New 12G-SDI Videohubs from Blackmagic Design 

For sure! That's a great feature that these have.

We sure hope new 4K switchers are about to drop.

🦎

I'm not aware of anything like that, but I've never really looked either. If nothing else, join my Discord server and you can ask specific questions there. The community is very helpful. djp.li/discord

I've seen someone add rack ears in the middle of a case specifically for a routing switcher so the rear panel sits flush to the back, but I'm not really aware of any other solutions in this segment of the market. It's a bit of a hack, but it does work. These units are remote controllable, so you can always add the Master Control Pro or Smart Control Pro to give you a remote interface for one buried in a case.

@@djp_video thanks for the quick reply! Yeah I have thought of this solution with the remote interfaces as well - just sad to not be able to use the display and button functionality basically mid-rack. Would be great if they made a detachable front panel similar to the swappable Teranex Minis with just a data cable running to the rest - doesn't feel like a completely nichey thing to ask but could be nonetheless, I will see when I get my hands on one!

The routable outputs on the ATEM switchers don't work the same way as routing switchers -- the signal on the outputs of an ATEM have gone through the scaler, frame rate converter, and frame sync, and had all of its audio and ancillary data stripped and replaced. That means you aren't getting your original signal, that it is delayed by 1-3 frames, and the original audio and other signaling are all lost. Sometimes those things are desired, but most of the time they are not. Additionally, the 12 outputs on the 2 M/E Constellation aren't even remotely enough for most of the jobs that I do.

You can connect them, but you have to have some tie lines between them to relay signals that are on inputs on one so they can be used on outputs on the other. There's no magical interconnect that allows all of the sources on one to be available to destinations on the others. I have this exact setup in my trailer. I have something like 12 outputs on each connected to inputs on the other to relay those signals, reducing the number of total available inputs not just by 12, but by 24, as each unit has 12 of its 40 inputs take up just by those interconnect lines... so it's sort of a 56x56 routing switcher, but still with a limit of just 12 signals being routable across devices. If you have that many sources that you'd need two, you'll be far better off saving your pennies until you can get the 80x80 model. Having to add tie lines between multiple units pretty drastically cuts down on how many sources you can route.

You can.

The output on the Cleanswitch will be delayed by up to 1 frame, averaging about a half a frame. But that assumes that the video format on all inputs is the same.

Absolutely, I'm with you!

They are removable keycaps, so you can print your own labels.

That's a matter of your sources not being genlocked together. If they were there wouldn't be any glitch switching between them. It happens because the receiving device has to re-synchronize with the new input. The Cleanswitch 12 model resynchronizes all inputs and as a result when you switch a route on it there is not any blackout period.

@@djp_video Oh awesome! I never knew that. The Clean switch sounds like it would be perfect for us, except we use more than 12 ins and outs. It doesn't look like there's a bigger model :( And I don't think our cameras have a genlock SDI connection. Is there another way to genlock them?

Not super affordably. Some people invest in multiple Cleanswitches just to synchronize their video sources. Another option is the UpDownCross HD... you could add one per camera and then use an analog distribution amp to split the sync signal from a sync generator to each. The Decimator 12G-Cross also has a Genlock input as well. Have you seen my video where I discuss Genlock? ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-yUn8mMQ0JGg.html

Yes. You can replace the labels, and you can customize the search text within the software.

The intended audience for those products are big broadcast facilities, and they just aren't moving to 4K. There isn't a bit market for 4K versions yet.

​@@djp_video or just that they don't sell many. Big broadcasters going UHD aren't gonna buy a large format 12G router from Blackmagic even if they sold one, especially if it has such few features like the current lineup.

But it would be nice to have at least a 64x64. 40x40 is really tight sometimes…

Don't I know it. I have two 40x40s in my trailer and every input and output is full, and I still have many devices which aren't connected to either.

I haven't built it quite yet, so the design is still somewhat in flux. Historically I've done more with audio than video, and audio is something I care about quite a lot. Since I've moved I haven't had a proper place to record and edit audio. My office where I do most of my video editing does have high quality studio monitors and other audio gear, but the room isn't acoustically treated so it's harder to really hear what is going on than it would be in a properly setup space. On top of that, there's a real opportunity where I live to setup a space specifically for mixing and mastering Dolby Atmos content. From what I've heard, there is currently only one Atmos studio in all of Utah... I could be the second, and likely best, in this area. I also have a number of connections in the music industry here. If I was to have a studio space where vocalists or voiceover artists could come to lay down tracks I could add a little extra revenue there. On top of all of that, in addition to handling audio, I'm also going to be setting up that space for video editing and coloring as well. Being able to see exactly what a video signal looks like, and being able to hear exactly what it sounds like, will be super nice for creating my own content as well as making it available for others to do the same. And with the connected room I'll be using for shooting my RU-vid videos, it will be a good place for others to come in and shoot podcasts too.

