Blackmagic Video Assist 4K Recorder/Monitor Now Shipping @ Texas Media Systems

Wow that was fast.

I'm still not sold on this monitor in terms of its software. Hardware wise its a great device but the screen quality and software features are still holding me back. Not going to lie but the thought of this monitor also replacing my Tascam DR60 for phantom power XLR is intriguing however. I will have to wait to see how good the pre-amps are and if this approach has perfect audio and video sync.
 
i have also wondered if this unit could replace some of my audio gear.

specifically, i was wondering about the tascam dr60 recorder and the sound devices mix pre-d.

ah, progress ;-)

be well.

rob
smalltalk.productions
 
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DLD said:
As I mentioned on the NAB'16 thread, SD cards don't go above 720 (90 MB/s) sustained and that means the 4K Asssist won't be able to do 4:2:2 HQ but only 4:2:2 Standard.
Click to expand...
But maybe it will be recorded to two cards simultaneously? (one frame here, one frame there)
 
alohype said:
But maybe it will be recorded to two cards simultaneously? (one frame here, one frame there)
Click to expand...
That's why I asked. The full specs are not released and, generally speaking, that doesn't serve a large plate of optimism.
 
DLD said:
That's why I asked. The full specs are not released and, generally speaking, that doesn't serve a large plate of optimism.
Click to expand...
The thing that bugs me is support for UHD in many recorders but not true 4K. It's just less then 7% increase in resolution but it's somehow impossible to implement?? Do really internal component tops out on UHD, or there is some certification involved in this? (so they would have to be more expensive)
 
DLD said:
As I mentioned on the NAB'16 thread, SD cards don't go above 720 (90 MB/s) sustained and that means the 4K Asssist won't be able to do 4:2:2 HQ but only 4:2:2 Standard.

Edit - a quick piece on SD card speeds and the new Video (V6/10/30/60/90) rating.

https://www.sdcard.org/press/though...ought_Leadership_FINAL_video_speed_class.html
Click to expand...

That is a good point and perhaps one negative of using this device over SSD based external recorders. With that said 4k ProRes422 is still an insanely good looking format with the same 10bit 4:2:2 color.
 
would this device's AC power charge the batteries, or is battery charger a separate purchase?
 
Thomas Smet said:
Wow that was fast.

I'm still not sold on this monitor in terms of its software. Hardware wise its a great device but the screen quality and software features are still holding me back. Not going to lie but the thought of this monitor also replacing my Tascam DR60 for phantom power XLR is intriguing however. I will have to wait to see how good the pre-amps are and if this approach has perfect audio and video sync.
Click to expand...

I would prefer the preamps of Sound Devices PIX-LR, on reputation alone.
 
I just got back from NAB and had a chance to speak with Nicolas, who is the product manager for the Video Assist series. Super nice and answered some of my questions:
From what he told me, which would all be "speculation"
  • I asked him about LUTS and he said "Wouldn't it be cool if you could load them in the flash memory, and have up to 6 to choose from."
  • More tools such as false color, vector scope, are a possibility.
  • They are listening to our concerns with this and the 5" version -different peaking color other than green. He understands that shooting outside against a green landscape doesn't help too much -they are aware of the "green tint" and hope to add tools to adjust color on the monitor to address that
  • look for something this summer with a firmware upgrade
  • he said just like the 5" Video Assist, from what it's initial release, it will look like a different monitor late this summer with firmware upgrade.
All "speculative" from his mouth.
 
DLD said:
As I mentioned on the NAB'16 thread, SD cards don't go above 720 (90 MB/s) sustained and that means the 4K Asssist won't be able to do 4:2:2 HQ but only 4:2:2 Standard.

Edit - a quick piece on SD card speeds and the new Video (V6/10/30/60/90) rating.

https://www.sdcard.org/press/though...ought_Leadership_FINAL_video_speed_class.html
Click to expand...

Transcend has a 180 MB/s write rated card that BMD suggests for this monitor for recording 4k. That should be plenty of speed.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...end_ts64gsd2u3_64gb_ultimate_uhs_ii_sdxc.html

Still a heck of a lot cheaper than CFast.
 
smoke23 said:
I just got back from NAB and had a chance to speak with Nicolas, who is the product manager for the Video Assist series. Super nice and answered some of my questions:
From what he told me, which would all be "speculation"
  • I asked him about LUTS and he said "Wouldn't it be cool if you could load them in the flash memory, and have up to 6 to choose from."
  • More tools such as false color, vector scope, are a possibility.
  • They are listening to our concerns with this and the 5" version -different peaking color other than green. He understands that shooting outside against a green landscape doesn't help too much -they are aware of the "green tint" and hope to add tools to adjust color on the monitor to address that
  • look for something this summer with a firmware upgrade
  • he said just like the 5" Video Assist, from what it's initial release, it will look like a different monitor late this summer with firmware upgrade.
All "speculative" from his mouth.
Click to expand...

LUTs and fine color adjustments on the monitor would be very welcome indeed and likely help sway me to looking at the 7" VA. False Color is another big one for me.

The thing I'm sure a firmware update will not add however is 4k DCI support which I do use sometimes. It isn't a deal breaker but the Pix-e devices do support DCI resolution and since I have a camera that supports DCI I would like a recorder that also supports DCI. I would hate to suddenly put that kind of limit on my camera.
 
robfilms said:
i have also wondered if this unit could replace some of my audio gear.

specifically, i was wondering about the tascam dr60 recorder and the sound devices mix pre-d.

ah, progress ;-)

be well.

rob
smalltalk.productions
Click to expand...

No, it will not. It sounded to me like they put an enormous effort into ensuring that the sound quality on their preamps would be top notch, but without physical faders, it won't replace a professional device like a mixpre-D. It will probably do in a pinch, or for an interview where you're only setting the levels once, though.

The screen looks excellent, however.
 
DLD said:
As I mentioned on the NAB'16 thread, SD cards don't go above 720 (90 MB/s) sustained and that means the 4K Asssist won't be able to do 4:2:2 HQ but only 4:2:2 Standard.

Edit - a quick piece on SD card speeds and the new Video (V6/10/30/60/90) rating.

https://www.sdcard.org/press/though...ought_Leadership_FINAL_video_speed_class.html
Click to expand...

SD cards go above 90mb/sec sustained quite readily these days. the speed classifications 'only' covers guaranteed minimums, not theoretical or tested averages or maximums. Just because a higher speed class doesn't exist, doesn't mean that currently available cards can't exceed that specification
 
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