Blackmagic adapters

[J Pearce]

Has anyone else had issues with lifetime of the blackmagic converters? I've had several HDMI-SDI bidirectional converters die, and now a similar issue with the SDI-Analog converters.

 

Suggestions welcome for more reliable replacements!

Edited September 14, 2021 by J Pearce

[timsabre]

BMD seem determined to make things as small as possible with no regard for cooling. I had an Atem-1me (the old thin design) go up in smoke in the middle of an event. We had a fan blowing onto it, it ran so hot. The new rack version goes the other way and contains so many fans you need to have it in another room.

[Bryson]

AJA make reasonable ones in a similar price bracket. https://www.aja.com/family/mini-converters

 

Theatrixx make really nice ones, if you're willing to pay for the privilege. https://theatrixx.com/category/video/#portable-converters (They're made in Canada! Hooray for the Canadian Live Production Industry! ;) )

[p.k.roberts]

Coincidentally, I've just had fan go mechanically noisy in an UltraStudio HD Mini, and although its a five minute job to swap it out, neither BMD or their UK dealers are willing/able to supply a spare part, so I'm starting to lose a bit of faith in them as well. The problem is, their prices are very attractive, so it's quite difficult to source alternatives close to their offer.

[the kid]

Not so far.

 

But is this "gen1" or "gen2"

 

They have, also in infinite wisdom, decided that everything will now be USB-C not micro-USB so we now have a bunch of mixed versions that need the right adapters.

[david.elsbury]

They aren’t great. decimator design converters are much better, and a fetching shade of red too

[J Pearce]

So far for me it’s between Kramer and Decimator for the SDI to Composite Video adapters. And probably the cheaper no brand SDI-HDMI for non show-critical jobs.