Image Matters launches I’m-XS
Image Matters, developer of innovative hardware and software tools for extreme imaging applications, has launched I’m-XS, a new high-performance video board for OEMs, integrators, and advanced users.
Designed for professional imaging applications, I’m-XS delivers outstanding quality with uncompressed or JPEG2000 images. I’m-XS processes HD and 2K content in real time at up to 60 frames per second.
In addition, I’m-XS includes a JPEG2000 processing engine from intoPIX, and is intended for production, postproduction, distribution, and archiving applications, where the preservation of superior image quality is paramount. The advantages of the JPEG2000 format include mathematically lossless compression, constant quality through multiple generations, scalability, low latency and many more.
“Image Matters is dedicated to developing the next wave of image handling technologies for professionals,” said Jean-François Nivart, Image Matters CEO. “The I’m-XS board is one of the industry’s first solutions offering cost-effective and conveniently-packed JPEG2000 processing, with mathematically lossless capability and all the benefits the format entails for a wide variety of applications.”
Compact enough to fit into the current generation of computers, I’m-XS offers two 3G video inputs and two 3G video outputs, and can connect directly to SD, HD or 2K, single or dual SDI signal sources. I’m-XS is equipped with a PCI Express GEN2 x8 connector enabling fast picture and compressed data stream exchange with a host PC or MAC.
I’m-XS is flexible and can be configured for any data flow for a wide range of applications.
The company will also contribute to the evolution in advanced imaging. It will announce a new system for evaluating high frame rate digital cinema quality. Built around the Image Matters I’m XS video board for extreme imaging, the system will allow high frame-rate image streams of 2K 120 fps and beyond.
Delivering playback simultaneously from uncompressed and JPEG 2000 files, the system compares in real-time original and encoded-decoded pictures. It displays various picture combinations like side-by-side, butterfly, and pixel-to-pixel differences.
To reach the utmost quality, the system is capable of JPEG 2000 bitrates in excess of 1Gbps — more than four times the current DCI specification. The decoded 2K images are transmitted to four 3G-SDI links to Digital Cinema qualified projector at frame rates of up to 120 fps (or 60 fps per eye for stereoscopic 3D content).
Helping to prepare the content for comparison, the system can encode in multiple JPEG 2000 encoding formats. It can handle image resolutions up to 4K using a single I’m XS board.
At the heart of the system, the I’m XS board provides the JPEG 2000 processing power for 30 frames per second at 4K, or more than 120 fps at HD or 2K, using a compression engine from intoPIX.
Multiple I’m XS boards can be linked for even more demanding applications. For example, four boards can be synchronized to deliver 4K images at 120 frames per second.