My Decklink won't work after not being used for a year

Hello Guys

Due to a serious illness, I wasn't using my Resolve PC for almost a year. I tried to launch it at last today (after waiting many hours for Windows Update to finish) - but my Decklink Extreme 12G, even though visible in the system - won't display anything on my monitor. Tried different HDMI cables to no avail...

I do suspect the hardware of course - but before I send it for repair, please someone tell me whether my systems' Group Policy not allowing Windows Update to install drivers (I always preferred to stay with the working ones, or fetch them from my HW manufacturers' support sites) may have anything to do with it?

After several seconds of fiddling with my Video Desktop settings, what happens is one of my nVidia cards kicking in the maximum RPM vent speed, and the system closes... Mind you, I'm still at Resolve 16, even though I did update the Decklink software to the current one after I found the problem...

Anny suggestions other than that just sitting unused for almost a year, my Decklink just died? TIA

Piotr

The SDI 12G connection doesn't work either!

Reseat the card. Clean it if possible with canned air or electricalcontact cleaner Find out which BMD video driver was being used for the card at the time for your version of DR.
Install that first. Restart the computer. Then do an clean install or minor update to DR. Do all the necessary backups first. Database. Powergrades. Settings etc. The try and send it a signal from DR. Best of luck.


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Reseat the card. Clean it if possible with canned air or electricalcontact cleaner Find out which BMD video driver was being used for the card at the time for your version of DR.
Install that first. Restart the computer. Then do an clean install or minor update to DR. Do all the necessary backups first. Database. Powergrades. Settings etc. The try and send it a signal from DR. Best of luck.

Thanks mate - but I did all these steps! The card is clean and doesn't show any trace of a mechanical damage; it's seen properly in the BIOS and by the Video Desktop.

I'm completely clueless...

Sorry to hear it. I’ve been told the order of installation can effect the card but never heard about the fan issue. Have you tried pulling the card completely, uninstalling the dV software and restarting first and the starting over? Perhaps to clear anything out first? Only other procedure I can think of.


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Does it respond correctly to control by other software eg Media Express?

Does it respond correctly to control by other software eg Media Express?

No - unfortunately the odds are it's dead. Only why?

Yes, that is very frustrating and disappointing... did you try a different PCIe slot yet? Or better still, is it possible to try installing and testing the card in a completely different machine? That would certainly help diagnose it more certainly as a card fault. As to what might have caused the failure... who knows, maybe a power supply problem.

Where did it sit? Would some static discharge be possible?

After several seconds of fiddling with my Video Desktop settings, what happens is one of my nVidia cards kicking in the maximum RPM vent speed, and the system closes... Mind you, I'm still at Resolve 16, even though I did update the Decklink software to the current one after I found the problem...

Anny suggestions other than that just sitting unused for almost a year, my Decklink just died? TIA

If the bios is seeing it I doubt it's dead. Dead is dead. The bios won't see ghosts.

How big is your power supply? How good is it?

Have you checked all the power connections to the 2080 cards?

But if you haven't updated your drivers I'd do that.

If the bios is seeing it I doubt it's dead. Dead is dead. The bios won't see ghosts.

How big is your power supply? How good is it?

Have you checked all the power connections to the 2080 cards?

But if you haven't updated your drivers I'd do that.

As my last step of testing I did install all the new drivers indeed - didn't help.As to the BIOS seeing it - well, I'm afraid it's inconclusive; tha part sitting in the PCIe slot may be fine but the output (both SDI and HDMI) may still be broken, The only thing I'm still hopeful for is re-sitting all the cards and checking their power connections; if this doesn't help - perhaps checking it in another PC. Thanks everyone for your advise!

Piotr

PS. after installing the latest Resolve release, even though I haven't change a thing in my configuration (have always been using my "System Audio" as the audio device in Preferences) - I'm getting non-stop error message popping out saying that my audio output device was not found. Could it be somehow connected with the faulty Decklink?

Hi Guys,

So I've taken off one of my nVidia cards, and inserted my Decklink into the free slot (which I'm 100% positive is working fine hardware-wise). but the only thing I achieved is an error pop-up from Resolve that it cannot open device 0 for video stream (something similar to the other message I'm getting about the audio). Sorry I'm not uploading pictures of those error pop-up windows, but fearing for making things worse with the workstation, I immediately shut it down and am now typing this on my laptop.

Cannot help thinking that it is a software mess-up, not broken Decklink card (or at least I hope so). And you - what do you think?

Piotr

PS. Unless "device 0" is the nVidia card I removed?

Hey Piotr
It seems logical that a failed I/O card 'could' cause audio output device errors... but I'd have thought it unlikely unless you were explicitly using the device for audio ie had Audio Engine set to 'Desktop Video'... and you already noted your setting is 'System Audio'.
Question: Is everything else working OK on the system outside of Resolve? Are other (non Blackmagic Design) A/V apps working correctly? Do you have a clone of your system, from a previous known fully working state, that you can temporarily revert to, to test with? If there's a possibility its a software issue then that should rule it out. Have you tried uninstalling the Desktop Video drivers and then retesting your system simply without the card being managed? Does everything then work as expected ie Audio and Video functioning correctly, albeit without external reference video display?
Andy

Unfortunately, 'device 0' was referring to the removed nVidia card; I reinstalled it and this error is gone (the audio device lacking persists - even though I have Resolve configured to use my Realtek, which is working great outside it)...

