Matrox Wipe has grey halo

[gavf]

I'm experiencing a strange phenomenon when using the Matrox wipe transition in my project.

I have a 1440i project and wish to wipe-on a Photoshop layer on V2, over the top of a background layer on V1. The graphic layer is a 500x500 soft-edged square on a transparent background.

The psd displays fine on the Premiere timeline until I apply the Matrox wipe. As soon as the transition begins, and for the duration of the transition, a grey halo appears around the edge of the graphic cube. This occurs regardless of the wipe pattern used and whether or not a soft edge is applied to the effect.

This problem does not occur with solid-edged graphics however, which leads me to believe the issue lies with the way the Matrox transition attempts to handle the alpha channel of the psd.

Also the issue only occurs with the Matrox wipe effect and not the Premiere version. However the Premiere effect does not allow for a soft wipe and so is not a viable alternative in this instance.

I am running CS5 with the latest updates applied to Premiere and Photoshop and also the latest Matrox tools and wipe patterns.

Any clarification on this matter would be most appreciated as the retailer we bought the system from are at a loss!

[autumn]

A few things to try:

1) Make sure the graphic is 1440x1080 pixels, so no scaling is going on

2) Try creating a 32-bit TGA graphic rather than the PSD

3) Make sure graphic uses RGB color and not CYMK in Photoshop

Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers

[gavf]

Hi Jeff,

Thanks for the suggestions. I can however confirm that the source PSD is indeed 1440x1080 RGB @72dip.

I have also tried saving the original image as a TGA, TIFF and PNG all at 32bit, but if anything they look even worse when the Matrox transition id applied!


Thanks,

Steve.

[Matrox_Support_Sam]

Hi,

Would it be possible to send us a screen grab of the problem?
Do you get the same issue on both Program window and external output?
Did you try toggling the "Nonlinear Softness" button in the Matrox Wipes interface?
What is your Video Renderer and Playback settings in the Project Settings? Mercury Software engine or GPU CUDA acceleration?

What are your system specs? Latest Windows updates, BIOS, chipset, graphic card drivers?

Let us know your results.
_________________
Regards,
Sam
Matrox Video Technical Support

[autumn]

This is just me thinking out loud....can you put the graphic overlay on the timeline by itself, then export as a Matrox 32-bit AVI + Alpha clip, and see how that behaves with the transition then instead of using the still image? And what are you transitioning from? Matrox wipes normally are applied between two clips - how are you using with a single graphic?

Sorry my MXO2 machine is not at this location or I would try right now, since I love a challenge! If you can post a copy of the graphic, or a link to the graphic, maybe I can experiment with it later on.

Thanks

Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers

[gavf]

Hopefully (having not done this before) here are the screen shots:



The first is just a screen grab showing what's going on on the timeline. In this instance I am using the transition to wipe-on an image, rather than transitioning between two. However the same effect is noticed in both situations.



The second is an exported frame from half way through the transition showing the grey halo. I have tried adjusting the wipe settings including the nonlinear softness but this makes no difference. The Premiere monitor and external output (via HDMI) both display the problem.



The third is an exported frame showing what the psd looks like once the play head has passed over the transition - without the grey halo.

The Video Rendering and Playback settings are set to GPU acceleration. Changing this to Software Only has no effect.

The edit suite is not hooked up to the internet and so has not had any windows updates since installation on 29/11/2010. Rest of the specs are:

Windows 7 Professional (x64) (build 7600)
3.20 gigahertz Intel Core i7 960
12GB RAM
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285 - driver version 275.33
Board: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. X58A-UD3R
BIOS: Award Software International, Inc. FC 11/11/2010
Premiere Pro CS5 Version 5, 0, 3
Matrox MX02 Mini with MAX, Matrox Video Version 5.1.1.37

Thanks for the help, I'm out of the studio for the rest of the day however as I'm on a shoot that start 5am tomorrow so a bit of R&R may be in order!

[gavf]

Forgot to mention that I tried the 32bit export as Jeff suggested, and the resultant file displays the same issue when played back on the timeline.

Keep the suggestions coming though!

Cheers,
Steve

[Matrox_Support_Sam]

Hi Steve,

I believe we have reproduced a similar issue here. We will send the steps to our QA department for further investigation.
I also noticed applying the transition between two clips does not reproduce the issue. Can you confirm?
Have you tried the suggestion from Jeff to export the PSD file to a Matrox AVI+alpha clip and use that for the wipe transition? Does this work for you?
_________________
Regards,
Sam
Matrox Video Technical Support

[gavf]

Pleased to know it's not just me then! However I have found that applying the transition between two clips does result in the grey edge.

I also tried Jeff's suggestion of AVI-ing the PSD at 32bit, but this did not appear to make a difference.

Thanks,

Steve.

[Matrox_Support_Sam]

Thanks Steve for the update. We hope to have a fix in the near future.
_________________
Regards,
Sam
Matrox Video Technical Support

[gavf]

Sam,

Can you update me on the fix for this issue.

Thanks,

Steve.

[Matrox_Support_Sam]

We are still currently investigating this issue and will report back our updates as soon as we can.

Thanks again for your patience and understanding.
_________________
Regards,
Sam
Matrox Video Technical Support

[gavf]

Can I just confirm that Matrox has given up releasing drivers for Premiere 5.0.3 thus leaving me unable to use any Matrox wipe.

I find it hard to believe that an issue so obvious was not detected during testing let alone that no attempt has been made to solve the issue.

If I ran my business with the same attitude I'd be embarrassed, and at the very least offer an apology to the customer. I can only assume this it too much to ask?

[Andrew Smith]

The latest Matrox drivers have been built and made available to support CS5.5. If the issue has been fixed then that is likely where it will be.

Andrew

[gavf]

Surely that should read:

"Yes I can confirm we aren't releasing any more drivers for Premiere 5.0.3.

You are now going to have to spend more money on Adobe products you don't need, in the vain hope it fixes the issue.

I can't really be bothered to find out whether our latest update addresses the issue - it's not in my job description.

Also it's company policy not to apologise under any circumstances.

Have a nice day."