Blackmagic Design (http://www.blackmagic-design.com/) has released a
slew of new products and product updates at this week’s National
Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show in Las Vegas, Nevada. New
products include OpenGear converters, two Videohub Routers, new Mini
Converters, a Waveform Monitor, and support for Linux with Blackmagic
Design capture cards.
There are eight new card-based converter products. These converters
are virtually identical to Blackmagic Design’s Mini Converter range
and include models for analog video, HDMI, auto and optical fiber to
and from SDI. All OpenGear Converters sell for US$495.
Blackmagic has announced the Studio Videohub — a compact 16 x 32
model for $4,995 — and the Enterprise Videohub for the largest
broadcast and post production facilities. The latter is a 144 x 288
model that costs $29,995. Both routers have 3Gb/second SDI, built-in
deck control routing, redundant power and switchable SD, HD and 3
Gb/s SDI, and re-clocking. Version 4.0 of the software for the
Videohub Routers adds support for customizable “buttons” on the
screen where users can choose from a number of icons of popular video
equipment. The software update is free to all Blackmagic Design
Videohub customers.
Blackmagic Design products now have support for Sony’s new 3 Gb/s SDI
products. Blackmagic Design has been shipping products with native 3
Gb/s SDI support for over two years, beginning with the Multibridge
Eclipse in 2007.
The company’s new Major Mini Converter Utility 1.0 software allows
adjustments and settings via USB, plus adds down conversion in the
SDI to Analog model, and 1080p/50,60 in the SDI to HDMI model Mini
Converters. Users can plug their Mini Converters into the USB port to
make changes on their computer screens. This software update is free.
Also announced at NAB is the DeckLink Optical Fiber, an $495, 10-bit
SD/HD broadcast capture card with both optical fiber SDI and regular
SDI. Optical fiber cable has advantages because it’s commonly
available and used in computer networking. Now any Intel-based Mac or
PCI Express Windows can have Optical Fiber SDI and SDI capture and
playback. The DeckLink Optical Fiber instantly switches between SD
and HD, includes RS-422, internal SD keyer, reference and eight
channels of audio.
Blackmagic’s new $495 Mini Converter Optical Fiber is a
bi-directional converter that lowers the cost of using optical fiber
SDI cabling by simultaneously converting from SDI to Optical Fiber
and Optical Fiber to SDI in one compact design. It supports 1310nm
optical fiber with LC connectors using laser drive, and allows cable
lengths of up to 45 km or 147,000 feet in length.
Blackmagic’s new Audio Mini Converters are audio SDI embedding and
de-embedding mini converters with 3 GB/s SDI technology. With
redundant SDI inputs, 1/4 inch jack audio connections, and an
international power supply, these new Mini Converters are designed
for multi channel audio use with their four channels of balanced
analog audio or eight channels of AES/EBU digital audio. The Audio
Mini Converters are $$495 each.
Blackmagic Design has also announced the Blackmagic Ultrascope
($695), a combination PCI Express card and software waveform monitor.
It’s a computer-based 3Gb/s SDI and optical fiber SDI scopes designed
for editors and colorists. The UltraScope is designed to work in low
cost computers with minimum of a 24-inch monitor that allows
simultaneous display of six waveform views including RGB/YUV parade
display, composite waveform, vector, histogram, eight channel audio
meters, stereo audio scope and picture view.
Finally, the $395 DVI Extender is for extending your computer’s video
monitor via an industry standard SDI connection, so computer
resolution monitoring can be routed and distributed in television and
post production facilities. Previously, people had to use either
Ethernet or Cat 5 or Fiber Optic cables. The DVI extender uses
standard SDI BNC cables, that allow more than one monitor to be
connected to the computer and, if used with an SDI router, such as
the Blackmagic Design Enterprise Videohub, you could have up to 288
computer monitors all connected to the one computer.