Matrox Bulletins
Wednesday, June 4, 2003
Matrox X.tools software gives Xtreme
performance for RT.X100 and Xtra for RT.X10
Matrox has released updated software for their RT.X100
and RT.X10 that is available as a free download for registered
users. X.tools build 4263 upgrades existing RT.X100 and RT.X10
boards to the RT.X100 Xtreme and RT.X10 Xtra, respectively.
RT.X100 users will now be able to preview many layers of video and
effects without rendering. Other new features include professional
waveform and vectorscope monitors, real-time field-blended fast and slow
motion and more. RT.X10 users will get four new classes of
real-time effects, real-time field-blended fast and slow motion and
more. The software is available from the Matrox web site here
for RT.X100 users
and here
for RT.X10 users.
Monday, February 10, 2003
Matrox boards and MyDVD
If you have both a DVD recorder that comes with MyDVD and a
Matrox capture card like the RT.X100 or RT-2500 you should not use MyDVD.
Instead use the more powerful DVDit! LE that is included with the Matrox
card. The reason for this is that MyDVD does not read the MPEG-2 files
created by the Matrox hardware. DVDit! (LE, SE or PE) is written to
specifically recognize those files but MyDVD is not.
Wednesday, August 14, 2002
RTMac firmware update available
Matrox has released a new version of the RTMac
firmware. This new version 1.2 fixes a problem where users may see a
second monitor on their Monitors control panel even if one isn't
attached. It is available for free download from the Matrox
web site.
Wednesday, April 3, 2002
Apple & NVIDIA introduce version 3.0 of GeForce4 MX drivers for Mac OS
The NVIDIA Driver update fixes compatibility of
the NVIDIA GeForce4 MX graphics card and incorporates fixes from NVIDIA
driver update 2.6 that improved stability and compatibility of NVIDIA
cards in the PowerMac G4 when used in combination with the Matrox RTMac
Card. Users of the RTMac with Final Cut Pro may download these new
drivers from the Apple
web site.
Thursday, March 7, 2002
New NVIDIA drivers address compatibility
issue with Matrox RTMac
Users who were experiencing problems using their RTMac
under Mac OS 9.2.2 with newer NVIDIA graphics cards will be pleased to
learn that Apple and NVIDIA have released new drivers which address the
issue. The new version also ensures better quality playback and
filtering. The update can be downloaded from the Apple
web site .
Monday, February 18, 2002
Matrox releases version 3.0.1 of RTMac software
With the new 3.0.1 version of Matrox's RTMac
software, they have added multi-language support for Adobe Premiere,
removed the requirement that Premiere and Final Cut Pro be on separate
partitions, and made it possible to have WYSIWYG output from After Effects
without having other editing packages installed. Support for Final
Cut Pro 3 has been added, and Premiere 6.0 drivers are included
also. RTMac users can download the update from the Matrox
web site.
Wednesday, February 6, 2002
Matrox releases Matrox Video Tools 3.1b for
RT2000/RT2500
This new version of the Matrox software adds several
new features including multi-language support, support for the Matrox
Millennium G550 graphics card, the ability to switch between hardware and
software-based rendering, a new audio mixer and more. The 3.1b
software can be downloaded for free either as a complete installation or
just as an update to the 3.1 software. RT2000 owners can go to the Matrox
web site
here while RT2500 owners can go to the Matrox
web site
here.
Friday, December 14, 2001
Matrox releases DVDit! LE 2.5.1 for RT2000/RT2500 users
Matrox has made DVDit! LE 2.5.1 available as a
free download for users of their RT2000 and RT2500 editing packages.
This update provides support for Windows XP, improves menu appearance,
fixes bugs, and supports DVD writers from HP, Pioneer and
Panasonic. RT2500 users can download the update at the Matrox
web site
and RT2000 users can find it at a different place on the Matrox
web site.
Monday, November 5, 2001
Matrox Video Tools 3.1 officially released
Users of the RT2000 and RT2500 will be happy to know
that Matrox has released another free update to their Video Tools
software. The new version 3.1 provides multi-language support,
TurboDV for faster DV export on 700+ MHz CPUs, Pentium 4 support, full
Windows 98 SE support, a new audio mixer, new colorization settings and
independent display drivers. RT2500 users can download the update at
the Matrox
web site
and RT2000 users can find it at a different place on the Matrox
web site.
Friday, August 24, 2001
Matrox releases update to RT2000/RT2500 3.0 software
Matrox
has released to the public Service Pack 1 of the Matrox Video Tools 3.0.
This service pack addresses a number of issues including support for
Windows 98 SE, support for Pentium 4 processors, new colorization settings
as well as numerous other improvements and fixes. This update can be
downloaded for free from the Matrox
web site.
Wednesday, July 4, 2001
RTMac 2.0.2 display driver released
Matrox has released an updated display driver for their
RTMac. Here is how they describe it: "This display driver fixes
problems encountered with certain types of monitors. These monitors would
not boot correctly when connected to Matrox RTMac for use as an additional
display. When booting, these monitors would display gray or black and
would not appear in the Monitors Control Panel." The version
2.0.2 driver can be downloaded for free from the Matrox
web site.
Thursday, June 7, 2001
Using real-time graphics with Matrox
boards
Some users may not be using the full potential for real time
graphics that is offered by the Matrox RT2000, RT2500 and RTMac. The RT2000 and
RT2500 support three-layer real-time editing that consists of two video
layers and one graphics layer. The RTMac supports three-layer
real-time editing that can be either two video layers and one graphics
layer or one video layer and two graphics layers. In a lot of cases,
graphics that require rendering can be used in real time without rendering
if they are saved in a different format or resolution. With the RT2000 and RT2500, you can
play back 32-bit TGA files with alpha channel in real time. RTMac files need to be 720x480 resolution in 16- or 32-bit depth but
can be in any format supported by Final Cut Pro.
