James Delahunty
29 Apr 2009 22:34
Matrox Video Products Group announced last week the new Matrox CompressHD H.264 accelerator card for the Mac. It is the first implementation of Matrox MAX technology. 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.
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. By using specialized hardware acceleration, jobs are finished with faster speed and system resources are liberated for other tasks.
"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."
Priced for professionals and prosumers, it sells for $495.