to maintain online. Understanding your various options in each category will help you design the most economical system for your needs.
Real-time multi-layer workflows in HD and SD
Designed primarily for real-time native HDV and DV editing, Matrox RT.X also provides a high-quality MPEG-2 4:2:2 I-frame codec so you can capture other HD and SD formats using RT.X2's analog inputs, and mix all types of footage on the timeline in real-time. No matter what your desired workflow, Matrox RT.X2 delivers maximum productivity.
Highest quality real-time effects
Matrox RT.X2 is designed to overcome the limitations of software-only editing by providing performance- and quality-optimized effects processing. Built on Matrox Power of X and Flex technologies, Matrox RT.X2 leverages CPU and GPU power to provide a tightly integrated, high performance editing environment for Adobe Premiere Pro. Matrox RT.X2's broadcast quality effects are fully keyframeable and feature a high level of control for detailed work. Each effect has a series of parameters that can be fine tuned to get just the look you want. To save time you can use the preconfigured effects presets or create and save your own presets.
Most real-time video/graphics layers
Many editing systems compromise quality or effects refinement and complexity to increase the number of layers, whereas Matrox RT.X2 always delivers maximum real-time quality. Timelines with more layers and/or effects than can be processed in real-time can still benefit from hardware-accelerated previews. Matrox RT.X2 always plays back the timeline at the best possible quality and if necessary, gracefully reduces the frame rate. You always get in-context feedback as you work.
The number of layers that can be processed in real-time depends on your system CPU and GPU as well as the characteristics of your workflow - the video resolution you are working with, the frame rate, the codec, and the number and complexity of effects. System selection guidelines and lists of computers, motherboards, and GPUs validated for use with RT.X2 are posted here: http://www.matrox.com/video/support/rtx2/rec/home.cfm.
Real-time native HDV editing workflow
Matrox RT.X2 provides the flexibility you need to get the most from your HDV editing experience.
Capture
You can transfer native HDV footage over 1394 to your RT.X2 system. Other HD footage with the same resolution and frame rate can be captured from analog HD sources using RT.X2's high-quality MPEG-2 4:2:2 I-frame codec.
Edit
On a reasonably performing system, you can expect to edit at least two HD video layers with color correction plus multiple graphics layers in real-time.
Native HDV material can be mixed in real-time on your HD timeline with MPEG-2 I-frame clips. You can also place SD clips on your HD timeline and RT.X2 will upscale them in real-time so you can mix NTSC material into a 1080i at 29.97 fps timeline or PAL material into a 1080i at 25 fps timeline.
Monitor
Matrox RT.X2 provides full-resolution HD monitoring on an inexpensive flat panel display via its independent DVI output. You won't need to buy expensive HD monitoring equipment or the video-to-DVI converter required for monitoring with some I/O cards. In fact, RT.X2 provides better HD video definition, with pixel-to-pixel mapping on a flat panel (1920 x 1200), than you will get on a more expensive professional HD monitor which is typically limited to approximately 800 lines of resolution.
Deliver
When your edits are complete, you can record your project directly to tape using RT.X2's analog component HD output or export to HDV for playout over 1394.
Matrox RT.X2 also downscales HD projects to broadcast-quality NTSC and PAL with proper conversion of the HD color space to the SD color space. You can print your HD edit to SD tape in real-time or create a DVD master. You can also use this feature to preview your HD projects on an inexpensive SD monitor.
Capture in HD, edit in SD for maximum real-time performance
If your goal is to deliver in SD, yet you want to take advantage of the superior image quality offered by your HDV camera, another way to work with HDV material on your RT.X2 is to capture HDV over 1394 then edit in SD using the original HDV clips. You maintain the quality of your original footage, yet benefit from maximum real-time performance during the editing process, similar to what you will experience when editing in native DV. When your edits are complete, you can output straight to SD. When you view the SD master you will see no significant difference in quality compared to a project that is edited in native HDV then downscaled to SD.
If you need an HD or HDV master, you can open the same SD project in an HD timeline. No recapturing is necessary.
Real-time native DV editing workflow
RT.X2 provides amazing real-time editing performance in DV. On a reasonably performing system, you can expect to edit at least five native DV video layers plus six graphics layers and effects in real-time.
Other SD clips captured from analog SD sources with the same resolution and frame rate can be mixed on your SD timeline in real-time.
