Realtime HDMI input from camera?

Brecht's icon

Hi all,

I'm looking for a solution to get a realtime image from a camera with HDMI output into MAX.
I know of e.g. Black Magic Intensity Shuttle, and I'm sure there are other options available, but the question is: which one will work?
I'm especially weary of the actual compatibility with MAX & High Sierra since a number of things stopped being compatible for me recently... (PS3 EYE camera with Macam component, FastTrack Pro,...)
I'm running the latest MAX on a MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015), with OS X High Sierra 10.13.2
The problem is I have no way of testing anything until next weekend and then it becomes hard to quickly change things around and get different equipment...

I'm hoping someone here has experience with this and can point me in the right direction.

Rob Ramirez's icon

since jit.grab implements native blackmagic drivers, those devices are a good choice for HD capture (the intensity shuttle works great).

make sure you check out the Blackmagic tab of the jit.grab helpfile for some usage details. best to use GL-textures (output_texture 1) for efficiency.

LSka's icon

I used Blackmagic devices more than once (2 Ultrastudio Express Thunderbolt) with no issues.

Brecht's icon

A little update for future reference.
The Blackmagic Intensity Shuttle (thunderbolt edition) proved not to be reliable (tried it with a Sony handycam (not sure of the exact make, but I think it was a FDR-AX100) and a GoPro.

I tried different settings for the input in the Blackmagic control panel (no conversion, conversion to 720p, to SD) or the camera (1080p, 720p) and of all the combinations the only input I managed to get in Max were 1080i 50fps and 720i 50fps, both of them with irregular black frames in between.
Someone mentioned the possibility of incompatible devices since Blackmagic apparently does some handshaking with all it's connected to.

At any rate, I managed to get my hands on an Epiphan Avio which worked without a hitch. Immediately showed up in jit.grab with no need for drivers or other software. So I can definitely recommend it. I'm using it now in combination with a GoPro Hero3 and a Terradeck bolt wireless HDMI system and everything purrs quietly along all day long!

alain's icon

Thanks for sharing your experience.
I'm hoping one day BlackMagic upgrade the Mini Recorder to have an USB-C / Thunderblot 3 port. As far as I know it's the only device with both HDMI and SDI inputs in this range of price... But TB2 to TB3 adapters are too expensive...

billyanok's icon

I've used Blackmagic stuff extensively and never had a problem?
There is this - USB-C -https://cvp.com/product/blackmagic_bmd_bdlkulsmini?gclid=CjwKCAjw2rjcBRBuEiwAheKeL7RA1C25nKGtW3GDI-bugwcQHfmFqrbhAjhENSZS8fZ-2MCEGTQ_HhoCUSIQAvD_BwE