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Whether you are "future-proofing" a production, or simply taking advantage of that extra resolution HD provides your show, shooting in high-def can provide a lot of benefits. But how do you cost-effectively get your footage into your NLE system? That’s where Blackmagic Design DeckLink HD Pro comes in. At $1,495, DeckLink HD Pro seemed like a good solution for one of our recent HD projects, so we purchased a unit.
DeckLink HD Pro is a single PCI card with just three main ports on the outside: two SDI and one nine-pin multi-port. The DeckLink HD Pro 4:2:2 is not quite the top of the line, offering "only" 4:2:2 resolution and a single SDI input and output. But, we find most of our productions are still firmly rooted in the 4:2:2 world, so this card fit our needs nicely. The cable that attaches to the nine-pin interface has four BNC connectors (component video and a reference video in), two female RCA connectors (SP/DIF audio in and out) and an RS-422 female connector. All inputs and outputs work simultaneously, so we have both an SDI output to an HD video monitor and a component output hooked up for SD applications.
How It Works
The DeckLink HD Pro worked like a charm in both our Windows and Mac systems. An added benefit with DeckLink cards is the lossless 8-bit and 10-bit Blackmagic Design codec set. We were able to seamlessly move files back and forth between Mac and PC systems, which dramatically reduced our post time. The only issue we had with the DeckLink HD Pro card was occasional communication problems between some Sony decks and the RS-422 controller. But after several months of use, our DeckLink HD Pro card has become an invaluable part of our studio operations.
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