Blackmagic Design UltraStudio SDI

Blackmagic Design UltraStudio SDI is a Windows-compatible HD-SDI capture device that connects to your computer via USB 3.0. The compact, handsome, machined-aluminum device draws power through the USB 3.0 connection. UltraStudio SDI includes all necessary capture/playback software and drivers, so setup is a breeze.

The device captures uncompressed 10-bit 4:2:2 YUV video from any deck, broadcast router, or video camera with SDI output, and plays it back to broadcast-quality SDI monitors. The USB 3.0 connection supports data rates up to a blazing 4.8 Gb/s, which is plenty fast to effect a direct high-speed connection to your video editing software's real-time effects processing.

UltraStudio SDI also features an HDMI 1.4 output for monitoring via an HDMI-enabled television, computer monitor, or projector. RS-422 deck control is included for controlling HDCAM SR, Digital Betacam, HDCAM, D5, DVCPRO HD, and other VTRs. For genlock, the device accepts a blackburst or tri-sync reference signal.

All UltraStudio SDI files are open standard AVI, DPX, and QuickTime format, so you can edit with just about any software, including Sony Vegas, The Foundry's Nuke, eyeon Fusion, Digidesign Pro Tools, and Adobe Premiere Pro, Photoshop, and After Effects. Though it's a Windows-based device, UltraStudio is qualified by Apple for Final Cut Pro compatibility, so you can batch capture from decks and play back FCP timelines with RT Exrtreme real-time effects. Other supported Final Cut Pro features include 10-bit rendering, 16-channel audio, deck control, and support for ProRes, JPEG, DV, DVCPRO, DVCPRO HD, and 8- & 10-bit uncompressed video.

Note! Requires a computer with onboard USB 3.0, or a USB 3.0 PCI Express 2.0 card. Does not support USB 2.0 capture and playback.

High-Quality Connections

UltraStudio SDI includes the highest-quality low-jitter SDI connections that instantly switch between all SD and HD video formats. Connect to decks such as Digital Betacam, HDCAM, HDCAM-SR, Panasonic D5, DVCPRO HD, Sony PMW-F3, and more. UltraStudio SDI includes HDMI 1.4 out, so you can use any television as a broadcast monitor, dramatically lowering the overall cost of editing systems. HDMI out even lets you connect to video projectors for a theater-style screening room environment. UltraStudio SDI includes deck control, genlock, and fully powers via USB 3.0

Incredible Quality Video

With UltraStudio SDI you get both compressed and uncompressed video capture and playback in the highest-quality 10-bit 4:2:2 YUV. Only uncompressed video captures every bit of every pixel in the SDI video connection for an exact mirror image between capture and playback. That's the highest quality possible from the SDI specification

Advanced USB 3.0

For a future-proof design, UltraStudio SDI features built-in USB 3.0 for a high-speed 4.8 Gb/s connection that's up to 10 times faster than USB 2.0 or FireWire. USB 3.0 is built into the latest computers and is more than 3 times the speed of HD video. This means you get a direct high-speed connection to your editing software's real-time effects processing. You won't need to waste CPU time compressing video just to play it back, so you get more HD real-time effects than products without such a high-speed connection. Unlike older USB 2.0 and FireWire products, you're not restricted to a single, slow-rendering, compressed video format. Choose compressed or uncompressed video formats based on the job you're doing

Broad Compatibility

Blackmagic Design is the world's biggest capture card manufacturer, so you get the widest third-party software compatibility. Use DirectShow and QuickTime software and edit on your favorite NLE software such as Adobe Premiere Pro and Sony Vegas. For compositing and broadcast design, UltraStudio SDI works with After Effects, Nuke, Fusion, and Photoshop. Audio engineers will love using UltraStudio SDI with Avid Pro Tools and Steinberg Nuendo. All UltraStudio SDI files are open standard AVI, DPX, and QuickTime format, so they're compatible with all software. UltraStudio SDI even includes a developer SDK so you can develop your own custom solutions

Included Software, Drivers & Plug-Ins 

UltraStudio SDI includes everything you need for editing, paint, or broadcast design. There's a full set of drivers for capture and playback with real-time effects in Premiere Pro. There's also a set of included Blackmagic Utilities: Disk Speed Test, LiveKey, and the Blackmagic software codec. Also included is Media Express software for batch capture and output to tape with frame-accurate deck control using AVI, QuickTime and DPX files. Media Express lets you use virtually any software for video work. Adobe Photoshop is the world standard for paint and image design, and UltraStudio SDI includes Photoshop plug-ins that let you grab frames from the video input or send frames to the video output – directly from within Photoshop itself. UltraStudio SDI also supports real-time RAM preview in Adobe After Effects

Blackmagic Media Express

Media Express lets you batch capture and play back 2D and dual-stream stereoscopic 3D in DPX, ProRes, uncompressed YUV and RGB, DVCPRO HD, and MJPEG files. You can even create your own playlist. Media Express also supports CMX EDL import and export, frame-accurate deck control via RS-422, and will even insert and assemble to tape. Media Express is fast, accurate, and easy to use and works on Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux. Audio metering, real-time preview of clips, and dynamic playlist search are just some of its features. You can even grab still frames directly from your deck and save them as perfect digital-quality still images

Blackmagic Utilities

LiveKey lets you insert logos and other graphics in real time using SDI outputs by switching UltraStudio SDI into a standard-def keyer card. Disk Speed Test checks your disk array and gives you an easy-to-understand speed test with the results in video frames per second. The world famous Blackmagic Codec allows highest rendering quality on Intensity and unlike other products, only the Blackmagic Codec features correct anti-aliasing 4:2:2 color filtering, so RGB graphics convert to correct 4:2:2 YUV video space without aliasing problems