Yes.

It is possible to use multiple Blackmagic cards in 1 system, as the driver supports this. However you will need software that is designed to work with multiple Blackmagic cards. Our standard supported software, such as Blackmagic Media Express, is only designed to use 1 capture card at a time.

When installing multiple cards, there is no way to tell Media Express which card to capture or playback from, as the software is only designed for 1 card. This is also common to other applications such as Apple Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere Pro.

Software from companies such a Softron or Tools On Air are designed specifically to use multiple Blackmagic cards.

You can check that both your capture cards are installed, by looking for the drop down box in the Blackmagic Control Panel that allows you to choose hardware settings between each card.

Yes.

DeckLink cards can be used for streaming, when combined with compatible third party streaming software, such as Adobe Flash Media Encoder. When looking at third party software, always be sure to check with the software developer if they support Blackmagic capture cards.

No.

Blackmagic devices are not able to work with signals from content protected sources by law. HDCP content protection is hardware based encryption, and so it can be present on a device even if you are using content that you have the rights to capture.

Dropped frames normally occur, when your storage solution for the video cannot provide a fast enough read/write speed to keep up with the video you are capturing. Capturing uncompressed video, especially in HD requires a fast hard drive storage solution, in order to maintain a fast enough read/write speed.

If you are getting dropped frames, try capturing at a lower compression setting, such as Blackmagic Motion JPEG or in a lower resolution such as SD, and see if your performance improves.

You can also use the included Blackmagic Disk Speed Test utility in order to check the read/write speeds of your storage solution.

Blackmagic capture cards have driver support for a number of popular editing and post production applications, such as Final Cut Pro, and Adobe Creative Suite 5 for Premiere Pro, After Effects and Photoshop.

There are also a number of third party applications, that work using the Blackmagic card’s own interface or through DirectShow and Quick time.

Many systems other than those mentioned will work with a Blackmagic card, however only those that have been specifically tested can be guaranteed to work.

When choosing a system for a Blackmagic card, always consider if it has the appropriate resources, such as an available PCIe slot at the correct lane speed, and also that this will not conflict with other devices in the system, such as multi GPU setups, integrated graphics etc.

The most common cause of not being able to capture video, is that your capture settings in your software, like Blackmagic Media Express, do not match the resolution or frame rate of the video you are trying to capture.

You should also double check that you have the correct input connection selected in the Blackmagic Control Panel, under the “set input” drop down box.

If you are still having a problem with your Blackmagic card, you can use the following steps to do a clean re-installation of your Blackmagic hardware:

• Un-install the Blackmagic driver.
• Shut down your system, and remove the Blackmagic card from the machine.
• Re-seat the Blackmagic card in the PCIe slot or try a different PCIe slot if available.
• Power on the system, and download the latest driver from our website here: www.blackmagic-design.com/support
• Double click the install file, and follow the installation procedure, and restart when prompted.
• After following through the installation process, check the settings in Blackmagic Control Panel, to establish if the card is properly installed.

When capturing and playing back, audio will be output from the card’s audio outputs. Most software will not pass the audio being captured, or played back to the system audio, or to a dedicated sound card.

This is because there is no way to keep the Blackmagic card and any other audio device in sync with each other, as there will be different latencies and timings between the two devices.

Blackmagic cards are designed to keep audio and video in sync as it is captured, and when played back. So your captured files will always be in sync, and when outputting from the card’s audio and video outputs you should not see any sync issues.

Yes.

Blackmagic capture cards with HDMI inputs can capture from the DVI or HDMI outputs of a graphic card (Providing the source is not HDCP protected.)

To capture from a graphics card the output must be set to a supported resolution of the Blackmagic card you are capturing to. For example if you want to capture 720p50, the graphics card’s output would need to be set to 1280x720 @ 50Hz.

It is not possible to capture from graphics cards with a VGA output.

Blackmagic Design capture cards are codec independent. Which codecs and video containers can be captured, or played back are determined by software.  Typically you would expect to be using the Quicktime .mov container on Macs, and on Windows, .avi, but certain software may use different containers.

Codec support is much more particular to your software. Our Media Express application will capture and playback Uncompressed 10 bit and 8 bit YUV, as well as support for 10 bit Uncompressed RGB and DPX with certain cards. On PC there is also Motion JPEG support. If your Mac has Final Cut Pro installed, you will also have access to DVCPro and DVCProHD, as well as ProRes 422 HQ.

Other third party software such as Final Cut Pro, and Premiere Pro, support capture and playback of a wider range of codecs, as this is built into the software.

Videohubs can be controlled in a number of ways.

All Videohubs come with a USB connection, which can be connected to a Mac or Windows PC running the Videohub Utility. This computer becomes the host server through which other computers and devices on the same network can control the Videohub routings.

Newer Videohub models, like Compact, Smart, Micro and Universal Videohub, also have an Ethernet connection. This Ethernet connection embeds the server control, allowing the Videohub to connect directly to your network, and eliminating the need for a host computer.

