Re: Previewing HD on second monitor
 

I am in the same predicament as Vincent and appreciate all the advice. I am planning on building a new computer for Premiere Pro 5.5. I also am spoiled with the my RT.X2 especially when viewing large split screen multi cam editing on my second 1920x1200 monitor.
From all your comments it looks like I will need to purchase a Blackmagic or Matrox MXO2 Mini (Expensive with the MAX for faster H.264 Editing) and hopefully will get the same high quality as Vincent and I are now experiencing with the the RT.X2. I would prefer DVI hookup for my second monitor instead of HDMI.
Sadly the RT.X2 will not support Premiere Pro 5.5.
I'm not interested in a third monitor setup but any other advice is much appreciated.

Re: Previewing HD on second monitor
 

Remember also that software playback via Premiere playback options will not give you interlaced output - at least last time I checked, which was in CS3, so I might be wrong with the newer versions. Personally I would strongly suggest some kind of dedicated device. We are using Blackmagic cards (one old Decklink SP, and Intensity Pro), and apart from a few glitches with codecs, they seem to work pretty fine.

As for BMD Shuttle, I would strongly advise testing it - I remember reading about quite a lot of problems with this certain device.

I can't comment on new Matrox devices.

If you want real-time effects in Premiere, then also buy a decent nVidia CUDA card like 570GTX. They enormously speed up rendering and give a lot of real-time power.

Re: Previewing HD on second monitor
 

But I don't think you have to have one. This article seems to indicate that PP cs5 et al. do the proper conversions to output the proper signal to, say, an HDMI port, to properly run an HDTV without the need for a dedicated device to create the proper signals.

That said, I've yet to try it. And I've been pretty unsuccessful in finding anyone who has. But I would love to hear from anyone who's done it. I'd like to know how well it works -- how well it gives WYSIWYG performance (compared to rendering to DVD or blu-ray and played back on an HDTV for example).

Re: Previewing HD on second monitor
 

You do not need or want a BMD or Matrox device for what you want to do.

All YOU need is the nVidia "cuda" card which you should be getting, anyway. All of the suitable cards have the ability to output to two monitors. Almost all of them have two dvi ports. Even my older GTX260 has this. Just hook up second monitor and do a little configuration.

I run PPro CS5 with the timeline screen on my main monitor in front of me and run the four-way split multi-cam screen on an equally large second monitor to my right. My third screen, an hdtv, is to my left and runs a full screen view of whichever track is the selected one, and that display is the one that runs off the MXO2. That is why I have an MXO2 mini. You only want the two computer screens? You are better off without the Mini or a BMD device. You only need to add a device if: (a) you want a third screen run from something other than another video card or (b) you want monitoring on an interlaced tv screen. You are doing neither. So, you do not need another device.

That clear enough?

Re: Previewing HD on second monitor
 

Then I guess you missed my last response to you above. As I said there, it works fine for me. If you just don't believe me, that's cool -- try it for yourself.

It's difficult to prove exactly how well it works unless you have the second monitor also connected directly to a Blu-Ray player and then you could A-B back and forth while playing the same segment direct from the timeline and then rendered to BD. But two different monitors playing back with two different sources at different times are tough to compare.

Jay's right. If you only use two monitors you don't need anything else.

Re: Previewing HD on second monitor
 

No, no, I believe you. You and Jay are now two people who've said it works. That's what I meant when I said "pretty unsuccessful". When I wrote that I had exactly one positive response -- that being you. And a sample size of one is, um, not terribly encouraging, but it's also far, far better than zero. That's what I meant, even if I didn't get that meaning across very well. Sigh...

Re: Previewing HD on second monitor
 

I totally get what you are saying, no worries. But I think it all depends on how you look at it. Zoran, Jay and I all say we've done this and it works fine. Vincent says he's done it and he isn't happy with it. No one has said it isn't possible. So you have 75% positive responses to the native ability, which I think is pretty good.

I've had threads up for weeks where I didn't get four useful responses, so consider yourself blessed ;-).

Really, just give it a try.

BTW, this forum is rife with stories about not only how unnecessary Matrox is for Premiere for most users, but how many different ways it can break it. Just do a search and all will become clear -- for most users it is a silly waste of money.

Re: Previewing HD on second monitor
 

OK, problem has now been solved, thank you to all that have given suggestions.

My G470 has two DVi ports, I hooked up the second monitor up to the second port and got an extended desktop. However, as suggested, I changed the Playback settings to output Full HD to the second LCD screen, and hey presto, I have a crystal clear picture, every bit as good as that seen previously from the Matrox card. I do not have any reason to keep the Matrox card, other than for editing previous productions in CS5 or CS4 which used the card for Chroma Key etc.

I have Premiere CS5.5 up and running now, no problem. The Matrox card is still fitted but not active in CS5.5

btw. I installed CS5.5 as a clean install, but it didn't delete the CS5 Production suite, I now have both suites installed. I will leave as is for the time being - just in case I run into problems.

Once again thank you all for taking the time to help me solve the problem and for your patience.

Re: Previewing HD on second monitor
 

Great News Vincent Jay and Others. Good explanation Jay if I decide to use a third monitor.
Now all I need is to find is an alternative to my Break Out Box (BOB)?

Re: Previewing HD on second monitor
 

Using CS5 or CS5.5 with a Nvidia G470 card fitted, which has Cuda for the Mecury Playback Engine, you do not need the Matrox card or BOB. Just a good second LCD monitor. My whole system now works far better than with the RTX2 card and I can work directly with EX files, no problem.

Re: Previewing HD on second monitor
 

For those that use CS5, being able to see full HD and have color accurate preview through a secondary port on a graphics card is a huge plus. It eliminates the need for a dedicated output device. The problem with previous versions of Premiere is that the color accuracy of he YUV--RGB conversion was not done correctly. Now it is. This link was posted earlier in the thread but is worth reading if you have not already.

ProVideo Coalition.com: TecnoTur by Allan Tépper

Re: Previewing HD on second monitor
 

An alternative BOB for what purpose(s)?

Re: Previewing HD on second monitor
 

The Breakout Box (BOB) is still handy for analogue capture, I use it to capture cameras LCD screens via the video out port on a camera (using a Yellow AV plug). Maybe one day I might also digitize my old VHS tapes. Other than that I have no other use for it.

Re: Previewing HD on second monitor
 

Thanks for the link Brian, it was a useful item.

Re: Previewing HD on second monitor
 

In a minor technical note, there is some suggestions of a paid upgrade, though Wayne at Matrox says he will hopefully provide more info on X.2 support in the near future.

I personally would think that there can't be too much to the Matrox X.2 drivers supporting CS5.5 as it isn't a complete rewrite of the software and how it interfaces with everything else (such as a 3rd party card). It may be as simple as checking that the current drivers still work and making a minor tweak to the installer.

See Matrox RTX2 User Forum :: View topic - Premiere cs5.5

Andrew