Provides Faster Than Realtime High Definition H.264 File Creation
Matrox Video Products Group today announced Matrox CompressHD™, the first implementation of Matrox MAX™ technology in an H.264 accelerator card for the Mac or PC, priced at just $495 US. Matrox MAX technology uses a dedicated hardware processor to accelerate the creation of H.264 files for mobile devices, the web and Blu-ray discs. By using specialized hardware acceleration, jobs are finished with amazing speed and system resources are liberated for other tasks. Matrox CompressHD works in systems with or without a video I/O device. Ease of use is ensured through direct integration with Apple Compressor on the Mac. As an added benefit, the Matrox MAX technology allows direct export to higher-quality H.264 Blu-ray compliant files from Compressor.
“Final Cut Studio is the creative tool of choice for video professionals around the world,” said Richard Townhill, Apple’s director of Video Applications Marketing. “By adding the Matrox CompressHD accelerator to a Mac Pro, editors can spend more time creating the movie they want and less time getting it ready for distribution.”
“Matrox CompressHD is all about speed and workflow efficiency,” said Lorne Trottier, president of Matrox. “For example, creating a 20 minute H.264 Blu-ray image typically takes about 90 minutes on an 8-core Mac Pro. Using Matrox MAX technology, that same image can be generated in less than 18 minutes. Matrox CompressHD is a must-have for anyone creating content today.”
Key features of Matrox CompressHD
- Faster than realtime creation of H.264 files, for resolutions ranging from iPod to HD, using Matrox MAX technology
- Low profile, half-length PCIe x1 card that fits into all Mac Pros and Intel-based Apple Xserve systems
- Works in systems with or without an I/O device
- Three-year hardware warranty and complimentary telephone support
Key features of Matrox MAX technology
- Faster than realtime creation of H.264 files, for resolutions ranging from iPod to HD, at bitrates up to 50 Mbps
- A specialized, dedicated hardware processor liberates system resources for other tasks
- Accelerated encoding for Blu-ray, PS3, Apple TV, YouTube, Flash, web formats, and mobile devices including iPhone, and iPod from various video sources including 2K files
- Direct integration with Apple Compressor to simplify workflow
- Creation of Blu-ray H.264 files that can be authored in Adobe Encore CS4 or Roxio Toast 10 and burned without re-encoding
- Support for Apple Qmaster to take advantage of multiple systems with a Matrox MAX processing engine for distributed encoding across a network
Matrox Announces Matrox CompressHD for the PC
Matrox Video Products Group today announced Matrox CompressHD™, the first implementation of Matrox MAX™ technology in an H.264 accelerator card for Windows, priced at just $495 US. Matrox MAX technology uses a dedicated hardware processor to accelerate the creation of H.264 files for mobile devices, the web and Blu-ray discs. By using specialized hardware acceleration, jobs are finished with amazing speed and system resources are liberated for other tasks. Matrox CompressHD works in systems with or without a video I/O device. Ease of use is ensured through direct integration with Adobe Media Encoder software on the PC.
“With the industry move to HD, productivity in the creative workflow has never been more important to Adobe Creative Suite 4 Production Premium users,” said Giles Baker, group product manager, Editing Workflows at Adobe. “Along with the many built-in productivity features and time-saving capabilities of Adobe’s integrated video production toolset, the Matrox CompressHD card will enable users to more quickly deliver engaging interactive experiences to audiences across platforms and devices.”
“Saving time on mundane encoding tasks is a tremendous advantage for content creators, said Lorne Trottier, president of Matrox. “Matrox CompressHD provides the ultimate in speed and workflow efficiency when it comes to producing H.264 files. For example, encoding a 20 minute DVCPRO HD 720p project to a Flash file for delivery on a mobile device or the web typically takes close to two hours on a quad-core PC. That same project can be encoded in less than 20 minutes using the Matrox MAX technology.”
Price and availability
Priced at $495 US (£375, €449) not including local taxes, Matrox CompressHD with Mac drivers will be available in May 2009 and Matrox CompressHD with PC drivers will be available in the summer of 2009 through a worldwide network of authorized dealers.
