14 September 2005 — Number 123

Broadcast monitor goes black during capture

Is it possible to display video being captured on a broadcast monitor? My broadcast monitor goes black during capture with my DeckLink card although I see video on my computer monitor.

Yes, you can use a broadcast monitor to monitor video during capture and this will work with any capture application including Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro, Vegas and Blackmagic Deck Control.

Open the DeckLink preferences (in the System Preferences of Mac OS X or the DeckLink control panel in Windows XP) and look at the setting named Black Video Output to Deck in Capture.

  • If you are using external reference, such as a blackburst generator, then you can set this menu to Disabled and this will allow you to monitor video via any SDI or analog video outputs during capture.

  • If you are using the DeckLink card to provide a sync signal to the deck during capture, and you connect to the digital deck (eg Digibeta) via SDI, set this menu to SDI Digital Out. This will send a stable black signal on the SDI to deck connection but you will still be able to monitor video, during capture, via the other video outputs available with your model of DeckLink card.

  • If you are using the DeckLink card to provide a sync signal to the deck during capture, and you connect to the analog deck (eg Betacam SP) via component or composite analog video, set this menu to Analog Outputs and this will allow you to monitor video via a spare SDI output during capture.

    • The "Monitor Video Output via" column in the following table shows the video monitoring options you can use during capture. The options vary depending upon the monitoring connections included with your model of DeckLink card and, in the case of the DeckLink Extreme and the DeckLink HD Pro 4:4:4 cards, the desired capture mode.

    Related technical notes:
    How to sync a deck with a DeckLink card.

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