So many Hyperdeck Studio HD Pro noob questions...

Hi all. First time caller, be gentle.

So I got a gig installing a video exhibit in an art gallery. It should be really simple: video player in a cupboard to a projector and two speakers in the gallery on the floor above. But... they've already bought (but not yet used) a Hyperdeck Studio HD Pro as the playback device and f*** me does it seem unnecessarily complex for what we're trying to do! See basic system diagram attached. (I would have spec'ed a Raspberry Pi)

So my questions are:
- when the artist sends us their video file what spec do I tell them to encode it as? So far I can't make this deck play back anything that it didn't record.
- why will the Blackmagic SDI to Audio Mini Converter sync to the Hyperdeck Monitor Out but not it's main SDI outs!?
- In the Hyperdeck Manual it says I can use the HyperDeck Setup app to configure things such as recording and playback format but when I connect it - via USB or network - the only options I get are to name the deck, change it's network settings, or import a 3D LUT. I'm using Windows 10.

All help much appreciated. Time's a little tight on this. Thank you,

Rupert.

So my questions are:
- when the artist sends us their video file what spec do I tell them to encode it as? So far I can't make this deck play back anything that it didn't record.

The Studio HD Pro (and lower) models will not (yet) play H.264 files which are encoded on a computer. It can however play H.264 files which it records itself. BMD has promised this functionality in a future update. Therefore I would opt for Apple ProRes 422. They will play files straight out of Final Cut Pro, Apple Motion or Apple Compressor.

- why will the Blackmagic SDI to Audio Mini Converter sync to the Hyperdeck Monitor Out but not it's main SDI outs!?

The SDI to Audio converter only accepts up to 1080p60. Maybe the Hyperdeck is outputting 4K? The monitor out is always 1080p, even when playing 4K content. There is also a 4K version of the SDI to Audio converter.

And yes, it was stupid of BMD to not include analog audio outputs on at least the Pro models

- In the Hyperdeck Manual it says I can use the HyperDeck Setup app to configure things such as recording and playback format but when I connect it - via USB or network - the only options I get are to name the deck, change it's network settings, or import a 3D LUT. I'm using Windows 10.

Not sure when you read that in the manual but you can easily change it via the menu on the device itself. Press the "Menu" button and go to the "Record" menu and there you change the input to record from and also the Codec to which it will record. It will only play files which are in the same format as what the recording codec is set to.

Thanks for your reply, much appreciated.

So the artist is going to send the file in ProRes format, hopefully that will be plug'n'play for playback.

So am I right in thinking the main SDI outs will send the signal in whatever resolution it is recorded in? If it's a 4K file it can't be scaled to 1080p, only the monitor out does that?

And I've attached a screenshot from the manual which shows a "Configure" tab that I can't access in HyperDeck Setup (Win 10, Hyperdeck setup 8.0.3, Hyperdeck firmware 8.0.3). Not a big deal but would be handy and I'm a little baffled why I'm not seeing it.

Thanks again.