@@djp_video "I haven't had a proper place to record and edit audio." That is "EXACTLY" the same dilemma I am facing now! I have the gear, just not the proper please to setup shop and get to work. My focus is more audio first, with video as secondary. Specifically, a lot of sound for picture stuff. Many synths/hardware stuff (I'm a bit of an old school guy when it comes to sound creation.) But up to date with the latest in recording technology.

Not these models. I believe they've kept the original Cleanswitch around.

@@djp_video oh that's disappointing that'd be nice if they added that as a feature on these that would really seal the deal Are there any downsides to that old 12 by 12 clean switch does it still hold up today ?

It still works well. It's limited to 6G-SDI rather than 12G-SDI. And it consumes a little more power, but it would still do a great job.

@@djp_video I see I'm looking for a 12 g sdi I full workflow thank you so much for your comment I somehow overlooked its 6G From your knowledge do you know if there's any disadvantages to any of the ones in this new line? Other than The number of ins and outs just like aatem mini and Xtreme it's not just inputs the extreme is more powerful and has more features

You can connect any video source device you want to any input port, and connect any device that receives an SDI signal to any output. And any input can be routed to any combination of outputs. To make it easier to manage and remember how things are connected, you assign names to each input and output. So you can, for example, connect cameras to inputs 1-6, HyperDecks to inputs 7-8, computers to 9-12, ATEM Aux outputs to 13-18, and then ATEM multiview output to input 19. Then on the output side, connect outputs 1-12 to the ATEM inputs, 13-14 to HyperDeck inputs, and outputs 15-19 to monitors (often via an SDI-to-HDMI converter) and output 20 to your live streaming device. And then you go into the Videohub setup software to assign names for all of those inputs and outputs so it's easy to tell which source is connected to which input (Camera 1, Camera 2 ... Camera 6, HyperDeck 1, HyperDeck 2, PC 1, PC2, etc.), and which output device is connected to each output (ATEM 1 ... ATEM 12, HyperDeck 1, HyperDeck 2, TD Monitor, Producer Monitor, Live Stream, etc.). Trying to always remember that input 7 is HyperDeck #1 and the program feed is input 13 is harder than looking for HyperDeck #1 or Program by name. From there the routing is a lot easier using names rather than input numbers. So if you want to display the ATEM multiview on your Director monitor, you'd select Director Monitor as the destination (internally output 15) and select Multiview (input 19) as its new source. And then select the ATEM program output, on its Output #1 (connected to videohub input 13) as the source for the Producer monitor (videohub output 16). And then ATEM program output (videohub input 13) to a HyperDeck input for recording (output 13), and ATEM Program as the source for the Live Stream. With that setup, if you have an event with 3 cameras (with nothing happening on inputs 4-6), 2 video playback sources through HyperDecks, and 2 computer sources get routed to ATEM inputs 1-7 so they're all sequential without any empty inputs. And then ATEM Output 1 (configured for the main Progarm feed) to 3 monitors, and the ATEM Multiview output to another 2 monitors, without changing any cabling. And you're free to re-route signals any time you want. So if, for example, the Producer wants to see what's being played back on the HyperDeck for a moment instead of the Progam feed, you'd route HyperDeck #1 output (input 7) to Producer Monitor (output 16), then route it back to ATEM Output 1 (input 13) to go back to the program feed.

@djp_video, got it, thanks for the detailed example, greatly appreciated.

No. It only routes signals between inputs to outputs.

It seems to be an abandoned product line. They weren't updated with the last Smart Videohub revamp years ago either.

@@djp_video Yes that's rights but they still appear on their website and i really like the concept with the different videocards

Conceptually they're really cool. But I don't think they sell very many, so it's hard to justify developing new versions.

I think I said that.

We won't know until someone gets one to test. But they consume a lot less power, so in theory there is considerably less need for fans to keep them cool.