Anyway - I have seen my monitor which Decklink is feeding sort of flicker for the first time, but after several seconds it displayed "No source" again. Sad as it is, it looks like my Decklink is broken.

Piotr

OK Guys - just a little update. After my first post in this thread - having unsuccessfully tried my Decklink to output into my Samsung HDTV (the main screen I used since day 1 of my Resolve editing) - I have switched to experimenting with another monitor I have - the Atomos Inferno. At first, both its SDI and HDMI inputs wouldn't synchronize on my 2160p50 Resolve timeline's output. I relocated my Decklink to another suitable PCIe slot, rearranged power cables, etc. - and started getting some progress. And I must tell you that even though I still don't have a clue about the real reason of Decklink's behavior, some progress have been made. This is really an interesting case from the technical viewpoint, so I decided to share with you my observation in hope someone with more technical knowledge could try explain it... But first things first:

At the beginning, on both SDI and HDMI inputs, all I was getting was strange screen flickering as my Inferno switched rapidly between “No Input” and “1080p50”. Assuming the bandwidth is somehow limited, why is it trying to fix at 50p, and not the lowest freq possible like 24p or even 25i?!! I have no idea - but please read on... A couple of days ago, all of a sudden, the SDI input started working like a charm - with all resolutions up to and including 2160p50 or even 4K DCI 25p! I swear I don't know how it happened, but it did happen - so for 2 days now, I can say with confidence that the 12G SDI part of my Decklink Extreme 12G is working; unfortunately I can't say the same about its HDMI output, which is still flickering between no signal and the 1080p50 - regardless of the Desktop Video or Resolve timeline settings. And please remember I cannot even call it a 50% success, as the 7" Inferno would be too small for serious editing, and my 50" Samsung doesn't have an SDI input of course...

But my irrational hope that “perhaps this time it will work?” made me keep testing the HDMI output at least once a day - and yesterday another step forward was made (or should I better say "happened", as I have no idea about the "how"): I managed to eliminate HDMI flickering, as well! Alas: the highest resolution which is stable on HDMI is still only 1080p50… And - if I remember correctly - what I did was:

- Changed HDMI input type from 2.0 down to 1.4 mode (there is a toggle switch for it on my Atomos monitor), and it eliminated flicker !!!
- After I returned to HDMI mode 2.0 (the correct one, of course), the picture isn’t flickering anymore...

Go figure! Yes I know - it looks like my HDMI cable is not up to the task. But believe me - I tried at least 5 different cables, including that short, coiled one that Atomos themselves sell for an insane price as the highest quality HDMI cable imaginable!

So it almost looks like my Decklink is an animal which was sleeping through all the months of my illness inactivity, and was getting rusty - after I started using the PC again, it's slowly waking up... But of course I still cannot monitor my full 2150p50 timeline on the big screen, unfortunately. I would appreciate each and every input from you guys - about what the heck is actually going on, and better still: what do you think should wake up my Decklink creature completely at last TIA

Piotr

So it almost looks like my Decklink is an animal which was sleeping through all the months of my illness inactivity, and was getting rusty - after I started using the PC again, it's slowly waking up...

I don't have any answer Piotr, but I did just want to say 'welcome back' to the forum... hopefully your Decklink card will join you in continued recovery!

Thanks Andy

Piotr

PS. To be quite honest - while I appreciate your wishes as certainly being honest and benevolent - I'm afraid that if my Decklink "miraculous recovery" will only be as much complete as my own, it will not be a happy end at all, because I will never completely recover from my illness either. But I must stop being sentimental and - instead of self-pity parallelism - start seriously looking for some technical merits to all this. Would do with some help from all of you great buddies on this forum...

I'm considering to order the HDMI mezzanine as a spare part, but what's holding me is the fact that - as you could read in the earlier posts in this thread - I swear I could see the SDI connection (which is working fine now) behave exactly the same way the HDMI still does (i.e. inability to synchronize on anything higher than 1080p50). And this would suggest the damage is not limited to the last stage of HDMI-out path of the signal...

Please advise! Do we have a way to make sure replacing the HDMI mezzanine will suffice in this case? Or - perhaps just buy a new cable, after all? If all of my best HDMI cable - bought 4 years ago as 2.0a - can now only display up to 1080p50, perhaps a brand new, 2.1 one could display my Decklink's highest 2160p50? The only thing that bugs me is that in my previous experience, a HDMI cable could either display all possible resolutions of Decklink 4K, or not display at all; now I'm getting sort of downconversion from 4K/UHD to HD - therefore I'm more prone to blame my Decklink HDMI output, and NOT the cable! What do others think?

Piotr

PS. Went ahead and bought a HDMI 2.1 (8K) cable; unfortunately - still no HDMI output. The card is definitely broken....

Just an update and closure for this thread:

So - since the SDI worked fine - I replaced the HDMI mezzanine, and for a month now have been using my workstation again. The quality of this hardware being what it is, please keep fingers crossed for me so that it lasts longer this time!

Piotr