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Request for advice on Premiere capture devices
I’m a bit of a lurker here on the forum (I’ve asked a few things here and there about PP CS4), but I’ve seen enough to notice and respect the expertise, so I’m wondering if any of you might have advice on the appropriate capture device for me to use with Premiere.
I’d like something with HD and SD input, especially S-video since I have well over 100 hours of old Hi8 and S-VHS I plan to both archive and edit some to incorporate into a podcast that will mix with HD. I would also like live HDMI output to a HDTV to use as a full screen editing monitor. I’m sure these are common wants. Without spending at a professional level, there seems to be only two devices that do this: The Blackmagic Design Intensity line, and the Matrox MXO2 mini.
The Blackmagic is cheaper, but seems flaky as far as compatibility with certain chipsets, etc. Some love it, some hate it. The Matrox is more expensive, but still within my comfort level. I don’t have any plans to make money off of my project ideas. I also plan to rent Premiere CC6, since I can get it cheap with an educator discount!
Am I missing a good capture product in a reasonable price range? There are numerous input-only devices, but I’d really like that editing on the HDTV in my office. I could maybe live without it if a second monitor could be used full screen. Heck, I could theoretically use nothing but pass-through on a little 3CCD Panasonic DV camcorder I have for SD sampling since all my HD is digital via card, but I wonder if the quality would be as good.
Anyone use these devices? Any recommendation / ideas? Any advice is GREATLY appreciated
My PC:
Intel® Core™ i7-4790K CPU
16GB DDR3 2400 RAM
256GB SSD program drive
2 x RAID0 drives, 6GB each
nVidia 750 Ti based video card
LG Blu-ray burner
Windows 7 Pro 64-bit -
2 Replies
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We use both brands – a BlackMagic Design Intensity Shuttle (USB3), a BMD Intensity(internal PCI card), and a Matrox MXO2 mini. The Matrox is attached to our editing machine in the studio, while we use the BMD Intensity Shuttle on a laptop for live webcasting. We used to lug a desktop around for webcasts with the BMD Intensity onboard, but after extensive testing found out that the laptop/Shuttle setup works as well, and sure is lighter.
As you stated, the Blackmagic Intensity Shuttle is very picky with chipsets, and it’s not supposed to play well with our laptop’s, but we’ve done 4+ hour live streaming of an HDMI feed without a single hiccup. Got it on eBay used too, so it was really inexpensive.
Happy with both – so I guess that really doesn’t help you. I do think that if I had to have only one, I’d go with Matrox if my budget was amenable.
Asus P6X58D Premium * Core i7 950 * 24GB RAM * nVidia GeForce GTX 770 * Windows 7 Premium 64bit * System Drive – WD Caviar Black 500GB * 2nd Drive(Pagefile, Previews) – WD Velociraptor 10K drive 600GB * Media Drive – 2TB RAID0 (4 – WD Caviar Black 500GB drive) * Matrox MX02 Mini * Adobe CC * QuickTime 7.7.5
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“98% of all computer issues can be solved by simply pressing ‘F1’.”
Steve Brame
creative illusions Productions -
While the USB 3.0 version of Intensity has compatibility issues, the internal PCI-e card version should work in any PC desktop. Current model is the Intensity Pro 4K. The downside of that model is that all connections are at the back of the computer, which may be easily accessible for many users.
The Matrox MXO2 Mini provides an aluminum breakout box that provides convenient access to audio and video ports on your desk. MXO2 Mini also provides some plug-ins for Premiere, offering Color Correction, Keying, and transitions, and I like using those tools.
That said, if you plan to also use the capture unit to feed various video streaming applications, the Intensity line is more broadly compatible than is MXO2. But either is ready for Premiere CC capture/monitoring.
As you mentioned, you CAN use some MiniDV cameras as an analog-to-DV converter and ingest footage as DV then via Firewire. The BMD and Matrox devices are capable of higher quality though, capturing to 4:2:2 codecs rather than DV with 4:1:1 color space. Plus you can increase the capture data rate (at least on Matrox, not sure if Intensity has that option).
Thanks
Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers
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