[Luke Maslen]

Hi Giuseppe,

We have never supported Windows Media Center as found it would not work well with our cards. That’s why we list Windows XP and Windows Vista as compatible operating systems with Blackmagic cards.

Can you test with either Windows XP or Vista?

Regards,

Luke Maslen
Blackmagic Design

[Luke Maslen]

Hi Nigel,

Thanks for your questions as they are all really good questions and it’s interesting to learn what people are wondering when we announce new products.

[Nigel Thompson] “i disagree with the article saying scopes these days a re inaccurate.”

This comment referred to the software scopes in NLE software which just aren’t very accurate and we have lots of editors and colorists telling us that they just can’t use them because they are inaccurate. Hardware scopes definitely are accurate and companies like Tektronix make fantastic scope hardware. However the interface to a lot of scopes is not very elegant so we’ve tried to make the UltraScope interface really nice to use.

[Nigel Thompson] “Im a mac person so i guess i have to buy a cheap windows box to run this thing. no biggy, but i need scopes bad. “

Technically there is no reason why we couldn’t have made UltraScope for Mac. In fact if we receive lots of requests for Mac support, we could do it easily. However as this is a PCI Express card, the only Mac in which it could be used is a Mac Pro and it would be a complete waste to have a dedicated Mac Pro just to use this card as there is no such thing as a low-end Mac Pro. There are a lot of low cost PC’s which would be perfectly suitable for use with the x1 lane PCI Express card in the Ultrascope package so that’s why it’s Windows-only at this stage.

[Nigel Thompson] “Oh and why a 24 inch monitor?”

The requirement for a 24 inch monitor is because the UltraScope interface is 1920 x 1200 pixels. This allows us to have a large, elegant interface with all 6 scopes on the screen simultaneously. If you are visiting NAB 2009, please drop by our booth and take a look at the UltraScope interface and you will then see why the 24″ display is required.

Regards,

Luke Maslen
Blackmagic Design

[Luke Maslen]

Hi Harold,

It sounds to me as though a firmware update has gone awry and that should be fixable but firstly would you please perform the following steps to ensure everything “should work”. You have a first generation Mac Pro so please carry out the following steps which are specific to Mac Pro models prior to the Early 2008 models.

1. Firstly, the Multibridge adapter card should be in slot 4 which is the top slot of your Mac Pro. If it is in a different slot, please shut down the Mac, power off the Multibridge and move it to slot 4. Power on the Multibridge and then start the Mac Pro again.

2. Go to /System/Library/CoreServices/ and launch the Expansion Slot Utility.

3. You can see there are four alternate PCI Express Profiles. Select the second one as shown in the screenshot above.

4. Click the Save and Restart button.

5. When the Mac restarts, check to see if the Multibridge is working. My guess is it will continue to exhibit the same problem you have described. If so, please continue with the following steps.

6. Shut down the Mac Pro and power off the Multibridge.

7. Disconnect the PCI Express cable between the Mac Pro and the Multibridge. You only have to disconnect one end of the cable.

8. Start up the Mac Pro and then connect a USB cable from the Mac Pro to the Multibridge.

9. Power on the Multibridge and then go to your Applications folder and launch the Blackmagic Multibridge Utility. It should offer to upgrade the firmware on your Multibridge. If it fails to do so, then please contact your nearest Blackmagic Design office for support.

10. Assuming you have been prompted to upgrade the firmware, proceed with the upgrade and follow any onscreen instructions.

11. You should now find the Multibridge Utility interface is active meaning it can communicate with your Multibridge.

12. Shut down your Mac Pro and the Multibridge and unplug the USB cable from the Multibridge.

13. Reconnect the PCI Express cable between the Mac Pro and the Multibridge.

14. Power on the Multibridge and then the Mac Pro.

15. When the Mac Pro starts up, it should prompt you to again upgrade the firmware on the Multibridge. Allow this upgrade to proceed and then you will have to restart the Mac Pro one more time.

16. This should fix the problem with your Multibridge. If not, please do contact your nearest Blackmagic Design office so they can organize a replacement unit for you. However it is most likely that the above procedure will have fixed any firmware problem with your Multibridge.

