News

Press Release

Blackmagic Design announced Video Assist 2.3, a major new update for Blackmagic Video Assist customers that adds 3D LUTs to both models. This update also adds features to the 5” Blackmagic Video Assist including improved DNxHD and DNxHR support, false color monitoring, expanded focus options and new screen rotation features. The Video Assist 2.3 update is available for download now from the Blackmagic Design website and is free of charge for all Blackmagic Video Assist customers.

Customers using the Video Assist 2.3 update can now load up to six 3D LUTs when monitoring video on set with their 5” or 7” Blackmagic Video Assist. 3D LUTs have become an important part of digital filmmaking because they transform the camera images into a look that closely approximates the final look the director wants. The benefit of monitoring with 3D LUTs is that the crew can see the footage as the director intends it, and it’s completely non destructive because the original camera footage remains untouched. The six x 3D LUTs can be stored and recalled at any time by the user and this new feature is available on both the 5” Blackmagic Video Assist model and the 7” Blackmagic Video Assist 4K model.

For customers using the 5” Blackmagic Video Assist model, this update adds new features that were previously released only on the 7” Blackmagic Video Assist 4K model. These new features include the ability to record to DNxHD and DNxHR files in MXF format which improves compatibility with Avid systems running on Windows. In addition, customers can now choose between DNxHD 220, 145 and 45 bit rates, or between DNxHR HQ, SQ and LB formats when recording.

In addition, Video Assist 2.3 update also expands the options for focus assist so customers can now choose whether they want to see red, green, blue, black, white or traditional focus peaking indicators. This makes it easier for customers to accurately adjust focus in a wider range of scenes and under a variety of different lighting conditions. Customers will now also have the ability to manually control the screen orientation and turn off the auto rotate feature which makes it easier for customers to use the 5” Blackmagic Video Assist model with handheld gimbals and other equipment designed to move the camera and rig simultaneously.

The Video Assist 2.3 update also adds false color monitoring exposure tools to the 5” Blackmagic Video Assist model. False color exposure tools make it easier to properly set exposure in different parts of the image by highlighting specific color ranges of luminance with a solid color overlay. For example, green indicates neutral grey, while pink tones are good references for skin, which is typically one stop over neutral grey. Using false color helps camera operators keep exposure consistent from shot to shot.

Press Photography
Product photos of all Blackmagic Design products, are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/press/images.

About Blackmagic Design
Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD 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 go to www.blackmagicdesign.com.

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Blackmagic Video Assist 4K
It is important to use high speed UHS-II SD cards. These are some SD cards which Blackmagic Design has tested using ProRes HQ. The following SD cards will record at a maximum of 2160p30 and are recommended when using HFS+ or exFAT:

• Delkin Devices SD SDHC UHS II 250MB/s
• Lexar 64GB SDXC UHS II 2000x300MB/s
• Lexar SDHC UHS I 633x 95MB/s 32GB
• Lexar SDHC UHS I 633x 95MB/s 64GB
• Lexar SDHC UHS II 1000x 150MB/s 32GB
• Lexar SDHC UHS II 2000x 300MB/s
• Lexar SDXC UHS II 1000x 150MB/s 128GB
• Lexar SDXC UHS II 1000x 150MB/s 256GB
• Lexar SDXC UHS II 1000x 150MB/s 64GB
• SanDisk Extreme Pro SDXC UHS II
• SanDisk Extreme Pro UHS I 95MB/s
• Toshiba Excreta Pro SDxC UHS II
• Transcend 64GB SDXC UHS II 180MB/SDXC

Blackmagic Video Assist (11/2016)
It is important to use high speed UHS-1 SD cards. These are some SD cards which Blackmagic Design has tested using ProRes HQ. The following SD cards will record at a maximum of 1080p60 and are recommended when using HFS+ or exFAT:

• SanDisk Extreme Pro 16GB SDSDXP-016G-A46
• SanDisk Extreme Pro 32GB SDSDXP-032G-A46
• SanDisk Extreme Pro 64GB SDSDXP-064G-A46
• SanDisk Extreme Pro 128GB SDSDXP-128G-A46
• SanDisk Extreme Pro 256GB SDSDXP-256G-A46
• SanDisk Extreme Pro 512GB SDSDXP-512G-A46

The following SD cards will record at a maximum of 1080i60 using HFS+ or exFAT:

• Lexar Professional SD XC 600x 128GB
• DelkinDevices 633x 8GB

The following SD cards will record at a maximum of NTSC using HFS+ or exFAT:

• SanDisk Ultra SD HC 8GB
• SanDisk SD HC 8GB
• Transcend SD HC 8GB

The following SD cards are discontinued and are not recommended for recording on Blackmagic Video Assist:

• Panasonic SDHC Gold Series 16GB
• Panasonic SDHC Gold Series 32GB

Important Notes About SD Card Speed
Please ensure your chosen SD card is UHS-1 only (for Video Assist) or UHS-II (for Video Assist 4K). The above list are the SD cards we have currently tested, however there are many other available SD cards which will be compatible. It’s worth testing your card’s speed using Blackmagic Disk Speed Test to accurately measure whether your SD card will be able to record at the rate you require. Blackmagic Disk Speed Test uses data to simulate the storage of video so you can get results similar to what you’ll see when capturing video to an SD card.