Selecting Clips for Playback on the Video Assist

Hi All,

I'm sorry - this has become a rather long post but... To summarise what follows, you can really only use the Video Assist as a recording device - it cannot be used for playback except in special circumstances. I hope this will spur someone at BM to make the very simple changes necessary to the firmware to resolve this problem. The Video Assist could be a great device but for anyone who wants a device that can play clips as well as record them it will not be any good - even for clips that are recorded on the Video Assist. Here is the story...

I bought my new BM Video Assist 12G HDR with the intention of using it as a playback device as well as for recording. I decided to check that it was possible to select the file you wanted to play (a pretty basic request I would have thought) but every single video that I could find on YouTube and indeed also the product manual failed to mention how you select clips at all. I therefore decided to ring up BlackMagic and ask them. They said yes, but it was very basic - you had to use the >| button until you got to the one you wanted. Ok, this is pretty basic but I thought I'd accept it because the rest of the device looks (and indeed is) great.

When I got the device onto my bench I made two recordings. For both recordings the input was set to HDMI, the Codec was set to ProRes and the codec quality was set to PXY. I left everything else alone and recorded some HDMI coming from my PC and the other I recorded the HDMI coming from my Canon G50. However, even though the two recordings are there on the card (I can see them if I put the SD card in a PC) only the second file will play. I can't find any button to press to move it onto the first clip I recorded.

Despite the fact that I had two recordings on the card - one made after the other - and the fact that on the Media page it said that there are two clips on the card, nevertheless in the top left of the main screen it says CLIP 1/1, Untitled_001. (BTW, the other file is called Untitled_000.)

I then tried recording 2 additional clips in a row - both of the output from my PC. It then said that I have 3 clips (not 4 as shown on the media menu page) and when I press >| it rotates through the ones I made on the PC. This made me think that there is some weird thing going on where it takes some characteristic of the last video it has seen and will then only play and recognise that type. Surely this can't be true???

I saw someone on a forum say that you have to set the format to be exactly the same for all the clips otherwise it won't view them. I hadn't changed the recording settings on the Video Assist since I started but I have checked the format of the video coming into the Video Assist from the Canon which is 1080p25 whereas from the PC it is 1080p29.97. I tried recording a second clip from the Canon and sure enough the Video Assist could then only see two clips - the ones from the Canon.

I then changed the frame rate of the video being output by the PC to match that of the Canon video camera. This worked and I could then see clips from the Canon and the PC - such an advance! However, I found it impossible to take any externally recorded clip (even when it has exactly the same format as the other clips on the card) and have the Video Assist play them.

In my opinion it is a little odd that BM give you lots detailed configuration options for recording on the Video Assist but when you've made the recordings it only lets you see some of them. The manual says "You can skip backwards or forwards through your clips by repeatedly tapping the forward or reverse skip icons. Tapping reverse skip once will restart the current clip" but this is only partly true. You can only view previously recorded video clips under certain circumstances. For all practical purposes, you can only be certain to be able to view the clip you have just recorded. Not being able to play clips that have been recorded on the Video Assist must be considered a BUG.

I do hope that Blackmagic will commit to fixing this problem.

Well, it is with great regret that, having attempted to get an answer from both Blackmagic and this forum and got no reply, we have returned the product to the reseller and replaced it with the Atomos Ninja V. The Ninja V does have the ability to select clips for playing (why wouldn't it?) and is sturdily built with a solid aluminum frame. It's not a bad piece of gear. However, the user interface on the Blackmagic device is much nicer to use in my opinion and the screen is absolutely superb. What a terrible shame that such an excellent piece of equipment is let down so badly by a) not being able to play clips recorded on it except in certain circumstances and b) the company not bothering to answer questions on the forum. I note that there are unanswered questions here from months ago. In fairness I have to say that Atomos have equally poor support - they don't even have a forum!

In our little company we have someone who answers technical questions - but only once. Every time a question is answered it is recorded and put in the FAQ. With every new product there are lots of questions at the beginning but they gradually reduce until the support effort required is minimal. I really can't see why the same approach can't be taken by all technology companies. Surely it is better to have happy customers?

As far as I know the device will only play files with the same specifications (i.e. codec, resolution, frame rate) as the first file it finds on the SD card. This is also true for e.g. the Hyperdeck Studio Mini.

I don't think this will be that big a problem during a production as you generally don't want to mix resolutions and frame rates anyway. If you really need different specifications you can switch between the two card slots or even physically swap cards.

The VA only plays back files that are shot at the same resolution as source of the most recent clip recorded.
So if you record from a PC, than a Canon camera at 1080p28.97, you will only see the clips recorded from the camera. To see the PC clips, turn off the VA, than turn it back on, and thenPC clip will be viewable. The VA is a monitor/recorder, not a production playback device. For that yiu need something like a Hyperdeck Pro.
Cheers