Blackmagic Design Video Cards
Pro Tools 8 and higher supports playback of QuickTime movies via qualified Blackmagic Design video cards with all Pro Tools systems on Mac OS X. Windows systems are not supported with Pro Tools 10 and below.
With the addition of a qualified Blackmagic Design video card, you can play HD or SD QuickTime movies to an external monitor. These can include QuickTime movies exported from Avid Media Composer, Apple Final Cut Pro, or various other applications.
Supported Blackmagic Design Cards
- DeckLink HD Extreme I PCIe (no HDMI)
- DeckLink HD Extreme II PCIe (with HDMI daughter board)
- DeckLink HD Extreme III PCIe (2009 release with HDMI daughter board)
- DeckLink HD Extreme 3D PCIe (2010 release with HDMI daughter board)
- Intensity (HDMI only)
- Intensity Pro
Other Blackmagic Design video cards such as the PCI-X DeckLink HD, DeckLink SDI, and DeckLink Studio use the same drivers and may work with Pro Tools, but have not been tested.
Drivers
Pro Tools 11.x
Pro Tools 11.0 on Mac OS X 10.8
-
Blackmagic Design video peripherals supported
- Third party video peripherals are tested by Blackmagic Design. Please contact Blackmagic for further support information.
Pro Tools 10.x
Pro Tools 10.3 on Mac OS X 10.7 - 10.8.2
- DeckLink HD Extreme 3D and Intensity Pro — tested with DeckLink v9.7 drivers
Pro Tools 10.2 on Mac OS X 10.7.x
- DeckLink HD Extreme 3D, Extreme III, Intensity and Intensity Pro — tested with DeckLink v9.5.1 drivers
- DeckLink HD Extreme 3D, Extreme III and Intensity — tested with DeckLink v8.5 drivers
- DeckLink HD Extreme 3D, Extreme III and Intensity — tested with DeckLink v7.9.6 drivers
Pro Tools 9.0
- DeckLink HD Extreme 3D and Extreme III — tested with DeckLink v7.9 drivers
- Intensity — tested with Intensity v3.9.1 drivers
- Tested and supported with Pro Tools 9.0 on Mac OS X 10.6.4 and 10.6.5
- Intensity Pro — tested with Pro Tools 9.06 on Mac OS X 10.7.4
Pro Tools 8.0.x
Pro Tools 8.0.4
- DeckLink HD Extreme 3D and Extreme III - tested with DeckLink v7.6.2 drivers
- Intensity — tested with Intensity v3.3.2 drivers
Pro Tools 8.0.3
- DeckLink HD Extreme and Extreme III - tested with DeckLink v7.3.1 drivers
- Intensity — tested with Intensity v3.3.2 drivers
Blackmagic Design cards and Pro Tools 8.0.3 have been tested with both Mac OS X 10.5.8 and 10.6.3* using a Mac Pro with either QuickTime 7.6.4 (10.5.8) or QuickTime 10.0 (10.6.3).
*Mac OS X 10.6.3 resolves the previously known issue with Blackmagic QuickTime playback cards and "Harpertown" Mac Pros.
Pro Tools 8.0/8.0.1
- DeckLink HD Extreme III - qualified with DeckLink v6.8.8 and v7.2.1 drivers
- DeckLink HD Extreme - qualified with DeckLink v6.8.3 - 6.8.8 and v7.2.1 drivers
- Intensity — qualified with Intensity v2.1.1 driver
All testing for Pro Tools 8.0-8.0.1 was done with QuickTime v7.5.5 - 7.6, Mac OS X 10.5 on Mac Pro and Power Mac G5 PCIe models.
Please Note:
If your Blackmagic card ships with a driver older than those versions listed above, make sure to download the latest supported driver from www.blackmagic-design.com/support.
