By Rolin Lintag

Ever wished for a converter that was small enough for field work, big in features, yet kind to your budget? Blackmagic Design has granted that wish with their series of Mini Converters. Now you can convert analog to SDI, HDMI to SDI and vice versa in the field without having to deal with oversized and overpriced units.

There are four standards converters available: SDI-to-analog, analog-to-SDI, HDMI-to-SDI and SDI-to-HDMI. The units provide two outputs, with more available if units are piggy-backed. This piggy-backing ability could come in handy in tight spots where “just one more” SDI output is needed. As most DTV operations keep growing, it’s easy to use up all those outputs in the signal chain. Compared to rack-mounted converters from other manufacturers, the Mini Converters can be a problem solver for a fraction of the space and the expense. And in today’s tight economy, being able to pay only for what I need right now is good business.

The Mini Converters can be thought of as basic building blocks for applications where different video and audio formats complicate the system design inside the control room or out in the field. There are loopthrough SDI outputs that can be used to connect to another Mini Converter if more de-embedded audio channels or other signals are needed, or if you just want to take advantage of their re-clocking functionality.

One thing that I found really attractive is the ability of the Mini Converters to automatically sense an SD or HD signal. This translates to no worries later on if I should decide to upgrade a facility to HD operation.

There are other things too that set the Mini Converter devices apart from the pack. One of these is their redundant SDI input, which serves as a safety net should the main input fail unexpectedly. Should there be a loss of primary signal, the Mini Converter automatically switches to the backup SDI input in a failsafe fashion. This means less worry when doing field work should a cable be inadvertently disconnected.

Another positive feature is the use of a standard connection for balanced audio or AES/EBU digital audio, with DIP-switch selection. No customized cables are needed to mate with anything in the field.

The first thing I noticed when I opened the Mini Converter shipping container was the inclusion of five different AC plugs that would make the Mini Converter useable in just about any country I might want to visit. This is definitely gear for road warriors. The company even thought to mold a slot into the DC plug for keeping in place with a tie wrap — this could be real lifesaver on remotes. This may appear to be a seemingly insignificant and non-electronic feature, but it speaks volumes about the product designers. Turning the unit around, I found more evidence of thoughtful engineering design. There’s a printed guide on the back that shows how to set the DIP switches for different outputs or settings. There is no need to look for the manual or operating instructions, as the guide is printed right onto the chassis. This is so user friendly that even my 7th-grader son can work out the settings for me.

When I saw the USB connector on the side of the units, I couldn’t help but appreciate the fact that these little fellows can actually be upgraded on the field if and when new video formats arrive on the scene. Considering how fast our industry changes, this is probably something all gear should have now and I appreciate the foresight of the Blackmagic design team in including it.
With audio and video converted to digital formats, loss of signal quality is no longer the big worry that it used to be when long cable runs were encountered. By adding an Analog-to-SDI Mini Converter at the output of an analog device, you can connect it to other SDI machines at distance of up to 300 feet. This is nice and convenient too for signals from older gear that need to be routed via an SDI router without on-board conversion capability.

The SDI-to-HDMI Mini Converter is great for adding consumer flatscreen LCD video displays around a facility without breaking the bank. All you need to be concerned about is in placing the units close enough to an AC outlet for their 12 VDC power adapter. The Mini’s small size allows it to be hidden behind a monitor or located along with ceiling-mounted video projectors.

To appreciate this technology more, I decided it was time to put it to the test. As it’s rather difficult to make a sound evaluation with the changing content in live video, I took selected static test signals from the Mini Converter sync and test generator as signal source. One of the things I was curious about was evidence of any “generation loss” when multiple units were cascaded together. I connected an analog-to-SDI Mini in series with an SDI-to-HDMI unit and then fed the signal from that converter to the HDMI-to-SDI device and then onto the SDI-to-analog Mini Converter. I then carefully compared input versus output video on both picture and waveform monitors. With all of the conversion, I expected to see the signals I used take some hits, but really didn’t see much change in the analog output when it was compared to what was being feed into the chain.

The Blackmagic Design Mini Converters certainly proved their worth to me, and at an affordable price. They are great for any monitoring application, even for remotes, and perhaps even perform better than other units I’m familiar with in budget-conscious stations.

The units are by far the most practical conversion products I’ve seen that fit into tight spaces and budgets.

Would I change anything about them? Well, maybe one little thing. I did notice that they don’t pass closed captioning information. Maybe this is just me, expecting too much for a unit at this price point, or maybe it’s just a USB download away when the Blackmagic engineers tweak their software a bit.

In the current economic situation, I need more than “black magic” to justify most any equipment purchase nowadays, but thanks to the Blackmagic Design folks, I don’t have to. With the Mini Converters coming in at less than $500 each, they’re not only a steal, but good value for the money. Considering the feature set, upward compatibility, flexibility, and road worthiness, along with a three year warranty, every engineer should have some in his or her toolkit. In this day and age, they’re what a good line is to a fisherman.

Romualdo “Rolin” Lintag is chief RF engineer for the Victory Television Network that operates three stations in Arkansas. He has worked in radio and television broadcast engineering since 1984. He may be contacted at rolin_lintag@yahoo.com.

Blackmagic Design Mini Converters

SCORE: 

PROS: Compact size, redundant input/output, automatic switching between SD and HD, USB upgradeable.

CONS: Don’t pass closed captioning information.

BOTTOM LINE: They’re not only a steal, but good value for the money.

MSRP: $495

CONTACT: www.blackmagic-design.com