Matrox Announces Realtime Native HDV and DVCPRO HD Editing Support on Matrox Axio HD and Matrox Axio SD Platforms

IBC 2005, Amsterdam, September 2005 - Matrox® Video Products Group today announced that release 1.5 software for the Matrox Axio™ family of HD and SD editing platforms will provide realtime native HDV and DVCPRO HD editing support with the ability to mix HD codecs or SD codecs on the timeline in real time. Other release 1.5 features include realtime high quality downscaling from HD to SD and additional realtime effects such as mask blur, mask mosaic and four corner pinning. Matrox Axio will be demonstrated at IBC 2005 on stand 7.128.

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.

"In response to the growing use of HDV and DVCPRO HD in professional post-production, we are providing our customers with native editing support of these important formats on both Axio HD and Axio SD," said Alain Legault, Matrox vice president of product development. "We are also giving users a new level of flexibility with the ability to mix these HD codecs with other HD footage on the timeline in real time."

"Many of our customers have requested the ability to acquire HDV and DVCPRO HD material, maintain the higher HD quality throughout the editing process, and then output SD resolution projects for delivery to their clients and for DVD production," said Nabil Tarazi, Matrox vice president of sales and marketing for EMEA. "With release 1.5, Matrox Axio SD will provide a very cost-effective platform to support that workflow."

Key features of Matrox Axio
There are two Matrox Axio platforms to choose from. Both offer ultra high performance editing in all HD and SD formats. They differ only in the audio and video inputs and outputs provided on the interchangeable breakout boxes. Both Matrox Axio platforms offer:

•	Guaranteed full quality, full frame rate, full resolution playback at up to 1080i at 29.97 fps
•	At least 2 layers of uncompressed 10-bit HD video plus 2 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
•	Native HDV and DVCPRO HD editing
•	Compressed HD editing (offline and online finishing-quality MPEG-2 I-frame)
•	DV, DVCPRO, DV50, and MPEG-2 I-frame SD editing
•	Realtime mixing of HD codecs or SD codecs on the timeline
•	24 fps editing in HD and SD with pull down and reverse pull down
•	Realtime high quality downscaling from HD to SD
•	Matrox Axio HD I/O
	-	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
•	Matrox Axio SD I/O
	-	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

* Realtime performance increases significantly with Dual-Core systems - up to double the number of realtime layers.

Price and availability Matrox Axio is now available worldwide through a network of authorized dealers. The software and hardware components are integrated by the dealer into an approved workstation-class PCI-X computer, coupled with a robust storage subsystem, and delivered as a turnkey system. Dealers also provide on-site installation and training services. 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, the workstation and storage are extra. Release 1.5 will be available before year-end and provided free of charge to registered Matrox Axio owners. 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. About Matrox Matrox Video Products Group is a technology and market leader in the field of HD and SD digital video hardware and software for realtime editing, DVD authoring, capture/playout servers, clip/still stores, and CGs. Matrox's Emmy award-winning technology powers a full range of content creation and delivery platforms used by broadcasters, post-production facilities, project studios, corporate communicators, and videographers worldwide. Founded in 1976, Matrox is a privately held company headquartered in Montreal, Canada. For more information visit www.matrox.com/video. Note:   Print resolution artwork can be downloaded at www.matrox.com/video/en/press/artwork#axio Matrox is a registered trademark and Matrox Axio is a trademark of Matrox Electronic Systems Ltd. Adobe and Adobe Premiere are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners and are hereby acknowledged. Contact our Communications Team