Blackmagic HyperDeck Extreme HDR User Manual Settings

Dashboard Menu

Pressing the ‘menu’ icon on your HyperDeck Extreme HDR recorder will open the dashboard menu. This is a tabbed menu containing the settings not available from your HyperDeck’s front upper and lower toolbars.

Settings are divided by function into ‘record’, ‘monitor’, ‘audio’, ‘setup’ and ‘LUTs’. Dots at the bottom of the menu let you know when a tab contains multiple pages. You can navigate between by swiping the touchscreen display to the left or right or by tapping on the arrows.

Return to the full screen view at any time by tapping on the ‘dashboard menu’ icon at any time

Record

Record Page 1

Use the ‘record’ tab to select your input and choose your codec and quality settings

Input

Once your sources are connected, you can select your input via the ‘record’ settings tab. The four options represent each type of connection and it’s as easy as tapping the button to select the input. For SDI connections from standard definition to quad link 8K, tap on ‘SDI’. For analog devices attached via the component YUV connections, such as a Beta SP deck, tap on ‘component’.

Codec and Quality

With HyperDeck Extreme, you can record compressed video using H.264, H.265, Apple ProRes or DNx codecs. For each codec, there are different quality settings you can choose to record to.

If you select H.265 as your recording codec, there are three different quality settings available: high, medium and low. High quality is the perfect choice for when you want the highest quality with the least amount of compression. Low provides a much smaller file size as the file is more compressed

H.265 If you select H.265 as your recording codec, there are three different quality settings available: high, medium and low. High quality is the perfect choice for when you want the highest quality with the least amount of compression. Low provides a much smaller file size as the file is more compressed.

H.264 H.264 can be used when recording 1080p or lower resolutions with SDI, high medium and low quality settings available.

ProRes When ProRes is selected, there are three options available: HQ, 422 and LT. Choose HQ for times when you need to record the highest quality available and therefore larger file sizes. When you want your recordings to take up less space, you can choose ProRes LT which has a higher compression and therefore smaller overall file size.

DNxHR When DNxHR is selected, there are three options available: HQX, SQ and LB. To record the highest quality 12 bit, select HQX. If you need to optimize your storage select LB which will result in higher compression. When recording HD sources, the recorded file will be in the corresponding DNxHD format. Select between recording QuickTime or MXF files.

When selecting your codec, it’s important to take into account what storage media your are recording to. For CFast cards, you can record up to 8K using H.265 or up to 4K using ProRes HQ. When recording to external disks such as a USB-C flash disks, you can record 8K in any codec. With the optional cache installed, all codec and quality options are available for 8K recording.

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NOTE HyperDeck Extreme will play back H.265 files recorded on a HyperDeck Extreme, but not H.265 files recorded on other video equipment.

Record Page 2

Additional settings on the second record page

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. Tapping on ‘video start/stop’ will trigger the HyperDeck Extreme to start or stop recording when the record button is pressed on the camera.

You can use the time ‘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. You can disable trigger recording by tapping the ‘none’ option.

Select ‘none’ to disable trigger recording

USB Spill

If you are using a Blackmagic MultiDock 10G or similar to connect more that one drive via the ‘ext disk’ usb connection, turn USB Spill on. This will ensure that recording will continue from one USB drive to the next.

Monitor

The ‘monitor’ tab lets you toggle the monitor options as well as Display 3D LUT and Scopes. These can be toggled on or off for the LCD display and SDI monitor out.

Tap on LCD or SDI to toggle the options on or off

Monitor Settings – LCD tab and Monitor SDI tab

Display options can be toggled on or off for the LCD screen and SDI output feed individually using the LCD or Monitor SDI tab.

These include:

Clean Feed

Turn clean feed ‘on’ to disable all status text and overlays for the LCD display and monitor SDI output. This option is a quick way to turn off all the outputs at once.

Zebra

Tap the ‘zebra’ setting on to enable zebra guides. When your zebra guides are on, diagonal lines with appear to let you know what areas may be clipped.