Videohubs can be controlled remotely over a network either using a computer running the Videohub Utility, or a Blackmagic Design Smart Control hardware panel.

You can also use the RS422 control port on newer models of Videohub, which uses the Leitch Serial Pass Through Protocol to provide control.

Finally, there is also a dedicated API and SDK for Videohubs, which you can use to create your own control solutions.

Yes.

Multiple Smart Control units can be connected to the same Videohub, and all used to control the routing functions at the same time. The only limitation of doing this is your own IP network.

No.

Currently there is no customization of the Videohub Utility software, when used in the Push Button interface mode. Several different icons are available for each type of connection, but it is not possible to load custom icons.

Configuration information for the video routing, is always stored on the Videohub itself. This means if you lose power or control connection, the video routes remain in their last state.

On older models of Videohub like Studio, Broadcast and Enterprise Videohub, the label information is stored on the USB connected control computer.

Newer models of Videohub that also have the Ethernet control connection, store the routing and label data on the Videohub itself.

Currently there is no way to save the configuration information of a Videohub to a file.

No.

Smart Control Panels do not cascade together to have a larger number of inputs or outputs across multiple panels. Each Smart Control panel can have a maximum of 20 destinations, which will scale down to just a single destination.

Yes.

Videohubs have no locked routing paths, and so you can send any input to any output on the unit. This is also true for the RS422 connections, which are independent of the video connections. You can also route 1 input to all the outputs, or any combination of this.

No.

Videohub control software does not currently support creating presets and salvos. This could be available through third party control interfaces, or developed with the free Videohub SDK.

Yes.

All connections on Videohub are broadcast quality, and the monitoring connections are exactly the same as the SDI out connections. Monitoring out is just a way of labeling the outputs to differentiate between the 2 SDI outputs on the larger Videohubs.

If Videohub utility remains greyed out when you are connecting to a Videohub, check the following steps to make sure everything is setup correctly:

If you are using a USB connected Videohub...

In Videohub utility, go to the “Videohub Server Preferences” menu, and make sure that the “use locally attached Videohub” is selected.

If you are connecting to a USB connected Videohub over Ethernet...

In Videohub utility, go to the “Videohub Server Preferences” menu, and make sure that the “use locally attached Videohub” is not selected. Next, check that you have the correct IP address entered as the remote Videohub.

If you are connecting to an Ethernet connected Videohub...

In Videohub utility, go to the “Videohub Server Preferences” menu, and make sure that the “use locally attached Videohub” is not selected. Next, check that you have the correct IP address entered as the remote Videohub.

Yes! On the Windows platform, you can use Blackmagic Design's USB 3.0 products with a P55 or X58 series motherboard which has been fitted with a USB 3.0 PCI Express expansion card. USB 3.0 expansion cards are available for around US$30.

The USB 3.0 expansion card should meet the following criteria:

• x4 lane PCI Express. This card can be fitted in a x4 lane or faster slot in any supported series of motherboard. We recommend the Asus U3S6.
• x1 lane PCI Express 2.0. This card can be fitted in a x1 lane or faster PCI Express 2.0 slot in any supported series of motherboard. We recommend the Gigabyte GA-USB3 and the Shintaro USB 3.0 PCIe expansion card.

On some motherboards, it may be necessary to enable PCI Express 2.0 for 1 lane PCIe slots in the BIOS to ensure full bandwidth is available to the PCI Express 2.0 slots.

Make sure your USB 3.0 card is installed in a PCIe slot connected to the North Bridge. This will ensure full bandwidth is being provided to your card. If you see the image of your Blackmagic output flashing, this would be a good indication that your USB 3.0 card is not running at full bandwidth.

Many USB 3.0 cards have shipped with older firmware and drivers which won't support Blackmagic Design's USB 3.0 products. It is essential to check the firmware and driver versions of your USB 3.0 card by following the procedure in this PDF.

Intel X58 series motherboards with onboard USB 3.0 support are required to support Blackmagic Design's USB 3.0 video products. The onboard USB 3.0 support of other motherboards, such as the P55 series, cannot be used.

Listed below are motherboards that have been verified for Intensity Shuttle, UltraStudio Pro and Pocket UltraScope:

• ASUS P6X58D-Premium
• ASUS P6X58D-E
• Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD7
• Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD5
• Asus Crosshair IV

Many motherboards have shipped with older firmware and drivers which won't support Blackmagic Design's USB 3.0 products. It is essential to check the firmware and driver versions of your motherboard's USB 3.0 chip by following the procedure in this PDF file.

Notebooks certified for use with UltraStudio Pro and Intensity Shuttle:

• MSI GE620

Presently there are no certified notebook computers for use with Pocket UltraScope. Testing is being conducted on several new notebook models and the results are expected soon. We will update this support note when we find new notebook models which can be reliably used with Pocket UltraScope. We advise against purchasing notebook computers for use with it until certification testing has been successfully completed.