Regards,

Luke Maslen
Blackmagic Design

[Luke Maslen]

Hi Robin,

The reason you are encountering this problem is that you are feeding the units an HD signal but composite analog video is only SD and so can only display NTSC or PAL video. Both of these converters will be able to convert your HDMI or HD-SDI signal to component analog HD video but they don’t have down-converters so nothing will output on the composite output.

I do have some good news for you. In today’s press release Blackmagic Design Announces Major Mini Converter Software Update, we have announced a free software update for the Mini Converter SDI to Analog model as follows.

In Converter Utility 1.0, an update is included for the Mini Converter SDI to Analog model that adds a new high quality hardware down converter. This down converter allows HD to be converted to SD in letterbox, anamorphic 16:9 and center cut 4:3 modes. Analog component video output can be set to directly output HD or, by selecting the bypass switch, will down convert to SD component output. If an HD-SDI input is ever connected to Mini Converter SDI to Analog when the analog output is set to S-Video or composite, the HD down converter is automatically enabled so a picture can always be seen.

Converter Utility 1.0 software will be available free of charge in May 2009 from the Blackmagic Design web site at https://www.blackmagic-design.com/support.

So please keep a look out for the software update in May which is not far away!

Regards,

Luke Maslen
Blackmagic Design

[Luke Maslen]

Hi Aaron,

The original HDLink and HDLink 2 support 1080PsF23.98 and 1080PsF24 via DVI but not via HDMI and you can find the details of these differences in the support note named HDLink unsupported video formats in HDMI mode.

HDLink Pro (US$495) and HDLink Optical Fiber (US$795) both support 1080PsF23.98 and 1080PsF24 via DVI and HDMI.

There are quite a few HDMI TV’s which do not support 23.98p and 24p signals. If the current HDLinks receive these signals and detect that the TV will not support them, they will automatically apply pulldown processing and output 1080i59.94 which the TV is sure to support. This is great if your TV is incapable of handling these signals as the HDLink makes it possible to see the video image.

Regards,

Luke Maslen
Blackmagic Design

[Luke Maslen]

Hi Nigel,

UltraScope is a combination card and software package. There is a x1 lane PCI Express card which plugs in to your PC. It has conventional SDI input and output and also the new optical fiber SDI input and output so it’s right up to date with all the latest technology!

Regards

Luke Maslen
Blackmagic Design

[Luke Maslen]

Hi Kurt,

I’ve received and tested the monitor and replicated your observations. I shall now pass it over to the engineers to analyse.

Regards,

Luke Maslen
Blackmagic Design

[Luke Maslen]

Hi Mike,

Which version of Intensity drivers are you using and how many audio channels are in your Premiere CS3 project? Do you notice the same audio effect if you play out of Blackmagic Media Express?

Regards,

Luke Maslen
Blackmagic Design

[Luke Maslen]

Hi Vince,

I don’t know which model of Samsung HDTV you are using, and which format(s) of video you have tried, but some TV’s don’t support 720p50 and that format might or might not work with your TV.

It sounds as though you have the original HDLink and it does not support standard definition video via HDMI. It does support HD via HDMI and it does support SD and HD via DVI. The HDLink Pro supports SD and HD via both DVI and HDMI as well as 2K support via DVI.

So if you are trying to output SD via HDMI, that could explain your problem.

If you are attempting to output HD via HDMI, what do you see on the Samsung HDTV, eg black or perhaps some kind of distorted video? We have several Samsung displays here and they all work fine with HDLink.

Regards,

Luke Maslen
Blackmagic Design

[Luke Maslen]

Hi Thomas,

During capture, whatever is received on input is passed through to the outputs. This means that if you are capturing HD, the outputs will be HD during the capture process. Once the video has been captured, it is then possible to play it back as SD video. If you capture SD video, the outputs will SD during the capture process.

During capture, it is also possible to capture the HD video as SD video to disk but, because the incoming video is HD, the outputs will still be HD during the capture.

One thing you could try, which I think would work, would be to capture HD video with the Intensity, and connect the composite or S-video output of your camera to the SD monitor. Your camera would preform the SD down conversion and I think it will output HD video via HDMI at the same time as outputting SD video via analog connections.

Regards,

Luke Maslen
Blackmagic Design