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RS-422 to RS-232 & Decklink Extreme
To whom it may concern,
I am one of the thousands of owners
of a a deck that has an RS-232 protocol.
I don’t need fancy insert editing or other RS 422
controls for this deck, that’s why I purchased
a NLE system like Final Cut Pro.I only need my computer to control playback on my deck
so I can log and capture the clips I want without having
to walk over to my deck and press play and stop for every take.There are several RS-422 to RS-232 adapters out there.
I have one connecting my Decklink card to my Beta deck.
My Decklink Extreme card IS communicating with my Beta SP UVW1400a.
I know that because as I change settings on my deck the log/capture
window on FCP 5 changes from VTR OK to No communication.It seems like a minor thing to go the extra mile and give us
basic playback RS 232 deck control through our Decklink card!Am I asking for too much?
Michael Engel
http://www.EngelProductions.com“That’s easy to answer. The DeckLink card provides built-in support for the RS-422 serial protocol used by most professional decks. Some inexpensive decks, and some much older decks, only support the older RS-232 protocol and this makes it a bit tricky to control the deck. RS-422 is a more modern standard with greater abilities and that’s what our cards support.
Regards,
Luke Maslen
Blackmagic Design” -
2 Replies
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Michael –
Sony has discontinued the entire line of Beta VTR’s. I realize that this seems impossible, as everyone has a Beta VTR at their shop, but this is a fact. I can’t imagine that any manufacturer of edit systems is going to start writing new code for a VTR that is no longer manufacturered. This is not something that Blackmagic is doing to punish you. NO MANUFACTURER – not AJA, not Digital Voodoo, not Aurora, not Sony, not Leitch, not Aacom, not AVID – NO ONE is writing for RS232 VTR protocol.Companies like Keyspan and Addenda make RS232 to RS422 converters, but they are not designed to give edit function to Sony VTR’s with RS232 ports, so there is limited function. People complain about newer products, like the new Sony HDV VTR’s that use LANC as their VTR communication port – not RS422. Companies like Addenda make LANC to RS422 adaptors, but EVEN ON THESE NEW VTR’s, their performance is marginal compared to PROFESSIONAL VTR’s. This is not a limitation of the edit manufacturers – it is a limitation of the VTR’s. You can’t expect Blackmagic to put a LANC port on the next generation of cards – and even if they did, the performance of shuttling, scrubbing and cueing of a LANC controlled VTR will NOT equal that of a professional VTR that uses RS422 control.
I know that this is not what you want to hear, but it’s reality.
Blame Sony.
Bob Zelin
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Hi Michael,
RS-422 is reliable so that’s what we use. If you want to use a legacy deck with RS-232 serial control, then a $40 investment in a Keyspan adapter should solve your problem. Alternatively you can update to a deck which supports RS-422. We’re not going to re-engineer and increase the cost of DeckLink cards for all DeckLink customers by adding support for a legacy technology which is going to fade away, especially when you have an easy $40 option you can use. The Keyspan adapter has worked for 100% of UVW-1400a customers with whom I have discussed this issue.
Regards,
Luke Maslen
Blackmagic Design
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