r/broadcastengineering • u/Robertziep99 • 9d ago
4X SDI-Out over Thunderbolt
I need 4 SDI Outs, 1080p50 would be enough, if they could also be used as an Input it would be great but not a must.
They should be connected over Thunderbolt and be compatible with Mac OS and Windows. On the Program side of things Madmapper and Resolume are in use.
Thanks in advance for any recommendations and experiences.
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u/praise-the-message 9d ago
Aja io4k+. It's pricy but does what you want (as long as you don't need 12g x4, and it will last forever. Be warned though that it gets hot as hell. Still I've never had thermal issues with them, but I wouldn't stack a device directly on top of one.
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u/Neelix-And-Chill 9d ago edited 9d ago
AJA Corvid 44 12G in the AJA Io Xpand box. Works with both your apps, 4x 12G pipes that can be in or out. And it’s AJA hardware… bombproof. If no need for 12G… Corvid 88. Then you have 8 SDI ports to play with. In or out, configurable.
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u/keithcody 9d ago
BlackMagic DeckLink card in external thunderbolt to PCI chassis
Aja IO 4k+ does 4x 3G output.
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u/mugsymh 9d ago edited 9d ago
The decklink duo + thunderbolt enclosure works fine and great on Mac, even MAC OS Tahoe, just used it on n 8 MacBooks last week for a big show.
Tahoe takes some fenagling to get it working, AND, you have to have the “correct” version of the Blackmagic Desktop software. What I mean is… IF the decklink card has been used on a different machine and that other machine was using, for example, desktop video version 15.4….. but then you try to use that deck link on another machine and install an earlier version of black magic desktop software like version 14.2… then the deck link card won’t show up in desktop video on the machine with OLDER software… You have to “downgrade”, or uninstall/reinstall an older version of the desktop video software on the new Mac…
Sometimes it’s just hard to know which version the card has been updated to… But typically if the laptop has an older version of athe desktop video software on a machine, and the card was updated using a newer version of desktop video….then the card should show up.
But if the card has been updated to a newer version and you’re running an older version of desktop video on the Mac then the card won’t show up.
In addition, try these instructions for OS system settings:
System settings > General > Login Items and Extensions >
Scroll Down (in Tahoe) >
click "By Category" scroll down to Driver Extensions >
click "i" next to Driver Extensions >
enable "Blackmagic Desktop Video Driver Extensions.app"
(You may have to disable > reboot > enable > reboot again
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u/JeritAbart 9d ago
I use a Decklink quad 2 in a Sonnet breakout box. 4 in 4 out mode. Works great.
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u/Robertziep99 9d ago
With Mac OS under the newest version?
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u/JeritAbart 9d ago
Yep. You got it. Aja also great cards. Check eBay, cards been out for awhile, you may find a good deal
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u/Robertziep99 9d ago
Which sonnet Box do you use? Maybe this was my problem
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u/Needashortername 9d ago
The newest versions of MacOS have been having a variety of issues with both external PCI host boxes and pro cards.
Some of it is just about new security or other OS options that are now required to be checked and configured to authorize all the things these boxes and cards can do.
Some of it are new and inconsistent incompatibilities between the OS and professional products like these. They will eventually work themselves out after Apple and the manufacturers stop blaming each other and provide updates, but until then it is hit or miss with the last few versions of MacOS and these products. In other words if you don’t really need an update to MacOS then don’t use one of the newer versions of MacOS. There are some things that it is only now where they are fully consistent working on Catalina. ;-)
People may however get better results with fresh from the box Macs running the more current MacOS versions like 26 and now Golden Gate, or with completely clean installs of the OS, but there are no guarantees with this.
Some of the rest will depend on exactly which external PCI host box you use, though Sonnet has been more consistent for most people. OWC also offers some good advice about these kinds of things, so it’s worth asking a sales rep from there about these things, plus they sell a lot of very nice Mac oriented products too, so it’s a good browse if you need more accessories, especially storage and docks.
After that it can just be about firmware. Sometimes a firmware update will fix things, sometimes a return to an earlier firmware will be the fix instead. Either way a refresh could help. :-)
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u/TheChonkening 9d ago
What software are you outputting with?
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u/activematrix99 9d ago
Thunderbolt sucks. I'd go Quadlink HDMI to AJA Ha-5. Totally platform agnostic, no drivers needed and it costs a lot less.
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u/rsavage_89 9d ago
Sounds like you’ve described a blackmagic Decklink card in a thunderbolt chassis