Ultrastudio SDI – Working?

[Peter Berg]

I was also curious if anyone can comment on the Ultrastudio SDI. Does it work well (I assume it would). I was looking to get one for a Resolve setup.

I was actually wondering about the formats it will output. Can you output different formats from the HDMI and the SDI ports? I know our Plasma will only read 1080p over HDMI but our SDI CRT monitor expects 1080PsF.

Can I set that up somehow? I can’t find a manual for the Ultrastudio so I was just curious how you can setup the outputs on the device.

Also what are people doing for audio? Just buying the Blackmagic SDI to Analog converter? I wanted to hook up my studio speakers (XLR or 1/4″ cable) somehow as well.

thanks,
Peter

[Joshua Helling]

The Ultrastudio SDI does not typically work in two different modes. So if you are editing in 23.98p then your SDI and HDMI will be in P. However. If you are specifically working in PsF, then your SDI output in this case would be PsF and your HDMI output would be P (HDMI does not support PsF).

In order for this to happen you would need to have the BMD control panel set to work in PsF (no checkbox).

Hope that helps.

Sincerely,

Joshua
Director of Support
Blackmagic Design Inc.

[Peter Berg]

Thanks for the reply. So HDMI can only send a true ‘P’ signal?

So just to clarify. If I set Davinci Resolve to work in 1080/23.98Psf I will get PsF from the SDI port? But the HDMI will always be sending a true ‘P’ signal? So with that setup I can get a PsF on the SDI and a P on the HDMI? Is there no user manual for the Ultrastudio? Sounds like the settings are just pretty basic. Just the application settings and also the Blackmagic control panel?

I thought I tried to do something similar with a Decklink Studio card and my CRT was getting 23.98 PsF but the plasma didn’t like the signal coming from the HDMI (Which I thought was PsF as well.. which the monitor didn’t support over HDMI).

thanks,
Peter

[Joshua Helling]

There’s no spec for PsF in HDMI or DVI, so it’s always progressive while the board is in PsF mode. So yes, if you set Resolve to be PsF the output of the Ultrastudio SDI should be native P (we buffer a field and send it out progressive). Should be the same for Decklink Studio too FWIW.

Sincerely,

Joshua
Director of Support
Blackmagic Design Inc.

[Peter Berg]

Hi Joshua,

Thanks for the email. Maybe I have a bad Decklink Studio 2 card? Can you help me see if it might be?

I have a Sony CRT hooked up to the component output of the Decklink and I have my Panasonic Plasma hooked up to the HDMI output. Normally I run Resolve in 1080PsF/23.98 mode. In that mode the Sony is getting a good image, but the Panasonic is blank. If I switch Resolve over to 1080p/23.98 the Sony freaks out (It doesn’t like a true P signal) but then the Panasonic gets a great image.

The only way I can get both to work is if I run the component out of the Sony and run that into the Panasonic (it will read PsF over component, but not over HDMI).

It seems to me that the Decklink is trying to send PsF over HDMI when Resolve is in PsF mode. I checked the Desktop video settings in the Windows control panel and the checkbox is not checked (to run in 1080p mode, if this control panel even matters when I’m in Resolve). Although I did try it with it checked and with it not checked.

Any ideas why I can’t send PsF to my Sony over Component and also use the HDMI out for my Panasonic Plasma at the same time?

thank you,
Peter

[Joshua Helling]

That is certainly odd behavior. We wouldn’t expect that to be the case. Can you do me a favor and try the same setup in Media Express? It should be a quick test, just take a 23.98PsF clip and put it in there. I want to make sure that Resolve isn’t doing something to adjust the output.

Sincerely,

Joshua
Director of Support
Blackmagic Design Inc.

[Peter Berg]

Hi Joshua,

I just did the same test in Media Express. I set the Media Express prefrences to 1080p 23.98 and imported a 1080p 23.98 clip.

I can only get playback on one of my monitors at a time (either the Sony CRT via Component or the Panasonic Plasma via HDMI). If I go into the Backmagic Control Panel and check to use 1080p then the Plasma over HDMI works but not the Sony CRT. If I clear the checkbox (so it uses 1080PsF) then the Sony works but the Plasma goes blank.

Can you help me figure out what is happening?

Peter

[Peter Berg]

Hi Joshua,

Can you help me figure out what is happening with this Decklink card?

I was able to try a UltraStudio SDI yesterday and it seems to behave like you descibe. When resolve is set to 1080PsF/23.98 and I hook up the Plasma to the HDMI out, it gets picture. So I can get picture to both monitors.

Does this mean the DeckLink Studio 2 is defective or has a problem with it? Shouldn’t I be able to get output to my 1080PsF CRT and my 1080P Plasma?

thanks,
Peter Berg

[Joshua Helling]

Interesting…so the Decklink Studio 2 doesn’t behave this way but hte Ultrastudio SDI does. Let me have one of my techs test this out.

Just to confirm, because the Studio 2 has split output, you are using the SDI on the back of the board and NOT the break out cable correct?

Sincerely,

Joshua
Director of Support
Blackmagic Design Inc.

[Peter Berg]

Thanks Joshua.

I am using HDMI output for the Plasma and the Analog Component for the CRT monitor (which comes off the breakout cable). Actually not using the SDI output in this current configuration.

thanks,
Peter