Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/102700
review Matrox MC-100miniconverter M By HEATH FIRESTONE Producer/Director heath@firestonestudios.com Firestone Studios Denver "This is no one-trick pony." atrox makes really interesting products, but sometimes at first glance, it can be difficult to recognize what is particularly unique about their offerings. However, when put into practice, they do things nothing else on the market does. The MC-100 is no exception. It is billed as a mini converter that does HD-SDI to HDMI for 3G/3D/HD/SD. It clocks in at $495, which might be a little high for a mini converter compared to Blackmagic's mini converters, but at closer look, this is no one-trick pony. It does some pretty cool and diverse things, making the price point, if anything, less than I would expect based on its capabilities. There are five main focuses of the MC-100: Monitor, Distribute, Switch, Multiplex and Converge. The reference to 3G/3D/HD/SD refers to the kinds of SDI supported. So, it supports 3G HD-SDI, SD-SDI, Dual Link SDI and HDSDI, as well as 3D. CAPABILITIES Some of its capabilities are more geared to long-run broadcast, using 3G, etc. I will focus on the elements more likely to be of use to editors and shooters. Obviously, 3D is pretty big right now, but many 3D cameras feed out dual HD/SDI, so it is up to you to figure out the best way to combine the two sources for viewing. This is one of the great features of this device, in that it can not only take two separate HD-SDI inputs and combine them into one 3G HD-SDI signal, but it also has an HDMI output and can multiplex the two signals into any of the standards required for display on a 3D monitor or television. So, it is a muxer/HD-SDI to HDMI converter for 3D all in one, which alone is worth the price. This also gets us to the Converge capability. Since some 3D cameras don't actually mess with a variable point of convergence, instead opting for either a fixed point of convergence, or parallel lenses, often the 48 Post•January2013 Post0113_048-Review Matroxrav4FINALREAD.indd 48 point of convergence is determined in post by slightly zooming in on images and shifting the image left or right until different areas overlap, creating a different point of convergence. With the MC-100, you can manually adjust the convergence point while you are filming, so you know if what you are capturing will work in post. The inputs and outputs are also configurable to a number of options. You can bring in a signal on HD-SDI 1 and output that same signal to both HD-SDI outputs and the HDMI, or you can combine two HD-SDI inputs to one 3G HD-SDI output. You can also use the unit as an HDMI switch, feeding two different HD-SDI sources into HD-SDI 1 and HD-SDI 2, and switch the HDMI output between the two, allowing you to use inexpensive monitors to view HD-SDI signals. When switching between sources, the HD-SDI is a clean, glitch free switch. However, the HDMI is not, which for most apps will not be an issue. IN THE FIELD I have been using the MC-100 for about a year, and it has become a "go-to" piece of equipment for me, which I make sure always ends up in my bag, and I tend to use it in situations I didn't plan for. I often find myself on other people's shoots, trying to make something work because we don't really have what we need to do things right because of budgetary or logistical constraints. One of these situations was when I was hired as a Phantom high-speed camera tech, where we were using an older model Phantom Gold, capturing a simulated car crash from multiple angles, running at 1,050fps. One of the real challenges of working with this particular camera was the lack of outputs. Primary viewing was done via a single HD-SDI output. Although we were capturing native files, the client wanted to capture a slow motion playback from the camera via HD-SDI and only use the native files if necessary to speed up their post workflow. As a result, the HD-SDI fed out from the camera to a computer with HD-SDI capture capabilities. The problem was that we needed this for monitoring as well, and since the editor was doing on-set editing and time ramping, we couldn't always see the live feed from the camera if he was playing back from his timeline. I pulled out the MC-100, fed the HD-SDI from the camera into it, fed one VITAL STATS PRODUCT: Matrox MC-100 mini converter WEBSITE: www.matrox.com PRICE: $495 · all-in-one muxer/HD-SDI to HDMI converter for 3D · users can manually adjust the convergence point · suitable in edit suite and on-set HD-SDI out to the computer, one to our monitor, and then fed the HDMI output to a large consumer-grade LCD screen — the entire crew would watch the playback between takes. It worked incredibly well and vastly improved the pro feel of the production. Another situation I ran into was when I was operating an 18-foot remote head jib, flying a Red One camera, at a live concert venue. It was a last-minute shoot with limited resources and, as it turns out, the only monitor option that came with the Red One was an on-camera LCD that used Red's proprietary monitor cable, which did not have an extension. We also didn't have a monitor onset that supported HD-SDI, and didn't have long HDMI cables for monitoring. Basically, there was no easy way of viewing what the camera was shooting on the end of my jib. I pulled out the MC-100, ran the HD-SDI from the Red One through the MC-100, out through HDMI, into a small monitor, and we were good to go. FINAL THOUGHTS I've used the MC-100 as a switcher, repeater, splitter and converter, and this is only a fraction of what it does. It's one of those pieces of gear that I always seem to find a use for, and that makes me more comfortable when thrown into an unexpected situation. Although I have plenty of apps for the MC-100 now, as I work on more 3D projects, I'm sure my dependency on it will only grow. www.postmagazine.com 12/20/12 10:12 AM