Matrox MXO2 Release Notes (Mac OS version) March 18, 2011 vy11077-401-0221
Trademarks Matrox Electronic Systems Ltd.... Matrox, Matrox MAX, Matrox Vetura, MXO Adobe Systems Inc... Adobe, After Effects, Encore, Photoshop, Premiere Pro Apple Inc...Apple, Final Cut Pro, ipad, iphone, ipod, Mac, QuickTime, Snow Leopard, Soundtrack Avid Technology, Inc....Avid, Media Composer HDMI Licensing LLC.... HDMI Panasonic (Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.)...Panasonic, DVCPRO Sonic Solutions...Sonic, Sonic Solutions, Roxio, Roxio Toast Sony Corporation... Sony, Blu-ray Disc HDMI, the HDMI logo and High-Definition Multimedia Interface are trademarks or registered trademarks of HDMI Licensing LLC. All other nationally and internationally recognized trademarks and tradenames are hereby acknowledged. Copyright 2011 Matrox Electronic Systems Ltd. All rights reserved. Disclaimer Matrox Electronic Systems Ltd. reserves the right to make changes in specifications at any time and without notice. The information provided by this document is believed to be accurate and reliable. However, no responsibility is assumed by Matrox Electronic Systems Ltd. for its use; nor for any infringements of patents or other rights of third parties resulting from its use. No license is granted under any patents or patent rights of Matrox Electronic Systems Ltd. Unauthorized recording or use of broadcast television programming, video tape, or other copyrighted material may violate copyright laws. Matrox Electronic Systems Ltd. assumes no responsibility for the illegal duplication, use, or other acts that infringe on the rights of copyright owners. Matrox Electronic Systems Ltd. 1055 St. Regis Blvd., Dorval, Quebec, Canada H9P 2T4 Tel: (514) 685-2630 Fax: (514) 685-2853 World Wide Web: www.matrox.com
Contents About these release notes... 1 Visit our website for the latest downloads... 1 What s new in this release... 1... 2 Third-party applications... 2 Matrox MAX H.264 encoding (MAX option)... 4 Matrox Vetura... 6
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About these release notes These release notes provide a list of new features and known issues applicable to the version 2.2.1 software for Matrox MXO2 products. This information supplements the Matrox MXO2 Installation and User Guide, which is provided in PDF format in the Matrox MXO2 Support section of our website at www.matrox.com/video/support. 1 Visit our website for the latest downloads To ensure that you have the latest software updates and documentation available for your Matrox MXO2 product, check the Matrox MXO2 Support section of our website at www.matrox.com/video/support. Our website also offers up-to-the-minute information about Matrox products, access to our user forums, and special promotional offers. What s new in this release Version 2.2.1 provides the following: Support for Mac OS X Snow Leopard v10.6.6. Support for Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 v5.0.3. Unique new Matrox HDMI Calibration Utility that provides a wizard to guide you through the process of color calibrating your HDMI monitor so that it performs like a broadcast monitor. It walks you through a set of patterns that lets you effectively identify and compensate for five improper adjustments that may be present in your HDMI monitor true 1:1 pixel representation, white and black level, white point, gamma response, and hue and chroma. Improved core audio support. New HDMI SD output option allowing you to output either interlaced or progressive SD video from the HDMI output. New analog audio attenuation option. Performance and stability issues. For Matrox MAX H.264 encoding: $ Timecode support when exporting.mov H.264 files. $ Support for Adobe Media Encoder v5.0.1.0. For information about MXO2 Mini hardware support with Avid editing software, including the supported video formats, see the Avid Knowledge Base topic Matrox MXO2 Mini FAQ (366347). About these release notes
2 Note Avid has not tested Matrox MXO2 Mini version 2.2.1. However, Matrox has tested and approved this release for using Avid editing software with MXO2 Mini. Please be aware of the following issues with version 2.2.1. Third-party applications If your audio input is not detected in Soundtrack Pro when using MXO2 as the input device for recording, ensure the following settings: $ Matrox MXO2 is set as the input (Matrox MXO2 Audio Input) and output (Matrox MXO2 Audio Output) audio device in your Mac OS sound settings (System Preferences > Sound). $ Matrox MXO2 Audio Input is selected as the recording input source in Soundtrack Pro (Soundtrack Pro > Preferences > Recording). $ The MXO2 input to which your audio source is connected is selected as the audio input source on the A/V Input pane of the MXO2 preferences window. If you are not using MXO2 s SDI or HDMI input for audio, make sure that SDI or HDMI are not selected as the video input source. If the audio input is still not detected in Soundtrack Pro after ensuring the above settings, the following steps may resolve the issue: a Start Final Cut Pro, and load an MXO2 Easy Setup. b Open the Log and Capture window (CTRL+8). Make sure that your audio input is detected. c Close Final Cut Pro. (Ref# 52815) When MXO2 is set as the input audio device (Matrox MXO2 Audio Input) in the Mac OS Sound preferences window, if the Sound preferences window is open and is on the Input pane, you won t be able to hear audio from the MXO2 outputs when playing back a clip in Final Cut Pro. To regain the audio output from MXO2, either switch the Sound preferences window to a pane other than the Output pane, or close the window, and then in Final Cut Pro choose View > External Video, and then click Refresh A/V Devices. (Ref# 55666) You may get an error when switching between Soundtrack Pro and Final Cut Pro when they are both using the Matrox MXO2 for video output. To avoid this, stop the playback in Soundtrack Pro before switching to Final Cut Pro. (Ref# 47232) When playing back a clip using Premiere Pro with MXO2, you won t be able to output audio from your system using the Built-in Line Output audio option in Premiere Pro > Preferences > Audio Hardware. (Ref# 55566)
