Blackmagic Video Assist User Manual  Storage Media

Choosing a Fast SD Card

Generally, we recommend using UHS-II cards for recording UltraHD, and UHS-I for recording HD.

For Ultra HD recording on Blackmagic Video Assist 12G HDR, you will need to use the fastest UHS-II cards available.

Most UHS-I and UHS-II SD cards should be fast enough to record compressed HD video up to 60 frames per second, however it’s worth testing your card’s record speed to be sure. You can do this using Blackmagic Disk Speed Test software which can be downloaded from the Blackmagic Design support center. For information on using Disk Speed Test, refer to the ‘checking disk speed’ section of the manual.

We have included a table below that shows the latest compatible SD cards for recording Ultra HD, HD and SD video. It’s worth regularly checking the latest version of this manual for more up to date information and can always be downloaded from the Blackmagic Design website at

Which SD cards should I use with Blackmagic Video Assist 12G?

The following SD cards are recommended for Ultra HD using Apple ProRes and Avid DNx codecs up to 60 frames per second:

The following SD cards are recommended for HD using Apple ProRes and Avid DNx codecs up to 60 frames per second:

The following SD cards are recommended for HD ProRes HQ up to 60 frames per second:

The following SD cards are recommended for HD using Apple ProRes and Avid DNx codecs up to 30 frames per second:

Choosing a USB-C Flash Disk

Blackmagic Video Assist 12G HDR features a high speed USB-C expansion port, which allows you to record video directly to USB-C flash disks or SSD’s via Blackmagic MultiDock 10G and also to perform software updates. USB-C flash disks are fast, high capacity drives allow you to record video for long periods, which can be important when filming events or interviews.

Once you have finished recording you can connect the same drive directly to your computer for editing and post production, without having to copy media across.

To connect to a USB-C flash disk:

1. Connect one end of a USB type-C cable to your USB-C flash disk.

2. Connect the other end of the cable to the USB-C port on the base of your 12G video assist.

Which disk should I use with Blackmagic Video Assist 12G?

The following USB-C drives are recommended for Ultra HD using Apple ProRes and Avid DNx codecs up to 60 frames per second:

The following USB-C drives are recommended for HD using Apple ProRes and Avid DNx codecs up to 60 frames per second:

Formatting Storage Media using your Video Assist

It’s very easy to format your storage media using the storage settings. You can format your card or drive using HFS+ or exFAT formats.

HFS+ is also known as Mac OS Extended. It is the recommended format as it supports “journaling”. Data on journaled media is more recoverable and less likely to be corrupted. HFS+ is natively supported by Mac.

ExFAT is supported natively by Mac and Windows computers without needing to purchase any additional software. However, exFAT does not support journaling which means data is less protected against the rare event your media card is corrupted.

Your video assist can format your media in HFS+ or exFAT. Tap on the storage media icon to access settings.

To format your storage media:

1. Tap the storage status icons to open the storage settings.

2. Select the card or drive you want to format. This could be an SD card or external USB-C flash disk. To format a drive on 12G video assist models, tap ‘drive list’ and then select the drive you want to format to highlight it. Tap ‘format drive’. When formatting you can also add the name for your card or drive using the edit box

3. Select your desired HFS+ or exFAT format type, then tap the ‘format card’ icon again.

4. A warning will appear asking you to confirm the format. If your storage media contains data already recorded, make sure you back it up before formatting as this action cannot be undone. Hold down the ‘format’ icon for three seconds until the tick appears continue, or ‘cancel’ to cancel the format.

5. A progress bar shows you the progress of the format. ‘Formatting complete’ will appear when the formatting has finished.

6. Tap the ‘ok’ icon to return to the storage settings.

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TIP You can also format storage while recording on another storage slot, for example, on the 7” video assist models you can format card 2 while recording to card 1.

Formatting Media using a Computer

SD cards and USB-C flash disks can also be formatted using a Mac or Windows computer.

Preparing SD Cards on a Mac computer

Use the ‘disk utility’ application included with Mac to format your media in the HFS+ or exFAT formats. If your storage media already has files recorded on them, remember to back up your media as all data will be lost when it is formatted.

1. Plug the SD card into your computer’s SD card slot or via an SD card reader. For external drives, connect the drive to your computer via a USB-C cable.

2. Go to ‘applications/utilities’ and launch ‘disk utility’.

3. Click on the disk icon of your SD card or drive and then click the ‘erase’ tab.

4. Set the format to ‘Mac OS Extended (journaled)’ or “exFAT”.

5. Type a ‘name’ for the new volume and then click ‘erase’. Your SD card or drive will quickly be formatted and made ready for use.

Use ‘disk utility’ on Mac to erase your USB-C flash disk in the Mac OS Extended (journaled) or exFAT format.

Preparing Storage Media on a Windows computer

The ‘format’ dialog box can format an SD card in the exFAT format on a Windows PC. Remember to back up anything important from your media as all data will be lost when it is formatted.

1. Plug an SD card into your computer’s SD card slot or via an SD card reader. For external drives, connect the drive to your computer via a USB-C cable.

2. Open the ‘start menu’ or ‘start screen’ and choose ‘computer’. Right-click on your SD card.

3. From the contextual menu, choose ‘format’.

4. Set the file system to ‘exFAT’ and the allocation unit size to 128 kilobytes.

5. Type a volume label, select ‘quick format’ and click ‘start’.

6. Your SD card or external disk will quickly be formatted and made ready for use.

Use the ‘format’ dialog box feature in Windows to format your storage media in the exFAT format

Working with Files from SD Cards

You can access your ProRes or DNx files straight from your SD cards with any Mac or Windows computer that features an SD card slot or by using an SD card reader.

1. Remove the SD card from your video assist and insert it into the SD card slot of your computer, or SD card reader. The SD card can be accessed the same way as you would an external hard drive, USB drive or any other media storage device attached to your computer.

2. Double click on the SD card to open it and you should see a list of QuickTime or MXF movie files.

3. Now you can simply drag the files you want from the card onto your desktop or another hard drive, or you can access the files straight from the card using your NLE software.

4. Before you physically remove the SD card from the SD card slot, it’s always a good idea to eject the card safely using either Mac or Windows first.

Insert your SD card into any computer with an SD card slot to access your clips immediately.

Checking Disk Speed

Blackmagic Disk Speed Test is a fun application that measures the read and write performance of storage media, then displays the results using video formats.

If you have ever wondered whether your storage media is suitable for recording (“write”) or playback (“read”) of a particular video format, you can use Disk Speed Test to find out. Test the performance of your media drives with a single click of the ‘start’ button! Disk Speed Test will even show you how many streams of video your storage is capable of handling.

Blackmagic Disk Speed Test software is available to download from the App Store. Windows and Mac installers are also included in Blackmagic Desktop Video, which you can download from the Blackmagic Design support center at .

Use Blackmagic Disk Speed Test to find out the performance of your SD card.

Blackmagic Disk Speed Test interface