Phoenix PE4 HD SDI

[Gian]

Hello,.. Need some help

I am trying to install a Phoenix HD SDI PE4 card,... but Catalyst is giving me a error, attached here....

I am using m329, mac os 10.6.7, graphics GTX 285, ....

and I do have a
Intensity card capture on the same computer

I installed the following driver,....
Phoenix Catalyst Driver DMG v5.43 (13MB)
http://downloads.activesilicon.com/phoenix/as-phx-drv-mac-v05_43_00.dmg

The card is installed on the slot 3 -- and the MAC find it....

Al works ( except the SDI capture from Phoenix )

Any Clues ???
Abyone passed for this error before ???

Thanks

Gian

[Ejberendsen]

Hello Gian,

I had this message before with an phoenix card. I had to do a firmware update on the input card it self. I called support of Active Silicon and they have sent me a download link for downloading the firmware update. After the update everything was/is working fine.

Hope this helps,

Erik-Jan Berendsen

[Gian]

As always, Richard solved that one, with his very nice support....

Richard quote
"you need to run in 32 bit mode"

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3773

All works just fine now

Thanks

[mlorenz]

Just had the same problem.
MacPro is running in 32-bit Mode permanently (done with terminal-command)
One day it worked, next day error-message, next day back to life.

Also I´m wondering if the hardware-revision of the PE4 has something to do with it, i have some cards which are shorter than others.

Any ideas?

[Mr_P]

You need to talk to contact Active Silicon phoenix Support:
phoenix.support@activesilicon.com

and send them your a system profile (not catalyst system profile)
Open system profile via apple menu and about / more info - save as XML / SPX

S

[Spam Butterfly]

Long cards are x4 PCI Express cards, the shorter ones are the x1 ones.

Hugh

[Mr_P]

Yes - PE4's were longer than PE1's as Hugh says...

but the new PE4 cards now available have cooling fans onboard and are shorter than the original PE4's... and their part code ends in 'H'

best way to check is to read the lable on the back of the board (not the small mez board) It should show the main card serial number, and the product code - then ending with PE1 or PE4

eg:
AS-PHX-D10HDSDI-PE1
this is a Phoenix Simgle HD-SDI input PE1 1x lane card

AS-PHX-D20HDSDI-PE1
this is a Phoenix Dual HD-SDI input PE1 1x lane card

AS-PHX-D20HDSDI-PE4
this is a Phoenix Dual HD-SDI input PE4 4x lane card

AS-PHX-D20HDSDI-PE4H
this is a Phoenix Dual HD-SDI input PE4 4x lane half size card with fan (new version)

There 'should' be no difference in performance or driver requirements between the the PE4 & PE4H cards - except that it runs cooler...

S

[RyWolf]

I see lots of drooped frames that makes the video look jittery. Does anyone else have this issue or know a trick to fix it?

[Mr_P]

with the Phoenix cards?

try disconnecting all the sources and the monitors/outputs
then re-connect one by-one starting with the outputs then the inputs.

what input resolution are you using?

S

[mlorenz]

Any recommondations for the slot which shpuld be used for the Phoenix card in a MacPro 5.1

[Mr_P]

PE4 will (should) work in any PCI slot

PE1 will require a firmware upgrade from Active Silicon if being used in Slot 2 (bottom) on a 4,1 or 5,1 MacPro
Contact: phoenix.support@activesilicon.com

for reference:
Slot 4 (top)
Slot 3 (mid)
Slot 2 (bot)
Slot 1 - Graphics Card


S

[rolfwenzel]

To All,

Does anybody have experience with putting in 2 x HD-SDI with 1080P(!) into the PE4?
Any news about latency, problems or whatever are welcome....

Best

Rolf

[Mr_P]

It should work with either:
2x 1080i50
2x 1080i60
2x 1080p25
2x 1080p30

not:
2x 1080p50
2x 1080p60

There is some latency - but this depends on the spec of your MacPro.
Basically - use the best (newest) you can

Also worth considering using some SDI isolators or a local SDI-DA to avoid any card damage from external sources if you have long cable runs etc...

As always:
You must test your setup yourself as it may differ from other users scenarios and results.

S

[rolfwenzel]

Thanks Simon,

this helps a lot. Will try this Setup in two weeks......

best

Rolf