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DecklinkExtreme3D+ w/ Resolve – HDMI out to Plasma?
Hello Friends,
Very excited for V8! I just have a couple questions about configuration on my 12-core before the final stage – buying the application 🙂 I have been waiting to make the purchase as FCPx news and the death of Color came it is a no-brainer.
My Current setup:
MacPro 12-core (x2 2.66GHz)
x4 2TB drives = 8TB RAID 0 (Drobo attached w/ CCC for daily backup)
250GB SSD (OS in Optical Bay 2) 10.6.8
32GB RAM (x4 8GB sticks – OWC purchase)
Nvidea GT120
Nvidea GTX285
BMD Decklink Extreme 3D+
BMD HDLINK3D>DisplayPort>Dreamcolor
Panasonic VT25 (50″ 3D capable plasma)
Tangent Wave PanelOk so I have a couple questions about what I might need to add / adjust in my setup before starting to use Resolve.
1) I want to integrate the Panny Plasma now but was hoping to avoid having to buy the $500 BMD converter box to go SDI>HDMI having already spent so much to even make resolve a possibility I need to save money for the application purchase! I believe the problem is that the HDMI add on for the Decklink will not fit because of all the cards I have in? I was under the impression that a work-around might be possible but please if anyone has suggestions let me know. I was told in another forum that this is one option https://forums.creativecow.net/thread/277/1940#1940 I guess i just dont really understand how exactly to do this and what I would need to buy besides a 10-15 foot HDMI 1.3 or 4 cable.
2) I dont have a RAID card installed right now – will this slow my system down significantly – do I need this? I realize I do have 1 slot remaining so that’s probably why 🙂 If I do need one is there a cost effective solution as opposed to overpaying for Apple brand?
3) 32GB RAM is this going to majorly effect my system or is it ok? Realtime is not THAT big of a deal for me I think especially in that I am coming from Apple Color but you guys tell me what do be aware of.
4) Any other advice or suggestions for system setup?
Thank you for your time.
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5 Replies
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1. I have the Cubix expansion chassis so that solved the “out of slots” problem for me. If you can afford it, I highly recommend it. If not, I know of a few people that have drilled small holes in the back of their MacPros to pull the HDMI cables through from the Declink card. Whichever approach you settle on, the HDMI signal along with HDSDI work fine with Resolve.
2. DO NOT buy the Apple RAID card! It’s problematic, over priced,and out dated tech. I have been very happy with the ATTO R680, and it seems to be a very common choice. You can avoid the hardware raid card and do a software raid with 3-4 drives inside your MacPro. It won’t have as good performance and a card, but it still works. I used Software raid for awhile and got realtime playback of HD in Resolve.
3. 32 GB is not recommended, and imparts a slowdown from the recommended RAM amounts. I would suggest you add two more 8gb sticks to your rig and fill 3 of the 4 slots for each processor. That speeds memory utilization quite a bit.
4. Believe me when I tell you, realtime playback IS a big deal and worth making a priority. I was a Color user since it was released and now am blown away by how much faster I can grade and how much better quality my first passes are just because of realtime.
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El Mundo Bueno Studios
Film * Audio
http://www.EMBstudios.com
Emeryville, CA
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Hey Paul thanks for the reply!
Just to clarify
1)I guess I just dont understand this because with my decklink extreme 3D+ I dont fully understand how to set it up and where exactly a cord would come out from the back of macpro – couldn’t I just leave the plate off for the PCIe slot that is still open and not used and thread it out that way?
2) I have the 8TB RAID0 software setup but what I am asking is if I still need or should have a RAID card as well or is that only if its an external RAID system?! sorry if this seems stupid
3)SO my system is being slowed down by have 32GB ? which means i would have to add 3 more 8gb sticks for a total of 48GB of RAM?
Mucho Thanks
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Just to clarify – I have slot 4 at the top OPEN so I just connected the 2 HDMI cables to the back of my decklink card and then put the plate in that top slot which is available…it does seem a little crammed in there but as of right now non of the cables from the HDMI plate OR the GTX 285 are touching any of the fans or cards themselves.
Any thoughts or opinions on this config would be great
So now I have:
slot 4 – HDMI plate
slot 3 – Decklink Extreme3D+
Slot 2 – Nvidea GT 120
Slot 1 – Nvidea GTX 285 -
You can use an RAID card to run the drives inside your MacPro and get better performance than using a softward RAID. This give you two wins: 1. faster RAID performance 2. Removes RAID overhead from CPUs which gives more CPU power to Resolve. Software RAID as you have it setup now will work. Hardward RAID for your internal drives will work better. The card I was recommending (ATTO R680) is for external SAS enclosures. For your internal RAID, if you want to go with a RAID Host Bus Adapter, there are many available at OWC including: ExpressSAS R608, which is the internal version.
If you haven’t purchased the MacPro yet, you can get it with 24GB RAM and that will work great. If you alreay have 32GB Ram with 8GB sticks (installed 2x processor), then you can purchase two more 8GB sticks and add one to each processor. That will bring your total to 48gb.
Routing your HDMI signal off of the Declink card, IF you install a RAID card will be -whatever you can figure out-. I didn’t go that route. I decided to get the Cubix Xpander Pro 4 which gives me an additional 4 slots. So I have two GTX285s and a RedRocket in addition to what you have. It screams and does Red 4k footage realtime.
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El Mundo Bueno Studios
Film * Audio
http://www.EMBstudios.com
Emeryville, CA
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this is super helpful thank you.
cheers!
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