Blackmagic Design announced a wide variety of new products in advance of next week's National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show, including switchers, converters, cameras, and more. Many of them utilize the latest in 100G Ethernet technology and adhere to SMPTE 2110 standards. Let's break down what we saw and where the future of broadcast is headed.
Live Production Solutions
The Blackmagic ATEM 4 M/E Constellation IP is a new switcher with 32 possible inputs and a standards converter on each, routed via four 100GbE ports that can each handle eight inputs and eight outputs. You can also expect a SMPTE-2022-7 Redundancy system, quiet fans, a built-in monitor, a speaker, 10GbE for fast control, and redundant power inputs. It also doubles the inputs to 64 and can handle 52 unique outputs. It also doubles the rack space required and includes 12 DVE processors.
The Blackmagic SDI Expander 8x12G converts 100GbE ports to 12G-SDI, functioning as a breakout box. Expect 16 channels of Ultra HD, eight in and eight out, with redundant power connections, SMPTE 2110 support, and an LCD on the front for menu navigation.
The StudioBridge 10G PWR merges eight 100GbE connections into one 100G Ethernet. It can provide 90W of power to each 10G Ethernet ports to power Blackmagic Studio Cameras. Software updates are also coming to the Studio Cameras for deeper SMPTE 2110 integration.
The new Blackmagic HyperDeck ISO Recorder 100G is built for playback controls and live replays. It can take eight channels of video in, or fewer channels with higher frame rates. There's a SMPTE-2022-7 Redundancy system, plus 100GbE ports for using network storage with large video files. Immersive recording will be possible, and this HyperDeck can connect to two discreet network storage disks.
24TB and 48TB Cloud Store Ultras are coming this summer, as well as a Blackmagic Media Dock Ultra with better cooling, two 100GbE ports, HDMI and SDI monitoring ports, redundant power supplies, and three media slots.
The Blackmagic Ethernet Switch 820 has basic routing functionality and front to back cooling, with eight 100GbE ports plus 10G and 1G ports. The Blackmagic UpDownCross 100G packs eight standards converter channels into a single rack unit. It cools front to back, has a built-in monitor, and includes redundant 100GbE connections and power supplies.
The ATEM Monitoring Rack Panel 20 has video converters and works as a control panel when rack-mounted. There are 12G-SDI and HDMI outputs, two 10G Ethernet connections, SMPTE-2022-7 Redundancy, and talkback audio functionality. The ATEM Monitoring Rack Panel 40 doubles the size, with a larger LCD and expanded buttons.
URSA Cine 12K Advancements
The Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K can now be used as a live production camera thanks to a free software update. Simply plug into the 100GbE connection and select a SMPTE 2110 Live option in the menu. There's also a dedicated 3D LUT just for SMPTE 2110, and support for the Focus and Zoom Demand.
A B4 Broadcast Lens Mount for the camera is coming soon, alongside a B4 Adapter Cable for lens control. The new Blackmagic URSA Cine Studio Viewfinder is a large and bright 7" on-camera touchscreen monitor coming this summer that connects via a single USB-C cable.
Blackmagic emphasized their excitement for integrating high frame rate footage into live production workflows, as 100GbE can handle eight times the data and frame rates of 10GbE. The new Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K LF 100G has a 100GbE port for outputting high frame rates up to 440fps. You can also connect the single port into a SMPTE system with redundancy using the Blackmagic StudioBridge 100G, which will convert one or two cameras into redundant IP systems. The DeckLink IP 100G is also coming soon, with full 100GbE integration.
The Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersive 100G brings high frame rates and better performance to VR via a 100GbE port and optimized cooling. There will also be an URSA Live Encoder that plugs into the media slot to better manage data rates. The ATEM Constellations can't handle immersive video yet, but Blackmagic's software can.
The ATEM Solaris I64 can also handle immersive video but won't be out until next year. It supports 64 immersive cameras via 32 inputs and two camera decoders per input, plus redundant control ports and power supplies. It can also work with regular 2D video, and smaller options will be available.
New and Updated Software
DaVinci Resolve 21 adds a fully featured Photo page for coloring photography, as well as AI tools like streamlined media management with IntelliSearch—find media based on objects, location, color schemes, faces, and more. AI Slate ID can detect metadata and auto-populate clip information, while AI voiceover creation comes to the program via a Speech Generator, with a rich suite of customization options.
Additional advancements include AI-assisted blemish clean-up, face shaping, motion de-blur, and ultra-sharpening. The Fusion page has a new Fairlight animator modifier for automatic animation via embedded audio, and macro creation is also more fleshed out. Background rendering is here and fully customizable, and seventy Krokodove Fusion effects are also now built-in.
Fairlight Live is a new free software-based spatial audio mixer with full redundancies that can handle hundreds of audio tracks. The application is built for complex immersive and surround-sound needs, especially in live production. There are also isolated talkback busses and deep ATEM switcher compatibility with USB audio support. The Fairlight Live 2110 IP Interface helps bring the software up to SMPTE standards.
The new Fairlight Live Audio Panel 10 has ten flying faders, an 11.5" LCD, and plenty of knobs and buttons. There are line outputs, redundant 10GbE ports, talkback support, easy visual EQing and 3D panning. A video converter is built in, and the Panel interfaces with computers via USB-C.
Blackmagic is also releasing a Fairlight Live Audio Panel 20 with twenty flying faders. It's double the width and has AC power redundancy. The Fairlight Live Audio Panel 40, as you might guess, has forty faders.
For more information about Blackmagic's new offerings, including features, specs, and highlights, be sure to check out the detailed product pages.
