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HDLink with Kona 2 setup
I’m new here and am looking for some answers as I prepare to upgrade my FCP and Combustion workstation to uncompressed HD capability.
I’ve heard many wonderful things about the Decklink HD Pro and the Kona 2. To be honest, no one has convinced that there’s really any difference in the cards. Maybe someone from this Forum can give me their biased or un-baised opinion about that.
But, I have been considering a setup that would include using the HDlink for monitoring and possibly (I haven’t made up my mind yet) using the Kona 2 as my capture card. Can you folks shoot some darts at this target please.
Thanks.
Keith Hill
https://www.LightedPath.biz
Dallas, TX
Final Cut Pro 5.0.2, Combustion (MAC-v3.0.4), DVD StudioPro 4 (v 3.0.2); MAC G5 (v10.4.2-Tiger) 2Ghz, 1.5 RAM -
5 Replies
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The Decklink Pro HD and the Kona 2 are both excellent products. Unless you find someone that purchased one of these units from a mail order house, and could not figure out how to set it up, you will probably not find anyone who can say anything negative about either product. They are both teriffic, and both are A HELL of a lot cheaper than anything AVID has to offer. The HD Link is a teriffic product as well.
Bob Zelin
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Does either of the cards have support for 1080/24p with say a DVCProHD codec?
Keith Hill
https://www.LightedPath.biz
Dallas, TX
Final Cut Pro 5.0.2, Combustion (MAC-v3.0.4), DVD StudioPro 4 (v 3.0.2); MAC G5 (v10.4.2-Tiger) 2Ghz, 1.5 RAM -
both, also jpeg and I am using sheer codec on 1080 50i project as well – on my dual 2Ghz it plays aevery other frame though so you need something faster
-Kaspar
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Hi Keith,
[Keith Hill] “Maybe someone from this Forum can give me their biased or un-baised opinion about that.”
I’ll give you a clue which one I’ll give 😉 What are you hoping to do with the card, ie connect to some kind of deck(s) or to a camera or simply for monitoring of HDV material? If you can let me know what you want to do, I can let you know which of the DeckLink HD series cards would be most appropriate for your needs.
[Keith Hill] “I have been considering a setup that would include using the HDlink for monitoring and possibly (I haven’t made up my mind yet) using the Kona 2 as my capture card. Can you folks shoot some darts at this target please.”
The HDLink works fine with pretty much any stable SDI source in the following formats: 1080p24, 1080p25, 1080p30, 1080i48, 1080i50, 1080i59.94, 720p30, 720p50, 720p59.94, 720p60, 625/25 PAL, 525/29.97 NTSC. You can read more about the HDLink specifications on our web site. We’ve tested HDLink with DeckLink cards and Kona cards and it works fine at these resolutions.
Unlike standard definition video, you need very high quality connections, and very hight quality cables, to carry HD-SDI video without significant deterioration in signal quality. You might be amazed to find that a 7 foot SD-SDI cable may simply be inadequate to display reliable video to the HDLink. Please see the support note What kind of cables should I use for high definition video? to ensure that you will be able to connect to HD decks, DeckLink cards and HDLink with a reliable HD-SDI signal. Another thing to consider is the connectors on capture cards.
We use BNC connectors on the DeckLink cards, including the DeckLink HD Pro 4:4:4 card, to ensure that we can meet the SMPTE specification for HD-SDI over 300 feet (100m). We tried using other kinds of breakout connectors but they did not provide us with a stable HD-SDI signal over this distance so that’s why we use BNC connections. The bottom BNC connector presses against a black, plastic plug on the motherboard and, for this reason, you might find it tricky installing some models of DeckLink HD series cards in to the top slot of a G5. If you find it too tricky, just use slots 2 or 3.
Any DeckLink HD series card, combined with HDLink and HD-rated SDI cables, will provide you with tremendous quality.
Finally, you mentioned Combustion and so you should be aware of current Combustion compatibility issues with Tiger which are documented in the support note Autodesk Combustion
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Hi Luke,
I really appreciate your input on this.
[Luke Maslen] “What are you hoping to do with the card, ie connect to some kind of deck(s) or to a camera or simply for monitoring of HDV material? If you can let me know what you want to do, I can let you know which of the DeckLink HD series cards would be most appropriate for your needs.”
I will be using the card primarily for monitoring everything from 23.98 DV to 23.98 HD as I edit in FCP 5 and Composite in Motion 2 and Combustion 3 (I beleive C4 on MAC is about to come out shortly). Capturing won’t be an issue for me as I will be bringing in footage from a modified DVX100A using the Andromeda/SculptorHD system on a powerbook or Mac Mini. So, I will bring in my recorded uncompressed 4:4:4 footage from the laptop/Mac Mini to my G5. This will be accomplished using the SculptorHD software part of the system, from within the software I will choose to format at 720p (1280×720) into FCP5 using DVCProHD codec. Once on the drive I will edit as normal and monitoring will be the issue between apps like FCP5, Motion2, Combustion and DVD SP 4.
With the right card I want to be able to have the option to output to whatever delivery (be it up-rez or down rez) format my customers may want, or, be able to rent a D5 deck and output an Archive Master.
Thanks for the info on HDLink. I beleive that this is the way to go for me.
I will take your advice on the cables and connectors.
Finally, does the Decklink cards provide audio monitoring support like the Kona2. I use Soundtrack Pro alot and plan to add Nuendo soon and would like to be able to monitor audio from 2.1 up to 6.1 surround using Mackie or other compatible Control surfaces. One thought I had was to use the Tascam FW 1884, but if I can get audio from a card I can go to another setup. any advice in this area would really be appreciated.
Right now, this is the only workstation I have. Final Cut Studio, though buggy, offers the perfect workflow for my approach to the business.
Keith Hill
https://www.LightedPath.biz
Dallas, TX
Final Cut Pro 5.0.2, Combustion (MAC-v3.0.4), DVD StudioPro 4 (v 3.0.2); MAC G5 (v10.4.2-Tiger) 2Ghz, 1.5 RAM
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