Datavideo Dac-70 to get Mac video Signal into ATEM!

Hey all,

Just wanted to let you all know that the easiest way to get a mac computer to view on your ATEM switcher with HDSDI is the Datavideo DAC-70.
Very easy to use! All you need is to come out of the mac with HDMI into the Dac-70 then flip a couple of dip switches on the Dac-70 then connect it to your switcher with HDSDI and your ready to go!
I sent the HDSDI signal from the DAC-70 to my ATEM 2M/E 4K switcher over a 300 foot HDSDI cable and it look amazing! I would say it has been the best, cheapest and easiest way to get a Mac video signal into my switcher!

Just a note for anyone with the non 4k model of the atem1 who may be reading this. I have had no problems getting signals from macs in a variety of configurations such as straight up hdmi out and in, mdp to hdmi adapter out to hdmi in, mdp to hdmi adapter out to hdmi to hdsdi converter to 300' of hdsdi cable to hdsdi in and also back to hdsdi to hdmi to hdmi in. BUT this does not work on my 4k model.

Hey all,

Just wanted to let you all know that the easiest way to get a mac computer to view on your ATEM switcher with HDSDI is the Datavideo DAC-70.
Very easy to use! All you need is to come out of the mac with HDMI into the Dac-70 then flip a couple of dip switches on the Dac-70 then connect it to your switcher with HDSDI and your ready to go!
I sent the HDSDI signal from the DAC-70 to my ATEM 2M/E 4K switcher over a 300 foot HDSDI cable and it look amazing! I would say it has been the best, cheapest and easiest way to get a Mac video signal into my switcher!

Hey Mike! Do you know if the Dac-70 can convert 1080p to 1080i because i have the BM production 4k and i want to connect to the ATEM 1 HD that is 1080i only.

Thanks!!

Yes. It will convert 1080p to 1080i and any other SD/HD/3G-SDI format.

Does this converter also work in 3G SDI mode? HDMI or other 1080p input and 3G SDI 1080p output into an ATEM 4K?

I haven't had any issue plugging my Macbook Pro straight into an ATEM 1 M/E via HDMI (with a mini displayport to HDMI dongle). I've also used Aja HDMI to SDI converters if you want to feed it into the ATEM via SDI.

If you really want it to be SDI there are definitely cheaper solutions than a $500 piece of gear like the Dac-70. Name brand HDMI to SDI converters are less expensive. Blackmagic one is $280. Aja is $309. The no name brand ones on eBay work just as well and are even cheaper.

You could even get a Decimator MD-HX that just came out and it does HDMI/SDI cross convert, scaling and rate conversion for $300. Similar to the Dac-70 but only HDMI and SDI inputs. Pretty powerful little device for the price. Blackmagic better up their mini converter game.

I also like the Dac-70 for the ability to also convert VGA to HDSI and HDMI.
With features as in scaling and 4x3 to 16x9 conversion as well for $500 you can't beat the price.
The Dac-70 also has audio embedding.

I don't think the bm converters work for computers that want to go from hdmi to hdsdi into 4k models as has been discussed in several threads

The Blackmagic HDMI to SDI converter(s) do not work on Macs at all, or on PC's that can't override their refresh rate to 59.94hz. The Blackmagic converter advertises 1080p60 (not 59.94) on it's HDMI interface and computers lock to that first, but the ATEM does not support 1080p60 on its SDI interfaces, only 59.94. Thus you have to jump through hoops to force computers to output 59.94hz, or get a scaler like the Datavideo DAC-70 to do it for you.

Now that I think of it I don't think I've used the BM converter on my computer before. I know for sure I've used the Aja though and that works...at least at 720p into the 1 M/E.

Just to clarify chad, your previous statement is true for the 4k model atems but not the original atems. The original ones can take a signal from a Mac or PC going hdmi to hdsdi and hdsdi into atem no problem

Right, I'm talking about the non 4k version in my posts.

The long and the short of it is that connecting computers without a scaler / frequency converter is very hit and miss. It depends on the source machine and the type of ATEM (or other device) and the standard you are working in.

