Alternatives to MXO/ACD for HD Monitoring

kwoff

kwoff

Well-known member
I am wondering what folks here are using to monitor HD for color correction in Apple's Color. I have been using an Apple Cinema Display with a Matrox MXO for this purpose, but I have become tired of dealing with Matrox's lagging support for the MXO under Snow Leopard and am looking for an alternative solution offered by a more prompt and reliable company.

The HP Dreamcolor monitors are getting good reviews, I've noticed. Does anyone have first-hand experience with these displays? I understand a video card is needed, as one does not get all of the benefits of the displays when going out DVI. What are people using in the way of video cards for this purpose? Are there other, relatively inexpensive possibilities offered by reliable companies that will provide color accuracy on at least the same level as the MXO/ACD combination.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer.
Kevin
 
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Why not STOP updating your system and stick with something that works? What is the NEED to constantly be running the latest OS? If you have something that works, and works well, STICK WITH IT. Until there is something in the update that you need in order to do your job. Many places I know still run older versions of the OS (like PANTHER) and older Avid or FCP versions. because they work. So if you are tired of the lagging support for the latest and greatest, DON'T GET the latest and greatest. How can it be the greatest when it doens't work with the hardware you have?

Capture and playback cards for FCP are made by 4 companies. AJA, Black Magic Design (Decklink), Matrox and Motu. Those are your choices. The CHEAPEST options are the Matrox MXO2 mini, and Decklink Intensity Pro. The MXO2 line with a GOOD quality HDTV (via HDMI you get the same monitor calibration that the MXO offers via DVI) like a Panasonic ProPlasma and you will do good. STill looking at a $2000 investment though.

The Apple Cinema Display, BTW, is a 8 bit monitor. HDTVs are 10'bit. The Dreamcolor is 10-bit. You can get a capture card, that monitor, and an SDI>DVI converter and that will do well. I know someone who does that with their Kona. But that is more of the $3500 range.

Best bet...stop upgrading. GO back to an OS version that works with the solution you have.
'
IMHO
 
Not an option, as Aperture 3 and Logic 9.1, which I also use, require 10.6.2. I was referring to the Dreamcolor series 10-bit operation when I mentioned the need for a video card to get the benefits of those monitors. I don't believe that all of the 4 companies you mention are lagging in their support of Snow Leopard, are they?
 
Then this is a BIG case for multiple boot drives or boot partitions. One for the apps that demand newer OS's, and those that work best with earlier ones. I have Avid and FCP on different partitions, for example....because FCP and the drivers I have want a later version of the OS and QT, than the version of Avid that I have. If I upgraded that OS and had BOTH on the same drive, Avid would fail to work properly.
 
Or, in order to avoid all of that, one could try to buy gear from a company that provides reasonably current drivers for its installed base of hardware, which is the reason I initially started this thread and why I asked whether all of the 4 companies you mentioned are lagging in Snow Leopard support. All of my apps work either better or at least as well on Snow Leopard but for the absence of a driver for this one piece of hardware. I do appreciate your suggestion and may well use multiple boot drives to solve the problem in the short term, but I would hope to avoid a repeat of this situation with future OS upgrades with whatever I purchase next for monitoring color correction.

I would welcome any feedback on how prompt and reliable folks here feel each of these companies are in supporting their installed base of hardware. My impression is that AJA is pretty good about staying reasonably current with their drivers, and I have had good experiences with MOTU as regards their hardware on the audio side. I am not familiar with Black Magic's reputation.

Thanks again for any responses.
 
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THey might be behind by about 6 months or so...all of them. 6 months to be fully sure. Sometimes sooner. Matrox did update drivers for the MXO2 line pretty quickly, but the original MXO is an older product, so I suspect not high on their priority list...thinking that people who use them might be running older systems where people running the NEW hardware might be more prone to being current. I don't know. But does AJA have new drivers for SL for the Kona 2? Decklink for the older Decklink HD? I don't think so. I think they too only keep current the most current stuff.
 
Yes, but it is an old one. Meaning that it was made a while ago. It is still viable as it does things their current line does not. But being older, getting support for it on NEWER OS and FCP versions might be more difficult, or might be low priority.

I know nothing, I am just speculating. But I guess I should stop being devil's advocate. If you want a newer product, or one from another company, then go for it.
 
If budget isn't a problem just get the Kona 3, IMO. You'll pay the most but you'll end up w/the card w/the most features and solid tech support.

I've used a few different Blackmagic cards, like the Multibridge Eclipse, and they get the job down. Blackmagic also has a lot more products at different prices points so you have plenty of options to choose from. In my experience their tech support has been average. If all you are looking for is pretty basic the Intensity Pro might be right up your alley.

I've used the MOTU V3 and V4 HD and haven't not had a good experience w/them. The variant of the DVCPro HD codec they use doesn't play nice w/FCP in my experience. Basically, the clip will playback fine but if you do something that requires a render, such as a graphic w/Alpha channel, the MOTU video will 'slide' to a different point w/in the clip after you render (usually a dozen or so fames IIRC). The solution was to transcode all the MOTU clips using QT Player. We no longer use the MOTU and now use a Ki Pro, but that has it's own issues as well. It won't accept TC or Reel number metadata which means you can't media manage clips. Ugh.

The Dream Color seems to be a finicky beast though requiring RGB over HDMI to make it a worthwhile purchase.


-Andrew
 
I'd say the Kona LHi or Matrox MXO2...so you can have analog and digital inputs...AND upconvert footage from SD to HD, and cross convert 720 to 1080. The Kona 3 doesn't have analog inputs.
 
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