[Kristian Lam]

Hi Kevin,

Firsly, ensure that FCP is setup properly. Use the easy setup (Final Cut Pro > Easy Setup) and load “Blackmagic HDTV 1080i59.94 – HDV” or “Blackmagic HDTV 1080i50 – HDV”. Create a new sequence and drop your clips into that sequence. This should setup the DeckLink card to play out HDV via FCP.

Next, look at the 2 LEDs beside the USB port on the HDLink. If you have the USB connected, the one on the left of the port should be blinking. If the USB cable is not connected, that light should remain lit. Either way, this shows that the HDLink is receiving power.

Now look at the LED on the right of the USB port. Is it lit? This indicates a valid 4:2:2 signal being received by HDLink. If not, something is wrong.

regards

Kristian Lam
Blackmagic Design

[Kristian Lam]

Hi,

The connectors on the HDLink is a single link DVI-D. The 30″ Cinema Display requires a dual link DVI-D display so they are not compatible.

regards

Kristian Lam
Blackmagic Design

[Kristian Lam]

Hi Robin,

You’re using the wrong setting. Use the HD settings and let the card do the down conversion.

If you’ve shot HDV at 1080i60, use the easy setup “Blackmagic HDTV 1080i59.94 – HDV”.

regards

Kristian Lam
Blackmagic Design

[Kristian Lam]

Hi Paul,

We support down conversion for 720p59.94 to NTSC. However, try using the NTSC 23.98 easy setup that we provide. This will do real time pull down to NTSC (29.97) when you play out. You’ll have to render your 720 sequence to NTSC, but the frame rate should be the same (23.98).

regards

Kristian Lam
Blackmagic Design

[Kristian Lam]

Hi Shane,

I’ll chime in on why this is happening.

Slots 2 and 3 of the Power Mac G5 PCI-X runs on a shared 100Mhz bus while slot 4 has its own 133Mhz bus. The shared bus slows down to match the speed of the slower card in either of the two slots connected to it. As such, the DeckLink HD card cannot get enough bandwidth and will not do HD.

regards

Kristian Lam
Blackmagic Design

[Kristian Lam]

Hi,

If the video output does not update when you’re playing, it’s most likely a configuration issue with your Final Cut Pro project.

Check which easy setup you’re currently using, then hit opt-F12 to refresh the video playback.

regards

Kristian Lam
Blackmagic Design

[Kristian Lam]

Hello,

By dropped frames, do you mean the “No Video Input” message or a missing frame?

Are you capturing 8 or 10-bit and what is your drive speed as per the Disk Speed Test appplication?

regards

Kristian Lam
Blackmagic Design

[Kristian Lam]

Hi,

The HD Pro (Single Link) does not have simultaneous HD and SD output. The same connection you use to output HD to your HD monitor will do SD as well if you’re playing an SD timeline in your NLE. However, if you’re playing HD and wish to get SD output, turn on the down conversion option in the DeckLink preferences.

regards

Kristian Lam
Blackmagic Design

[Kristian Lam]

Hi,

I’ve responded to the same email you’d sent me. Basically it sounds like your HDTV display is too small and does not support 1920×1080. HDLink does not scale the video so it will appear “cut off” when you attempt to play 1080 HD on a display that is too small.

regards

Kristian Lam
Blackmagic Design

[Kristian Lam]

Hi Sean,

Blackmagic Deck Control releases the Quicktime video hardware when not active, just like Final Cut Pro and After Effects. This allows you to switch between applications that use the DeckLink hardware and still get preview output from each of them.

regards

Kristian Lam
Blackmagic Design