When the need arises, HD clips captured with RT.X2 can also be placed on your SD timeline. RT.X2 will downscale them so you can mix 1080i at 29.97 fps material into an NTSC timeline or 1080i at 25 fps material into a PAL timeline in real-time.
Real-time Flex CPU effects
Matrox RT.X2 relies on the power of your CPU to perform a variety of real-time and accelerated effects.
- Real-time primary color correction - Primary color correction is a critically important effect for all productions, whether to achieve continuity when cutting between shots, ensure broadcast safe levels, or establish and emphasize a "look". The primary color corrector provides basic proc amp control; three-way color correction complete with master, shadows, midtones and highlights control; and input/output level control.
- Real-time proc amp controls - Matrox RT.X2 lets you easily adjust four proc amp controls hue, saturation, brightness, and contrast. Hue adjusts the tint of the colors in the image, saturation adjusts the vividness, contrast adjusts the difference in luminance between the lightest and darkest areas of the image, and brightness adjusts the level of black. You can also use these controls to create special effects, such as black and white, in real-time.
- Real-time color match and color balance - Colors can be corrected using nine parameters related to the black (shadow), midtone, and white (highlight) levels of your clips. You can easily match colors or balance blacks, whites, and grays against a reference shot in one simple step.
- Real-time input/output level control - Using the histogram display and level controls, luminance levels can be remapped to maximize the dynamic range of a clip. For example, bright areas can be made brighter and dark areas can be made darker. Five parameters are available black, white, and gamma levels on the input; and black and white levels on the output. Auto white and auto black controls are also provided.
- Real-time secondary color correction - The secondary color corrector is an advanced tool used for fine-tuning or dramatic effects creation. It offers all the controls found in the primary color correction filter with the added capability of limiting the effect to a specific range of pixels. Pixel selection can be done using color and/or brightness. Using the simple garbage matte tool, you can also limit the effect to a specific region. The pixel selection can also be inverted.
- The secondary color corrector can be used, for example, to change the color of a dress, deepen the background sky color, or to achieve an effect similar to the film Schindler’s List where only one object or person remains in color while the rest of the image becomes black and white.
- Real-time chroma and luma keying - Matrox RT.X2 provides one of the finest real-time chroma keyers in the industry. It makes clean blueand green-screen keys easy to achieve, even with DV and HDV material shot in less than optimal lighting conditions. It upsamples your video to 4:4:4:4 resolution and uses advanced noise reduction algorithms to ensure superior results. The auto key button intelligently adjusts the key with soft edges, spill removal, and shadow preservation. If needed, you can further refine the key with manual controls. The Matrox RT.X2 chroma keyer lets you key on any color, not just blue and green. It also lets you invert the selection and display the matte being generated to fine tune the key.
- Real-time speed changes - You can use speed changes to emphasize special moments, extend the duration of shots to match voiceover timing, or enhance the feeling of dramatic shots. Matrox RT.X2 lets you apply smooth slow and fast motion with field or frame blending.
- Real-time transitions - Matrox RT.X2 supports standard dissolves, SMPTE wipes, and organic wipes with soft edges and color borders.
- Real-time track matte - The real-time track matte effect lets you superimpose one clip onto another using an animated matte, sometimes called a traveling matte, to determine how the two clips are composited (keyed). You can use a grayscale video or graphics clip as your matte, or use a graphics clip or graphics sequence with an alpha channel as your matte. When using a grayscale clip as your matte, areas of black in the matte create transparent areas in your foreground clip, areas of white create opaque areas that prevent the underlying clip from showing through, and gray areas create semi-transparent areas in your foreground clip.
- Real-time move & scale - This effect lets you apply multiple 2D DVEs simultaneously in real-time to easily set up picture-in-picture effects. You can also use the move & scale effect to animate multiple titles in real-time.
- Real-time SD clip upscaling in an HD timeline - This effect is enabled by right-clicking on an SD clip in an HD timeline and selecting "scale to frame size". It provides real-time playback of SD clips upscaled to HD to let you mix NTSC material into a 1080i at 29.97 fps timeline or PAL material into a 1080i at 25 fps timeline.
- Real-time HD clip downscaling in an SD timeline - This effect is enabled by right-clicking on an HD clip in an SD timeline and selecting "scale to frame size". It provides real-time playback of HD clips downscaled to SD to let you mix 1080i at 29.97 fps material into an NTSC timeline or 1080i at 25 fps material into a PAL timeline.
