My Portable, Laptop-Based Instant Replay/Slow-Mo System (vMix/DeckLink) 

Not necessarily. I'm considering using vMix for my RU-vid studio.

You're next Josh to get smitten with vMix. C'mon over, the water is fine.

When a software-based switcher is called for vMix is my go-to. I do a lot of events with IMAG so software switching isn’t the best way to go for most of the work I do

Not very well. The HyperDecks can’t record and play at the same time, so you’d have to record for a while, then stop and start the clip for playback, then go back to record mode over and over. You could do some limited things with replay, but if you needed to continue recording while playing back another clip you’d be out of luck.

@djp_video thank you very much for this very informative answer. This is what I intially thought, but is there like an economical media server that can be paired with this system to achieve the same? I'm only worried about the reliability of software based system in a live show

I guess that depends on the type of event that you're shooting. If the 30-second record time of the HDR-10 is enough for you, you can certainly make that work. For the types of events that I shoot, I need many minutes of recording time to not just highlight what happened in the last few seconds, but also to produce a highlight reel at the end of an event. The other thing is cost. This solution can be had for starting around $2000 for four channels. The HDR-10 solution is $1300 per channel, plus another $1000 for the controller on top of that.

The enclosures aren't going to convert from one generation to another, so if the Quad 2 is Gen 2 it might not be the best choice. But it's going to depend on what you're doing and what kind of bandwidth you need for that particular application.

I don't personally, but you certainly can. vMix has that capability. There are a lot of variables that play into selecting a hardware encoder. Budget, whether you need bonding, which platform is being used for streaming, etc.

You can actually both stream and record in vMix but it really taxing on even a powerful machine so best to offload at least one of those especially if doing replay on the same machine.

The UltraStudio provides the SDI output from vMix back into the switcher.

Thunderbolt is limited to X4, so no matter what enclosure you get you'll be limited to X4 bandwidth.

I didn't notice what the actual CPU or GPU usage is, but the cooling fans never really spun up that much. It seems I have plenty of headroom.

@@djp_video good to know for the specs! How do you find the omen? Easy to install the second ssd?

It happened to be one of the gaming laptops on sale at my local Best Buy store. And installing the second SSD was trivial -- remove the screws from the bottom of the laptop to remove the bottom case, and pop the SSD in. The whole process took just a few minutes.

@@djp_video thanks for the info. Good to know about those specs and dealing with 4x replays ok. Keep up the great work.

No. Everything worked perfectly the first time. These PCIe Thunderbolt enclosures really aren't doing much. Thunderbolt itself is based on PCIe, so the boards inside of the enclosure is essentially just converting the signal from one type of connector to another. They don't do much beyond that. So any card that can work at PCIe 3.0 x4 speeds should work just fine.

Yes, I take in up to 8 cameras, and send 1 return feed. If I'm using the Decklink 8K Pro card and have 4 cameras, or using the DeckLink Quad and have 8 cameras (which hasn't ever happened) I'll add the UltraStudio Mini Monitor as shown in this video for the output (return/playback) feed. For fewer than that (3 or fewer with the 8K Pro, or 7 or fewer with the DeckLink Quad), I'll use one of the card's built-in outputs. vMix can actually do two replay outputs so you can flip back and forth between two, but I'm not skilled enough at this to be able to run both of those at the same time. vMix can be set to output the program video in the External settings at the bottom of the main window. In terms of remaining time on clips, we just communicate over the intercom -- I'll count it down.

The DeckLink Quad HDMI should work fine for you. You'll still need some kind of output, though... so keep that in mind. Camlinks could work, but it's easy to get them mixed up as to which is which and will likely require quite a bit more processing by the CPU compared to a Thunderbolt device.

@@djp_video thanks! I’m thinking that my only output needed is the thunderbolt making it a stream online. But maybe I’ll outgrow that setup.

​@@GearloversI have HDMI cameras but still use the same card Doug uses... I just use BM HDMI>SDI converter on the camera end.

It's something like UpdateMarkIn or similar. I don't have vMix in front of me to look it up.

Alright, I might have to do some more fiddling with it. I noticed a lot of the replay/mark functions have blank descriptions in the documentation which is very helpful 🤦‍♂️

Head to shortcuts and go to the replay tab then look through the list in vmix. A lot are fairly self explanatory and you can play around. We use a few functions to easily move the in and out of selected clip by 1s increments which is really quick with an external key device like xkeys or streamdeck

I'm currently only using the "A" output, and when I run 4 inputs I have an UltraStudio Monitor 3G plugged into my Thunderbolt enclosure to provide that output.

The Replay feature would be able to do this.

@@djp_video REALLY. Hmm. Good info thank you

I haven’t tried it. I don’t actually have 4K60 sources or switcher I can use. My 4K stuff is limited to 30fps

Yes. As long as it is fast enough to keep up.

That's what I'm doing. Going through either an unused connection on the DeckLink, or adding an UltraStudio Mini Monitor for that output. And, yes, they know I'll need their feeds. Usually we just tap into them at a routing switcher or use aux outputs on the switcher.

It shouldn't require anything special. Open up Desktop Video Setup and make sure that all four inputs/outputs are showing up there.

