Re: Matrox Question

Ok, so I'm checking out the Matrox monitoring solution. I think this may be what I need to get. However, I have a question, as usual.

Right now, I have 23 inch Apple Display as my main monitor, and a Samsung Syncmaster 932GW as a secondary monitor. Given that the Apple display is made for the Matrox, I suppose I could use the Samsung as my main monitor and the Apple one as my Matrox monitor.

So, if I go ahead and set up the Matrox to do that, is my Apple display ONLY then good for monitoring when I'm editing? When I'm not editing, can that monitor still display things like my desktop and browser windows and finder windows and other stuff or does it not display those things? In other words, will I still be able to have a two monitor display for normal computer activities other than editing?

Yep, thanks, I did see that. I've been poring over that for the last hour now and googling Matrox like mad trying to get a handle on it. One thing I saw was that you can use it in DVD Studio Pro and monitor your DVD which is nice.

Now, if the Matrox has s-video out, then couldn't I connect that to my TV then (which has s-video)? I know I would get HD monitoring by using the Apple display, but if all I need is good SD monitoring, then the Tv should be good enough, right?

Yes, that sounds logical to me. I did not test the S-Video, many TVs also have component in as well, which would be better than S-video.

If you really want to be sure, let me know and I'll give you an email address at Matrox that you can write to.

You do know that commerical TVs are different than pro monitors, right?

--ken

Yeah I was reading about that too, the differences. The Apple display would be better than the commercial TV, but I was thinking that the commercial Tv would give me a good idea of what the final product will look like when it's eventually viewed on an SD-DVD. I could use the Apple display for coloring and filters and the Tv for the SD viewing. Does that make sense as a workflow?

And yes, thanks, if you could email me that Matrox address I'll definitely check in with them. Thanks!

To my way of thinking, if you are going to set up the ACD, why not use it for both and not bother with a TV.

Commercial TVs has a lot of filters built in to give the look that the manufacturing is looking for, skin tones in particular. Plus all of the viewing modes, movie, sports, garish, etc. With all of that filtering and remembering that each manufacture would be different, I would not trust a commercial TV if I could use a ACD.

Write to

Wayne Andrews <wandrews@matrox.com>

Tell him I told you to write. Let us know what you find out

--ken

Tom,

I was thinking.

You're talking about SD DV, if you are talking about DV - NTSC, the image on the 1920 pixel wide 23" ACD, is only going to be 720 pixels, a small image on a big screen, lots of black all the way around. There is a setting in MXO that will blow the 720 up to fill the screen but this would not be pixel for pixel mapping, the image would look soft and I don't think that it would be a good reference. In this case a TV might actually be better.

If you are working with HDV, EXcam, etc, then this would not be an issue.

You could ask Wayne about this.

--ken

I see. I actually do import as HDV, and then later export out as Apple Pro Res (from your article) for Compressor and SD-DVD's.

I guess that's why I figured I would use the ACD while editing the HDV, get the colors all good and filters and titles and such, and then preview it after that's all done on the TV just to be sure it will look allright when viewed on a regular old Tv, but that shouldn't matter i guess. If it looks good on the ACD with the Matrox, then I should be fine on the Tv as well. It will be a lesser quality after the compression and burning to SD-DVD obviously, but the colors will be fine, the sharpness and all should be good on the Tv if it looked allright on the ACD and Matrix, right?

Well, I'll ask him about this too.

Thanks!

You could use the regular TV for Title and Action Safe.

--ken

Here's the update from Wayne at Matrox:

With the MXO and it's HD-SD realtime hardware downscaler, you can hook up your CRT TV in either Component or S-Video and monitor your HDV (HD) projects in SD.

You can also watch your ACD in HD while your monitor the SD version on your CRT, if you disable the "scale to fit" feature in the MXO preference pane/control panel under mastering.

With HDV material and a firewire workflow, you need to conform the timeline before it will playback through the 1394 port, with the MXO, it bypasses this step when monitoring your timeline through the MXO.

Hi Tom,

So, what do you think?

--ken

It's pretty simple once you get it straighten out. You would want a monitor that is 1920 pixels wide, not 1440.

That would be a 23" monitor.

--ken

Yeah, I just figured that out, checking out the Matrox forums. So now my decision is to use the smaller monitor as my main monitor while editing and then everything looks fine, or to use the ACD as the main monitor and when not editing, just deal with the odd looking smaller monitor display. It's just so nice to have that big display when working in the timeline and all, but I suppose I could adjust. At least until i can get a bigger 2nd monitor, that is.

For a lot of years I used a 20" and 17" monitor with FCP, worked okay.

--ken

You're right. I've just been spoiled is all! After learning about the 199 pixel ratio thing, I think that I do have things setup right, but I'll still call them and make sure of everything. I did end up hooking it up to the Tv with the s-video too and that worked fine, so overall I'm pleased.

Let me ask you this, when you are monitoring, can you command tab or use expose or anything? When I press command 12 and start monitoring, I can't command tab to anything, or use expose to get at a finder window or anything. I have to get to the dock to bring things up to the front. And to get out of the monitoring mode, I can only get out by using command 12, no menubar is viewable since I'm monitoring on the ACD.

I don't know, I'm not at my MXO NLE Mac today. If you are not using the ACD as your main monitor, maybe this is it, not sure.

So, how was the tech support, good??????

--ken

Oh I won't know until tonight sometime. Still at work, the day job that is. UGH!