The best practice solution has always been to use a converter capable of scaling and framerate conversion such as the DAC70, DVI Ramp, or Image Pro.

Whilst it is sometimes possible to work without such devices, having one of them will ALWAYS allow you to get ANY computer into your system.

The DAC70 is a really nifty converter for a great price. Everyone should have at least one of them in their kit as it has endless uses and can be invaluable when needing to interface between different pieces of kit.

cheers
tom

Maybe the new Decimator MD-HX would be a solution. It lists 60 and 59.94 as different possible output formats. But I live in "PAL-country"

The decimater looks fantastic on paper. Is anyone using one and if so in what ways and how does it perform.

I have one in test since yesterday. But as written: I live in PAL country. The only thing I could try is to convert a PC out to 1080i50.

good find! just ordered one...stay tuned...

Bh carries a bunch of their products and they all look very interesting!

My work received 2 of the Decimator MD-HX's, but haven't had a chance to try them out yet.

well the turkey is eaten, now to play with the new toys!!

Decimator MD-HX

$295. If you need ANY converter-BUY THIS ONE!! Very impressed right off the bat. It converts HDMI to SDI, **AND** SDI to HDMI at the same time. There is one HDMI In, one HDMI out, one SDI In, and FOUR SDI outs in two pairs. By default, the SDI input loops to one pair of SDI outputs and converts to HDMI, while at the same time the HDMI input feeds the other pair of SDI outputs. This alone would be enough for me to buy this over anything else on the market at this price.

But you can also change modes and use this device as a 1 in 4 out SDI distribution box. Or HDMI to 4 SDI box. It also has one scaler that can be assigned to one conversion direction or the other. It covers all rates (23.98 - 60) of 720p, 1080p, 1080s (psf?) and 1080i. Doesn't look like it does any SD for you low rez folks. Haven't really looked at the scaler quality yet....

It can also reassign your embedded audio channels in pairs, so pair 1 coming in can be any other pair or all pairs going out etc. this works across all channels in both directions. cool feature. BTW, all these functions can be set via 4 pushbuttons and a small LCD screen right on the unit. The menus make enough sense that most could figure out the settings without having to crack open the manual. I REALLY like the status screen, which shows you the format/framerate coming in each input and output-so you KNOW FOR SURE what is going on. So I guess it's a great little troubleshooting box too!

The casing on this thing seems very sturdy, maybe even more so than the BMD heavy duty units. The power supply included has a locking ring that keeps the little coax plug from pulling out accidentally. the PS is 12VDC, but the unit accepts any voltage between 5V and 32V. There is a heatsink recessed in the back of the case, but it barely gets any warmer than room temp-it's nice to see someone taking thermal management seriously.

Finally, if it wasn't just a kick ass little box to begin with, they throw in a short usb cable, hdmi cable, and a mounting bracket to boot. Nice touches!!

My only gripe is that the MacOSX usb control panel doesn't seem to work in Yosemite. It doesn't detect the MD-HX, gives up after a while and crashes closed. Haven't tried another flavor of OS X or windows yet. Not a deal breaker since you don't really need it, but....

Color me impressed! <--doesn't happen too often

Awesome report and super glad to her that the product is solid

Totally agree - the MD-HX is a great little box, and loved the accessories. We are using both this and the DAC-70. Both have their individual merits:

DAC-70
+ Can input/output VGA
+Metal Thread Locking DC Power Socket
+Audio embedding
- setting is fiddly using dip switches (only need to set output type - input automatic)
- expensive compared to MD-HX
- PC set up software doesn't work with Win8 so can't update firmware

MD-HX
+ setting easy from LCD
+ I/O signal types shown on LCD (great for diagnostics)
- no VGA or Audio embedding
I haven't tried using PC software as no need
I understand that the new version has threaded power socket

Both
Have had HDMI EDID issues on inputs with both devices (ATEM showed a blank screen) resolved by putting a Lindy EDID/DDC Emulator for HDMI Displays (32108) in the input signal path and cloning an 1080p EDID.

