Matrox MXO2 or AJA IO HD for SD to HD upconversion???

N

Nicholas Natteau

Veteran
I'm editing a documentary film with Final Cut Pro and need to upconvert a number of NTSC DV clips from 480i SD to 720p HD.

I've tried software to upconvert but I only got satisafactory results with Compressor and the problem is that it takes way too long and I have many clips to upconvert. So I'm looking for a realtime hardware solution.

Can anyone tell me what their experience is using hardware like Matrox MXO2 or AJA's IO HD to upconvert?

I'm planning on buying hardware to upconvert SD to HD. But it looks like IO HD at ($2,700 from BH Photo Video) is nearly twice the price of the Matrox MXO2. So is the upconversion noticeably better with IO HD than with Matrox MXO2?

Thanks in advance for any feedback,

- Nick
 
Noticeably? Not unless you squint and really look at the scopes. The AJA is slightly better, but the MXO2 is darn good too. Plus the MXO2 works with Color in HD, the IO HD does not. And you mentioned the price.
 
Hi Shane,

Thanks very much for your feedback. Will the MXO2 allow me to take the Quicktime files I already logged and captured and upconvert them. Or do I have to re-log and capture everything from scratch? Thanks again for your help.

Also, do you know what the difference is between the MXO2 and MXO2 LE???

After reading your article in Creativecow.net, I just got the MXO to turn my second Apple cinema screen (23") into a virtual broadcast monitor.

I noticed stuttery playback via the MXO with 720p GH1 footage. When I called Matrox they told me of a known issue with Matrox drivers not yet up to date with Snow Leopard but that they plan on updating their drivers and fixing the issue within a few weeks. The problem only seemed to occur with HD not SD.

Thanks again,

- Nick
 
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>Will the MXO2 allow me to take the Quicktime files I already logged and captured and upconvert them. Or do I have to re-log and capture everything from scratch?

No. No capture card does this. You need to upconvert when you capture.

>Also, do you know what the difference is between the MXO2 and MXO2 LE???

Yes. And if you look at the product pages for both, you will to. I'm not gonna retype all of that. Basically, it boils down to audio options.

Yeah, SL has a LOT of compatibility issues with many products, especially the older ones.
 
Understood. Thank you. Yes, I see that the difference is only audio.

Just curious though. Have you experience stuttery playback in HD with your MXO? When I spoke to Matrox they told me not to update to the latest version of SL, but unfortunately, I already had by then. I guess i'll just have to sit tight and wait for Matrox's updated drivers to catch up.
 
Shane Ross said:
>Will the MXO2 allow me to take the Quicktime files I already logged and captured and upconvert them. Or do I have to re-log and capture everything from scratch?

No. No capture card does this. You need to upconvert when you capture.
Click to expand...

Not to hijack this thread, but I'm also interested in a MXO2. I've recently had around 30 hours of Quad video tape captured to digital files (I believe we have an uncompressed HD and Prores copies, have to check). Am I understanding you correctly that there is no hardware based upres solution possible without going back to the tapes?

Also, is the same true in reverse? If I'd like to use hardware downconversion of an HD file, do I have to output to tape, or could I create a file on a drive somewhere?

Thanks for any help you might have...
 
No stuttering with the MXO, ever. But I haven't gone to SL either. No plans to as well.

>Am I understanding you correctly that there is no hardware based upres solution possible without going back to the tapes?

Hardware conversion/scaling only happens when you capture or output. With ANY hardware scaler. If you want software solutions, look at Compressor and Instant HD (Red Giant Software).

>If I'd like to use hardware downconversion of an HD file, do I have to output to tape, or could I create a file on a drive somewhere?

Same is true. Best to use the hardware when outputting. Second best, is Compressor.
 
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