User Manual

Chapter 1, Introducing Matrox VS4

Welcome to Matrox VS4

Matrox VS4 is a quad HD-SDI card that lets you record up to four channels

simultaneously using the VS4Recorder Pro stand-alone recording application,

and using Telestream Wirecast or StudioCoast vMix, you can create video

streaming productions as well as record your source feeds.

Matrox VS4 lets you take advantage of professional broadcast video and audio

sources. Using a single PCIe slot, Matrox VS4 provides up to four independent

HD-SDI inputs with up to eight embedded audio channels per source. Because all

inputs on Matrox VS4 are independent, you can use HD and SD sources in the

same production. Full-size BNC connectors connect directly to your sources.

You can record your input sources as .avi files, .mov files, or .mp4 files, and then

use your favorite editing application, such as Adobe Premiere Pro, to natively

edit your material. You can use the following codecs for each file:

• For .avi files, you can use the MPEG-2 I-frame codec at up to 300 Mb/s

(HD) or 50 Mb/s (SD).

• For .mov files, you can use a Matrox DV codec or the H.264 codec.

• For .mp4 files, you can use the H.264 codec.

Up to two VS4 cards are supported per system. In a two-card system, all eight

VS4 inputs are available for streaming in Telestream Wirecast, and recording is

supported on the four inputs of the primary VS4 (see “Selecting your primary

VS4 card” on page 93).

Matrox VS4 system requirements

Matrox VS4 requires a computer system with the following minimum

requirements:

• Microsoft Windows 7 (64-bit) with Service Pack 1.

• (for VS4Recorder Pro exclusively) QuickSync enabled system for H.264

codec (available with Intel Ivy Bridge or Haswell processor).

• One free x8 or greater PCIe slot (x8 electrical recommended).

•8 GB of RAM.

• 256 MB display card with 3D acceleration (NVIDIA GeForce or ATI

Radeon class card recommended).

• Disk space requirements:

$ System drive: One 7200 RPM SATA II drive.

$ Storage: Two 7200 RPM SATA II drives in striped RAID array.

• Single-CPU Intel i7 at 3.4 GHz or Dual-CPU Intel Xeon at 2.4 GHz.