The largest single PRO for the Axon is that it is the identical graphics engine (and DMX profile!) as the DL.2s. This offers huge advantages when programming both for the same show, as the two (Axon and DL.2) can be controlled in an identical fashion and that palettes recorded on one also apply to the other.
The Content Management Application (CMA) can also be used to manage graphic content on all of the devices, which is very helpful.
The Catalyst is probably considered by many to be a much more full-featured media server at this point. It's been under development for some time, and new features continue to be added on a regular basis.
Also, some other big differences. Axon is limited to 3 layers, although those layers are much more flexible than catalyst layers, You can move the layers forward and back as necessary, With catalyst you are stuck with the order they are placed in.
But with catalyst you have more layers to work with, As many as 12 in the pro server, you also get 2 outputs instead of 1.
In all, they are very different animals... But each has their own place in the market.. Joshua Wood Service Manager Ruehling Associates Inc.
If you're running multilayer HD content with constant starts and stops then Cat is best. If you want to sync to external Timecode, currently only Cat. There are some additional features I have been using too that are still somewhat experimental that Axon will not be able to do. One feature is Catalyst is that you can create submixes of outputs. I would explain this but the 4.0 manual update does a better job.
Axon is a single head where Catalyst is a dual head.
I can run 8 video inputs into Catalyst though with so many they are at a lower resolutions. This is not something Axon can do.
Axon is in a rack mount case. Catalyst is in a G5 or Mac Pro which currently requires it's own road case.
Axon you buy the box. Cat, becomes a bit more complicated.
In usage, I very much prefer Catalyst for many applications but there are different applications where Axon is a better choice.
Just doing something simple, I would say do Axon. If you get more complicated, look at Catalyst possibly but perhaps even not.
Playing with both, I think most people prefer Axon because it seems quicker and easier to use and does things you need quick. Axon is also the DL2 engine as already mentioned and if you get to a show programmed with DL2s, you can put an Axon in without reprogramming and all you loose is the moving projector functions.
For rock shows, night clubs, and small events where the media server is shooting eye candy and flash then Axon. If you go Corporate and want a great deal more, then Axon will do it but Cat does it better.
Right, yes. Axon has an S-Video input just like the DL2. It was not meant to confuse only show that Catalyst has multiple inputs that Axon does not and that Catalyst is on track for those inputs to be HD.
[quote=SourceChild]It was not meant to confuse only show that Catalyst has multiple inputs that Axon does not and that Catalyst is on track for those inputs to be HD.
It wouldn't surprise me a single bit though if a newer version of DL.2 came out with an SDI camera built in and an SDI caputre card in it's computer....sooner or later they will have to put in a new motherboard when the chipsets advance, my guess would be a newer PCI Express architecture SDI card.....thereby eliminating the S-video altogether and replacing it with HD
SDI is something we may do in the future with Axon.
It's doubtful that we will do it in DL.2 though as it doesn't make as much sense for the architecture there. The internal camera is S-video so we will still need/use the s-video for that. Also, since the s-video capture is built into the graphics card we will be able to get better throughput by doing the manipulation directly in the GPU and not having to go through the system bus as we would with PCIE.
Just a thought Scott, Even though an SDI is not quite as practical on a DL2 regarding the fact that the camera is S-Video, I think I can speak for many others out there and say that when we do big rigs with long cable runs, I would rather send a single line for my HD-SDI than to run my 5-wire or an s-video that is noisy. Let's talk about KVM over IP solutions integrated into and out of the DL2 and out of the Axon. In fact, I think I'm going to post a scenerio.
