Opinions Wanted – BlackMagic UltraStudio Pro (Mac & PC)
Saturday, 31 March 2012 15:13 No Comments
I had a friend who is a buyer for a small but agressive PC company ask me the other day what I thought about the products from BlackMagic Design. I found myself at a bit of a loss, as all I had ever done is used (and still own) a BlackMagic Intensity Pro, a $200 I/O card that I actually declined to finish the review of and post it here because I was more than a little disappointed with it. I even paid for it, which I try to never do if possible. Usually my expertis, coverage, and expert feedback are enough to make a vendor happy, and for the 20+ hours work I would put into something like that for a writeup, pix and video, it seems a fair trade.
Thing is, I came in on the product line as it was going through a major overhaul revolving around USB3 on the PC and Thunderbolt on the Mac. Their UltraStudio line of products looks great, so when this friend asked me for my advice I did a little digging. Right off the bat I liked the form factor of the UltraStudio Pro, which is really for PC, then there’s the UltraStudio 3D with juicy Thunderbolt goodness. So…
Seems that the Mac users once agin have things a little better when it comes to real-time video, I read in an Adobe forum that there was an issue with capture and encoding when real-time preview was enabled. Though not a deal killer, it was a bit disconcerting, I mean seeing your preview sounds like it might be a desirable thing, no?
Anyway, with this post I am going to get my nerve up to contact BlackMagic again, we have a number of reviews and tutorials coming up that woudld benefit from using either model, but the Thunderbolt model with a lost price of $995 definitely appeals to this power packed MacBook Pro wielding vontent creator. Although, I do have a killer Sandy Bridge system loaded with RAM and fast nVidia graphics, so we’ll just have to see. Not counting the cost of R&D (Which is admittedly a substantial thing) the actual cost of these units can’t be more than a couple dead Franklins, so whaddya say BlackMagic? I had a hard time finding a decent review of either product, so if you’re game for some video I/O throwdown, so are we……
Now that's a lotta in-n-outs! Something for all analog persuasions. HDMI in and out on the back of the unit.
Oh that VooDoo you do BlackMagic, throw some video Mojo our way will ya? In the meantime, if you have had experience with either of these units, or any other BM product recently, we’d love to hear about it in the comments. Please fill us in on your likes, dislikes, joys, and tears if you got em. We’re listening, as Frasier Crane used to say.
If you can afford that camera, then $900 for the UltraStudio is just a financial hiccup.
Here’s a little better look at all of the connections from the back of the UltraStudio Pro.
Chris Tome is CEO of Adapptiv LLC, a media and technology agency with multiple web properties and off-web business concerns. Among many other hats, he wears the Editor in Chief visor for WholeApple Media Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of Adapptiv LLC, All Rights Reserved.
Leave a Reply