Blackmagic Design Adds Avid DNxHD Recording, Playback to HyperDeck Studio

Blackmagic Design announced HyperDeck Software Update 2.0, a new software update for it’s popular HyperDeck Studio that adds broadcast quality compressed 10 bit recording and playback to the Avid DNxHD format.

DNxHD is a broadcast industry standard for media files and adding native support for this compressed video format into HyperDeck Studio will allow dramatically longer recording times, lower media storage costs, and full file format compatibility with Avid Media Composer systems. All media is recorded in MXF format, so it’s immediately available in Media Composer without any time consuming file copying or import processing.

HyperDeck Software Update 2.0 will be available at the end of November 2011 free of charge for all HyperDeck Studio customers.

HyperDeck Studio still includes support for uncompressed 10 bit video. With this new software update, customers will now be able to choose between uncompressed or DNxHD formats and then all recordings and playback will use that format.

HyperDeck Studio records direct to Solid State Disks, (SSDs) which offer fast read and write speeds, so they have the high bandwidth required for full SD or HD recording and playback.

HyperDeck Studio allows recording and playback from SDI and HDMI sources, and includes support for RS-422 deck control. Unlike broadcast decks, HyperDeck Studio can record forever because it includes dual SSD slots. This allows a new blank disk to be inserted while recording, and when the current recording disk is full, HyperDeck Studio will seamlessly continue to record across onto the new blank disk. Disks can be swapped constantly for continuous recording.

“This is a very exciting update because it means all our customer’s disks just became four to five times bigger and four to five times cheaper,” said Grant Petty, CEO of Blackmagic Design. “You get great 10 bit quality and in the MXF format that allows all files to be loaded into Avid Media Composer without any import processing. That’s the fastest and most efficient workflow possible, vitally important in fast moving broadcast stations.”