4 ms·

If we lived in a just, and virtuous world we'd all be using cheap coaxial cables with BNC connectors via whatever version of SDI is the highest bit rate.

mschuster91 3y ago
SDI can't do any communication between the source and sink. You can do a limited form if you use two SDI cables (one upstream, one downstream) which is what stuff like BlackMagic's bi-directional micro converter does, but IIRC that's only used for talkback to the camera operator and HDMI CEC messages which is how they implement things like their ATEM Mini consoles triggering recording - not for DDC-style format and framerate negotiations. Also, device manufacturers don't do SDI on consumer devices because SDI is by definition unencrypted and uncompressed, so it's at odds with HDCP. [1] https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/microconverters https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/microconverters
- ShadowBanThis01 3y ago
  BMD has done some innovative things through their SDI port, specifically enabling camera control with an Arduino-add-on board. Someone finally did what I've wanted to see for years: built a follow-focus unit that controls the focusing motors in the lenses, so you don't have to bolt a ridiculous contraption (and janky focusing-ring adapters) onto a lens to turn its (non-mechanical) focusing ring manually.
  - mschuster91 3y ago
    What I want to see is someone dump the FPGA in these Micro Converters and hack it to add an USB interface. The Micro Converters are all just the same in the interior: SerDes units and clock/redrivers on the I/O ports and an FPGA that additionally has an USB connection which is used to power the converter but could also be used to do other things. That FPGA should be powerful enough to do a lot of interesting things - anything from fooling around with commands (like with the Arduino board) to image manipulation (e.g. a watermark embed).
formerly_proven 3y ago
12G-SDI of 2015 is the first SDI revision to surpass DVI from the 90s in terms of bandwidth. 24G-SDI, which seems to only exist on paper so far, has about one quarter the bandwidth of a DisplayPort 2.0 link. It's unsurprisingly annoying trying to compete with a bundle of cables using only one wire.
NavinF 3y ago
That would suck. I'd need at least 4 coax cables for each monitor. Btw DP cables are often twinax and eDP cables are often microcoax. In a just, and virtuous world we'd all be using cheap SMF cables with LC connectors

mschuster91 3y ago

SDI can't do any communication between the source and sink. You can do a limited form if you use two SDI cables (one upstream, one downstream) which is what stuff like BlackMagic's bi-directional micro converter does, but IIRC that's only used for talkback to the camera operator and HDMI CEC messages which is how they implement things like their ATEM Mini consoles triggering recording - not for DDC-style format and framerate negotiations. Also, device manufacturers don't do SDI on consumer devices because SDI is by definition unencrypted and uncompressed, so it's at odds with HDCP. [1] https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/microconverters https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/microconverters

ShadowBanThis01 3y ago
BMD has done some innovative things through their SDI port, specifically enabling camera control with an Arduino-add-on board. Someone finally did what I've wanted to see for years: built a follow-focus unit that controls the focusing motors in the lenses, so you don't have to bolt a ridiculous contraption (and janky focusing-ring adapters) onto a lens to turn its (non-mechanical) focusing ring manually.
- mschuster91 3y ago
  What I want to see is someone dump the FPGA in these Micro Converters and hack it to add an USB interface. The Micro Converters are all just the same in the interior: SerDes units and clock/redrivers on the I/O ports and an FPGA that additionally has an USB connection which is used to power the converter but could also be used to do other things. That FPGA should be powerful enough to do a lot of interesting things - anything from fooling around with commands (like with the Arduino board) to image manipulation (e.g. a watermark embed).

formerly_proven 3y ago

12G-SDI of 2015 is the first SDI revision to surpass DVI from the 90s in terms of bandwidth. 24G-SDI, which seems to only exist on paper so far, has about one quarter the bandwidth of a DisplayPort 2.0 link. It's unsurprisingly annoying trying to compete with a bundle of cables using only one wire.

NavinF 3y ago

That would suck. I'd need at least 4 coax cables for each monitor. Btw DP cables are often twinax and eDP cables are often microcoax. In a just, and virtuous world we'd all be using cheap SMF cables with LC connectors