3 When working in Adobe After Effects, selecting a Matrox MXO2 10-bit Output Mode for your video preview is not supported. As a workaround, choose a Matrox MXO2 8-bit Output Mode instead. (Ref# 47283) Video distortion may appear on the output when playing back a DV NTSC (720 480) project in Apple Motion. To resolve this issue, in Apple Motion make sure that Field Rendering is enabled (View > Field Rendering), and set the project to NTSC Broadcast SD as follows: a Choose Edit > Project Properties. b On the General pane, from the Preset menu, select NTSC Broadcast SD. (Ref# 47728) When performing an edit-to-tape using Final Cut Pro with MXO2, the video preview in the Edit to Tape window may appear to be too bright, however this does not affect the video that is recorded to tape. (Ref# 47443) When sending a project from Apple Color to Final Cut Pro, you may lose MXO2 s video output in Final Cut Pro. To prevent this from occurring, disable the video output in Color before sending the project to Final Cut Pro. To disable the video output in Color: a Choose Color > Preferences. b On the User Prefs pane, from the Video Output menu, select Disabled. (Ref# 47992) To output a DV PAL project using Final Cut Pro with MXO2, use a Matrox MXO2 - PAL video playback setting, instead of a Matrox MXO2 - DV PAL video playback setting. For example, to output a DV PAL (720 576) 8-bit project, use the Matrox MXO2 - PAL YUV 8-bit (720 576) video playback setting. Using a Matrox MXO2 - DV PAL video playback setting may result in video distortion at the output. (Ref# 52159 and 52258) Due to the various devices on the market, to ensure frame-accurate capture and edit-to-tape in Final Cut Pro when using MXO2 s RS-422 serial connection, you may need to adjust the Capture Offset, Playback Offset, Pre-Roll, and Post-Roll settings in the Matrox MXO2 device control preset for your particular device. When working with more than eight audio tracks in Apple Final Cut Pro, set the Real-Time Audio Mixing option to 16 in Final Cut Pro > User Preferences to avoid having to render a part of your sequence for playback. When working with Adobe Premiere Pro CS4, device control is not supported using the RS-422 serial connector on MXO2, MXO2 Rack, and MXO2 LE products. When cross-converting a project s video output between 720p and 1080i/PsF, the SD output from MXO2 is not supported and will be output as black video. (Ref# 47476)
4 When outputting 1080i/PsF material from the MXO2 HDMI output to a ViewSonic VX2435wm HDMI monitor, a green line may appear at the bottom of the screen. This issue is created by the monitor and does not affect your project. (Ref# 48527 and 48529) When capturing to DVCPRO NTSC 4:3 or 16:9 using Final Cut Pro with MXO2, you may see a multi-colored line at the bottom of the capture window, however this does not affect the video that is captured. (Ref# 49287) When capturing a 1080 source to NTSC and previewing the capture through the MXO2 HDMI output, a line of distorted video may appear at the top of your HDMI monitor. This issue pertains to the preview only, and does not affect your capture. (Ref# 50271) Matrox MAX H.264 encoding (MAX option) In Final Cut Pro, a General Error may occur when using the File > Export > QuickTime Movie option to export material using the Matrox MAX H.264 codec. If this occurs, disable the external video before exporting by choosing View > External Video > Off. You can also avoid this issue by choosing File > Export > Using QuickTime Conversion instead of using the QuickTime Movie option to export your material. (Ref# 50816) If your MXO2 with MAX system does not include a Matrox CompressHD card, and you want to use the Share feature in Final Cut Pro 7 or later for encoding using the Matrox MAX H.264 codec in Compressor, you must disable the external video in Final Cut Pro before exporting your project. To do so, click View > External Video > Off. (Ref# 53396) If instability issues occur in a non-supported third-party application when the Matrox MAX H.264 codec is activated, try deactivating the Matrox MAX H.264 codec and then restarting the application to resolve the issue. In Final Cut Pro, after exporting to a QuickTime Movie using the Matrox MAX H.264 codec, if you deactivate the Matrox MAX H.264 codec and then try to export a QuickTime Movie using a different codec, you will receive an error message, and Final Cut Pro will become unresponsive until you Force Quit. This occurs because Final Cut Pro is still looking for the last codec used (Matrox MAX H.264 codec), which is now unavailable because it has been deactivated. To avoid this issue, activate the Matrox MAX H.264 codec, go to File > Export > QuickTime Movie, and then select any other codec from the list. At this point, you can safely deactivate the Matrox MAX H.264 codec. (Ref# 50260) When using Apple Qmaster to export material using the Matrox MAX H.264 codec, only one instance is supported on the system to which your Matrox MAX hardware is connected. In the Apple Qmaster window, under Options for selected services, make sure only one instance is selected. However,