If your motherboard has enough PCE Express slots and lanes for the three cards plus a video card and other devices (like SSDs). AMD in general provides more PCIe lanes than Intel chips, but it really does vary by product line and model.

I would think so.

The vMix solution is always recording so there's no delay to switch between record and play. The recording keeps going all the time and you can play back any point recorded in the past at any time, simultaneously while it is still recording.

All configured inputs record all the time, simultaneously. When you start playback, all of those inputs play back simultaneously, synchronized to one another. While you're playing back (or recording) you can freely cut between cameras as much as you'd like. Those cuts aren't inherently recorded, though. When you mark an event, you can freely choose which camera angle(s) you want to include for replay (or export), and if you utilize this functionality those angles will play sequentially back-to-back automatically, with your choice of transition between them (event 1 angle 1, event 1 angle 3, event 3 angle 2, event 3 angle 4, etc.). Since the recordings all happen continuously, you don't have "clips" on disk by default -- it's just long recordings of the entire event, only broken up by manually stopping and starting the recording, or when the files reach their maximum allowed size. When that happens it just closes those the active files and starts recording seamleessly in new ones without any frames being dropped. Any portions of an event that you have marked/tagged can be exported to indivdual files at the end of an event to help build a highlight reel or for archiving. The full-length recordings are available too if you want those as well. I'm sure this explanation doesn't make a lot of sense. vMix has a video on their channel detailing how to use the replay features. It's probably worth taking the time to watch it to understand it.

the problem is finding an affordable camera that will output 120fps over SDI

For my understanding, what range would you consider affordable?

@@MisterCkris Sony, Panasonic or Grassvalley 3x camera chain would be around $120,000 + lens. I'm not aware of anything else capable of delivering uncompressed 1080/120fps via SDI or Fiber

@@SportFlow thank you for clarifying. We’re in the same ballpark when thinking about price. I specialize in high speed cinematography and NOTHING is inexpensive.

@@MisterCkris Phantom cameras?

Can you see the cameras in Blackmagic Design Media Express?

When I plug the PCi into the laptop with thunderbolt cable I get a notification…. “Thunderbolt functionality might be limited” and “The AC adapter is not compatible with this device”. While the laptop is running off its own battery…

I didn’t download before and now I have installed… but still no luck as card not showing in Desktop Video

Does your card show up in the Device Manager? Did your computer ever pop up and ask permission for the Thunderbolt device to connect?

No it does not show up in device manager unfortunately. And it also did not ask for device permission to connect… I just plugged the Thunderbolt 4 cable from the OWC mercury Helios 3s into the port that has a thunderbolt lightening icon and the messages just repeat themselves… Totally baffling for me… I now wonder if the device actually takes a thunderbolt connection?? Product ID: 0032-21083-24354-AAOEM

I did it manually. I came up with a layout most compatible with my workflow, then programmed the buttons in vMix myself.

It actually doesn't. The power connector on the card is not connected to anything.

@@djp_video so the decklink 8k cant work with ows helios?

Not that I know of

@@djp_video Replay Source plugin by Exceldro

I'm not familiar enough with Wirecast to know. Perhaps someone else can weigh in.

It's just a table I created in Microsoft Word. Nothing special.

@@djp_video Could you provide the vMix ShortCut Template in the description for your xKeys replay setup? Thanks.

You have to split the signal somehow -- either with a dedicated splitter, or by using auxiliary outputs on an ATEM equipped with them, or, the preferred solution -- use a video routing switcher (like the Smart Videohubs from Blackmagic). You could potentially risk using passive splitters, but in my experience they aren't worth the gamble.

I’m attempting to do this using a 4x4 HDMI Matrix Switcher, using 2 inputs and all 4 outputs. Using a monoprice blackbird 4K pro. This would only allow two replay cameras though, which is what we need as most are 3 camera setups with 1 camera not needed for replay.

We have an HDMI version of the Mini Pro, hence the HDMI workaround.

Just for replay

1 frame per click

I'm not sure why somebody would. Based on what I'm seeing on their website, they don't appear to have a suitable solution for multi-channel replay, and their computers cost an absolute fortune! Their solutions appear to be targeted towards graphics, not replay. This system does 4 channels as-is for about $2,000, and going to 8 channels bumps the price up to about $3000 -- a tiny fraction of the price of an entry-level laptop from AJT. And I don't see a 4- or 8-channel option on AJT's site.

I haven't looked for something like this for myself, but from what I hear from the community. Marshall is the way to go.

@@djp_video Thank you

Mechanical. Thunderbolt ix x4 so that's what it's passing through.

@@djp_video Ok. That unfortunately means you won't be able to use all 4 ports in 4k30 if you need, right?

We have been searching for a long time for a solution like yours and almost every single Thunderbolt enclosure is x16 mechanical but only x4 electrical. So far, the only Thunderbolt enclosure that we think would actually use all of the Decklink 8k features is the Sonnet Echo Express SE IIIe, that features an x16 mechanical, x8 electrical slot.

I've used all four ports in 4k30 without issue.

The problem you're running into is that Thunderbolt itself is only x4. You can't really take an x4 interface and make it x8 or x16.