I understand the Intensity Shuttle can’t work both ways, sending and capturing video at the same time. However, on a MacBook Pro I assumed that the video capture through Intensity Shuttle-Thunderbolt-Media Express and outputting the laptop screen would be two completely independent processes.
The idea was to send from the laptop a screen display (HDMI) to AV converter, to Visual Cortex, and in another screen to run Blackmagic Media Express, to capture the component out signal from Visual Cortex.
Everything works as expected, with one or the other, but not with both at the same time. As soon as I connect the HDMI to AV, Media Express loses its input.
Does anyone know if it’s because the laptop is applying a restriction to the Thunderbolt connection (or any type of video input), when sending a screen display? Although Blackmagic Desktop Video Utility still recognises that the Intensity Shuttle is connected.
Or is the problem with Media Express, perhaps not recognising the input format?
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Interesting enough, it seems to be a problem with the Intensity Shuttle not been able to recognise the output signal from Visual Cortex once the VC is in sync with an external composite signal. All I get is a black screen, no matter what settings I try.
But when there is no video input signal going into the VC, the Intensity Shuttle picks up the composite or component output without problem. Also, when the signal is out of sync (for example, using a PAL signal with the VC on NTSC), the Shuttle still displays the video output from the VC. Of course, that’s not great, but at least it tells me there is no a restriction coming from the laptop itself.
What I can’t understand is why the Intensity Shuttle doesn’t work if the VC has sync to an external video signal, when a cheaper video capture has no problems whatsoever with it.
Has anyone managed to get it to recognise the video output from the Visual Cortex, with the VC sync to an external source? If you were so lucky, would you mind telling me what settings are you using?
Maybe a TBC before the VC input will help? That is, don’t sync the VC to your computer. Only sync the computer to the VC output. Sync the TBC to the VC and let it deal with the timing.
The old TBC module will do this, if you can find one, or you could wait for the TBC2. If you can’t wait, a simple alternative would be a video mixer with a single TBC. You feed the video from the computer into the channel with the TBC and the sync signal into the other channel. You might find a mixer like that very cheaply on ebay. There are other TBC options but they tend to be much more expensive.
Thanks for the reply. As you seem to suggest, the issue with the Intensity Shuttle appears to be that once the Visual Cortex syncs to an external video input, it’s output would be an “unstable” NTSC video signal, not stable enough for the Intensity Shuttle to pick up, certainly different from the NTSC output it generates without any external video input.
I had assumed that the output from Visual Cortex didn’t change, that it was always a stable NTSC signal. What amazes me is that that is still no problem for a video capture set under 30 Euros!
Eventually I might try to get a video mixer, even if I have no interest in using it for mixing video, just to see if it helps to stabilise the signal before the Intensity Shuttle into something more to its presets liking. But here in eBay Germany they seem to cost no less than 400 Euros. Unless anyone can recommend a cheaper option, widely available?
For now, I’ll stick with my amazing video capture device, that one that costed me less than 30 Euros.
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John,
do you have a link to the 30€ video capture card that works that you could share please?
cheers
Jim
Actually, it was less than 20€! 19.99€, to be precise. It’s the Digitnow Video Capture
However, I haven’t tried it yet with the MacBook Pro. I use it on an old MacBook with USB ports. If you have a MacBook Pro with USB-C running the latest OS, the Digitnow might not work, since it’s old, has some old drivers… Though I don’t know for sure.
I just mentioned it in this post, because it surprises me that it can pick up the video output from the Visual Cortex without problems, what the 200€ Blackmagic Intensity Shuttle (+ very expensive Thunderbolt + USB-C Adaptor cables) not always seems able to do.
To be fair with the Intensity Shuttle, I bought it to be able to send Component out to the Visual Cortex, since I got tired of getting the cheaper option (the Musou HDMI to Component), which I think it would have worked, if only I ever got it delivered with the correct power supply.
The Shuttle also has the advantage of being able to record to higher resolution, thought at the moment I haven’t even tried pushing the Digitnow to its maximum capacity.
I have a think about it - I have a working macbook from 2007 and a mbp from 2012 - so one of those should work