Focus Assist

Toggle on ‘focus assist’ on the LCD or monitor SDI output to view the focus assist overlay lines. Focus assist type and color settings can be in the ‘LCD and SDI’ menu.

Frame Guides

To see frame guide overlays for different film, television and online aspect ratios, toggle on frame guides. Choose your desired guide from the front panel display by tapping on the ‘monitor overlays’ icon.

Grid

To see one of three grid options to assist with framing, toggle ‘grid’ on. Grid options include thirds, center dot and crosshair. Toggle grid on or off. To set the desired grid, tap on the menu icon in the top right corner to return to the LCD display and tap on the ‘monitor overlays’ option.

False Color

The ‘false color’ setting toggles the appearance of false color exposure assistance on the LCD touchscreen. For more information on false color options, see the ‘upper toolbar’ section earlier in this manual.

Display 3D LUT

Toggles display LUTs on and off to your LCD or monitor SDI. The toggle appears disabled when no LUT is active. For information on how to set a LUT, see the LUTs section later in this manual.

Monitor Settings – LCD and SDI

The LCD and SDI setting features controls for focus assist as well as options for anamorphic displays

You can adjust the appearance of focus assistance settings using the ‘LCD and SDI’ tab. These options affect the look of for both the LCD display ad the SDI monitor output.

Focus Assist Type

There are two focus assist modes, ‘peaking’ and ‘colored lines’.

Focus Assist Color

When you are using colored lines for focus assistance on your LCD display or SDI monitor out, you can select your preferred color for the lines from red, blue, white or green. Changing the color can help to make your area of focus stand out more.

Anamorphic De-squeeze

The anamorphic de-squeeze option allows you to correctly display horizontally squeezed images from any anamorphic sources, such as digi-beta tapes containing anamorphic 16:9 content or anamorphic lenses. Tap ‘none’ for non anamorphic sources.

Audio

Audio Page 1

Recorded Audio Channels

HyperDeck Extreme can record up to 64 channels of audio at a time. Select how many channels you wish to record by tapping 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 or 64 channels. You can also select 2 channels of AAC audio which means when recording H.264 or H.265 files, you can upload recordings directly to YouTube.

Record XLR Inputs To

When you are recording more than two audio channels you can assign which channels will record your XLR inputs. For example, when recording 8 channels of audio, you can record your XLR inputs to channels 5-8 by tapping the arrows. If you are not using XLR audio, simply select the none option.

To adjust the XLR inputs, use the second and third pages of the audio tab.

Record RCA Inputs To

Select which channels to record audio connected via the RCA inputs by tapping the arrows or choose none.

Audio Meters

The audio meters default to a 16 channel view for embedded, XLR and RCA audio. When recording 32 or 64 audio channels, the view will expand to 32 or 64 audio meters. The meter type can be set to PPM or VU via the last page in the audio menu.

Audio Page 2 and 3

When recording audio via the XLR inputs you can adjust settings including levels and setting the pad level via the second audio page for XLR inputs 1 and 2, and the third page for XLR inputs 3 and 4.

Adjust XLR inputs via the second and third pages of the audio menu

XLR Input

Set the input to mic or line level audio. Microphones typically have weaker signals compared to line outputs from other audio devices. This means when mic is selected, the input is boosted slightly to compensate. This also means that if mic is accidentally selected when a line level input is plugged in, the audio will sound unusually loud. If the audio sounds much louder than it should be, check that line is selected instead of mic.

XLR Level

Adjust the input level by dragging the slider beneath each channel to the left to reduce the input volume, or to the right to increase the volume. The type of audio meter displayed depends on the meter selected later on the last page of the audio menu.

You can also adjust the XLR input levels on the touchscreen display by tapping the audio meter in the bottom right corner. For more information, see the ‘lower toolbar’ section earlier in this manual.

Pad XLR

If you are shooting in a noisy environment or near unpredictably loud sounds, you can set the XLR padding feature to ‘on’. This will drop your audio levels down by a small amount and give you slightly more range in levels which may help you prevent clipping. If you are shooting in normal audio conditions, set this feature to ‘off’.

XLR Phantom Power

When connecting microphones that are not self powered, turn phantom power to ‘on’. This will power the microphones over the XLR.

