HDMI Input on Blackmagic Intensity Pro.. Possible?

[Dr. Bot]

Hi guys,

Once again thanks in advance because everyone is always so helpful.

I recently installed a Blackmagic Intensity Pro PCI card. I can't get Catalyst to recognize the HDMI input. Is it even possible to use this as an input?

If you can think of any settings or something I may be doing wrong, please advise.

Thanks!

[Mr_P]

Hi

Yes it is possible - however it depends upon which Mac OS you are using?

Decklink card only supports PAL / 720p* / 1080i (not 1080p)
*requires new catatlyst version.

See other posts:

http://chaldee1.gotadsl.co.uk/~richardb/upload/showthread.php?p=9583#post9583
http://chaldee1.gotadsl.co.uk/~richardb/upload/showthread.php?t=1895
http://chaldee1.gotadsl.co.uk/~richardb/upload/showthread.php?t=1889

Contact Richard Bleasdale for a new catalyst version if using Snow leopard 10.6.5


PROBLEM:
Quicktime Video input broken in 10.6.2 onwards
- This affects video capture when using Decklink cards as they use quicktime capture engine.
This does not affect Active Silicon Capture cards, as they they use their own drivers.

****UPDATE****
SOLUTION:
(as at 1 Dec 2010)
Use either Snow Leopard 10.6.0 / 10.6.1 for existing shows where it is not practical to upgrade to the latest version
or download new version of Catalyst which includes a decklink video capture fix:
http://chaldee1.gotadsl.co.uk/~richardb/upload/showthread.php?t=1907

[Dr. Bot]

Thanks Simon!

I actually downgraded to 10.6.1 to keep Catalyst from locking up and closing after the Intensity install. Should I upgrade to Snow Leopard now and obtain the newest version of Catalyst from Richard?

I'm not really a fan of Snow Leopard, it has wreaked havoc on everything else I use as well.

I will try build m257 and see how that works out for me.

[Mr_P]

10.6.1 + m257 should work out for you...

Ensure you have the latest Decklink drivers and that you can see an image via blackmagic software outside of catalyst
If not - Ask Richard for an update - try it without upgrading the OS, unless Richard says otherwise.

are you running in 32bit mode?
What version MacPro do you have? (2010?)

PROBLEM:
2010 MacPros Boot in to 64Bit
- By default all new 2010 MacPros boot in to 64bit mode. However, most apple applications do not support 64bit mode - including quicktime. Quicktime is still a 32bit application. Active Silicon Drivers (and many others) are currently only 32bit.
SOLUTION:
Force the Mac to boot in 32bit mode.
To select the 32-bit kernel for the current startup disk, use the following command in Terminal:

sudo systemsetup -setkernelbootarchitecture i386

This will allow the Mac to boot in to 32bit mode permanently
(an alternative command is available to boot in to 64bit mode)



NOTE:
These issues do not affect users using Mac OS 10.5.8 Leopard.

Down-grading the MacOS is only an option with a MacPro version earlier than 2010.
Any current 2010 versions available from apple cannot be downgraded to previous software version.


S

[samsc]

Hi
Decklink card only supports PAL / 720p* / 1080i (not 1080p)
*requires new catatlyst version.

or obtain new version of Catalyst from Richard Bleasdale directly which includes a decklink video capture fix.

720p doesnt require anything from me-

[samsc]

Hi guys,

Once again thanks in advance because everyone is always so helpful.

I recently installed a Blackmagic Intensity Pro PCI card. I can't get Catalyst to recognize the HDMI input. Is it even possible to use this as an input?

If you can think of any settings or something I may be doing wrong, please advise.

Thanks!

main problem with decklink cards - apart from little software glitches ( crashing after 10.6.1 ) - is you have to have exactly the correct input selected - or you just dont get anything at all displayed from their driver

if you have a 59.97Hz input selected - a 60Hz input doesnt show up - etc

and hmdi input only works at video res - 1080i 720p & sd

[Mr_P]

and hmdi input only works at video res - 1080p 720p & sd

1080i not p

Thought you changed a few values in the software to make 720p work...??

[samsc]

1080i NOT p

Thought you changed a few values in the software to make 720p work...??

thats phoenix.

the hardest thing with decklink cards is that they are exceptionally picky

[Mr_P]

thats phoenix.

my mistake

[samsc]

1080i NOT p


when used to capture a screen its not really 1080i
there isnt any interlacing-

its a 1080p25 or 1080p30 or progressive segmented frame rather than interlaced.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_segmented_frame

[Mr_P]

yeh - but in basic terms - you can't put a 1080p 50 or 60 signal in to it from another computer...

