Blackmagic HyperDeck Disk Recorders Settings

Record Menu

Input

Select your SDI or HDMI source using the input setting. You can also change your input source using the ‘input’ button on the front panel.

Codec

All HyperDeck Studio models can record compressed video using H.264, Apple ProRes and DNxHD codecs. HyperDeck Studio 4K Pro models can also use H.265 and DNxHR codecs when recording 4K media.

Trigger Record

There are two trigger record modes available, video start/stop and timecode run.

Some cameras, such as the URSA Mini, send a signal over SDI to start and stop recording on external recorders. Selecting ‘video start/stop’ will trigger the HyperDeck to start or stop recording when the record button is pressed on the camera.

Use the ‘timecode run’ option to trigger the unit to start recording when it receives a valid timecode signal via the inputs. When the signal stops, recording will also stop. Disable trigger recording by selecting the ‘none’ option.

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NOTE When recording from an HDMI or SDI camera, make sure the output is clean with overlays turned off as any overlays that are present in your camera’s video output will be recorded with your image.

Input Re-Sync

This setting will enable a re-sync on the video input and ensure video is locked to the external reference before recording. The video output will remain locked to reference even when switched to recording, as the input itself is being resynchronized. This feature is used for ISO recording where you need multiple decks timecode locked but some sources are non-sync. This feature is normally turned off so video inputs are recorded without frames being added or removed from the input video.

All broadcast decks can normally use a reference input to lock the video output during playback. This means the output of the HyperDeck playback will be locked to the reference input so it won’t need to be resynchronized when connected to a large broadcast system.

However, when the deck goes into record, the output will switch over to the input because you normally want the input video recorded untouched with the same untouched video sent to other downstream equipment that’s connected to the HyperDeck video outputs.

However, HyperDeck Studio has a unique feature that helps with ISO recording. It will allow you to completely reverse this process and resynchronize the video input to the reference input. What this means is you can connect a non-sync source to the HyperDeck and it will retime the video input to the video reference and then record it.

Non-sync sources could be computers, consumer cameras or any video equipment that is unable to have a reference connected to it. It could even be an incoming video feed from another studio or external broadcaster. Non-sync sources cause problems with ISO recording, as you need the timecode on all recordings to match perfectly over time. A non-sync source will run faster or slower than your other sources and slip out of sync vs the timecode quite quickly during the recording. This makes multi-cam editing a horrific process as the sources won’t have matching timecode.

With input re-sync turned on, the HyperDeck video input will be analyzed and if it starts falling behind a frame will be repeated, or if it starts running ahead of the reference, a frame will be removed. This is called resynchronization and the processing on the input is called a frame re-sync. It means the timecode in the clips being recorded on all decks will have the same events happening at the same timecode. It makes multi-cam editing possible.

Of course the downside is you are adding some frames to the input, or removing some frames from the input before recording. This is why it’s best to leave this feature turned off and to only use it when you absolutely cannot do anything to connect a reference to an ISO source because it’s a computer or consumer device.

However, there is one situation where you can turn the input re-sync feature on and use it. When input re-sync is turned on, the HyperDeck video output will remain reference locked even when the deck is recording. What this means is you can connect the SDI output of the HyperDeck to a camera to lock the camera to the reference via the program return feed. A good example is the Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K Pro and it can set its reference to the external video. Then the camera feed will be reference locked from the HyperDeck and the HyperDeck input re-sync won’t have to add or remove frames because the camera is not running fast or slow.

The input re-sync only does something if the video input is not locked to the same reference as the HyperDeck. But in this case, the HyperDeck output is the reference source to the camera and the HyperDeck is locked to its video reference input. If you have multiple HyperDecks all locked together by looping the reference connections, then all cameras and HyperDecks will be locked as a single group. Then if one of the HyperDecks in a group has a non-sync source, such as a computer, then that one input will be resynchronized, but the other sources won’t need anything.

The re-sync is automatic so you can just connect sources and it will work. The input re-sync feature can be extremely powerful, however, it’s important to know when it’s going to do something and what it will do. Try some experiments with multiple HyperDecks and multi-cam editing software to see how it works! It’s a fantastic way to do program production that’s very fast.

Monitor Menu

The monitor menu is included on HyperDeck Studio models with the monitor out connection on the rear panel.

Clean Feed

Turning clean feed to on will remove the status text from appearing on displays connected to the monitor out on the rear of HyperDeck Studio. For more information on the monitor out display, including what information is displayed, refer to the monitor out section later in this manual.

3D LUT

Display LUTs can be especially helpful when using the HyperDeck Studio as a field recorder. They work by telling the unit what color and luminance output to display. This can be useful for when you are using the ‘film’ dynamic range on your camera which has an intentionally undersaturated, ‘flat’ appearance. By applying a display LUT, you can get an idea of what your video will look like after it has been graded.

Display LUTs are selected via Blackmagic HyperDeck Setup can be applied on the SDI monitor out.

To turn a 3D LUT on or off:

1. Press the ‘menu’ button and using the search dial, scroll to the ‘monitor’ menu.

2. Press the ‘set’ button.

3. Using the search dial, scroll down until ‘3D LUT’ is highlighted blue.

4. Toggle the set button to turn the LUT on or off.

For more information on selecting a LUT, refer to the Blackmagic HyperDeck Setup section later in this manual.