Friday, May 4, 2001
Graphics cards for use with the Matrox RT2500
Since the RT2500 no longer includes the graphics card
like the RT2000 did, the natural question is what graphics cards should be
used with the RT2500. Matrox of course recommends their own
Millennium G450 but it is in very short supply. Matrox has been
testing some graphics cards from other manufacturers to see which ones
work. You can see what graphics cards have been tested, and with
what motherboards, by going to the Matrox
web site.
Basically, it looks like any of the ATI RADEON cards work well and so does
the ELSA GLADIAC ULTRA. If you want a dual monitor card then the ATI
RADEON VE is what should work.
Thursday, April 19, 2001
Matrox releases MEGA Pack 3.0 software for
RT2000
Matrox has made available as a free download on their
web the new MEGA Pack 3.0 software for the RT2000. This software
will be included with all new RT2000 and RT2500 boards and adds the
following features: Windows 2000 support, 16:9 aspect ratio, real-time
color correction and cropping, compatibility with the real-time audio
mixer in Premiere 6.0 and much more. The complete release notes on
MEGA Pack 3.0 can be read in this Adobe
Acrobat file. The software can be downloaded from the Matrox
web site
or, for those who don't have high speed internet access and purchased
their RT2000 from us, the free update can be ordered from Digital Video
Direct.
Monday, April 16, 2001
Matrox releases 2.01 update for RTMac
Matrox has made available as a free download an
update for the RTMac. It addresses a number of issues
with the initial release of the software and is recommended for all users
of the RTMac. The 2.01 software can be downloaded from the Matrox
web site.
Friday,
February 2, 2001
Service Pack 1 for the RT2000 Matrox Video Tools 2.0 software is released
This Matrox RT2000 Service Pack addresses several issues
including delays when pressing the space bar to start and stop playback,
users can now export video without audio in Premiere 6, it eliminates 'file in use'
error when saving long (30-60 minute) video captures and it addresses DV
export issues with Intel 800 series chipset. There has also been an
update to TitleExpress to make it fully compatible with Adobe Premiere
6.0. Get both the service pack and the update to TitleExpress from the Matrox
web site.
Tuesday,
January 23, 2001
Reading AVI files on machines that don't have the card used to capture
the video
Something that may be confusing is that if you capture
video using one capture card, and then transfer the file to another
machine (or replace the capture card with a different one), you normally
will not be able to use the file that you originally captured. This
is because the card you used (i.e. DC30pro or something similar) is what
compresses the video on capture and decompresses it on playback.
Without that card being present the computer does not know how to
interpret the video. There are some exceptions to this rule.
Canopus has released a software codec that allows the video from their
cards (i.e. DVRaptor, DVRex-M1, EZDV) to be read (not changed) on
basically any Windows machine. Matrox has released similar software
for their RT2000. These packages can be downloaded from the Canopus
web site
and the Matrox
web site
respectively. If you do not have one of these cards, and want to
play the video on a different machine than what was used to capture the
video, then you will have to render the video using a software codec
This will allow the video to be read on any machine but you may have
limited resolution or frame rate. More information on the various
codecs and their uses can be found on the Terran
Interactive web site,
which is now part of Media 100.
Wednesday, August 30, 2000
Sonic Solutions DVDit! LE 2.1 software update available
Sonic Solutions has released version 2.1 of their DVDit! LE
software for the RT2000. There are many new features including
increased navigation capability with timed menus, improved editing with
support for custom button shapes, it can now write DVD content to CD-R
with embedded DVD player and there is now support for MPEG-2 IBP clips
greater than 2GB. More information on the upgrade can be found on the Matrox
web site.
Tuesday,
August 15, 2000
Inscriber TitleExpress 1.0 software released for RT2000
A new plug-in for Adobe Premiere, TitleExpress provides
more than 170 pre-designed titling templates, over 150 pre-designed text
styles, and full support for all TrueType fonts. Users can also customize
titles with complete control over text placement, kerning, width, leading
and slant. In addition to the templates provided, TitleExpress also lets
users create their own title pages, import background images, and produce
credit rolls and crawls. Requires that RT2000 Service Pack 3 be
installed prior to installing TitleExpress. TitleExpress is free and can be downloaded
from the Matrox
web site.
Tuesday,
July 25, 2000
RT2000 Effects Pack 2 released
The Matrox RT2000 Effects Pack 2 adds more exciting effects to your
RT2000 realtime plug-in for Adobe Premiere. These effects are available in
separate NTSC and PAL versions and include new DVEs and organic
wipes. It is free and can be downloaded from the Matrox
web site.
Monday, July 17, 2000
RT2000 Service Pack 3 released
The Matrox RT2000 Service Pack 3 addresses several issues
including Premiere sometimes hanging after 4 or 5 minutes when exporting
to AVI file in the DV format, audio and video synchronization problems
when fast forwarding or rewinding, realtime playback of static files in
Inscriber TitleMotion and the upcoming TitleExpress are now
supported. Get the service pack from the Matrox
web site.
Friday, May 12, 2000
RT2000 Effects Pack released
The Matrox RT2000 Effects Pack 1 adds new effects to your
RT2000 realtime plug-in for Adobe Premiere. These effects are available in
separate NTSC and PAL versions and include new DVEs,
page curls, and organic wipes. It is free of charge and can be downloaded
from the Matrox
web site.
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