Pocket Ultrascope Not Functional

[Danny Hays]

I built an i7 for under 1000$ and it works with the Shuttle, has the x58 chipset and usb 3. see this link for MBs. Take the envy back.
https://www.blackmagic-design.com/support/detail.asp?techID=201

[Paulo Americo]

Good for you. But we went with the Pocket Ultrascope because it’s the right tool for our workflow.
We’ll be waiting for a new qualified laptop… Or a firmware update that makes it more universal.

[Joshua Helling]

Here’s the problem. And it is as frustrating for us as it is for you guys, that’s for sure.

When we first were getting close to release (before NAB) there was only 1 laptop available that even had USB 3 on it. That was the HP Envy.

Specifically it was the 15″ (there were no other sizes with USB3 at that time) with the i7 chip (and graphics card though the cards were the same GPU level).

We purchased several of these and they worked fine.

Shortly thereafter several other Envy laptops came out including the 17″ and the 13″. We tried those and shockingly they didn’t work. We found this odd, but we noted the limitation.

Shortly there after the Envy 15″ dropped off the site and was unavailable. So when it showed back up we got one of the new ones and it also did not work.

So we dug into why. Turns out that at some point after the 15″ came out they designed the others on a new motherboard (which did not work for us). Then they re-released the 15″ to the world and it got an “update” as well to this new motherboard and hence it also does not work.

Since then we’ve tried several laptops. A number of Asus models, a Dell as well. All of them behaved exactly the same. Not enough bandwidth.

Technically why this happens is due to how much bandwidth is on the PCI-e bus on these laptops. They are not given enough isochronous bandwidth and so the error pops up.

So we have hope for some of the emerging laptops that are coming out with second generation motherboards that are supposed to have more bandwidth to the USB3 ports.

Until that time we’ve made sure to mention that there are NO current laptops that support USB 3 for OUR products. We try to be as transparent about this as we can. Of course we want to see this technology become as common place as a mouse, but USB3 is still in its infancy and our confidence is high that when USB 3 becomes more commonplace and mature that it will be available on almost any device.

Until then, we are limited to either using PCI-express addin boards for desktop/micro ATX systems (luggables), and laptop manufacturers.

Anyways, To long, didn’t read version. I know you guys are frustrated and we share some of that. But we are being diligent about this.

Sincerely,

Joshua
Director of Support
Blackmagic Design Inc.

[Bill Ravens]

thanx for the detailed feedback. It is appreciated.

[Bill Ravens]

FWIW….

Update:
I managed to get a hold of an Asus U3S6 controller board. I installed it into the second PCIe x16 slot on my Intel DX48BT2 motherboard. After booting up and installing the lastest Renasas drivers, I am able to successfully operate the BMD Pocket Ultrascope. This is VERY encouraging.

If I may, I’d like to ask for a future enhancement. Currently, the display fires up on my primary display. Would it be possible to allow me to select either my primary, or my secondary display?

TIA

[Bill Ravens]

Nevermind on that request…i just discovered the “VIEW” manu

[Kaku Ito]

Hello Joshua,

I saw Caldigit’s USB3 expresscard today in Akihabara.
Is there a path for BM to make this compatible with Pocket UltraScope, so that we can use Pocket UltraScope with some MacBook Pros?

Kaku Ito
http://www.rawesome.info
http://www.redcentral.org

[Karl Deitch]

So what notebooks work?

[Stuart Smith]

It’s been quite some time, any news on this? We’re in a situation where an ultrascope on a laptop would be very helpful to us.
Thanks

[Adrian Hill]

The concept of this product is amazing but who among us wants a device that fits in your pocket and needs a Desk top to run it? Certainly not I. It really defeats the object, calling something Pocket Ultrascope. I have no idea why such a product is released with such a limited ability to be used. Yep I bought one and am hoping that they release Mac drivers and or a solution to be able to use with off the shelf laptops.