Intro

I saw the MC Color panel for the first time at IBC last year and since I had reviewed the Tangent Wave, I was curious what Euphonix had to offer the Apple Color crowd.

MC Color was shown at the Apple broadcast event and in the Euphonix booth and I played around with it for a couple of minutes on each occasion.
I didn’t like the trackerballs or how they interacted with Apple Color at IBC. It wasn’t very smooth and the sensitivity was way too high.
The guys at the booth told me it was a prototype and that they still had a lot of work to do before they started to ship the unit.

Many months later I received a production model of MC Color and just like the Tangent Wave I had the opportunity to use it for an actual project.

Unboxing

It’s a sleek, white box with a handle for carrying it. Like a MacBook box, only bigger.

Just like the Tangent Wave the balls are not installed when you receive the unit. The difference from the Wave is that the trackerballs doesn’t have any top plate to keep them in place after you drop them into the holes in the panel. At one occasion I had to chase a ball across the room when I tilted the unit to put a cable in the back of the MC Color.

Software

Unfortunately the software for MC Color is not as intuitive as the Control Mapper for the Tangent Wave. This is probably because the EuControl software is not just for Apple Color like the Wave plugin. Instead the software is used for the entire Euphonix Artist Series which is a whole range of control surfaces for sound design, sound mixing and video editing.

There are a lot more steps involved to change something as simple as a soft button because you have to dig through several submenus to reach the appropriate command you want to assign for the button.
Instead of clicking through a multi column interface a simple pull down menu or something like the Maya marker menu would be both faster and more intuitive. The ability to assign the same command to the same button across all rooms in one click would also be appreciated.

This is a new product and software can be patched or rewritten. I really hope that Euphonix will make the software slightly easier for Apple Color and other color grading software that decides to support the EuCon protocol in the future.

Hardware

Overall look and feel
The Euphonix unit has a more quality feel compared the Tangent Wave which is in the same price range at around $1500.
It’s compact, sturdy and has a nice rubbery feel to it. It sits firmly on the desktop and I really like the professional appearance.
Because it’s so compact it’s easy to fit the keyboard behind the panel or in front running the USB cable underneath.
The panel can be elevated and slanted using rubber feet or by using plastic brackets included in the box.

The panel uses a protocol from Euphonix called EuCon and it’s connected with regular ethernet cable directly to the computer’s ethernet port (preferred) or via an ethernet hub.
Since I have the computer in a different room it was easy to attach it to an existing ethernet cable and connect it to the free port in the MacPro.

Displays
The OLED displays are orange, have large text that is easy to read and they look spectacular. But when you use the rotary encoders your fingers are blocking the view.
If you want to glance at the numerical values you have to lift your hand, look at the display and then lower your hand again. It’s not the end of the world but it’s irritating enough that I suggest that future versions of the MC Color have the displays in front of the encoders and maybe at a slight angle towards the user to prevent glare from the monitors.

Buttons
The buttons are small and made of metal. They feel a bit flimsy but they are very tactile and work great when you’re grading.
I use the memory buttons the most and they’re positioned well on the panel to the right similar to the Tangent Wave.

Knobs/Rotary Encoders
During the week of grading I had some problems with one of the rotary encoders. Sometimes when turning the knob counter-clockwise, the value was set all the way down to zero and I had to reset and adjust it again.
Irritating to say the least, but this was probably just a faulty encoder with the review unit and not a general problem with the hardware.
Overall the knobs was smooth and precise. Values are reset when the knobs are pushed and when you push the NAV button the knobs will navigate between the different rooms in Color.

Jog Wheels
The jog wheels feel heavy and have a wonderful rubber surface. The smooth, precise and dampened motion makes it a breeze to adjust the lift, gamma and gain in Color. They are without a doubt the best feature on the MC Color panel and the build quality is far from the wobbly dials of the Wave.

There’s no dedicated Jog/Shuttle on the MC Color but you can use one of the Jog Wheels for transport after pressing a soft key.
Another alternative is to get an MC Transport with Jog/Shuttle from Euphonix and attach it to either side of MC Color since they share the same EuCon protocol.

Trackerballs
The prototype at IBC had trackerballs that were everything but smooth and precise. Sensitivity was set to high and the balls moved in tiny steps when fine-tuning the hues. I was pleasantly surprised to see that that the trackerballs for the production model was a lot smoother compared to the prototype. Not only did they feel better but the default setting for the sensitivity was just right.
The trackerballs rest on small white teflon balls and I guess that’s why they feel so smooth.

If you tried the MC Color at IBC and felt that the trackerball quality was too low – go to a dealer and have a second look.

Conclusions

MC Color is a control surface with an amazing quality for the price.
The hardware feels great, especially the trackballs and jog wheels which are buttery smooth and a real joy to use.

The drawback is the software. It’s glitchy and sometimes needs a restart to function properly.
Assigning functions to buttons are not intuitive and requires to many steps.

For the Wave review I ended by saying I wouldn’t make a purchase decision until I tried the Euphonix.
I’m glad I did. Because software can be updated – hardware can’t.
That’s the reason I would personally buy a Euphonix MC Color over a Tangent Wave.

But please try them both to know what’s best for you.
Go to a dealer and try them out. A good dealer would probably let you use the demo units over a weekend.

For more information about MC Color go to: http://www.euphonix.com/artist/products/mc_color/

Avid Aquires Euphonix

I received the unit for review just before NAB started and during my testing a press release announced that the manufacturer Euphonix was acquired by Avid.
So what does this mean for the future for Color users? Well nothing really.

From the press release:
“Avid plans to further develop an open standard protocol that greatly expands the ecosystem of compatibility between the Euphonix control surfaces and a wide range of Avid and third-party audio and video applications, including Media Composer and Pro Tools.”

If more applications support the interface then that could only be beneficial for any prospective buyers. At the time of this review, MC Color is compatible with Apple Color and the software Redcine-X from Red. Other companies have announced that they will support MC Color in the future.

I had the pleasure of testing the Euphonix unit myself, and I agree on everything you point out in this review.

I haven’t tested the Wave, and I don’t want to, because I found my soulmate in MC Color.

BTW an update.. The MC-Color now works with RedCineX to control and do a one light grade of
RED footage! http://www.euphonix.com/artist/products/mc_color/tour_app_support.php#tour2
Also works in storm for mac! http://www.euphonix.com/artist/products/mc_color/tour_app_support.php#tour3
CJ Adams
Simplexity Digital Post