If you are recording 4 channels of XLR audio, repeat the steps for channels 3 and 4 via the following screen by tapping the arrow on the right hand side.

Audio Page 4

Swipe the audio tab to the 4th page to view the XLR output audio meters and adjust the output levels using the slider controls. The type of audio meter displayed depends on the meter selected via the last audio page. XLR audio outputs can be used to connect audio to other devices such as the ATEM Constellation 8K switcher.

Adjust the XLR output levels using the slider beneath

Audio Page 5

Monitor Channels

When recording more than two channels, you can select a second pair of channels you want to see on the front panel via the monitor channels option. This setting also sets which channels of audio will play back through the front panel speaker and headphones connection.

Audio Meters

You can choose from two different audio meter display types.

Both VU and PPM meters are available at reference levels of -18dB or -20dB so you can monitor your audio to suit different international broadcasting standards.

Speaker Level

Adjust the speaker volume using the slider. The default level is 50%.

Headphone Level

If you are using headphones, adjust the volume using the slider.

Setup

The setup tab provides access to network, timecode and reference settings as well as your audio meters.

Setup Page 1

Add your HyperDeck name and network settings on the Setup tab

HyperDeck Name

Change the name of the unit by clicking on the pencil icon to the right of the name. It can be especially useful to name your device when you have more than one HyperDeck Extreme disk recorder on your network for easy identification. The name is also displayed on the lower left corner of the SDI Monitor out.

Language

HyperDeck Extreme supports 13 popular languages including English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, German, French, Russian, Italian, Portuguese, Polish, Turkish and Ukrainian. The language page will also appear on initial start up.

To select your language:

1. Tap on the ‘language’ and select your language from the list.

2. Select ‘update’ to return to the setup menu.

Date and Time

Set your date and time automatically or manually by tapping your selection. When setting the date and time automatically, your HyperDeck Extreme will use the network time protocol set in the NTP field as long as the HyperDeck Extreme is connected to a computer via USB or a network via the Ethernet connection. The default NTP is time.cloudflare.com, but you can tap on the pencil if you want to manually enter an alternate NTP. When using network storage, we recommend setting the date and time automatically.

Use the arrows to change your date and time

If you are entering your date and time manually, tap the arrows either side of each setting to select your year, month and day. Repeat the process to set your hour, minute and time zone. Press update to save the settings. Setting the date and time is important to ensure you recordings have accurate information. It will also provide the date and time for when the timestamp file suffix option is selected.

Software

Displays the current software version.

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

Default Standard

Sometimes the HyperDeck Extreme 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 turn on HyperDeck Extreme, 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, HyperDeck Extreme 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, HyperDeck Extreme 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 Extreme 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 HyperDeck Extreme 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.

Setup Page 2

Set your timecode settings on the second setup page

Timecode Input

There are five timecode input options available when recording.

Timecode Preference

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

Timecode Preset

You can set your time code manually by tapping on the pencil icon and entering the start time code via the touchscreen keypad.

Timecode Output

Tap on clip or timeline to select your timecode output

Select your timecode options for your SDI outputs.

Setup Page 3

The third page of the setup tab lets you set your network preferences. This can also be set via the HyperDeck Setup utility. Connecting HyperDeck Extreme to your network means you can record directly to network storage, remotely control the unit via HyperDeck Ethernet protocol or transfer files to and from the unit using an FTP client or the Blackmagic Web Media Manager.

DHCP

To connect to your network via a dynamic IP address, toggle the switch to on. To manually set a static IP address, toggle it to off.

IP Address

When DHCP is switched ‘off’, you can enter your network details manually. Click on the pencil edit icon. Enter the IP address into the numeric keypad view. Once you have entered your address, press the ‘update’ button.

When you edit any numeric option, a numeric keyboard will appear. Type in the address and press update to confirm.

Gateway

Set your network gateway address by clicking on the pencil icon to open the numeric keypad. Press update to return to the menu.

Subnet Mask

Your subnet mask can be manually entered by clicking pencil edit icon. Once you have entered your address, click the update icon to return to the menu.