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TIP For more information on the monitor out view, see the ‘monitor out’ section later in the manual.

Audio Menu

Recorded Audio Channels

HyperDeck Studio can record up to 16 channels of PCM audio at a time. To select the number of channels to record, expand the recorded audio channels list and select 2, 4, 8 or 16 channels. If the codec is set to H.264 or H.265, you can also select 2 channels of AAC audio so you can upload recordings directly to YouTube. This setting also selects the number of channels to appear via the monitor out connection.

Monitor Channels

When recording more than two channels, you can select which channels you want to see on the front panel LCD. This can be done via the monitor channels option. For HyperDeck Studio models featuring a front panel speaker, this setting also sets which channels of audio will play back through the speaker and headphones connection.

Audio Meters

The built in LCD displays audio meters for embedded audio channels. You can select to display PPM or VU Meters. To change your meter type, expand the menu setting and select your preferred audio meter display from the options.

Headphone Level

For models featuring a headphone port on the front panel you can adjust the headphone volume via the headphone level setting.

Speaker Level

Adjust the speaker volume by turning the search dial. The default level is 50%.

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TIP Headphone and speaker volume can also be adjusted directly via the front panel. Press and hold the speaker button and turn the search dial to increase or decrease the playback volume. The volume level will appear in the upper center of the front panel.

Storage Menu

Format Media

SD Cards, SSDs and media connected via the rear ext disk connection can be formatted directly on the unit or via a Mac or Windows computer.

Preparing Media on HyperDeck Studio:

• Using the search dial and set button, select format media.

• Select the media to format from the list and press set.

• Choose the format and press set.

• A confirmation window will appear detailing which card is to be formatted and the selected format option, select format.

• A formatting window will appear once completed, select Ok.

HFS+, is also known as Mac OS X Extended, and is the recommended format as it supports ‘journaling’. Data on journaled media is more likely to be recovered in the rare event that your storage media becomes corrupted. HFS+ is natively supported by Mac. exFAT is supported natively by Mac and Windows without needing any additional software but does not support journaling.

To format media on a Mac or Windows computer, refer to the formatting media section in this manual.

Setup Menu

Name

When more than one HyperDeck Studio is on the network, you may wish to give them discrete names. This can be done via Blackmagic HyperDeck Setup or Blackmagic HyperDeck Ethernet Protocol using a terminal application.

Language

HyperDeck Studio supports 13 languages, including English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, German, French, Russian, Italian, Portuguese, Turkish, Ukrainian and Polish.

To select the language:

• Once the setup menu is highlighted, press set.

• Scroll the search dial down to select language and press set.

• Using the search dial to select the language and press set. Once selected you will automatically return to the setup menu.

Date

To adjust the date, select the date field and press set. Using the search dial you can select the day, month and year. This will populate the timestamp file suffix.

Time

To adjust the time, select time and press set. Use the search dial to adjust the hours and minutes. HyperDeck Studio clock is a 24 hour clock.

Software

Displays the current software version.

Front Panel

Set your HyperDeck’s front panel to ‘light’ mode for a brightly illuminated LCD. Use ‘dark’ mode for dimly lit environments where a bright LCD may be distracting, for example multiple HyperDeck units mounted in a rack in a production facility.

Camera

This setting is helpful when using HyperDeck to record ISO files from multiple cameras and then editing them on a multicamera timeline in DaVinci Resolve.

Each individual camera identification letter will appear in the files’ metadata, allowing DaVinci Resolve to identify each angle easily when using the sync bin feature.

Assign you camera using characters A-Z or 1-9

Default Standard

Sometimes the HyperDeck Studio does not know what video standard you want to use. This setting will let the HyperDeck know the video standard you want to use most of the time.

A good example is if you have turned on a HyperDeck Studio, it has no video input connected and you insert a disk with files on it with 2 different video standards. Which video standard should the HyperDeck play? The default video standard will give it an indication which video standard you prefer and it will switch to that format and play those files.

The default video standard is also useful when you first turn on a HyperDeck, and it has no video input and no media disk inserted. In this case, the HyperDeck Studio does not know which video standard to use for the monitoring output. The default video standard will guide it on what to do.

However, the default video standard is only a guide. It won’t override anything. So if you had a media disk with only 1 type of video file on it and you press play, the HyperDeck Studio will switch to that video standard and play. It will ignore the default video standard because it’s obvious you just want to play the files on the disk.

It’s a similar situation with recording. If you press record, the HyperDeck will just record whatever video standard is connected to the video input. Plus, once you have done the recording, the HyperDeck Studio will playback the same video standard files on the disk, even if there are other files on the disk that match the default video standard. It’s assumed you want to playback the same video standard as you just recorded. If you unplug the media disk and plug it back in again, only then will the default video standard be used to choose which type of files to play back.

The default video standard is only a guide to help the HyperDeck Studio make decisions about what to do when it’s not sure. It’s not an override that forces the deck to behave in any specific way.