[Gian]

Mac OS 10.6.5
on Octo 2010 computer
Decklink Intensity
Intensity software 3.8.1
Catalyst
All working just fine
HDMI
I can even capture DVI thru the HDMI input.... ( converts to video )

[samsc]

yeh - but in basic terms - you can't put a 1080p 50 or 60 signal in to it from another computer...

thats depends on decklink bandwidth and hardware support - and their designs restrictions - and which version of hdmi spec - im not an expert
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI

the kona LHi seems to be claiming something like this on hdmi input:


3Gb SD and HD-SDI, SMPTE-259/292/296/424
HDMI v1.3, 30/36 bits/pixel, RGB or YUV, 2.25Gbps, SD,HD, 1080p50/60
http://www.aja.com/products/kona/konalhi/specs.php

the kona 3g claims even greater input sizes
http://www.aja.com/products/kona/kona3g/specs.php

[samsc]

Mac OS 10.6.5
on Octo 2010 computer
Decklink Intensity
Intensity software 3.8.1
Catalyst
All working just fine
HDMI
I can even capture DVI thru the HDMI input.... ( converts to video )

yes it does usually work

but decklink is very picky on what it likes - edid/screen size/refresh has to be exactly right

i have used hdmi output from mac mini server into intensity and got it to work.

[samsc]

Thanks Simon!

I actually downgraded to 10.6.1 to keep Catalyst from locking up and closing after the Intensity install. Should I upgrade to Snow Leopard now and obtain the newest version of Catalyst from Richard?

I'm not really a fan of Snow Leopard, it has wreaked havoc on everything else I use as well.

I will try build m257 and see how that works out for me.

no - you should use m329 -

[Peter]

Mac OS 10.6.5
on Octo 2010 computer
Decklink Intensity
Intensity software 3.8.1
Catalyst
All working just fine
HDMI
I can even capture DVI thru the HDMI input.... ( converts to video )

Did you try importing powerpoint with the DVI capture? How does it compare to the DVI2USB?

[samsc]

Did you try importing powerpoint with the DVI capture? How does it compare to the DVI2USB?

you need to try that for yourself-
these things are dependant on your requirements -

intensity cards are cheap enough to test with

[mlorenz]

Did you try importing powerpoint with the DVI capture? How does it compare to the DVI2USB?

I used a Intensity Pro on my last tour in 2 machines to capture a signal from another Mac. We used 720p 50Hz. Worked very well. Latency was ok.

[Paul Breen]

I had a go at my cat just there. Running now in 32bit and also with catv4.4 (m329) running just fine. Decklink card is work beautifully with one or two exceptions:

These inputs work fine:
720p 50
720p 60
1080i 59.94
1080p 24
1080p 23.976

These do not:
720p 59.94
1080i 50

Also, since I did all this, now my LFG4 card will not work. Nor will it come up under inputs. What it does say however is Phoenix, which I don't have. If I click on any of the "phoenix" inputs it crashes and sometimes crashes the computer too. Now I'm really confused? The only thing I did was re-arrange the PCIe cards. Could that be it?
Aside from that its slick

[Paul Breen]

All fine now, both lfg4 and decklink running fine. must check 720p 59.94 & 1080i 50 to see if all is well with them

[SourceChild]

are you running in 32bit mode?

...most apple applications do not support 64bit mode - including quicktime. Quicktime is still a 32bit application. Active Silicon Drivers (and many others) are currently only 32bit...

Just a Note: Instead of using command line tools to force 32 bit boot, use this nice little application. Make sure to READ EVERYTHING.

32- or 64-bit Kernel Startup Mode Selector (http://www.ahatfullofsky.comuv.com/English/Programs/SMS/SMS.html)


By default all new 2010 MacPros boot in to 64bit mode.

A suggestion: Get a 2006 Mac Pro with an x1900 or a 2008 Mac Pro with an 8800. These machines seem to do Catalyst Best


...but decklink is very picky on what it likes - edid/screen size/refresh has to be exactly right...

This is such the case. Terrible... If you want to try using a Decklink devices then instead of using the Intensity Cards, try using the Multibridge. I've been using servers with the Multibridge and m331 and everything seems to work well. We were using them with 10.6.0 but we are experimenting with 10.6.6 and will post results shortly.

The advantage of the Multibridge is that you can run Catalyst with an HDMI (also means DVI with very specific settings) OR you can use the HD-SDI. The HDMI(DVI) and HD-SDI outputs also work as pass-throughs so you don't need additional DAs when jumping multiple servers. The other advantage is using the analog or Digital Audio IN and OUT with the Multibridge.

Still, above all else, I suggest using either a Phoenix or LFG4 with Catalyst. If you need DVI or VGA as an input then also purchase a companion TVOne Scaler/Converter but feed it into the Phoenix.