Blackmagic Design today announced HyperDeck Software Update 2.0, a new software update for its 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 recoding 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 perfect quality uncompressed 10 bit video, for the ultimate in high quality mathematically perfect recording and playback. 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. This is all available on the same model of HyperDeck Studio and without any upgrade costs. Customers can change between compressed and uncompressed formats depending on their needs and the work they are doing.

HyperDeck Studio records direct to Solid State Disks, (SSDs) which offer incredibly fast read and write speeds, so they have the high bandwidth required for full SD or HD recording and playback. SSDs are used in regular laptop and desktop computers so are constantly increasing in size, while purchase prices have been dropping dramatically over the last few years. This means the cost per minute of recording is now much less than any other broadcast format, and getting cheaper every day.

HyperDeck Studio is the perfect solution to replace aging broadcast decks due to it’s higher quality, direct file format compatibility with NLE software, and easy to use broadcast deck features. 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 4 to 5 times bigger and 4 to 5 times cheaper! 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” said Grant Petty, CEO of Blackmagic Design. “Ever since HyperDeck Studio was announced at NAB, we have been asked constantly by customers for Avid DNxHD compressed recording, and we think this new feature in HyperDeck Studio will be very well received by our broadcast and hollywood post production customers! And it’s a free update!”

“DNxHD is a SMPTE standard format, and has long been the broadcast and post production format of choice because of it’s great 10 bit quality but very small file sizes.” said David Colantuoni, Director of Product Management at Avid. “The addition of native MXF DNxHD recording and playback to the Blackmagic HyperDeck Studio completely changes the game in terms of flexibility, speed, and quality for our Media Composer, Symphony® and NewsCutter® customers.”

HyperDeck Studio Features

• Record and playback to standard 10 bit uncompressed QuickTime or Avid DNxHD MXF media files.
• Uses high speed off the shelf Solid State Disks (SSDs) available from computer resellers at low cost.
• Includes dual SSD slots allowing disks to be changed while recording for unlimited record duration.
• 3 Gb/s SDI and HDMI inputs and outputs, including SDI loop through and monitoring outputs.
• Familiar broadcast deck VTR design and functionality, including jog/shuttle wheel and RS-422 deck control.
• QuickTime and MXF file formats are compatible with Avid Media Composer and other editing applications.
• 1 rack unit design saves valuable rack space when mounting multiple units.

Availability and Price
HyperDeck Software Update 2.0 with DNxHD recording and playback features will be available at the end of November 2011 free of charge from the Blackmagic Design web site for all HyperDeck Studio users. HyperDeck Studio is available now from Blackmagic Design Resellers Worldwide for only $995.

Press Photography
Product photos of HyperDeck Studio are available at www.blackmagic-design.com/press/images

About Avid

Avid creates the digital audio and video technology used to make the most listened to, most watched and most loved media in the world – from the most prestigious and award-winning feature films, music recordings, television shows, live concert tours and news broadcasts, to music and movies made at home. Some of Avid’s most influential and pioneering solutions include Media Composer, Pro Tools®, Interplay®, ISIS®, VENUE, Sibelius®, System 5, and Avid Studio. For more information about Avid solutions and services, visit www.avid.com, http://del.icio.us/ , Flickr, Twitter and YouTube; connect with Avid on Facebook; or subscribe to Avid Industry Buzz.

Avid, Avid DNxHD, Avid Studio, Interplay, ISIS, Media Composer, NewsCutter, Pro Tools, Symphony, and Sibelius are trademarks or registered trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. The Interplay name is used with the permission of the Interplay Entertainment Corp. which bears no responsibility for Avid products. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and film restoration software for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability, while the company’s DaVinci Emmy™ award winning color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including stereoscopic 3D and 4K workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore, and Australia. For more information, please check www.blackmagic-design.com .