[Alistair Ferguson]

As you know new kit is released daily and some of us manage to find out that certain hardware (both professional and consumer) can be used for tasks in a broadcast facilities other than what they were designed for. With the crossover and costs for manufacturers it is obvious that some hardware falls into qualified for its intended use but that others slip out to market and by enthusiasts are found it to be capable – look at the Apple Cinema Displays and the Catleap variants as an example of this, same panels internally but wildly different prices.

You are of course wrong I don’t have all the time and energy to trawl a forum for all the information I’m looking for or to become experienced in something that I’m only beginning a journey on, that is why I asked the question or to help clarify things… I hardly said whats a cheap monitor capable for grading, it is obvious I have been reading about this.

If you are sick of reading these posts and if it’s getting asked daily why could it not be a sticky (if the forum allows it or someone take it on as a feature to write to guide others.

Also if you are sick of replying to the question.. and the heading of my post was quite obvious, then don’t read it, don’t click it and don’t post a one word answer making you sound like a moody teenager. Un-beliveable, right!

As a long time Avid editor, someone who has overseen the creation of three facility houses and has also been a manager… I’m sure I have knowelgede that I can pass onto others that they don’t know due to the fact I’ve experienced it and I have done so many times in many forums without the attitude. How can asking a sensible question on a relevant topic be spamming?

Also I didn’t in fact know that there is a separate thread for asking about basic and configuration but I do now, to quote Tim Wilson who created it…

“Rather than jump on people who start threads in the wrong place, we ask that you contact us directly as we continue to refine. Once the Blackmagic Cinema Camera ships with free Resolve software, it will get even MORE crowded here, so please keep jostling to the minimum possible. :-)”

“But hey…what do I know.” – Not a lot in seems in human courtesy it seems or being helpful in regards to these forums and to others who want to get involved with something you do daily.

In my time in broadcast it has appeared to me daily that the Editors who are helpful, appreciate question and quick to provide answers – genuinely enjoy what they do, are good at it and keen to bring others along for the ride, on the flip side the grouchy, unapproachable and nasty ones are not and are over-protective of the niche they have carved out for themselves, desperate to protect their jobs and not be caught out by anyone if they get a fact wrong. Glad I’m not one of your clients or colleagues.

Perhaps change it to “A slice of attitude…” (do think about it)

[Alistair Ferguson]

Just to let anyone reading this know, I was moving cables about and took out the breakout cable to safely move things. On close inspection one of the pins close to the edge had a slight bend, not much but not right in comparison to the rest – I straightened it out with a pair of long nose pliers and it’s done the trick and fixed it.

[Alistair Ferguson]

Bob!
So glad you took the time to respond – from reading on here I know you’re a guru when it comes to installing these products, so appreciate your advice.

I agree on the lack of advice / certification from BMD on their products in terms of using them with other hardware. Even if they allowed a section where other users could post their setup specs it would help, like “we’re not saying this will work but… Bob has these working on xxx model of HP/Dell machines and Mary has these working on a home built machine with a Gigabyte motherboard” rather than us having to hunt through forums for the answer or as read on here the disappointment and fact-finding missions others have when they received their hardware from BMD.

BMD seem to make great hardware, which says it will do everything you need it too and at the right cost but after that it all goes out the window. I say that as someone who has bought 2 Decklink cards, thought a recent interview with Grant Petty was inspirational and looks to buy a Cinema Camera when they fix all the sensor problems – so I’m not nocking them, just disappointed that this seems to be the case.

I take on board everything what you say and wouldn’t mind buying another GFX card from their supported list if mines didn’t work but looking at the costs last night I realised that only one retailer in the UK sell the PCIe version at below or close to the RRP/MSRP on the BMD website, some have a markup of over £100 for the product versus competitors.

Considering that this will be a board which will only do one job and the support for which seems less than ideal – I’m thinking of following your advice at re-looking at the Mac Mini and Scopebox, This way at least I can use the setup at other clients facilities, the whole setup will be quieter (deadly quiet) unlike the dell which sounds like a bat out of hell when going, and the Ultrastudio can also have a dual role of I/O hardware for Avid if I ever want to run it on the Mac Mini.

I was really impressed last night reading a post on the Scopebox website about how the new version released Jan, 28, 2013 features hue vectors, developed in conjunction with colorist Alexis Hurkman. That’s some reaching out to your community and from reading on their site they seem to have a real spirit about them – so would love to support that!

[Alistair Ferguson]

I assume this is meant to be some sort of attitude because I’ve asked the question of a budget grading monitor? I’ve seen yourself answer helpfully on the same topic in posts from months to years ago – so why the hate?

I’ve tried to find out as much as I can from reading the forums but still just looking to ask if things have changed recently and none of the posts on the subject are recent?

Really if you didn’t have a answer or have got out of bed on the wrong side – why even post?

[Alistair Ferguson]

Hi really interesting to read this – I’m thinking of upgrading my whole suite – it’s an MC3 system which is running on a Mac Pro, it has an NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT fitted. Im looking to run both MC6 and Resolve, I remember that earlier versions of Avid were very GFX card dependent from the responses to Simon’s question it appears that this is not the case, am I right?

How do you think I would fair with Nvidia card and a BMD Decklink Studio for use with both Avid & Resolve…

Sorry to butt in! But it feels like you guys have real world experience of this!

Cheers!

[Alistair Ferguson]

That’s a very interesting solution, I had been thinking of buying a new I/O box as well as the Pocket Ultrascope to replace my SDI Mojo. This seems to do everything you would need, but are these third party devices completely reliable in the new MC?

I’ve only ever experienced rock solid cutting from first party hardware from Avid (ABVB, Meridian, DNA, Nitris). I did use a Matrox MX02 Mini last year at a clients place but it was fresh out the box and required a bit of going round and round with drivers to make it play happy with MC but when it finally settled down – it seemed a great wee box… but this was only for monitoring!

Also I didn’t even think to look at other software which had the same functionality – doh! That looks interesting, obviously not quite as visually polished as the Ultrascope interface but at least it works. It begs the question when other monitoring software can work with any box – why can BMD not make the other hardware they make, work with the Ultrascope software and release it as a stand alone product in it’s own right, like as an upgrade if you want it. Hopefully after NAB someone at BMD might pick this thread up and give an answer…

[Alistair Ferguson]

Note to myself re-read what you’ve wrote before you post! Apologies for that hopefully you all can skip over the mistakes above…