HDMI recorder - to record presentation stream to projector

[TomHoward]

Does anyone have any experience with an entry-level (ie cheaper) hardware recorder for HDMI?

I want to record an HDMI stream sent to projector for recording the slides lectures to sync back up with the camera video later.

Do any of the cheaper Chinese units work or do I need to buy an Atmos Ninja or similar etc?
I'd prefer something that could be powered rather than battery - I can do this with a laptop and capture card also but I'd prefer something hardware/standalone.

(Currently I take a copy of the slides and sync the still images back up to what I see on screen - but a) it takes ages and b) it doesn't work for any presentations eg Menti or Kahoot with audience interaction / live content)

[J Pearce]

An ATEM mini pro will record to USB disk, and costs under £300.

The Pro ISO will record all inputs to USB and costs £450ish. If you have access to the camera feed and the laptop feed at a convenient location you could feed both in and get a presynced DaVinciResolve file on a USB SSD.

[sleah]

I've used a couple. Generally they'll record perfectly fine. The biggest problem I've found is the file splitting. They tend to either leave a complete gap of several frames or split the video within a frame or so, but then there's several frames when the audio is muted, so when you stitch them together - you can guess!

If the presentations are only like half an hour or so, then you'll probably be absolutely fine with the no-name Amazon specials, although I'd avoid the very cheapest.

Edited March 8 by sleah

[Dave m]

Back when I did this I tried all sorts.

Quicktime screen recording (on a Mac) 

A cheap gaming recorder that seemed to have issues, 

getting a copy of the PP on a stick and whipping to the screen with the camera and back in order to be able to ID the slide

ATEM. So long as the computer is seen by the ATEM and can be split to the projector, connect a camera and record live if you can, or use an ISO and do it in post. 

[TomHoward]

Thanks , both venues have Kramer splitters / matrixes so I can do an HDMI feed straight for recording so splitting the image on to the projector isn’t a problem.

We have Atem minis but not pros or ISOs but that is a thought, they would record direct. The camera is usually standalone though so there wouldn’t be a camera feed available.

I’d say presentations are usually around 1hr.  I wouldn’t have thought the audio is likely to be a problem as they’re mostly silent, unless I was unlucky enough to have a file split of that usual 1min of video in a 60min presentation. 

[ninjadingle]

Extron SMP series might work for you if you don't mind secondhand - there's a SMP351 on eBay right now for £199.

[TomHoward]

On 3/11/2024 at 10:52 AM, ninjadingle said:

Extron SMP series might work for you if you don't mind secondhand - there's a SMP351 on eBay right now for £199.

Thanks for this - I hadn't thought of streaming basically being the same thing as recording but writing to disk instead, but of course that's what the ATEM approach would be. Looks like I would get away with an even simpler SMP but I'll have a look at the eBay one for sure 

[Dave m]

Are these all in one place with you having the ability to add software?

A place I work at uses YuJa on their machines. I assume that it requires an account, IT to install and store?

[TomHoward]

The presentations are often on laptops from visiting speakers, so recording the HDMI stream is preferable to screen recording / software on the presenting laptop. 

I could use a dedicated laptop with an Atem/capture card but to be honest my preference is a hardware solution if possible - just as I tend to find computers take so much admin time keeping them up to date etc… something I could either keep in the rack or deploy in a 1U case between venues would be ideal - the Extron looks good with an SSD in or recording onto USB stick. 

[ninjadingle]

Just be wary of HDCP if any of your users are using Macs or iOS....

[sleah]

1 hour ago, ninjadingle said:

Just be wary of HDCP if any of your users are using Macs or iOS....

Does the ...cough... cheap basic hdmi splitter trick get round it as they do in 'other' situations?

[david.elsbury]

On 3/15/2024 at 11:38 PM, sleah said:

Does the ...cough... cheap basic hdmi splitter trick get round it as they do in 'other' situations?

Probably. Usually. Most of the time. (Until it doesn’t…)