Not Enough Thunderbolt Ports

Hey guys!

I am just setting up a new production setup for a fixed live streaming at a church. The brand new iMac computer they have only has two Thunderbolt ports. Of course, we want to use one for input and one for output. But they would like to get the output from another computer onto the video feed, but we don't have enough Thunderbolt ports. Would a lightning splitter but safe and something that would work for this?

Thanks!

There isn't any thunderbolt splitter. sorry
Blackmagic devices aren't able to daisychain.

If you use a software that support NDI you can get the screen of the computer by network.

Markus,

Thanks for the reply. I will try to talk with my software company.

Thanks!

Maybe consider using a DeckLink Duo or DeckLink Quad card in a Thunderbolt PCI express enclosure. Then you would be able to have multiple video input and output channels, but only use a single Thunderbolt port.

Dave's suggestion of using a thunderbolt PCI enclosure is a good one, I've used a duo II card in a sonnet enclosure to give me 4 SDI ins, outs or multiples of either and it ran great.

Sorry to be that guy and please tell me if I'm misunderstanding something.

But this iMac already doesn't suit your needs, if you're able I would highly recommend selling/returning the iMac and putting together a desktop that you can add DeckLink cards to directly. You'll also be able to upgrade it down the line and save the church some money.

If you can't use Windows (or don't want to) then you're into Hackintosh territory or you could upgrade an older Mac Pro. The initial setup for these up is a bit tricky but for the cost of an iMac you'd get alot for the money.

Again sorry, I hate advice that says "just buy something else", ignore this if it doesn't help.

You could also get a USB 3.0 dongle from Magewell or AV.io. Then you just need a DVI or HDMI from the other computer, cheap adapters will take care of that.