Desktop Video 11; A Major Update for Blackmagic Design DeckLink 8K Pro

Whether you are a streamer, a content creator, or a filmmaker. The benefits of a capture card are something that cannot be denied. The market is full of capture cards for streaming; ranging from cheap, entry-level products to really high-end ones like the DeckLink 8K Pro by Blackmagic Design.

The Australian based digital cinema company Blackmagic Design has gone ahead and released a major update for their DeckLink 8K Pro capture card. Thanks to the new update, the capture card will now support the four 12G-SDI connectors to be utilized for capturing and playing back of four entirely independent streams.  While it might not sound like much, but the consumers who are working on high-end and complex feature films, this feature is great.

HDR

Additionally, the new update also brings support for HDR metadata packing that is done through SMPTTE ST2108-1 as well as HLG and PQ transfer characteristics that are handled through SMPTE-ST2082.

What else is more? Well, thanks to this update, the developers will have the chance to use the free DeckLink software developer kit. They can use this kit to tweak the software so they can use the 12G-SDI connections to capture everything independently or play it back. Users can even use the software to make these connections to work simultaneously in filling and keying outputs.  These new changes make the DeckLink 8K Pro capture card a great suitor for people who are looking to composite the broadcast graphics for sports, as well as news in real time. Additionally, the update will also help the digital signage companies who are looking to provide synchronized playback on larger displays for their customers.

HLG

Another benefit of this new update is that for anyone who is working on top-tier projects that involve HDR. With the new update, the support for HD metadata packing as well as HLG and OQ transfer characteristics. These features utilize the metadata and give the user a much granular method of using luminance mapping. This means that the content creators are going to be able to make sure that the objective or outlook they have for the project can be cohesive throughout their workflow. Furthermore, the update makes it possible to output HDR content over the SDI. This ends up giving the users a better, more future proof solution for those who are looking for content creation using HDR.

Ultra HD

There is a lot to go through in this update. The DeckLink 8K Pro along with Desktop Video 11 update now has support for quad-link sample interleave signals in ultra HD and 4K DCI modes. These go along with the newly introduced 47.95 and 48 frame per second formats. This only means that the capture card is now compatible with more quad-link SDI equipment as well as similar workflows than it has been before. Last but not least, Blackmagic Design has also added support for completely synchronized capture as well as playback through SDI across a number of DeckLink cards when you are using the reference signal, or the genlock signal.

The CEO of Blackmagic Design, Grant Petty stated, “The DeckLink 8K Pro was designed to as a solution that is future proof for customers who are looking to work on HD, 4K, as well as 8K workflows,” he went on and stated. “the good thing about the Desktop Video 11 is that it happens to be a free update. This means that the consumers are getting features that are even better without having to buy a new card. They are getting the support for latest formats, frame rates, resolutions, as well as HDR workflows. Last but not the least, this new update turns your one 8K capture card into four completely independent 4K capture cards. The update is definitely an exciting one.”

Conclusion

In conclusion, the one thing that is certain is that with this new Desktop Video 11 update, the DeckLink 8K Pro is now a lot more powerful capture card than it was before. Instead of being capable of only capturing one stream or playback at a time, it can now capture from all 4 channels, making it the perfect equivalent of four individual 4K capture cards.

There are more exciting things such as the ability to capture or playback your preferred format and frame rate. You can go all the way up to ultra HD as well as 4K running at 60 frames per second in DCI. The update is now available to download for free and can be used by all DeckLink 8K Pro customers.