which HD product should I get? I’m confused a bit…

[Luke Maslen]

Hi Jeremiah,

Your DeckLink Extreme already provides:

1) SD component out for monitoring.
2) SD component in for occasional beta SP capture.
3) SD-SDI in/out
4) realtime HD to SD downconversion on analogue outputs so I can monitor on an SD monitor while I edit.

HD material for down conversion must have a compatible frame rate with standard definition video. You can use HDTV 1080/59.94i or 720/59.94p for use with 29.97fps NTSC. Alternatively use HDTV 1080/50i for use with 50fps PAL.

HDTV720/50p down conversion to PAL is not currently implemented as there are currently no shipping decks (of which I am aware) which support the rare HDTV720/50p standard.

If playing out HDTV 1080/23.98p material and down conversion is desired, choose a Blackmagic HDTV 1080 23.98 -> 59.94 easy setup. This will enable 3:2 pulldown and convert the video to an NTSC-compatible frame rate so that down conversion can be used.

—

If you need to work in Varicam, then a DeckLink HD series card, or one of the upcoming Multibridge products will be required. If you need something today, then the $595 DeckLink HD card, combined with the $1995 Multibridge, would provide all the connectivity you need and more.

One thing of which you need to be aware is that Varicam won’t necessarily down convert to SD. Generally to down convert to SD the HD frame rate needs to be a multiple of 25fps or 29.97 fps. We also provide down conversion for 23.98 material but there are many Varicam frame rates whose frame rates will not be compatible with the standard 23.98, 25 and 29.97fps frame rates.

In other words if you are going to work with Varicam, you are going to need a HD monitoring solution. Expensive HD monitoring solutions exist or alternatively you could use a HDLink partnered with a DVI-D or HDMI monitor for perfect, pixel-for-pixel, 1280 x 720 monitoring. Varicam is only 1280 x 720 and you don’t need a full 1920 x 1080 monitor for Varicam.

Incidentally HD cross conversion is supported on playback, with all DeckLink HD series cards, using 720p/59.94 and 720p/60 to 1080i rates. Other 720p formats (eg VariCam rates) may also work but this is dependant upon Final Cut Pro HD 5.0.

Finally, if you are going to work with HD material, then you will need to ensure that your disk array is adequate for HD. Your G5 and RAM appear to be adequate but I don’t know the details of your SATA disk array. It would be a good idea to benchmark the disk array using Blackmagic Disk Speed Test and then compare the results with the following 720p data rates:
720p HDTV uncompressed;

[Jeremiah Black]

Luke,

Yeah, I’m aware that my decklink exreme already has a lot of the features I’ll need, but I have to dump the finished product to HD tape, so I’m gonna need that HD SDI output. Maybe I’ll just buy the 4:2:2 HD decklink ($1000) for now, then sell it off and also sell off my decklink extreme and buy the multibridge extereme when it’s out.

I’m planning on buying an HD monitor, but will have to use mt Sd monitor for awhile until the checks from the new finished shows start coming in.

The show will be shot on the Varicam at 23.98. Is this one of the frame rates that can be downconverted to an SD monitor?

My RAID is fine- it’s a nice SATA raid that puts out enough speed.

Thanks for everything

[Luke Maslen]

Hi Jeremiah,

I don’t suppose you have an LCD monitor with DVI-D input which supports at least 1280 x 720 resolution? If so, consider the entry model DeckLink HD card at $595 and monitor via a $695 HDLink. If that squeezes in to your existing budget, then you will get HD and SD monitoring including Varicam monitoring at full 1280 x 720 resolution.

Varicam 23.98 is not going to down convert to NTSC or PAL and so down conversion is not an option. I talked with the engineers about what inexpensive workflow you could use (with hardware from any company) but we didn’t come up with anything.

So the one idea that did spring to mind is to save $400 on the DeckLink HD Pro 4:2:2 by getting the DeckLink HD instead and then put that saving towards a $695 HDLink. If you alreday have a suitable LCD monitor, then you should be ready to work in VariCam.

Hopefully this suggestion will work for you even if you need to temporarily pinch a colleague’s nice LCD monitor and give them an old CRT for a little while 🙂

Regards,

Luke Maslen
Blackmagic Design

[Jeremiah Black]

Luke,

could you please list the Varicam frame rates that will give me realtime downconversion? I’ll probably just reqeust that the show be shot in one of those.

thanks,

– JB

[Jeremiah Black]

Well, I found out today that the show will be shot at 720p @ 59.94. Given this, I’m not sure i need a new Decklink HD card. The footage can be downconverted by my DL extreme to my SD monitor. Except for a way to dump the footage to HD tape, are there any advantaghes to getting an HD card at this point?

thanks,

– jb