Network Settings

Protocol

Blackmagic HyperDeck is shipped set to DHCP, so once connected, your network server will automatically assign an IP address and no other network settings will need to be adjusted. If you need to set a manual address, you can connect via a static IP.

With ‘protocol’ selected press the flashing ‘set’ button to access the menu, scroll to ‘Static IP’ and press ‘set’.

IP Address, Subnet Mask and Gateway

Once Static IP is selected, you can enter your network details manually.

To change the IP address:

1. Use the search dial to highlight ‘IP address’ and press the flashing ‘set’ button on your HyperDeck’s front panel.

2. Using the search dial, adjust the IP address, rotate the search dial to adjust your IP address, pressing ‘set’ to confirm before adjusting the next set of values.

3. Press ‘set’ to confirm the change and move to the next value.

When you have finished entering your IP address, you can repeat these steps to adjust the Subnet Mask and Gateway. Once finished, press the flashing ‘menu’ button to exit and return to the home screen.

Timecode Settings

Input

There are five timecode input options available when recording.

Drop Frame

For NTSC sources at frame rates of 29.97 or 59.94, you can select ‘drop frame’ or ‘non-drop frame’ timecode. If the source is unknown, select ‘default’. This will maintain the standard of the input, or default to drop frame if there is no valid timecode.

Preset

You can set your time code manually by pressing the set button and entering the start time code using the search dial and set button. Make sure the ‘preset’ option is selected under the input menu.

Output

Select your timecode options for your outputs.

SDI Output

3G-SDI Output

Some broadcast equipment can only receive level A or level B 3G-SDI video.

To maintain compatibility with other broadcast equipment, select Level A for direct stream 3G-SDI or Level B for dual stream multiplexed 3G-SDI.

Genlock Settings

Reference Source

Select your reference source from the following three options.

Reference Timing

Reference timing can be adjusted if you are archiving from analog tape decks and you need frame synchronization. The reference adjustment is in samples so you can get an extremely accurate timing adjustment down to the sample level.

To adjust the timing:

1. In the setup menu, use the search dial to highlight ‘reference timing lines’ and press the flashing ‘set’ button.

2. Adjust the timeline lines value by turning the dial clockwise to increase or counter clockwise to decrease.

3. To confirm your selection, press the flashing ‘set’ button.

4. To adjust the pixels, press the flashing ‘menu’ button to return to the setup menu and repeat the steps for reference timing pixels.

File Settings

Timestamp File Suffix

The timestamp added to the filename is set to ‘off’ by default. If you would like the date and time recorded in your filename, press the set button and use the search dial to turn the ‘timestamp file suffix’ option to on.

HDR Format Override

HyperDeck Studio 4K Pro will automatically detect embedded HDR metadata in a 4K video signal or file and display it via the HDMI output. If the signal or file is tagged incorrectly, or your display is not HDR compatible, you can override the HDR format.

To do this, set the ‘HDR format override’ setting to an SDR option, such as Rec.2020 SDR.

The available HDR playback and record settings are:

Auto

Auto is the default setting that will let HyperDeck automatically select the output format that conforms to the clip’s HDR metadata.

Rec.709

For high definition video using standard dynamic range.

Rec.2020 SDR

This setting is used for Ultra HD video using standard dynamic range.

HLG

HLG stands for ‘hybrid log gamma’. This format allows HDR video to be played back on HDR capable TVs and monitors, including those that support up to Rec.2020 SDR.

The following settings support the Rec.2020 color gamut, plus PQ, or perceptual quantizer published as SMPTE ST2084. PQ is the function of wide gamut HDR that allows for the display of brighter images. Luminance values in candelas per meter squared, for example 1000 cd/mindicate the maximum luminance per square meter supported by the corresponding format.

ST2084 (300)

300 cd/m luminance.

ST2084 (500)

500 cd/m luminance.

ST2084 (800)

800 cd/m luminance.

ST2084 (1000)

1000 cd/m luminance.

ST2084 (2000)

2000 cd/m luminance.

ST2084 (4000)

4000 cd/m luminance.

Remote

Remote

Select ‘remote’ to enable remote control via RS-422, this will let the HyperDeck be controlled remotely by another device, for example, HyperDeck Extreme Control. When selected, the dedicated remote button on some HyperDeck models will illuminate to indicate it is active. Deselect remote to control the unit locally.

Deck Control

When remote is enabled, you can mirror the transport controls from one HyperDeck to multiple additional HyperDeck units. Daisy chain your HyperDecks by connecting the remote out connector from the master HyperDeck to the remote in connector on a second unit, then continue the RS-422 chain for additional units. When all additional units have their remote setting enabled, transport controls on the master unit will also control the additional units.

For example, when you press the ‘record’ button on the master HyperDeck, all the additional HyperDecks connected will begin recording simultaneously.

It’s worth noting that while you cannot use HyperDeck Studio HD Mini as a controller, it can be controlled by a HyperDeck Pro or Plus model.

Reset

Factory Reset

Highlight ‘Factory Reset’ in the setup menu to restore your HyperDeck to factory settings. Once you press ‘set’, you will be prompted to confirm your selection.