XDCAM EX Multibridge Pro
 

So...I am a total ignorant on this type of a equipment. So I have been looking at the multibridge pro and it talks about speeding up Final Cut Pro and real time effect playback....so how does that all work? Do I have to transcode my footage to a blackmagic codec and then I can only see the real time output through the blackmagic sdi outputs and such or will it speed up everything I do even with my DVI monitors......any help would be awesome.....thanks.

My understanding and experience is that when it comes to things like up or downconverting clips in a timeline is sped up or not needed to be rendered because the math that is involved is divided between the cpu and the card. I personally don't really notice that much of a performance boost from these cards (Kona and Blackmagic) That could because I also use them with fast RAIDs on Mac Pros. Either way though, they are not like Avid's hardware that literally lets you play your timeline with no need to render certain effects and still get full rez playback. For the price of these cards and how they work with Final Cut they are just great ways to get footage into your computer and whatever other bells and whistles you get with your hardware is a plus.

I have used the BlackMagic Multibridge Extreme for the last four years. The software is the same for the newer and most recent models of Multibridge.

Fast RAID-0 hard drives are mandatory with this device, your RAID configuration can vary depending on what kind of video your working with. May RAID-0 configuration will vary from 2-5 drives depending on the kind of project I am working on. I use the Sonnet Fusion 500P SATA and E4P for my RAID drives.

From the Multibridge manual and personal experience on a MacPro PPC 2.5G Quad (8GB of RAM), and now a MacPro 3.2G Octo (16GB RAM) using FCP 6.0.5 in Leopard 10.5.6. My video card is an NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT.

HDTV Up/Down Conversion:
The Mac OS X™ software drivers included with Multibridge, can be used to downconvert high definition to NTSC or PAL video in real time during capture or playback.

Output
1080 HD to ‚‚ SD Letter box 16:9
‚‚1080 HD to SD Anamorphic 16:9
‚‚720 HD to 1080 HD
Input
‚‚1080 HD to SD letterbox 16:9
‚‚1080 HD to SD Anamorphic 16:9
‚‚720 HD to SD Letterbox 16:9
‚‚720 HD to SD Anamorphic 16:9

Real Time Effects are one of the great features of Final Cut Pro, and with your Multibridge you are fully compatible with Apple’s RT Extreme™. Be sure to select Effects Handling to Final Cut Pro Internal.

All I can say is that YES, there is learning curve on this device but it delivers and is consistent with everything from SD to HD that I have thrown at it through the years.

I am extremely pleased with the SDI-HD capabilities when connected to my Sony EX3 Camera SDI port which delivers full 10bit 4:2:2 HD video. The result are stunning as are full resolution frame grabs directly into Adobe Photoshop CS4.

Cheers!