O ne of the most over-used terms inthe nonlinear editing marketplaceis probably “realtime.” Nearly

every manufacturer uses “realtime” some-where in hyping their NLE, and it meanssomething a bit different for every product.For some, realtime means it renders in real-time, or that a limited number of effects ortransitions at a narrow range of resolutionsare realtime.

For many editors, this narrow definitionof “realtime” is good enough. The editorslikely work solo and seldom, if ever, have aclient in the edit suite. Rendering is simplypar t of their workflow. For other editors,having a client sitting in the edit suite, mold-ing each edit, is the standard workflow. Intheir case, they and their client know exactlywhat is meant by “realtime.”Time is moneyand renders happen few and far between.These “higher end” editing systems are ex-pected to offer a wide variety of customiz-able realtime 2D and 3D effects, color cor-rections, keying, mattes, and more — all at awide range of codecs and resolutions.Withso many products claiming “realtime” status,all you can do is sit down and demo each ofthem and experience what each means by“realtime.” I did this with the new Axio real-time HD editing system from Matrox. I dis-covered that the Axio’s realtime capabilitieswere the kind that will keep me productiveand my clients happy.

MORE THAN CPU PROCESSING

Before I get into some technical details ofthe Matrox Axio, it might be helpful tobriefly mention what I think distinguishes a“higher end” realtime system from other re-altime systems. Some NLEs that offer a lim-ited number of realtime effects and transi-tions are creating that realtime functionalitycompletely on the power of the worksta-tion’s CPU. In these systems you might havean I/O device or simple FireWire input, butthere is no other hardware except for theCPU that can create any realtime capabili-ties. As CPUs increase in speed, they areable to deliver more and more realtimefunctionalilty. Now this is not a bad strategy,and I’ll come back to it in just a moment.

When you get to higher-end systems that

offer a wide range of customizable realtime2D and 3D effects, primary and secondarycolor correction, keying, matting, realtimespeed changes, all in multiple SD and HDresolutions, you simply have to use hard-ware processing that is separate from theCPU. No matter what hype you might betold, current CPUs alone (even new dual-core processors) are simply not capable ofall these higher-level realtime functions.Theytake customized hardware to accomplish.The best approach is to use the power ofboth the CPU and specialized hardware togive you the maximum realtime capabilities.This is exactly what Matrox’s strategy hasbeen with the Axio. Some realtime capabili-ties are handled by the CPU, and some arehandled by the Axio hardware. As CPUs ad-vance in speed and power, the Axio’s capa-bilities will also increase.

TURNKEY: BUNDLEDWITH PREMIERE PRO

Though the Axio hardware and Adobesoftware bundle retails for about $11,495for HD and $7,495 for SD, it’s only availablefrom authorized dealers as a complete,turnkey editing system integrated into a vali-dated workstation. Matrox wants to makesure that dealers build these systems totheir specifications with components they’vecertified. In case you’re one of those peoplewho might be stuck in the past when AdobePremiere was not a robust, full-featured,professional HD editing solution — well, youmost definitely owe it to yourself to give it aserious look in combination with Axio as theengine.The system I tested was being drivenby an HP xw9300 workstation with dual-core AMD processors.To test the realtime

HD performance of the system, we loadedup the Premiere Pro timeline with five layersof full resolution, uncompressed 1080 24pfootage (each layer was running at about100 MBytes/sec.). Two of the layers hadcolor correction going on, three had trans-parency, and to one we added a 3D effect. Inaddition to these video layers we addedtwo 32-bit graphics layers. Axio played thetimeline back flawlessly with no framesdropped or any resolution lost.We chose tooutput 2:3 pull down to display at 1080i30fps.You could have recorded the timelinedirectly to HD tape at 24 or 30 frames persecond. As impressive as this display of rawuncompressed HD power was, it’s importantto note that the Axio can also work in finish-ing-quality compressed HD, as well as mixand match uncompressed 8-and 10-bit videoand compressed HD formats on the timelinein true realtime. Multiformat SD projects canbe built with DV, DVCPRO, DV50, MPEG-2 i-frame and uncompressed 8- and 10-bitvideo on the same timeline in realtime.

FLEXIBILITY, VALUE, AND A FUTURE

The Axio comes in two different flavors— SD and HD.The only difference is thebreakout box you purchase.The SD Axio iscapable of handling HD material, so if youbegin with SD and want to switch to HD, allyou have to purchase is the HD breakoutbox.This approach gives your Axio system afuture and maximizes your investment. I waswon over by the Axio. If you need true, re-altime HD or SD in your post suite, with nocompromises, at a very reasonable price,this is a product you need to take a seriouslook at.

True realtime SD

or HD with no

compromises.

80 Post www.postmagazine.com

ByRANDALLSIMPSON

Production Supervisor

KACT-TV

Aurora, CO

rsimpson@ci.aurora.co.us VIT

AL

S

TA

TS PRODUCT: Matrox Axio

WEB SITE: www.matrox.comPRICING: SD: $7,495;HD: $11,495· Advanced realtime NLE in a

variety of compressed anduncompressed HD & SD formats

· Affordably priced· Easily upgradeable from SD

to HD

R E V I E W

The Matrox Axio: affordable and powerful realtime HD editing

as seen in