Slot Order
DeckLink HD Extreme:
| Slot 0 | Graphics card |
| (Empty space) | HDMI backplane (DeckLink HD Extreme II only)* |
| Slot 1 | DeckLink HD Extreme |
| Slot 2 | HD Core, HD Native or HDX |
| Slot 3 | HD Accel or HDX |
*The DeckLink HD Extreme II consists of a main PCIe card plus an HDMI backplane which does not connect physically to a PCIe slot. The DeckLink HD Extreme I does not have an HDMI backplane.
DeckLink HD Extreme with Digidesign PCIe to PCIe or Magma PE6R4 Expansion Chassis:
| Slot 0 | Graphics card |
| Empty | HDMI backplane (DeckLink HD Extreme II only)* |
| Slot 1 | Expansion Chassis Host Card |
| Slot 2 | Empty |
| Slot 3 | DeckLink HD Extreme |
Install all Pro Tools HD cards in the expansion chassis in the order specified in the expansion chassis documentation.
Intensity:
| Slot 0 | Graphics card |
| Empty | HDMI backplane (DeckLink HD Extreme II only)* |
| Slot 1 | HD Core or HDX |
| Slot 2 | HD Accel or HDX |
| Slot 3 | Intensity |
Intensity with Digidesign PCIe to PCIe or Magma PE6R4 Expansion Chassis:
| Slot 0 | Graphics card |
| Empty | HDMI backplane (DeckLink HD Extreme II only)* |
| Slot 1 | PCIe chassis host card |
| Slot 2 | Empty |
| Slot 3 | Intensity |
Install all Pro Tools HD cards in the expansion chassis in the order specified in the expansion chassis documentation.
SYNC HD and SYNC I/O
For the most accurate audio/video synchronization, an Avid SYNC HD or SYNC I/O is recommended when using a Blackmagic Design video card with Pro Tools HD systems. When using the DeckLink HD Extreme card (which accepts video reference input), the DeckLink HD Extreme card must be resolved to the same video reference signal as the SYNC HD or SYNC I/O.
Codecs
While Blackmagic Design cards support many video codecs, the following codecs are officially qualified for use with Pro Tools:
- H.264
- DVC Pro 100*
- HDV*
- DNxHD
- DV25
- Apple Pro Res
*Only available when Apple's Final Cut Pro is installed.
Additional Information
To capture QuickTime video for use with Pro Tools via a Blackmagic Design card, quit Pro Tools and launch either Blackmagic's Deck Control software (included with your Blackmagic cards) or Final Cut Pro.
QuickTime movie offsets may be required when using Blackmagic video cards for playback. The offsets will vary depending on computer and monitor. You will need to fine tune your system's offset by entering an appropriate value in the Video Sync Offset window (found in the setup menu).
Blackmagic video cards have been qualified with Pro Tools systems with 64 tracks of 24 bit audio @ 48 KHz. When playing back QuickTime video with a Blackmagic Design video card, the video file should always be placed on a separate hard drive that is not being used for audio playback. For best results, a SATA drive is recommended.
When working with QuickTime video, you must disconnect any Avid Mojo, Avid Mojo SDI, or Canopus devices from the computer before launching Pro Tools in order to enable Video out PCIe in Pro Tools. Enabling Video out PCIe allows video to be routed to the Blackmagic video card.
HDMI to DVI converters have not been tested. When using one of these devices, your video monitor may go into sleep mode intermittently.
Video output from Pro Tools is not suitable for final layback or broadcast. Because Pro Tools has limited control over the QuickTime engine, even an output which is locked to external video reference may occasionally skip or hold a frame to remain in sync. This is most likely to occur if the Pro Tools system is approaching the limits of the host processor, or during long continuous playbacks. Though this behavior is increasingly rare, it's important to be aware that it does occur.
See the "Working with Video in Pro Tools" chapter in your Pro Tools Reference Guide for additional information on playing QuickTime movies in Pro Tools using a Blackmagic video card.
For more information on Blackmagic Design products, please see www.blackmagic-design.com