Mar 1

Edit Review — Matrox Axio 2.0 by:  mike

03/01/2006 12:14 PM

Video Systems Review by D. W. Leitner Matrox Axio 2.0 allows realtime editing of mixed codecs in SD or HD (8- or 10-bit) when line count and frame rates match. Axio brings realtime 3D effects and powerful I/O to Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0. Fast, good, cheap. In product development, you're told “pick any two.” In choosing an HD editing system, you're lucky to get one and a half. The ideal HD editing system would ingest any HD or SD format, compressed or not. Create low-res proxies to conserve disk space if necessary. Accept any clip on the same timeline without rendering. No rendering of effects, either. Play layers of video, graphics, and titles smoothly. Offer near-limitless audio tracks. Have fast, agile color correction and instant full-resolution playback. Offer your choice of HD or SD output, SD aspect ratio, compression. And it would not cost the T-shirt off your back. Avid has always been good, if not cheap. Final Cut Pro succeeded because it was good enough and cheap. Speed and power still cost, however. To get realtime uncompressed 10-bit HD editing, Avid's pacesetting DS Nitris, now in version 7.6, costs north of $80K, or $150K with storage. Enter Matrox's Axio, perhaps the closest we can get at the moment to “pick all three.” Axio is a new board/breakout box combo for realtime uncompressed (or compressed) SD or HD editing, available only from Matrox dealers in a turnkey system that includes a steroidal Windows XP box and Adobe's new Premiere Pro 2.0. An Axio system with storage enough for uncompressed SD (say, to edit an hour-long show) costs circa $15K, storage for compressed HD, $20-$25K, for uncompressed HD, $30-$35K. Got your attention? read more...


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