[Richard Crowley]

I have an AJA KiPro (not the Mini) and I like it a lot. It is great.

The HyperDeck recording time was a BIG negative to my choice. I mostly do long-form event videography that may run 2 hours or more. That would require SEVERAL SSD drives. Even offloading them twice a day, the stack of SSD drives could easily cost more than the HyperDeck itself. I just don’t need such a low-compression video storage solution.

If BMD made a version that compressed down to the ProRes standards (like the KiPro), and especially if they made a model with audio inputs, I would pay 2x or 3x what the HyperDeck sells for.

IMHO the HyperDeck is an excellent solution, but, alas, not the solution for any of the situations that I deal with. 🙁

[Richard Crowley]

Please clarify your question. Are you asking about trying to CONTROL the tape decks (using the RS-422 interface)? Or are you asking about simply digitizing the VIDEO signal for input to your computer?

I would start with the video first. Whatever standard your tape deck puts out (NTSC, PAL, etc.) you should set the DeckLink to a compatible video standard. Once that is operating properly, THEN I would tackle the deck control (RS-422).

[Richard Crowley]

Please clarify your question. Do you mean?
1) Can the BMD GPI/Tally interface be used to provide tally outputs or GPI inputs for some non-BMD switcher?
2) Can the BMD GPI/Tally Interface be used to control a non-BMD device?
3) Some other question? (Please provide more details so we understand what you are trying to do).

The answer to #1 is no. The BMD gadget only talks to BMD switchers.
The answer to #2 is maybe. But it is not a simple issue or question.
The answer to #3 (and #1 and #2 for that matter) can only be discerned with a more complete description of what you are trying to do.

[Richard Crowley]

Where can I read the Release Notes? I can’t find them on the website.

Does the latest release support mixed inputs (some HD and some SD?) My Panasonic AW-HS50 supports mixed inputs, but hard info from BMD seems hard to come by.

I was at a video show last week and the BMD representative suggested emailing BMD with this kind of question. But I don’t see any email addresses on the BMD website and no apparent way of contacting them with this kind of question.

[Richard Crowley]

How experienced (or trainable) are the interviewers? Can they be taught how to effectively use a hand-held mic? Either for the questions AND the answers, or with a lav/headset on the interviewer, and holding a mic up to the mouth of the subject(s)?

Shure 57/58s would probably my LAST choice as an appropriate microphone for anything but a slacker garage band.

If you had an extra person for audio, I think it would be MUCH more effective to have them clip lavs on/off the people than to try to wield a boom mic in a situation like that.

[Richard Crowley]

Is the conductor not cooperating? Is the conductor not able to follow the tempo of the recorded audio/video?

I recently attended a movie/concert of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring where all the music was live and synced to the recorded dialog, SFX, Foley, etc. Full symphony orchestra, large SATB choir, large boys’ choir, vocal soloists, etc.

They fed a version of the video to the conductor’s monitor with the beats clearly marked with semi-transparent giant white dots in the middle of the frame. They also had other cues on-screen like transitions, crescendos, decrescendos, etc.

[Richard Crowley]

According to other user accounts, yes the SRC2496 SPDIF RCA output is 75 ohms and operates properly with the 75-ohm BNC input of the ATEM. Just a simple RCA to BNC cable is needed.

[Richard Crowley]

You did not reveal the rest of the signal chain. Do you really NEED audio embedded into the digital video stream? What is the destination of the video from the ATEM switcher? Does it require SDI or HDMI? Or are you running analog/composite? Does the destination require embedded audio, or will it accept a separate audio source? (Such as line-level audio from your mixer?)

You can feed AES digital audio into the ATEM using a less expensive option such as the Behringer Ultramatch Pro SRC2496 (~US$150). This method has the added benefit that the ATEM will handle syncing the audio and video together. The external mini converters cannot do that. Of course, if you are sending video/audio over the internet, chances are that you audience won’t even perceive an A/V sync error of a few frames. The typical performance of the internet will completely swamp that small error into insignificance.

Yeah, Behringer doesn’t have the greatest reputation, but I am beginning to wonder about BMD here. Their chronic lack of even basic/minimal technical documentation significantly reduces the value of their equipment IMHO.

[Richard Crowley]

It is interesting how different forums develop different “personalities”. A composite of the personalities of the participants, to be sure. But I agree with Mr. Kadner that Mr. Ford’s graciousness sets an excellent example and an expectation of civility and friendliness in this neighborhood. Thanks back at you, Ty.

[Richard Crowley]

Are the GPI inputs programmable? I didn’t see them documented.
Are they pulled-up (contact closure)? Or do they require voltage input?