For earlier comments - If you are just looking to scale VGA to input to an ATEM HDMI then we use the tvONE 1T-VS-624 RGB/YUV and audio to HDMI Scaler. This works fine with lots of input / output formats available and control over the scaling.

We also have good experience with the Decimator MD-HX too. Also use a DD-4S for my monitor wall in my OBV.

Also we use converters from broadcastgear There MULTI2SDI converter has great performance.
VGA, DVI, HDMI(with dvi converter connector), YUV, S-Video or composite input. HD-SDI output. Output Resolution, framerate, aspect ratio all configurable. And it is cheaper than a DAC-70 or Up/Down/Cross..

Saved me a lot of times on the job. Set output once to match the Atem. And doesn't matter what you input. I don't understand why BMD does not have such converters yet that do internal scaling rather than the UP/DOWN/CROSS which does only SDI > SDI ..

Have two MD-HX's to make a 30p "quasi-film" effect for live video and a MD-CROSS to take a 60p device to 59.94i for going hdmi into an ATEM 1 M/E. We call the MD CROSS/DUCC/HX's video "honey badgers". They'll take just about any signal and do whatever you want with it.

Can the Decimator MD-HX scale a 1024x768 image to 1080i59.94? (Pillar boxed)?

Sorry, I guess I should have been more specific when I said "any" signal. I meant any flavor of 720p or 1080i/p that we've thrown at it has been fine. Looking at the specs, I wasn't able to find any info for non broadcast formats on the hx. It doesn't mean it won't take it, just that I don't know if it will.

Yeah, I figured that it was too good to be true for that . Still, a solid looking tool to solve minor resolution issues.

I haven't tested the MD-HX with other than HD scaling, so can't say. The DAC-70 takes this input resolution through its VGA input, not sure about other input types. The TV-One VS series of scalers also take this input resolution for output to HDMI. We have the VS-624 which is the RGB scaler and this works well.

The Decimator MD-HX will up scale and convert from standard def 525i and 625i to HD formats and frame rates. But it has only digital inputs (HDMI and SDI) so analog VGA 1024x768 would have no way to get in unless you ran it through an A to D converter that output one of the standard SD or HD digital formats. Most modern laptops/desktops with HDMI outputs can be fed to the MD-HX and the EDID lets you choose between 720p or 1080i resolutions for the extended output.

In my situation, the projector has a digital input but runs at 1024x768, and needing an inexpensive scaler for these kinds of systems

I am not sure from your two posts exactly what you are looking for. Please describe the output type (e.g. HDMI) and resolution from your switch and the input type and resolution for the output device (projector?) and its model number. I am surprised if you are needing to perform an HDMI down convert to feed a projector as most up/down convert most HDMI inputs to their normal working resolution - yours appears to be XGA.

This is for bringing xga PowerPoint (for a church) into the Atem. Hdmi can have many resolutions, not just 16x9. I already have an extron solution for this but I was hoping for something for half the price as I often install these systems in extremely budget conscious churches.

Thanks

I have just implemented an ATEM solution into our Church and we use the TV-One-VS-624 RGB to HDMI scaler to bring that sort of computer output into the ATEM. We are using one of the ATEM HDMI inputs to overlay song lyrics on live camera feeds using one of the downstream keyers. These are the lowest cost single task units I could find for this purpose. However, if you are scaling DVI to HDMI then CYP do a similar PC/DVI to HDMI Converter for around £200.

You can definitely feed in 1024x768 via HDMI into the HD-MX. Strangely the display says something - 1080P50 I think for me.

Also the newest version of their software definitely works in Yosemite now too.

This is brilliant regarding the MD-HX. I've been looking for probably a year on getting a device which can convert frame rate on the go. I decided yesterday to start snooping on Google and by luck came across a post on this forum regarding another Decimator product which then led me to the MD-HX.

Before I order one I want to be sure with anyone that owns it. Will this allow me to take a 1080p60 HDMI source and feed it through and output to 1080p30 or 29.97 HDMI?

Seeing as Blackmagic never say whats going on with the Intensity Shuttle and the 1080p60/1080p59.94 options I might just purchase this to use between the source and the Shuttle.

Does anyone have video or snapshot samples of the quality with and without.