Blackmagic cards. How it works?

[Anexus]

Hi,

I want to to build a media server for resolume.
As ususal, I need several inputs and outputs available. The more, the better.

Im taking a look on the blackmagick Decklink cards.

I really dont understand how them works.

Will it replace the graphic card in my computer?

If I put one of this cards in my pc, could I avoid spent a lot of money in a RTX or anything similar?

or is it just adding in/ out ports but I still will be limited to my graphic card spec.?

As I can see there are some cards with 8 in/out slots, but the tipical nvidia cards get mostly 4 outputs

If anyone can put some light on this question it will be very helpfull to me.

Thank you!

[Arvol]

i_o expansion cards are just that, expansion cards and not primary rendering cards (GPU).
You can assign screen outputs to them, as well as bring them in as inputs.

(2) scenarios:

1: You have (6) TV's or PJ's spread out across a venue and (2) camera inputs. A Decklink could bring in (2) camera's as sources into your composition. And then send out 8 video sources over SDI to your TV's or PJ's (Most pro level PJ's have SDI built in as an input source).

2: You have (4) PJ's being blended into 1 large canvas, and then across the venue you have (2) LED processors being mosiac'd into a single large screen, and then you have (2) camera's you want to bring in a sources. A Decklink can't do this setup without looking horrible. You would get screen tearing as the decklink outputs are not sharing a single clock source. So an AJA Corvid card would be required here so you can bring in your (2) camera's and then send out (4) SDI to your PJ's for blending and another (2) SDI outputs to your LED processors for mosaic'ing. Since the AJA Corvid line of cards have the option to sync their outputs (Like a Quadro series [now RTX] card from nVidia). Your large screens will not have any tearing between input sources.

BOTH of these scenarios require that you still have a beefy GPU Rendering all of this data. You can't use an Intel Iris built in GPU and one of these cards and expect to get any useable result (Your FPS would be in the gutters). So you would still need something like a 2080ti to a new 40 series GPU (Or if you got the $$ a higher end [5-6 series] Quadro card for more sync'd outputs) in order for everything to be rendered out with FPS above 30.

Hope this makes sense.
These cards are GREAT for installs where most of your infrastructure is going to be SDI anyways, as all the outputs come from a single card/source and doesn't require multiple GPU's with HDMI>SDI converters (which saves even more $$).

[fhughes]

I am using a blackmagic Decklink Mini PCIe 4K card in my PC for Resolume. I have only used it as an input source so far, but it works great and has no problems with resolution or frame rate. It is not replacing the graphic card, but adding additional inputs to your setup. You can still use your GPU for rendering. The Decklink allows you to bring in extra cameras or video sources that your computer may not have built-in support for. So if you have a high-end camera that requires special drivers and software, you can bring it into Resolume using the Decklink card instead of trying to use your GPU.

[Anexus]

Thank you very much for your help.

Now, my only doubt is how can this cards get 8 outputs from a nvidia card that only provides 4 native outputs? Is it some sort of splitting like a Matrox Triplehead would do?

[Arvol]

It's an expansion card. It uses PCIe lanes to get the data from the GPU (Also PCIe) to to the expansion card.

[fhughes]

I know that in Resolume there are some settings for "Flip", but what happens exactly when we use this function?

[fhughes]

i_o expansion cards are not replacements for your main graphics card. They add additional inputs and outputs beyond what is typically available on a computer's graphics card. This can be useful in situations where you need to send video signals from multiple sources to different destinations, or when you need more flexibility than is available with built-in ports. In general, i_o cards are not designed for rendering high-quality graphics or handling complex visual effects. Instead, they focus on providing reliable transport of video signals between devices.

As for your question about spending a lot of money on an RTX card vs. using an i_o expansion card, the answer depends on your specific needs and budget. An RTX card is certainly capable of handling demanding graphics workloads, but it may not be necessary for a media server setup. You could potentially save some money by using an i_o card, especially if you only need a few additional outputs or inputs.

However, if you do require high-end graphics performance and want to take advantage of advanced features like real-time ray tracing, then an RTX card may be the better choice. Ultimately, the decision comes down to balancing your budget with your specific needs.

[Anexus]

Thank you for your help, it´s very usefull for me!