LOS ANGELES—At elzo Designs, we bring professional live streaming and production workflows to life with a focus on creating a cinematic experience for emerging digital media, such as podcasts. We often implement Blackmagic Design products in our installations because of the compatibility that the ecosystem provides.
We have had a lot of conversion needs throughout the various installations
we’ve done and we’ve found a huge advantage to using Blackmagic Design converters, in particular the Teranex Mini IP Video 12G and the Blackmagic Micro Converter BiDirectional SDI/HDMI 12G, both of which have helped us immensely with numerous projects.
Integrated Set of Tools
On a recent project for a large manufacturer that included building four micro virtual production stages, we deployed the Teranex Mini IP Video 12G, that allows the client to convert video to IP and route it over the existing ethernet network, and then convert IP video back to SDI.
We created banks of IP addresses, and found any component on the network just by our IP list, including computers, cameras, switchers, and other converters. That was really fascinating and helped us design the studios with a set of tools as opposed to individual pieces, because we understood how it all fit together.
We also completed a project where we created a remote rig, which again was fascinating because we were accessing the rig by dialing into a computer to which all our components were attached. Everything that had an ethernet cable needed to be plugged into a switcher that then went into the computer, and then we could see everything.
This setup bridged everything from broadcast to production to computer networking and solved an enormous headache we had created for ourselves because we originally saw everything as standalone products; but they’re not. All the components talked to each other and worked seamlessly together, and the Teranex Mini IP Video 12G was a big part of that.
The Micro Converter BiDirectional SDI/HDMI 12G is another headache solver because it can convert SDI to HDMI and HDMI to SDI simultaneously, and since it supports camera control protocol conversion, it’s so easy for us to use with Blackmagic Design cameras and live production switchers.
We can use the Pocket Cinema Camera with SDI-based ATEM live production switchers, or Blackmagic Design broadcast cameras with the HDMI-based ATEM Mini line, and still get full control of the camera color corrector, tally and even remote recording without having to think about the different connections.
Simplified Connections
We can connect either SDI or HDMI from the converter out to the switcher input, the switcher program out to the converter input, and then the HDMI or SDI converter input connects to the camera. We just have to name the cameras correctly, and the converter finds the cameras (however many we have), and the connection is incredibly stable as well.
This option blew us away when we first discovered it. We did a bunch of power cycles with it, and it worked perfectly every time. The camera control protocol worked flawlessly and allowed us to really depend on it for remote image control and adjustment.
While bigger and more expensive pieces of gear are usually prioritized in installations, the smaller pieces of gear are just as important and often go overlooked or under considered. Blackmagic Design converters are like the mortar between the bricks. We now design within the Blackmagic ecosystem specifically because of its converters. l
For more information, contact Blackmagic Design at 408-954-0500 or visit
www.blackmagicdesign.com.
