Hi all, I just installed new video system, but some of the components arrived too late and I didn't have enough time for testing and fixing troubles before the first event. Some minor problems and questions appeared and I'll be thankful for any advises.
First: the system. All components are brand new and all the software is licensed.
- Canon xf205 cameras
- All cameras are connected with the same cables
- They all go to the same converters: BMD SDI to HDMI micro converter (I use them for reclocking just in case). The SDI out of these converters go to the Decklink Quad 2 card with the same cables. All inputs of the card are set the same way.
- The HDMI outs of the converters go to ATEM switcher, which is used like a backup device, in case something goes wrong with the computer (but everything was fine)
- Computer system: MotherBoard ASUS PRIME Z370-A, CPU Intel Core i7-8700K, Memory 16GB DDR4 2400, mSATA SSD drives, NVIDIA Quadro P600 2GB Graphics (for monitors). The system is mounted in big box, suitable for rack, with enough power supply and cooling fans.
- OS Windows 10 pro
Now the questions:
1. X2 mode or X4 mode on the PCIe slot? The Board is chosen by qualified computer engineer according to Quad 2 system requirements. I have 2 PCIe slots, suitable for the Quad 2 card. I think these slots are the same, and I didn't really have time to check when assembling the system. Also, the default mode for the slots was X2. Speaking honestly I'm not really familiar with these modes, and I couldn't find useful information about which mode is good for Decklink Quad 2. However, while installing software and drivers I had to reboot few times. Sometimes the system couldn't find the Quad 2 card. Then I tried to set the slot (from BIOS) to X4 mode and I didn't experience problems so far. Is this correct? Anything else I should try/do ?
2. During the first event I noticed damaged sound from one of the cameras. Not sure how to explain it on english, but I'll try. The sound is not distorted (like the level was too high). It sounds more like there are constant drops in the audio stream. Like the signal goes on and off constantly but it happens really fast. As I said before, all cameras are the same, with same settings and same connection to the computer. I tried to reset the camera input with that camera in VMIX. It worked for a while, then the sound broke again. There was no way to try fix this during the event, so I just disabled the sound from that camera. However, this was sports event and we were using highlight repeater (in VMIX). We didn't notice any troubles with the video from that camera, but later we were checking the recorded footage from every camera and the one from this camera was with that damaged sound. I don't think the computer system is too slow - we were using much slower system before (with normal non-SSD disk drives, less memory, slower CPU) and there was no problem. The difference is that our new system has more memory and faster CPU and drives. But this time we use Windows 10, the older system uses Windows 7. One of the guys who worked wits us, said that Win 10 runs too many useless process that may slow down down the system. But checking the task manager it didn't look like the system is overloaded. And even if it was, why there is problem only with one of the cameras?
3. System freezed for a second few times. How to explain that...it looked like all cameras freezed for a moment and there was some small flicker in the video screen (feeded by one of the Quad 2 outputs). Note: the video screen was connected through SDIfiber converter-fiber cable-fiberSDI converter to avoid any ground loops and electrial problems. However, I checked the recording later and I didn't notice any drops/flickers in the recorded video. So I have no idea what was that.
First: the system. All components are brand new and all the software is licensed.
- Canon xf205 cameras
- All cameras are connected with the same cables
- They all go to the same converters: BMD SDI to HDMI micro converter (I use them for reclocking just in case). The SDI out of these converters go to the Decklink Quad 2 card with the same cables. All inputs of the card are set the same way.
- The HDMI outs of the converters go to ATEM switcher, which is used like a backup device, in case something goes wrong with the computer (but everything was fine)
- Computer system: MotherBoard ASUS PRIME Z370-A, CPU Intel Core i7-8700K, Memory 16GB DDR4 2400, mSATA SSD drives, NVIDIA Quadro P600 2GB Graphics (for monitors). The system is mounted in big box, suitable for rack, with enough power supply and cooling fans.
- OS Windows 10 pro
Now the questions:
1. X2 mode or X4 mode on the PCIe slot? The Board is chosen by qualified computer engineer according to Quad 2 system requirements. I have 2 PCIe slots, suitable for the Quad 2 card. I think these slots are the same, and I didn't really have time to check when assembling the system. Also, the default mode for the slots was X2. Speaking honestly I'm not really familiar with these modes, and I couldn't find useful information about which mode is good for Decklink Quad 2. However, while installing software and drivers I had to reboot few times. Sometimes the system couldn't find the Quad 2 card. Then I tried to set the slot (from BIOS) to X4 mode and I didn't experience problems so far. Is this correct? Anything else I should try/do ?
2. During the first event I noticed damaged sound from one of the cameras. Not sure how to explain it on english, but I'll try. The sound is not distorted (like the level was too high). It sounds more like there are constant drops in the audio stream. Like the signal goes on and off constantly but it happens really fast. As I said before, all cameras are the same, with same settings and same connection to the computer. I tried to reset the camera input with that camera in VMIX. It worked for a while, then the sound broke again. There was no way to try fix this during the event, so I just disabled the sound from that camera. However, this was sports event and we were using highlight repeater (in VMIX). We didn't notice any troubles with the video from that camera, but later we were checking the recorded footage from every camera and the one from this camera was with that damaged sound. I don't think the computer system is too slow - we were using much slower system before (with normal non-SSD disk drives, less memory, slower CPU) and there was no problem. The difference is that our new system has more memory and faster CPU and drives. But this time we use Windows 10, the older system uses Windows 7. One of the guys who worked wits us, said that Win 10 runs too many useless process that may slow down down the system. But checking the task manager it didn't look like the system is overloaded. And even if it was, why there is problem only with one of the cameras?
3. System freezed for a second few times. How to explain that...it looked like all cameras freezed for a moment and there was some small flicker in the video screen (feeded by one of the Quad 2 outputs). Note: the video screen was connected through SDIfiber converter-fiber cable-fiberSDI converter to avoid any ground loops and electrial problems. However, I checked the recording later and I didn't notice any drops/flickers in the recorded video. So I have no idea what was that.