BlackMagicDesign Web Presenter-WARNING!!!

BrianMurphy

BrianMurphy

Veteran
I bought a Web Presenter from B&H when BlackMagic announced its release and patiently waited for stock to come in and finally got it on Saturday morning due to the snow storm, a week late.
Well what I thought was a plug and play tool is not. I have connected two sources to the Web Presenter:
Sony camera with SDI out- set to 1080p
Dell laptop with HDMI out set to default at 1080p
Both sources appear on the screen of my Web Presenter with the mini display attached. When switching between them, there is no slow dissolve but rather a flash/jump so sync would not appear to be there as well. The PGM out will not send the HDMI source to the Ninja 2 or SDI monitor. Major issue for me as this is why I bought it!
I have tested both source outputs with my SDI/HDMI broadcast monitor and both are working fine.
As suggested by BM, I have connected a recording device, an Atoms Ninja 2 on the pgm out. This SDI out is converted using a BM mini converter SDI to HDMI which I just bought as well. I have also connected the SDI monitor in place of the converter and Ninga 2 and had the same result.
The result is when I choose the SDI input it flows through the Web Presenter and to the Ninja 2 or the SDI monitor. When I choose the HDMI input I get nothing and the Ninja show no input as does the SDI monitor.
So at this point the Web Presenter is of no use to me. I bought it to be able to replicate boardroom presentations with power point presentations and capture them live to the Ninja thus not have edit graphics into a camera recording. I have also tried using the USB output to my computer running OBS and it is hardly a smooth soft cut. And though I am able to see both SDI and HDMI sources in OBS they are obviously not full rez and of little use for my immediate needs.
I have to say that when I bought this box and the mini converter it was to use it, not to be a Beta tester. I find it VERY annoying that BM would release and promote something that cannot do most of what it is supposed to do. And of course there is little to be done other than wait for a remedy or send it back. I would have rather waited until they got it right, certainly would have been better for my opinion of BM. Glad I bought a Sony camera.
So like most of us these days I will be posting to my several user groups the result of my experiences. In other words I am pissed that what was supposed to be a plug and play scenario has now become a $1000.00 can doorstop.
Support sent me a firmware update after telling me that they were aware of this problem, but it was a beta update. Well, the firmware update makes no mention at all of my issues and deals with audio issues mostly.
Anyone else experiencing this or other problems?
 
I would send it back ASAP. You really need something like the ATEM or other small production switcher. Some people have had good luck with SDI input cards and HDMI input cards and OBS, some have had nothing but out of sync issues so I can't claim that is the perfect choice for you. Tricaster or Wirecast might also be something to look into, but more money than a small ATEM once you figure in all the IO cards needed.
 
Thanks for your input Greg, I have Wirecaster and though the new ATEM switcher maybe be something down the road, two sources and an hdmi bang box will probably be fine. I have used BM products like decklink cards, terranex converters and other converters for years. The idea was to keep it light and simple. Client has a laptop and projector, I loop that into the Web Presenter on hdmi and my camera on the SDI and output program to a recorder. Live to disk and drag and drop the file to the client when its done. Don't really want to carry tons of gear. Had two flypacks back in the day and lugged those suckers all over the place. The airlines made more than I did.
But cheers and thanks again!
B
 
A few suggestions to troubleshoot and a possible alternate solution...

As you know, most switchers until recently have lived off of 1080i59.97 signals both the ins and outs. First thing I would try would be to feed it a set of 1080i signals and see if you can switch. If that works then you know your configuration is most likely not the issue. If you haven't given up entirely on the unit, I would do some serious jonesin' and inquiry on the Blackmagic forum under "Live Production", it appears there are people using the units but on quick survey, it looks like the current issues are audio related. I would also check the ATEM forum. Didn't see any threads on the issue but there are some seriously educated individuals there on the matter of video switching and not just ATEMs. In my experience, it has been the best source of knowledge on switching on the net. Small but good.

If you do go with another switching setup, the most highly reputed unit for getting projector and laptop signals into a switcher is the Datavideo DAC-70. It costs $500 USD but it just works and it can wrangle all the standard video signals rates that you would need to convert.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod..._dac_70_up_down_cross_converter_supports.html

Good luck.

BTW, I use a Sony MCS8M switcher and use a deinterlacer before it hits the recorder. Roland has some inexpensive units but they are HDMI ports I believe. But unless the BM unit proves to be bulletproof, I would default to the DAC-70. BM ATEMs are incredibly noisy (except the base model) and modding them to be quiet is not a simple affair.

EDIT:

Just read the above comment and see you have a background in live multi-cam work. I would still go through a troubleshooting regime beginning with an interlaced signal and go from there.
 
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Thanks Andrew for your input. I am in the midst of an email barrage with BM and the last one was a "send us back your unit" request. Will keep the thread uptodate. But needless to say, I am not impressed at all.
 
Well, I decided to ship back the webpresenter and after seeing the paperwork involved in returning it to BM, I went through the return process with BH which appeared and from previous experience should be easier. Wrong! Well they took it back and sent me the documentation for a prepaid return and that was good. But it took over a week to process it once they got it and I guess that is normal. However after several emails and live chats following up on when it would be shipped, my concern being B&H observes all Jewish holidays and Passover is next with a two week or so shutdown. No problem I was told it would be shipped this week. Well they did ship it, but instead of shipping as they always do to Canada, they used DHL who will had off to Canada Post with ....get this... an expected delivery date of April 15th or so. Seriously! When I approached them to cancel or change the delivery, they said no. It was out of their hands and the "returns department" uses DHL.
This is not customer service in my opinion! So fellow Canadians, be aware! I will now buy locally or in Canada. Though I am just a one man band, I spend or have spent upwards of $8k a year with BH and on "camera years" significantly more. I bought a z150 and 2 A6000 off them in the pas six months. I know that this is a bit of a rant but if it saves one person the same hassle its worth it.
So if the WebPresenter does not work EXACTLY as it is supposed to according to the publicity that sucker is going back and a refund will be what I ask for!
 
I will not mention some of the issues I've had with B&H, my only suggestion would be to never buy anything that is special order and/or drop shipped from the manufacturer.

Normal in stock stuff is pretty simple to return for me (here in the USA).
 
The saga continues! If anyone from BlackMagic reads these posts then you better do something about your quality control or maybe it is just design flaws. I am now on my second Web Presenter which has just been declared defective by BlackMagic support. Do they do ANY quality control inspections? Seriously this is disgusting and no one seems to give a damn about the time lost that I have spent between testing and emails and shipping and waiting and ... Yet BlackMagic sends out all these BS releases and photos to the usual suspects for posting to the "great new gear" sites with no avenue for revue or actual in field testing. Nonsense! I am pissed!
 
I'm a big fan of Blackmagic, but I'll be the first to tell you that I think the user is essentially a beta tester when you buy from them.

Some of the products like the cameras and external recorders are massively improved overtime with multiple FW updates. Everything they sell seems to get updated to a certain point.

Right or wrong, it's just how it is and longtime customers know and expect this.

Try the official BM forum or BMCuser if you're looking for feedback.

(I think 95% here don't take BM seriously.)
 
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