5 you can select any number of instances for other systems on the network, assuming that they do not have Matrox MAX hardware connected. (Ref# 50527 and 50747) When encoding for QuickTime (.mov) using an application other than Apple Compressor, and your source video must be scaled, don t select the Matrox MAX H.264 De-interlace video option in the QuickTime Standard Video Compression Settings window. (Ref# 50975 and 51038) When encoding for QuickTime (.mov) using a custom width and height for your output, you may not be able to view your encoded video using QuickTime X. To avoid this: $ The minimum height must be 162 pixels. $ The width must be a value within the following ranges: 306-320, 466-480, 626-640, 706-720, 946-960, 1266-1280, 1426-1440, 1906-1920. (Ref# 52006) When using the Matrox MAX H.264 codec in Compressor, if your source video is being scaled to a non-sd or non-hd resolution (i.e. ipod, iphone) for encoding, and the Matrox MAX H.264 Retain aspect ratio when scaling option is selected, your source video s aspect ratio may not be maintained if you re encoding to a larger aspect ratio (pillarbox video). If using Compressor v3.5 or later, this issue may be resolved by disabling the Matrox MAX H.264 Hardware scaling option (this option is disabled by default when using a Matrox MAX H.264 Fast Encode setting), and selecting Preserve source aspect ratio from the Padding list in Compressor s Geometry pane. (Ref# 52471) In Apple Compressor, when the Matrox MAX H.264 Hardware scaling option is enabled (this option is enabled by default when using a Matrox MAX H.264 High-Quality setting), and your source video contains a graphic that is added to the video image (i.e. timecode), the graphic is also scaled if your video must be scaled for encoding. This results in a graphic that appears larger or smaller in your encoded video, depending on if you re upscaling or downscaling. To avoid this, you must resize the graphic in Compressor prior to encoding to allow for scaling. For example, if you re upscaling source video that contains timecode, make the timecode size smaller in Compressor prior to encoding to compensate for the scaling. (Ref# 52788) All QuickTime-based applications must be closed before you can safely activate/deactivate the Matrox MAX H.264 codec. However, even if an application is closed, one of its processes can still be running in the background. Such is the case with Apple Compressor. If Apple Compressor is closed and you activate/deactivate the Matrox MAX H.264 codec, a message indicating that you must restart your computer in order to
6 activate/deactivate the codec may appear. To avoid this, you must stop the Apple Compressor process that is still running in the background before activating/deactivating the Matrox MAX H.264 codec: a In the Finder menu, choose File > New Finder Window. b Choose Applications > Utilities, and then click Activity Monitor. c In the Activity Monitor window, select the CompressorTranscoder (Not Responding) process from the list, and then click Quit Process. In Adobe Encore CS5, when playing back a Matrox MAX H.264 Blu-ray file (.264), extra colored frames may appear at the beginning or end of your clip. This issue pertains to playback only, and does not appear on the authored disc. (Ref# 55045) When using Adobe Media Encoder to export material using the Matrox MAX H.264 codec, make sure to specify the following settings in Media Encoder s Export Settings window (Edit > Export Settings): $ In the Video pane, select Matrox MAX H.264 from the Video Codec list. $ In the Video pane, under Bitrate Settings, select Limit data rate to and enter a value. (Ref# 55367) When encoding for QuickTime (.mov) in Adobe Media Encoder using the Matrox MAX H.264 codec, in order to use the CAVLC encoding method you must enable the Limit data rate to option in the Export Settings window. If you don t want to limit the data rate for your encoded video, you must use the CABAC encoding method instead. (Ref# 55366 and 55828) To burn a Matrox MAX H.264 Blu-ray file that contains chapter markers, use Apple Compressor or Adobe Encore. Roxio Toast does not support Matrox MAX H.264 Blu-ray files with chapter markers. (Ref# 55758) Matrox Vetura To avoid audio issues, such as intermittent audio, when playing back a clip in Matrox Vetura Playback, make sure that Matrox MXO2 Audio Output is not selected as the core audio output device for your system. To set the core audio device for your system, from the Apple menu, click System Preferences, and then click Sound. (Ref# 52860) When MXO2 is set as the input audio device (Matrox MXO2 Audio Input) in the Mac OS Sound preferences window, if the Sound preferences window is open and is on the Input pane, you won t be able to hear audio from the MXO2 outputs when playing back a clip in Matrox Vetura Playback. To regain the audio output from MXO2, either switch the Sound preferences window to a pane other than the Output pane, or close the window.(ref# 55640)
7 When capturing in Matrox Vetura Capture using a 10-bit video format, the video in the live window will appear corrupted. This issue pertains to the live window in Matrox Vetura Playback only, and does not affect the video preview on the MXO2 output or the captured file. (Ref# 56053)
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