News

Matrox Launches Matrox Axio Realtime Multi-Stream SD and HD Editing Platforms at NAB 2005 (5/5/2005)

Matrox Video Products Group today announced the North American launch of the Matrox Axio family of realtime HD and SD editing platforms designed to give users the highest finishing quality, coupled with the most comprehensive realtime feature set, at an affordable price point. Matrox Axio will be demonstrated here at NAB in the Matrox booth SL1131 and the Adobe booth SL313.

Matrox Axio makes Adobe Premiere Pro the foremost realtime HD and SD editor for demanding broadcast and post-production environments. It features no-render HD and SD finishing in compressed and uncompressed formats, superior color correction tools, advanced realtime effects, and a full range of analog and digital audio and video inputs and outputs. It incorporates Matrox Flex 3D and Power of X technologies to leverage scalable CPU power with the explosive performance of dedicated 3D graphics hardware to provide the ultimate SD and HD editing experience.

"As we near shipping Matrox Axio, the consensus from our worldwide beta testing sites is that the combined strength of Matrox Axio and the Adobe software provides the industry with a powerful HD/SD editing system at the right price point," said Bernard Lamborelle, Matrox director of technical marketing. "Its realtime performance and smooth workflow will change the way the industry approaches HD editing."

"With realtime 8 and 10-bit HD editing and effects, Axio is shaping up to be a great solution for broadcasters who have to produce eye-grabbing news promos and packages on tight deadlines," said Hector Gonzalez, Executive Producer, KUAT Communications. "Axio's software codecs and tight integration with Premiere Pro and other Adobe products allows the easy sharing of projects and files with the entire news and creative staff. We can create once in HD and use the material for SD, DVD, the web, and even print!"

"A major advantage of Matrox Axio is being able to have one edit-bay, with great image quality, in SD and several HD formats. Our editors can stay in one location for approvals and decision-making on ALL their projects," said Charles Meyer, Wet Cement Productions Inc. "The flexibility to use legacy media from our DigiSuite edit systems and to use the Matrox software codecs on other machines to created media clips that can be quickly dropped into an edit session without conversion or manipulation were other factors that led us to choose Axio."

"I work on broadcast projects in a local and regional marketplace where the need for HD is starting to appear. I just need an affordable way to edit HD with commonly used realtime functionality as easily as I'm used to editing SD in real time," said Larry Sherwood, owner and editor at Sherwood Post and Production Studios. "Matrox Axio, Adobe Premiere Pro, and the HP xw8200 workstation together provide guys like me with that solution."

The Matrox Axio family builds on solid expertise gained over several generations of Matrox DigiSuite and RT Series products. Well over 200,000 users worldwide currently enjoy the amazing value, stable reliability, and superior productivity of Matrox-based realtime nonlinear editing systems.

Key features of Matrox Axio HD

Matrox Axio HD is ideal for facilities doing HD post-production, those doing a mix of HD and SD projects, as well as those just getting into HD. Users get ultra high performance editing in all formats.

¥ Guaranteed full quality, full frame rate, full resolution playback at up to 1080i at 29.97 fps ¥ At least two layers of uncompressed 10-bit HD video plus two layers of graphics in real time, with effects ¥ At least 4 layers of uncompressed 10-bit SD video plus 6 layers of graphics in real time, with effects ¥ Realtime primary and secondary color correction with shot-to-shot color matching ¥ Realtime 3D DVEs, chroma/luma keying, speed changes, blur/glow/soft focus, and much more ¥ Uncompressed 8- or 10-bit HD and SD editing ¥ Compressed HD editing (offline and online finishing-quality MPEG-2 I-frame) ¥ DV, DVCPRO, DV50, and MPEG-2 I-frame SD editing ¥ 24-fps editing in HD and SD with pull down and reverse pull down ¥ DV-1394, SD SDI, and HD SDI input and output ¥ RGB and YPbPr analog component output ¥ 4-in/8-out AES/EBU balanced audio, 8-in/8-out SDI embedded audio

Key features of Matrox Axio SD

Matrox Axio SD is perfect for facilities currently doing SD post-production that want a future-proof solution. Users get ultra high performance SD editing with a full range of analog and digital inputs and outputs to meet their needs today, and the opportunity to upgrade to Matrox Axio HD at any time, simply by adding the HD breakout box.

¥ Guaranteed full quality, full frame rate, full resolution playback ¥ At least 4 layers of uncompressed 10-bit SD video plus 6 layers of graphics in real time, with effects ¥ Realtime primary and secondary color correction with shot-to-shot color matching ¥ Realtime 3D DVEs, chroma/luma keying, speed changes, blur/glow/soft focus, and much more ¥ DV, DVCPRO, DV50, MPEG-2 I-frame, and uncompressed 8- or 10-bit SD editing ¥ 24 fps editing with pull down and reverse pull down ¥ DV-1394, composite, Y/C, analog component, and SDI video input and output ¥ 2-in/2-out RCA and XLR audio, 8-in/8-out SDI embedded audio ¥ Upgradeable to Matrox Axio HD by simply adding the HD breakout box

Price and availability

Matrox Axio HD is priced at $11,495 US in North America. Matrox Axio SD is priced at $7,495 US in North America. Prices include the complete Adobe Video Collection Standard. An exclusive discount program is available to current Matrox DigiSuite owners, offering a savings of $1,500 on Matrox Axio SD and $2,500 Matrox Axio HD. Details of this program can be found on the Matrox website.

The Matrox Axio software and hardware components are integrated into an approved workstation-class PCI-X computer, coupled with a robust storage subsystem, and sold through a network of Matrox authorized dealers. These dealers also provide installation and training services to customers worldwide.

First customer shipments of Matrox Axio are scheduled for June 2005.

www.matrox.com/video