How do you monitor your footage during post in Mac
 

I am looking at options to monitoring my XDCam EX1 1080p24 & 720p24 footage....The blackmagic intensity pro hdmi card will not work...

What other options are out there as far monitoring xdcam footage is concerned?....btw I am on a Mac Pro with FCP 6.0.4...Monitor on A TV or monitor on a HDMI Computer Monitor...so many options...so much confusion? Will an Apple 30" Cinema Display be sufficient enough?...Please give me some options.

The Matrox MXO or MXO2 will work.

If you want to see all the pixels, you'll need a monitor like the Dell 24" or Apple 23" or larger.

How are MXO AND MXO Mini different? Is one better than the other?

Oversimplified but
MXO - Monitor Output only (DVI)
MXO2 Mini - HDMI in plus Monitor Out (HDMI)
MXO2 - HD-SDI in plus Monitor Out (HDMI)

Why doesn't the bm card work?

AJA IO HD -> HDLINK -> Apple 23" LCD
 

AJA IO HD -> HDLINK -> Apple 23" LCD

The BM Intensity card is great if you want to monitor via Television - in FCP, the canvas window is displayed. It is not accurate for any color work but does give you a good idea for editing purposes - it cannot however be used as a second monitor like an Apple display.
Two 23 inch Apple displays is the best way to go or a single 30 inch.
The 23 inch display is fairly accurate and can be calibrated with reasonable results - it's one of the best that is out there - Dell and HP also have good monitors, but I prefer the Apple. The Eizo displays are very comparable to the Apple and models such as EIZO / ColorEdge CG242W claim to be good for video post-production.
What type of Mac pro? The new ones come with a DVI connector for older 23 or 30 inch displays and a new mini-dv display connector for the new Apple displays (which are not really available yet - the 24 inch is for laptops).
For myself with a new 8-core Mac Pro, I am waiting for the new displays from Apple. I run the 23 inch at the moment.

That's what I'd hoped--I'm using the dvi outputs from the mac pro for 2 lcd's and the bm card for a Sony NTSC monitor and Vizio HD tv, but hadn't hooked the Vizio up yet.

It's not cheap, but we use an AJA Io HD and a JVC DT-V24L3DU 24-inch monitor. The signal flow is Firewire 800 output > AJA Io HD Firewire 800 input > AJA Io HD HD-SDI out > JVC DT-V24L3DU HD-SDI input.

I can edit in Final Cut Pro natively in 1080 30p XDCAM EX and monitor the signal in 1080 30p (actually 29.97 or 30). Or we can have the AJA Io HD transcode the HD signal into SD and view SD on the monitor live. (this is a nice feature)

We're very happy with it. Although I would look at the new AJA Ki-Pro and see if could be used instead of the Io HD.

When I try monitoring xdcam ex 720p50 footage with my new mbp17/2.93/fcp6.05/fast fw800-drive - either using "digital cinema desktop preview" (apple f12) or matrox mxo i dont have smooth playback. every pan shutters and stutters. Why? Is it because the apple cinema 23 display is 60hz? (and i live in a 50 hz -country, using 50p)?

I have the bm intensity card and I have viewed 1080 30p footage on it from final cut.It doesn't have it as a option as a playback but if you play your 1080 30p footage from final cut it will play through to a monitor.
A good option I have found is inexpensive is a 24 inch dell monitor with a hdmi port on it. Only $300.00 and works good as a external monitor as well as a computer monitor.

Yes. The fact that almost no (is there one?) computer displays can show 50 Hz is really a problem for us outside of the U S of A.

The bottom line is you really need a grading quality monitor (like, JVC DT-V24L3DU 24-inch monitor mentioned above) and an SDI or component output card or external interface.