The Great DV Shootout 2003
Page 10 of 14
Stephen Albanese, Matrox:Again a response full of vague, unsupported, and false statements from Canopus. Long product life is good, but professionals can easily justify $1000 for a new card that gives them the extra edge that saves time and brings in new business. Layers are good but what really matters is what you can do with them. Matrox RT.X100 offers vastly superior flexibility and control. Canopus disparages our graphics technology, yet DVStorm2 doesn't even come close in 3D (www.matrox.com/video/products/rtx100/effects/3dtechnology.cfm). Their quality/stability argument might have been true 2 years ago, but a quick look at user forums shows that our reputation builds while theirs appears to be slipping. Our hardware codec can be (and has been) easily field-updated with new microcode. How about theirs?
Pinnacle Hollywood FX need rendering for good quality. Editors who want MPEG-2 editing tools can buy Pegasys Inc. TMPGEnc Plus (<$50). Matrox technology ensures A/V sync, where's Pinnacle's evidence to the contrary?
The bottom line -- What editors have been asking for in an editing system are: the flexibility and control to create a signature style that sells; the speed to finish projects in record time; and quality and stability they can rely on.
With superior capture tools, the best color correction and 3D technologies, the most comprehensive effects control, and the fastest delivery tools, Matrox RT.X100 gives editors the competitive advantage.
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Charlie's Comments:Notice that Stephen is acknowledging that Matrox's RT.X100 can't edit MPEG-2 files, but deftly points to cheap apps by Pegasys and TMPGEnc that can easily get the job done. Nice move, but it's true that the Pinnacle machine is the only one in this roundup that can really edit MPEG-2. The Canopus bundle contains an MPEG-2 editor that's extremely limited -- it only lets you cut on the I-Frames, which means you can't do frame-accurate edits. Stephen didn't mention a powerful feature of the RT.X100, its ability to capture MPEG-2 in real time, and the resulting files can then be used as-is directly, burned onto a DVD without using any AVI "wrappers" of any kind. It's main-line DVD video, in real time. That can come in handy if you need to get some footage onto a DVD and into a client's hands in a hurry so he can, for example, watch your rough cut on his DVD player in his home theater.
Stephen also brings up user forums, which I think aren't really a valid place to get a reading on a product's reputation, since the sample of people visiting there are mostly those who are having problems and are really upset. If a product works perfectly, it stands to reason that its users won't frequent a forum to complain about it or seek help, or even to praise it.
Although Matrox does still lead when it comes to 3D configurability, Canopus's 3D transitions (although they're not applicable as filters) are easy to use and are of high quality. If you're not one who needs a vast collection of 3D effects, the Canopus 3D toolbox might be the one for you. There aren't the vast selection of effects Matrox or Pinnacle has, but heck, I don't think you should be using these that much anyway, so why tempt yourself? But sometimes, 3D capability is indispensable, like when you need to zoom in slightly to avoid showing a boom mike at the top of the frame that somehow crept its way into your shot without anyone noticing.
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