Video signal in to PC, USB 3 or Thunderbolt
 

This thread could be called....Why I miss Firewire!

Why did we go backwards? I loved firewire, it worked for everything. I had entire systems built with it and it worked on every computer, camera, and my broadcast switcher. But anyway I'll move on.

I need my video signals to feed live into my lap top witch is USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt 2 equipped. For webcasting, hard drive capture, monitoring etc. It is a very capable lap top.

So far I am trying a Blackmagic Intensity Shuttle for the interface, with little luck. I chose the Thunderbolt model and now I am wondering if I should have chosen the USB 3.0 model. Thunderbolt on PCs is relatively new, does USB 3.0 have better software compatibility? I can get the signal in but the only software that can read it is their own BMD Media Express. The software came with drivers and plugins for other software like Premier, Aftereffects, and others but none of them work. Any suggestions? Even before I bought it I read enough reviews to know it was buggy and people were having varying levels of success with it.

What are you guys having the best luck with, USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt? What other interface devices have you tried that work? I am not a BMD fan but I thought I would give them another shot, I'm sorry I did.

As codecs and data rates change so rapidly I wonder if we will ever be lucky enough to have an almost universal connectivity platform like firewire again, I doubt it.

Your thought and solutions on for the Intensity Shuttle will be appreciated.

Steve

Re: Video signal in to PC, USB 3 or Thunderbolt
 

I swear by my Matrox MX02LE on Mac connected via Thunderbolt. It "eats" anything I feed it.

Re: Video signal in to PC, USB 3 or Thunderbolt
 

Unfortunately it seems that Thunderbolt is now dead - Apple left it off the new Air and went to USB-C instead. And finding a Thunderbolt port on a PC is harder than finding the Fountain of Youth. Having 3 Macs and 5 PC's I've been conflicted about Thunderbolt from the beginning - as a technology it's pretty good. it just never really took off due to price.

I have the BM Intensity Thunderbolt version which I use on my older Air. The BM software is sort of - well, pretty bad, but at least it WILL record video OK from the shuttle.

Re: Video signal in to PC, USB 3 or Thunderbolt
 

USB-C, yet another Mac connection hailed as the next do everything for all of us. Yes I know, it was developed by the USB Implementers Forum for cross platform compatibility but I am sick of this BS. How many times have we been through this before. Mac introduces it, and by the time everyone catches up they will establish "The New Standard" AGAIN! I hate the game.

And I generally have to have Mac and PC laptops. Not by choice, for the necessity of compatibly with all my clients on the video and AV side of things. This is part of the reason why.

Thunderbolt dead already, really? Like I said in the OP, I miss firewire. For us video guys it was the best standard we ever had. I don't think we will ever get that good again. I don't see USB-C doing it anytime soon.

What a PITA.

Steve

Re: Video signal in to PC, USB 3 or Thunderbolt
 

Having blown my Sound Devices 702 because of Firewire (well, there wasn't any fire, but there was a lot of smoke...) I can't exactly express any love for it. Miserable connector design. The protocol itself was OK, the physical implementation a disaster.