- Native Adobe Premiere Pro effects - Some of Adobe Premiere Pro's most popular native effects such as Opacity, Crop, Dip to Black, Black and White, Dissolve, and Additive Dissolve can be used in real time on Matrox RT.X2 in SD. These effects are accelerated in HD.
Real-time Flex GPU effects
Using the power of your system GPU, Matrox RT.X2 lets you create a wide variety broadcast-quality 2D and 3D digital video effects.
Productivity features
Matrox RT.X2 offers tight integration with Adobe Premiere Pro and a variety of productivity features that help you get your work done quickly and efficiently.
WYSIWYG for compositing and graphics applications
Matrox RT.X2 includes a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) video output plug-in for Adobe After Effects and Adobe Photoshop that lets you see your work directly on your video monitor. The Adobe Dynamic Link feature is supported so you can work in After Effects, Photoshop, and Premiere Pro simultaneously and Alt+Tab between the applications. The video output will change to show the output of the active application.
The WYSIWYG plug-in also supports Autodesk Combustion and 3ds Max, eyeon Fusion, and NewTek LightWave 3D. This feature lets you ensure proper 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratio in NTSC or PAL, and check for exact color temperature, safe-title area, and any interlace artifacts that may be present in your images. You can also view the alpha channel of your output on the video monitor to check for defects.
Voiceover recording in the timeline
The voiceover feature of Premiere Pro is supported to let you record audio directly in the timeline. It is based on ASIO driver technology, which provides low latency. ASIO is a trademark and software of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH.
Surround sound support
Matrox RT.X2 supports the multi-channel 5.1 surround sound mixing feature of Adobe Premiere Pro. Monitoring is done via your sound card.
VU meters on capture
VU meters on audio/video capture are a unique feature of Matrox RT.X2. They let you see if your audio input is active and also let you monitor and adjust audio levels in order to obtain the optimal signal-to-noise ratio and dynamic range.
Video preview on capture
RT.X2 lets you see your video on your broadcast monitor while capturing, even in HDV.
Device control
Matrox RT.X2 supports the Adobe Premiere Pro standard RS-422 and FireWire device control protocols. There is no need to purchase third-party device control software.
Real-time mixed-format multi-cam
Matrox RT.X2 supports the multi-cam feature of Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0 and goes further to let you view four cameras simultaneously in real-time even if the formats are mixed, provided your RT.X2 system has the proper storage and system speed. For example, in a multi-cam sequence you could use one HDV stream and multiple DV streams and switch among them in real-time.
Legacy support for RT.X100 AVI files
Matrox RT.X2 supports playback of legacy RT.X100 AVI files within the editing environment, allowing you to reuse archived footage.
24 fps editing in SD
Matrox RT.X2 supports 24 fps editing in SD with pull down and reverse pull down.
Flexible AVI and WAV file formats
Matrox RT.X2 captures video in Windows-standard AVI and WAV files for complete compatibility with other multimedia applications. Interleaved audio is the industry standard and allows for maximum compatibility with applications that expect the audio to be contained within the AVI file. File management is simplified because there is only one file to keep track of. However, integration with audio workstations and DVD authoring is simplified by using separate WAV audio files.
Project compatibility with Matrox Axio
Matrox RT.X2 and Matrox Axio projects are compatible. Any RT.X2 timeline can be loaded onto an Axio system. Axio projects created using codecs and resolutions supported by RT.X2 can be loaded onto an RT.X2 system.
