This year at the NAB show in Las Vegas, Blackmagic Design introduced a new product that no one was really expecting, but that hits an interesting spot in the industry. It’s called the Blackmagic Duplicator 4K, and this product just may have tapped into something pretty hip. It is a recording device that allows you to record SD, HD or Ultra HD content in real time on up to 25 SD cards simultaneously. With live events in mind, you can then distribute or sell the SD cards to customers or audience members right when the event is finished.
Potential Uses
I think about the uses. Sure, anyone filming live events, like concerts, sports, ceremonies, recitals, performances and more, could find this product beneficial as a source of additional revenue because you can sell the SD cards immediately following the event for a profit. But one could also use this product for rehearsals and lighting programming, for shows where the acts rehearse during the day and the lighting folks program at night. Blackmagic Duplicator 4K has built-in real-time H.265 encoding, which means you can get higher quality video in smaller files, so you can use smaller and cheaper SD cards. With an event fresh on their minds, audience members are more likely to purchase video of the event they just witnessed rather than being underwhelmed by a six week wait time for delivery.
Beyond that, the Duplicator 4K can also come in handy for events like conferences, training seminars and other corporate events where it’s less about revenue and more about information distribution. In fact, I just witnessed Blackmagic Design utilizing the Duplicator 4K to record their own press conference at NAB and then distribute the SD cards immediately afterward to press as they were leaving the booth where the press conference took place. Plus, they have more copies to hand the press that they met with later who weren’t able to make it to the actual press conference.
A Simple Interface
For an end user like me, Blackmagic Duplicator 4K is very straightforward. There are six large, illuminated buttons on the front panel: Record, Stop, Menu, Remote, Lock and Append.
• The Record and Stop buttons let you begin and stop recording your live stream input;
• The Menu button lets you use the built-in LCD to adjust other settings;
• The Remote button puts the Duplicator 4K into slave mode so it can be controlled remotely;
• The Lock button prevents you from accidentally interrupting recording during an event; and
• The Append button automatically merges incoming video into a single file, even if the camera starts and stops. For example, if you are recording events that have natural breaks, like weddings with a ceremony and reception in different locations, the Blackmagic Duplicator 4K can automatically append the recordings all into a single file.
LCD Screen
The built-in LCD screen on the front panel shows you a full color preview of the live video. The screen can show overlays with critical clip metadata such as audio levels, recording status and resolution. You can also use the LCD screen to navigate additional settings such as compression data rate, total number of mounted cards and SDI start/stop triggers.
For Professional Use
While the Duplicator 4K is easy to use, don’t let its simplicity fool you. It still packs the professional advantages like multi-rate 12G-SDI connections that let you record in all SD, HD and Ultra HD formats, up to 2160p60. If you record in Ultra HD, anyone with a newer Ultra HD television at home can pop the SD card into their television’s built-in SD card reader and view your video on their TV as soon as they get home. They can also view the video on their Windows 10 computers. Blackmagic sees this as one solution to the lack of available Ultra HD content by making it easier for people to create and distribute their own.
For larger events, you can connect multiple Blackmagic Duplicator 4Ks together and load, format and record onto hundreds of SD cards, all at the same time. If you make too many SD cards at one event, you can re-format them once you are done and use them again for the next event, because they are re-recordable media, saving your investment in them.
ATEM Switcher 6.8 Update
Also at NAB, and also big news for those involved in live event video, was Blackmagic Design’s announcement of ATEM Switcher 6.8 Update, which adds control of all HyperDeck Studio disk recorders to all ATEM switchers.
This free update for all ATEM switcher customers allows you to use HyperDecks as fully controllable sources into your ATEM switcher workflow for live production.
This means you can add instant playback for spots or promos, credits, instant slow motion replays, etc. With the update, any ATEM switcher can control up to four separate HyperDecks, and you can control them from either the ATEM software or hardware panels.
The ATEM Switcher 6.8 Update also lets you see a list of clips that match the ATEM switcher’s program format on each SSD in your connected HyperDecks, meaning you can select clips in any order you want, cue the start frame and switch to the HyperDeck for it to automatically begin playing back in the program. Pre-roll can be set for the HyperDeck, just as it would be for a traditional tape deck, so video is rolling the moment the source is switched to the HyperDeck. The tape-style transport controls can be used to start and stop playback, jog, shuttle, etc. The HyperDeck will automatically stop at the end of the clip and freeze on the last frame.
For instant replay, custom macros can be used to record a camera feed in real-time onto a HyperDeck. The macro can then re-play the video in real-time, or at different speeds, such as quarter- or half-speed. You can get high-quality slow motion playback when working with high frame rate cameras, ATEM Production Studio 4K and Broadcast Studio models, and HyperDeck Studio Pro or HyperDeck Studio 12G.
In addition to HyperDeck integration, ATEM Switcher 6.8 Update also adds support for 3G-SDI Level A, along with new language support for French, Spanish and German, which have been added in addition to the already existing English, Japanese and Chinese languages.
At a Glance:
Live Event Recordings, (Almost) in Real Time
- Blackmagic Design’s Duplicator 4K lets users record SD, HD or Ultra HD content in real-time on up to 25 SD cards simultaneously.
- The ATEM Switcher 6.8 Update expands ATEM switcher functionality, adding control over all HyperDeck Studio disk recorders.
- Combined, these advances are garnering significant interest as a way to further monetize or enhance the value of live events.
Duplicator 4K/ATEM Switcher v6.8
PROS: Duplicator 4K is easy to use, yet still packs professional power and flexibility. The ATEM Switcher 6.8 Update is a significant (and free) boon to Blackmagic customers using ATEM switchers and HyperDeck Studio disk recorders.
CONS: None
Duplicator 4K:
- Size: 19” x 7.8” x 1.75”
- Weight: 4.4 lbs.
- MSRP: $1,995
- Manufacturer: Blackmagic Design
- More Info: www.blackmagicdesign.com
