[Luke Maslen]

Thanks Sean,

That is a very interesting article. Thanks for posting the link.

Regards,

Luke Maslen
Blackmagic Design

[Luke Maslen]

Hi Thomas,

I’m still awaiting an answer on this but I can tell you that all of the cameras and other equipment we’ve tested was only outputting 8-bit color on their HDMI outputs. Capturing video as 8-bit uncompressed via HDMI is definitely going to help retain image and color quality compared with 8-bit DV or HDV captures via Firewire.

Regards,

Luke Maslen
Blackmagic Design

[Luke Maslen]

Hi,

Yes, the codec can be used on a machine without BMD hardware so this means you can give your files to someone else or even work on notebook if you wish. You will just need to run the driver installer to install the codecs.

Regards,

Luke Maslen
Blackmagic Design

[Luke Maslen]

Hi Scott,

No, HDMI does not carry timecode but you could use Firewire for that when working with Intensity. Firewire will provide you with both device control and timecode when working with cameras and decks such as the Sony HVRM25U. The DeckLink HD Studio also has RS-422 which you could use for a deck with both RS-422 and HDMI connections, eg the JVC BR-HD50U.

Regards,

Luke Maslen
Blackmagic Design

[Luke Maslen]

Hi Thomas,

Good question but I don’t know the answer and will have to try to contact one of the engineers at IBC to find out. They are on the stand at the show all day but hopefully I’ll be able to find out soon. I wonder what difference HDMI v1.2 and 1.3 would make to the person who asked the question? 🙂

Regards,

Luke Maslen
Blackmagic Design

[Luke Maslen]

Hi,

HDMI cable length is going to be an important topic. We’ve tested with a range of cables from very cheap to very expensive. Cheap cables seem to work fine for about 2 meters or 6 feet. However for any cable over 5 meters (15 feet) in length, you really need a high quality cable. Ideally shorter cables are always better. However if you want to use a long one, make sure it is high quality and test it first before you have to use it.

All of the cameras and other HDMI sources that we’ve seen are using 8-bit codecs. However you can capture to an uncompressed 10 bit timeline if you like and that could be useful if you want maximum quality for graphics and titles as well as transitions and effects.

Thanks for your comments about the notebooks and some of the new and fast technologies are exciting and have possibilities for the future.

Regards,

Luke Maslen
Blackmagic Design

[Luke Maslen]

Hi Sean,

[Sean ONeil] “I have a Sony M25U HDV VTR which has HDMI output. But it has no 9-pin for deck control and TC. Can I use Firewire for deck control but HDMI for video capture?”

Yes, if you are using Final Cut Pro, you can switch the device control to Firewire and then capture from the HDMI output of your deck.

[Sean ONeil] “Is it possible to capture video over HDMI, but capture audio over HDV firewire and have them be in sync? The HDV deck doesn’t have any digital audio outputs.”

I don’t think that would work so well as Firewire tends to have some latency so the audio and video would be out of sync. I would suggest capturing both the audio and video via HDMI as Intensity supports that and I believe the HDMI output of your deck does too.

Regards,

Luke Maslen
Blackmagic Design

[Luke Maslen]

Hi Sean,

[Sean ONeil] “Will intensity capture 1080p?”

Yes, the specs page for Intensity lists the following supported formats: 1080p24, 1080p25, 1080i50, 1080i59.94, 720p30, 720p59.94, 720p60.

[Sean ONeil] “Can it read signals that are not HDTV signals.”

It reads both SD and HD formats as listed in the specs page.

[Sean ONeil] “Such as VESA signals from another computer’s DVI output?”

If the computer’s DVI output was outputting an SD or HD format as listed on the specs page, and a DVI to HDMI adapter was used, then maybe it might work. However the DVI output from a lot of graphics cards is not a wonderfully stable signal and even if it was outputting in the right SD or HD format. I’m guessing this would not work well in real life and would only work for SD or HD formats and not other computer screen resolutions.

Of course we would love for the demand for intensity to be enormous but Intensity does not let you bypass HDCP. If the copy protection bit is enabled or missing in the HDMI signal, then what is captured to disk will not be usable. The copy protection bit must be disabled and that will only happen if you Blu-ray or HD-DVD source which is not copy-protected. If your disc is not copy protected, then there should be no problems capturing from it with intensity assuming the disc player correctly outputs the signal with the copy protection bit disabled.

Regards,

Luke Maslen
Blackmagic Design

[Luke Maslen]

Hi Peter,

Good questions!

There are two things meant by this statement. Firstly, if you are in a studio situation with a computer connected to the output of a camera with HDMI, then it is easy to capture uncompressed HD from the HDMI output of the camera.

However that’s not always possible and you will often have recorded your video to tape. If you then want to add graphics and titles to that video, there are two ways to do that:
1. Capture the HDV via Firewire and then add your text and graphics.
2. Capture from the HDMI output of the camera to an uncompressed timeline and then add your text and graphics.

The second method ensures that your text and graphics will remain crisp and precise which is great if you’re going to produce a DVD. If you capture using the first method, then graphics and text will noticably degrade in quality and you will see a clear difference on any resulting DVD.

So if you have recorded to HDV tape, then you are correct in saying that any lossy compression and artefacts have already occurred. However by capturing via HDMI to an uncompressed timeline, no further degradation will occur as you add transitions and effects or text and graphics. That’s the benefit of Intensity 🙂

I’m not yet sure about the answer to your last question but will hope to find out soon.

Regards,

Luke Maslen
Blackmagic Design

[Luke Maslen]

Hi,

Yes, the online JPEG codec works for SD and HD. Unlike DV and HDV codecs which have a fixed data rate, the data rate for JPEG codecs varies depending upon the content of the video. If a frame contains just a few colors, then the frame compresses more than a different frame containing many more colors. So a DV or HDV codec will “throw away” color information as it has a set data rate whereas a JPEG codec will vary its data rate to ensure that the a certain quality of color information is always retained. Both kinds of codecs have their merits but the JPEG codec will certainly provide higher quality results if you need to work in a compressed format. I will try to find out some indicative data rate results for you but one way of putting it is that you only need to capture to a single disk using the Online JPEG codec. This is very convenient if you don’t have a disk array available for uncompressed captures.

[Necemon] “Can I capture directly to this codec from HDV/DV firewire source in PPro2?”
No, you can’t capture from Firewire directly to the online JPEG codec. You need to capture from an uncompressed output, such as the SDI, analog or HDMI outputs of a camera or deck. You then choose to capture with the Online JPEG codec and that happens transparently and in real time as you capture.

Regards,

Luke Maslen
Blackmagic Design