Accelerated export to DVD, all multimedia formats, and Adobe Clip Notes
Matrox RT.X2 significantly accelerates exports to all the formats included in Adobe Premiere Pro. Adobe Premiere Pro export formats include:
- DVD
- Windows Media for digital cinema, HD DVD, web, and multimedia
- QuickTime
- Real Media
- MPEG-1 for VCD and multimedia
- MPEG-2 for S-VCD, DVD, and HD DVD
- MPEG-4 for streaming
- Flash video (FLV)
- Adobe Clip Notes
Specifications
- General
- Full-length PCIe 1x card
- FCC Class B, CE Mark Class B
- Video features
- Inputs and outputs
- 1394 pass-through
- composite
- Y/C
- SD/HD analog component
- Independent DVI-D output for full-resolution HD monitoring
- Video standards
- SD
- ITU-R 601
- 525i at 29.97 (NTSC)
- 625i at 25 (PAL)
- 486p at 23.98
- HD
- 1920 x 1080i at 29.97 fps
- 1920 x 1080i at 25 fps
- Internal video processing
- 8-bit 4:2:2:4
- 720 x 486
- 720 x 576
- 1440 x 1080
- Real-time video codecs
- Capture
- HDV 1080i via 1394
- DV, DVCAM, DVCPRO
- MPEG-2 4:2:2 I-frame SD from 10 to 25 Mbps
- MPEG-2 4:2:2 I-frame HD from 50 to 100 Mbps
- Playback
- HDV 1080i
- DV, DVCAM, DVCPRO
- RT.X100 legacy format
- Matrox Axio offline clips
- MPEG-2 4:2:2 I-frame SD from 10 to 25 Mbps
- MPEG-2 4:2:2 I-frame HD from 50 to 100 Mbps
- Export
- HDV 1080i print-to-tape
- DV, DVCAM, DVCPRO
- MPEG-2 4:2:2 I-frame SD from 10 to 25 Mbps
- MPEG-2 4:2:2 I-frame HD from 50 to 100 Mbps
- Audio features
- 16 bit, 48 kHz
- Analog audio I/O dependent on system audio
- Stereo monitoring
System selection guidelines and lists of computers, motherboards, and GPUs validated for use with RT.X2 are posted here: http://www.matrox.com/video/support/rtx2/rec/home.cfm.
Matrox RT.X2 Revealed CS3 Version
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Jeff Pulera, acclaimed professional videographer and industry guru, unveils techniques and tricks that will help you realize the full potential of your RT.X2 system. Includes bonus content disc!
This version only plays on a computer with resolution 1024x768 minimum! It will not play on a DVD player.
A must-have training tutorial for RT.X2 users!
See a master at work as Jeff unlocks the power in RT.X2. He works step-by-step, showing you the necessary settings for just the right look, and building effects on top of effects for amazing results! Over three hours of material. This video is perfect for all levels of RT.X2 users, from beginning to advanced. Uses Adobe PPro CS3 and RT.X2 3.1 drivers, but majority of content applies to PPro 2.0/RT.X2 2.0 versions as well.
You will learn:
- Proper setup of A/V connections and software settings
- Overview of supported formats, inputs, outputs and capabilities of RT.X2
- How to choose project settings and capture video with RT.X2
- How to use all of the Matrox real-time effects, with a walk-through of settings and examples of using each
- Tips and tricks such as creating your own mask images, alpha channel AVI overlays, combining effects and more
- Export options for tape, DVD, Blu-Ray, iPod, and more
Chapter List: - Introduction
- Input/Output Connections
- Choosing Matrox Project Presets
- Video capture for DV, HDV and analog
- Premiere Preference Settings
- Matrox Wipe Transitions
- Creating Custom Wipes
- Matrox Move & Scale
- Matrox 3D DVE
- Matrox Shadow
- Matrox Color Correction Primary
- Matrox Color Correction Primary Advanced
- Matrox Color Correction Secondary
- Matrox Speed Control
- Matrox Blur/Soft Focus
- Matrox Shine
- Matrox 4-Corner Pin
- Matrox Chroma Key/Chroma Key Shadow
- Matrox Luma Key
- Matrox Track Matte
- Matrox Page Curl
- Matrox Ripple
- Matrox Twirl
- Matrox Mask (incl. Mask Blur and Mask Mosaic)
- Creating Custom Masks
- Matrox Impressionist
- Matrox Crystallize
- Matrox Pan & Scan
- Matrox Cube
- Matrox Old Movie
- Matrox Lens Flare
- Matrox Surface Finish
- Matrox Sphere
- Using Matrox 32-bit AVI + Alpha AVI codec
- Export to tape for analog, DV and HDV
- Matrox Media Encoder output for DVD, Blu-Ray, web, etc.
- Matrox WYSIWYG Control Panel and plug-ins
Notes: - Over 3 hours of invaluable training
- Viewer should be familiar with the features of Premiere Pro CS3
About the Instructor Jeff Pulera has been a professional videographer for over 15 years. He owns Digital Vision Productions, a Milwaukee-based company that specializes in corporate, event and wedding videography. The author of many tech reviews and articles, Jeff is widely known throughout the industry as the "Matrox guru."
"I have to say that I quite like it!! Jeff did a real nice job, love some of the techniques, and I actually learned a few things from it." - Wayne Andrews, Matrox RT Product Manager.
Read the review by Steven Gotz.
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