Setup Page 4

Reference Source

Select your reference source from the three options.

Reference Timing

If you are archiving from analog based tape decks, you may find you need to adjust the reference timing for accurate color representation. This is especially the case if you don’t have a valid reference signal. The reference adjustment lets you adjust the timing of the video outputs of your hardware relative to the video reference input. This is commonly used in large broadcast facilities where the video output needs to be accurately timed. The reference adjustment is in samples so you can get an extremely accurate timing adjustment down to the sample level.

Adjust the number of lines and pixels by tapping the arrow to the left to decrease or the arrow to the right to increase.

Tap on the arrows to increase or decrease your timing lines and pixels.

NTSC Setup

For analog NTSC inputs, select between 0.0% IRE and 7.5% IRE depending on the region you are working in.

Analog Component Levels

When you have selected component video, you can switch between SMPTE and Betacam levels. SMPTE levels are more common, and even Betacam SP can use SMPTE, so only switch to Betacam if you are sure that Betacam levels are being used.

Setup Page 5

Filename Prefix

When first set up, HyperDeck Extreme will record clips to your CFast or USB Flash disk using the following filename convention.

You can edit the filename of your recorded files by tapping the ‘edit’ pencil icon. A touchscreen keyboard will appear. Type in the filename prefix.

Timestamp File Suffix

The timestamp added to the filename is turned off by default. If you would like the date and time recorded in your filename, toggle the ‘timestamp file suffix’ option to on. Make sure the date and time is set correctly, either via the touchscreen setup menu or by using the Blackmagic HyperDeck Setup utility.

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Display Histogram

The RGB histogram display on the lower toolbar will be off by default. If you want to turn the histogram display on, toggle the ‘display histogram’ switch to on.

3G-SDI Output

Some broadcast equipment can only receive level A or level B 3G-SDI video. To maintain compatibility, tap either ‘level A’ or ‘level B’.

Tap ‘level a’ or ‘level b’

Setup Page 6

HDR Format Override

HyperDeck Extreme will automatically detect embedded HDR metadata in a 4K or 8K video signal or file and display it via the HDMI output. If the signal or file is tagged incorrectly, or your external display is not HDR compatible, you can override the HDR format for playback and recording independently.

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:

LCD White Balance Calibration

To perform LCD white balance calibration, adjust the ‘LCD temperature’ and ‘LCD tint’ controls so that the two reference patches look neutral. After you change the settings, you can use the ‘reset’ button to return the controls to the factory calibration. The ‘restore’ button brings back your new settings, which helps you compare the appearance before and after calibration. When the LCD shows an accurate white balance, save your settings.

Factory Reset

Tap on ‘reset HyperDeck’ to restore your HyperDeck to factory settings.

LUTs

Display LUTs can be especially helpful when using the HyperDeck Extreme 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 can be applied for the LCD display as well as the SDI monitor out. To view a LUT you first need to select your active LUT. In the LUT menu, tap on the LUT you want to use, it will highlight blue. Tap the tick icon at the bottom. A vertical blue line will appear to the left of the LUT name to confirm the LUT is active.

You can now press the ‘3DLUT’ button on the front of the panel to display the selected LUT. The button will illuminate when selected. Press the button again to toggle it off.

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TIP You can also toggle the display LUT on the LCD and Monitor SDI via the ‘monitor’ tab in the touchscreen menu. For more information, see the ‘monitor’ settings earlier in this manual.

You are not limited to using the preloaded display LUTs either, you can import or export your own!

To import a LUT:

1. On the LUTS tab, tap on the double head arrow icon at the bottom center of the display.

2. Under manage LUT, tap on ‘import LUT’.

3. Select the storage media where the LUT is located and tap ‘import’. Select the location of your stored LUT and tap import.

4. Tap on the LUT you want to import followed by ‘import’. A progress screen will let you know the LUT is importing. Once done, the LUT will appear in the list.

The LUT will now appear in the list and once you make it active your can apply it to the LCD and external monitor.

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NOTE If you try to import a LUT that already exists, a screen will prompt you to either keep both or replace the existing LUT.