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Blackmagic Design announced Blackmagic Video Assist 4K, a portable all in one professional monitor and video recorder that can be used to add professional recording and monitoring to any SDI or HDMI camera. Blackmagic Video Assist 4K features a bright, high resolution 7 inch monitor for checking focus and framing, two high speed recorders for non-stop HD and Ultra HD recording, two extremely high quality XLR microphone inputs for professional audio recording, a built in speaker and more.

Blackmagic Video Assist 4K is available now for 825 EUR ex. VAT and will be demonstrated on the Blackmagic Design NAB 2016 booth at #SL217.

The Blackmagic Video Assist 4K is perfect for customers that need better monitoring and higher quality recording. Older cameras often feature custom and hard to use file or tape formats, while lower cost consumer cameras often have poor quality file formats and small screens, limiting their professional use. Blackmagic Video Assist 4K solves this problem because it works with every type of camera from DSLRs to older tape based camcorders, and even the latest digital film cameras.

Blackmagic Video Assist 4K features two built in high speed UHS-II recorders that work with the latest high performance SD cards, making them fast enough to record Ultra HD video up to 2160p30 on widely available, inexpensive SD cards. Files are saved as broadcast quality 10-bit 4:2:2 video in either ProRes or DNxHD formats, making them compatible with all popular editing software, like DaVinci Resolve, so you can start editing immediately without having to transcode or convert files. Recording can be triggered to start and stop using LANC or over HDMI or SDI from the camera. With two built in recorders, customers get non-stop recording because when one card is full it automatically continues onto the next. The new high speed SD cards are compatible with existing SD card readers so they can be mounted directly on a computer for cloning and backup using the included DaVinci Resolve software.

Blackmagic Video Assist 4K is also an extremely high quality audio recorder that features two mini XLR inputs with 48V of phantom power so customers can attach external microphones. This totally eliminates the problems with auto gain controls on DLSR cameras and, with an amazing low electrical noise floor of -128dBV, the recordings are incredibly high quality and sound dramatically better than camera audio. Sound is recorded into the same file as the video, so customers don’t have to worry about AV sync between separate audio and video files!

Durable and lightweight, the Blackmagic Video Assist 4K features a bright, 7 inch high resolution 1920 x 1200 monitor and touchscreen with a wide 135? viewing angle. The extra resolution of the screen lets customers view 16:9 sources and see critical status information without covering the image. The display is also a touchscreen that lets customers use simple tap and swipe gestures to display camera information, change settings and evaluate audio and video levels. Blackmagic Video Assist 4K features an elegant heads up display overlay that lets customers keep their eyes on the shot while viewing the current input frame rate, histogram, audio meters, timecode and more.

For power, Blackmagic Video Assist 4K features two standard LP-E6 battery slots that allow hot swapping of batteries while in use, and it can be powered using the 12V DC input. The batteries are discharged serially, so only 1 is used at a time. When there’s power, the batteries are charged in parallel, which saves time when recharging.

“We’re really excited to announce Blackmagic Video Assist 4K with even more powerful features such as Ultra HD and professional audio recording,” said Grant Petty, CEO, Blackmagic Design. “Customers with DSLRs can use it to frame shots and record higher quality images and superior audio than ever before. Broadcasters can use it to add modern, file based recording to older cameras, and high-end filmmakers can record files for editorial while simultaneously recording RAW files on their camera. The Blackmagic Video Assist 4K is the ultimate all in one monitoring and recording solution for customers that want to shoot better video with any type of camera!”

Blackmagic Video Assist 4K Key Features

7 inch LCD touch screen with 1920 x 1200 high resolution monitor.

Professional 10-bit 4:2:2 HD ProRes or DNxHD recording.

Dual high speed UHS-II SDHC card recorders use readily available, inexpensive SD card media.

Dual recorders allow non-stop recording and provide a backup if one fails.

2 mini XLR connectors with 48V phantom power for connecting microphones.

-128dBV electrical noise floor for high quality audio recording.

LANC connection for remote control.

Auto start/stop recording using HDMI or SDI triggers.

Includes slots for 2 hot pluggable batteries as well as 12V DC power input.

Full compatibility with editing software such as DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro X, Avid and Premier Pro.

All in one design, mount to cameras, hold in your hand or set up on a table with the included kickstand.

Includes 6G-SDI input allowing it to be used as an Ultra HD monitor.

Availability and Price

Blackmagic Video Assist 4K is available now for 825 EUR ex. VAT.

Press Photography

Product photos of the Blackmagic Video Assist, and all other 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.

Panasonic updated its P2 Streaming Server software for Windows, designed to receive the streaming video from the camera recorders / devices on the network and output it from SDI. The application supports AJ-PX5000, AJ-PX800, AJ-PX380, AJ-PX270, AJ-PG50, and now also Panasonic's PTZ cameras.

New features:

PTZ cameras are supported, incl. AW-HE130, AW-UE70, AW-HE40/HE65/HE70. Capability to receive streaming data from PTZ cameras. Remote control of PTZ cameras.

Remote control of P2 cameras.

Capability to receive streaming data from typical RTSP streaming servers.

Red Giant Software released a free update to PluralEyes 4. This new version (4.0.2) contains the following bug fixes and changes:

Improved the PluralEyes 4 Premiere Pro Panel’s stability and performance.

Updated playhead interaction so that clicking on a clip won’t reset the position of the playhead.

Fixed an issue in the .xml file created by PluralEyes that could cause an import fail in Premiere Pro if there was a symbol (such as “&”) in the media file path.

Fixed a bug that could cause PluralEyes 4 to crash while importing files with a long digit sequence in the file name.

Resolved installation errors that could cause an “installation failed” message.

You can get the update here or use Red Giant Link to update.

New firmware update 1.52 for Panasonic DVX200 camera improves stability of the output signal. Panasonic asks users to perform this update without delay. This concerns the HD-SDI output mode "4:2:2 10-bit" and video output signal level for the images containing very bright parts. Get it here.

Boris FX will be showcasing the new release of flagship product, Boris Continuum Complete (BCC) at NAB 2016. BCC 10 is the most significant plug-in release for professional editors and post-production artists in company history and is reaping widespread praise for the integration of Imagineer System's Academy Award-winning mocha planar tracking technology and new features, including Beauty Studio, Title Studio, and new image restoration tools and transition effects. Following the recent launch of Boris Continuum 10 for Adobe Premiere Pro CC, After Effects CC and Avid Media Composer, NAB 2016 will mark the release of BCC 10 for Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve and Sony Vegas Pro (support for other OFX hosts, Nuke and Fusion, is coming soon).