PCI-X PCI-E and G5 with Multibridge Express – a question for Luke

[Nico Sandhof]

“Use the Blackmagic PCI Express Bridge card to allow Multibridge Extreme and Studio to connect to systems such as Apple Macintosh G5 workstations don

[Luke Maslen]

Thanks Nico,

That would be one solution. The other solution is that most video professionals already have some model of SDI card and this can be used to connect to the SDI in and out ports on the Multibridge PCIe models. This means no additional cost is required to use the Multibridge Extreme with a current PCI-X computer and then take advantage of PCIe if you upgrade to a newer computer in the future.

Regards,

Luke Maslen
Blackmagic Design

[Robert_pitman]

Hello Luke,

I do not have a SDI card of any type and are considering getting a Multibridge Extreme (with PCI Express) soon to use with my G5 Dual 2GHz (PCI-X based model) and I do not plan to buy a new power mac for another year. So my question is simular to Robin’s – is the optional PCI Express Bridge released (your site listed an August release date)? How much is it (I’ve only found one site listing it – which was in the UK for

[Luke Maslen]

Hi Robert,

The PCIe to PCI-X bridge card has been delayed. We had been working on it and then identified a number of bugs in the main bridge chip which we referred to the manufacturer of that chip. Two months ago, the chip manufactuer told us it would take about 3 months to address these bugs. So that means the chip might be ready in about a month and then we can recommence testing with the card we have built for it. At the time we were developing the bridge card, there was only one bridge chip available. More recently bridge chips from other manufacturers have entered the market and we might try using them if the original chip supplier takes too long. However this would involve engineering the bridge card from scratch and that could take a while. So I am not sure what our final decision will be but we will know more in a month.

If you already have some model of HD-SDI card, then you can use it to connect to the Multibridge Extreme even without a PCIe to PCI-X bridge card. This will still enable you to connect to both analog and digital devices as well as using the DVI-D monitoring output of the Multibridge Extreme. The DeckLink HD Pro Dual Link card, to which you have referred, is an example of an SDI card and you could use it (or any other SDI card) to connect to the Multibridge Extreme.

Out of curiosity, can you point me to the UK site which is advertising the bridge card? I’m not aware of ever publishing a price for the card so I am intrigued by this. We want the bridge card to be as inexpensive as possible, and I believe that we were aiming for around US$200, but I’m not aware of any price being published as the card has not been released and we won’t know the final cost until the chip manufacturer has eliminated some bugs.

Regards,

Luke Maslen
Blackmagic Design

[Robert_pitman]

Hello Luke,

Thanks for the info and looking forward to the multibridge with PCIe release.

This is the site that quotes a price for the PCI
https://www.planetdv.net/Content/By_Manufacturer/Blackmagic_Design/Video_Editing_Cards/Blackmagic_Design_Decklink_Multibridge_Extreme_Studio.asp

thanks for all your help
robert

[Luke Maslen]

Hi Robert,

Thank you for the link and I’m intrigued by the price as I’m not aware of any firm pricing on the card until it was finished but maybe a price has been set and I just haven’t heard? In any case, we’re running intensive tests on the Multibridge Extreme now as we want to release it as soon as possible.

Regards,

Luke Maslen
Blackmagic Design

[Chuck Moss]

Hey Luke,

I gather from the posts that the bridge card will not be out for at least one to two months, but is the multibridge extreme going to ship soon?

Also on the subject of the bridge card, will there be any ruduced performance out of the multibridge extreem if you are useing the PCI-X to PCI-e bridge card instead of a direct PCI-e connection. Does the 133 or 100 mhz PCI-X slots deliver enough bandwith?

Chuck