Matrox’s original MXO crashes the Direct DreamColor interface party

Many of our ProVideo Coalition readers already know that Matrox’s MXO2 family now includes four members, especially since I have covered them quite recently in my Direct DreamColor interfaces article. However, fewer of our readers may remember the original MXO device from Matrox, which is quite different from the MXO2 family members. The original MXO is still a current Matrox product, even though it doesn’t get nearly as much press lately, and it is not nearly as flexible as the MXO2-family devices. However, the original MXO “crashed the Direct DreamColor interface party” just after I made a product suggestion to the Matrox product manager and later tested it. In this article, you’ll learn how the original MXO differs from any MXO2 family member, the cases where it’s still an attractive —or the only— choice, how it managed to crash the Direct DreamColor interface party, and how it can even work with iMovie ’09!

DreamColor direct interfaces

Whether you already own an HP DreamColor monitor, or you are considering buying one, you need to make sure your NLE or grading system complies completely with the DreamColor Engine. In this article, you’ll see a comparison chart showing available NLE/grading interfaces from three different manufacturers that are either completely or partially DreamColor Engine compliant, depending upon your formats and framerates. You’ll also learn why one popular manufacturer does not appear in the chart.

DreamColor converter boxes for non-compliant systems

This article is to help people who have determined that their current NLE or grading system does not currently comply with the DreamColor Engine, and are looking a converter box to make it comply. As stated in my DreamColor monitor review, the DreamColor Engine is very demanding: it absolutely requires a true progressive digital RGB signal over HDMI or DisplayPort. Interlaced video, PsF, and/or digital YUV over HDMI are not welcomed by the Engine. If you supply either or both of those, the DreamColor Engine will shut off, the settings for color space will become inactive, and the monitor will display full gamut, which is much more saturated than ITU Rec.601 or ITU Rec.709. These are some of the DreamColor monitor’s most important features. Make sure you take advantage of them by making your system deliver a compliant signal.

Why should I care if my monitor shows ITU Rec.709?

At a recent seminar I gave in Miami about HD image grading together with Rubén Abruña, one of the the attendees asked a good question which deserves a short article. He asked “Why should I care if my critical evaluation HD monitor in my editing suite is calibrated for ITU Rec.709 if my client’s monitor won’t be?” In this short article, you’ll find out what ITU Rec.709 is, and get an adaptation of my answer (since the analogy I gave there would be relevant only to South Florida residents).

Connect your pro XLR microphone to your iPhone

Starting with software version 3.0 of the iPhone, Apple includes an audio recorder application called VoiceMemo. Many people who have used it have been quite impressed with the quality it offers. There have been other audio recording applications for the iPhone, but nothing is more tempting than using one that’s already there, especially one with an attractive icon and slick graphical interface. Given its simplicity and high-quality, Apple’s VoiceMemo covers almost any purpose. However, no matter how well it sounds with the iPhone’s internal microphone, for a professional journalist, image is also very important. That’s why I searched for a special cable that allows connecting a professional XLR microphone into an iPhone.

AJA’s new KiPro is the 10-bit, 4:2:2 recorder that many pro videographers really needed

Many of our readers may have first heard about AJA’s KiPro back on April 20, 2009, when I published a “first look” after AJA’s announcement at NAB. A few months have passed, and KiPro is now available for purchase. I received an evaluation unit from AJA and found it to work flawlessly with its current feature set. Following are the details of the product, my observations, target market, and wish list.

Canon HV40: a great inexpensive feeder deck for native Sony 3G HDV recordings

Users of Sony’s professional 3G HDV camcorders (including the HVR-S270, HVR-Z5, and HVR-Z7) and editors who receive footage from them may now consider purchasing a Canon HV40 camcorder to use as an inexpensive deck to feed footage to their NLE. The reason is that the Canon HV40 is quite inexpensive, is playback-compatible with the special native progressive modes available in the Sony 3G HDV camcorders, and even offers HDMI output. Although the Canon HV40 is not shaped like a desktop deck, it functions as such, and in many cases can save you over US$1200 over the lowest-cost compatible deck from Sony, which doesn’t even offer an HDMI output. Many of our readers read my recent articles which explained how first Sony USA and then Sony Latin America began to offer a liberation upgrade, which adds PAL, 25p and 50i to the cameras originally sold as 60Hz-only models. Well here are all of the modes, as they correspond with the Canon HV40 models.

Will your AJA IoHD give your DreamColor monitor a free ride?

If you own an IoHD device from AJA which you use as your input/output device for Final Cut Studio, it may give your HP DreamColor monitor a free ride. As explained in my recent article How to connect your HD evaluation monitor to your editing system properly: Let me count the ways!, the DreamColor monitor is quite attractive, yet quite demanding, since in order to allow use of its color engine (and therefore monitor in ITU-R BT.701 color space), the monitor demands that the incoming signal be both RGB (not component) and true progressive (not interlaced or even PsF). Since the HDMI output of your IoHD can be set up to be RGB, the fact that you own the IoHD may be (under certain circumstances) a “free ticket” for the DreamColor.

Will your Matrox i/o interface give your DreamColor a free ride?

If you own an MXO2, MXO2 Rack, or MXO2 Mini which you use as your input/output device for Final Cut Studio, it may give your HP DreamColor monitor a free ride. As explained in my recent article How to connect your HD evaluation monitor to your editing system properly: Let me count the ways!, the DreamColor monitor is quite attractive, yet quite demanding, since in order to allow use of its color engine (and therefore monitor in ITU-R BT.701 color space), the monitor demands that the incoming signal be both RGB (not component) and true progressive (not interlaced or even PsF). Since the HDMI output of your MX02, MXO2 Rack, or MXO2 Mini can be set up to be RGB, the fact that you own one of these interfaces may be (under certain circumstances) a “free ticket” for the DreamColor.

How AJA’s new Hi5-3G may fix your DreamColor connection

The 30-bit (10-bit per channel) HP DreamColor monitor is quite attractive for the price, yet quite demanding regarding the type of input signals it accepts, as I explained on page 2 of my article How to connect your HD evaluation monitor to your editing system properly: Let me count the ways!. In order to have the color engine active (which is necessary to monitor in ITU-R BT.701 color space), the DreamColor demands that its input signal over HDMI be both RGB (not component) and progressive (not interlaced or even PsF). If your system doesn’t currently output RGB over HDMI… or if it does that, but doesn’t put out true progressive at the progressive framerate you are editing, then the US$690 Hi5-3G from AJA can help, since it can convert a component signal over HD-SDI (or even 3G-SDI) and deliver a real time RGB signal over HDMI. Specifically, the Hi5-3G can help if it receives a signal which is either true progressive or PsF, since it can easily convert PsF into true progressive… but it cannot do the same from a true interlaced signal. For that, you need a EXT-HDSDI-2-HDMIS from Gefen, which costs US$1299. For more details, see page 2 of the article called How to connect your HD evaluation monitor to your editing system properly: Let me count the ways!

How to connect your HD evaluation monitor to your editing system properly: Let me count the ways!

In this article, you will learn that the best way to connect can go way beyond the physical connections you see on your NLE’s professional interface and HD evaluation monitor. Believe it or not, it sometimes also depends upon whether you are editing interlaced or progressive… and also, whether your NLE’s professional interface card or box delivers an RGB or component signal over whatever video output connector(s) it has. Read on and you will see how this often does matter, and does affect the way you should connect!

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