Product Review: Page (2) of 2 - 08/01/05

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Matrox Parhelia APVe Graphics Card Powerful new card proves that (up to) four heads are better than one

Perhaps the most impressive use of the Parhelia APVe is with the Matrox Axio or RT.x series of video editing hardware, where you can connect two monitors to the Parhelia card, one to the capture card?s video output, and then in addition you can connect an HDTV monitor, totaling four monitors. There's nothing quite like having a gigantic desktop on which to work, especially when dealing with large timelines and multiple windows that you really do need to have opened all at once.

Another advantage you?ll enjoy with this graphics card is its extraordinary video output and outstanding speed, with its 128 MB of RAM and its PCI Express x16 compatibility. On our state-of-the-art monitoring equipment here at the Midwest Test Facility, we noticed extraordinary resolution and lightning-fast refresh rates on all the monitors we had hooked up to the Parhelia APVe. We also noticed that the display drivers were stable and we liked the Matrox ?Power Desk HF? control software included in the package.

The Matrox APVe graphics card is powerful and versatile, and does what it claims to do. If you're looking to have a wall of monitors with which to do your editing or graphics work, or you're looking to cross that bridge to HD or HDV editing, this card will serve you well. Highly recommended. 9.5 of 10 stars. 

Key features 

Native x16 PCI Express architecture

128MB DDR memory

Dual 400 MHZ 10-bit RAMDACs

DualHead up to 1920 x 1440 per display

Dual-DVI up to 1920 x 1200 per display

Advanced multi-display output modes:
Dual-display plus HDTV output
Dual-DVI plus TV output
Dual-display plus TV output
TripleHead Desktop Mode

WYSIWYG video output plug-ins for: Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects and Photoshop, Discreet combustion 3, 3ds max and
NewTek LightWave 3

Matrox Pivot Mode2

Component, composite and S-video output

YPbPr component output at 1080i/25, 1080i/30, 1080p/24, 1080p/25, 1080p/30, 720p/60, 483p/60, 480p/59.94 and 576p/50

Composite and S-video input

PureVideo Preview -- full screen video playback

Dual Hardware Overlays -- gamma correctable

Adjustable proc-amp settings for TV and overlay video window: hue, saturation, brightness and contrast

UltraSharp Display Output technology

PowerDesk-HF utility suite

OpenGL and Microsoft DirectX compliant

Drivers for Microsoft Windows XP and Windows 2000

Composite input requires additional cable, sold separately. Video input not supported in dual-display plus HDTV mode.

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