02 December 2009 — Number 047

Minimum System Requirements for Windows™

DeckLink, Multibridge and Intensity families - Minimum System Requirements for Windows.

Contents of this technical note:

Supported Software
Blackmagic Design recommends the following software versions be used. Software versions can be found by following these steps.

Operating System

Related technical note: Should I use 32 or 64-bit versions of Windows?

Related technical note: Compatibility with Windows 7

QuickTime™ for Windows™
Install the latest available version of QuickTime if you intend to use Adobe After Effects or Autodesk Combustion as a frame buffer via Blackmagic Design hardware.

A 64-bit version of QuickTime for Windows is not available from Apple at this time and consequently QuickTime functionality may not work for some applications when used with 64-bit versions of Microsoft Windows and Blackmagic video capture products.

Related technical note: QuickTime 7: Supported Operating Systems.

Supported Application Versions
Many software applications are compatible with DeckLink, Multibridge and Intensity products. These drivers include specific support for the following popular applications but are also compatible with many other applications:

  • Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 v4.1
  • Adobe After Effects CS4
  • Adobe Photoshop CS4
  • Adobe After Effects CS3
  • Adobe Photoshop CS3
  • Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 v3.2
  • Autodesk Combustion 4 
  • Autodesk Combustion 2008
  • Eyeon Fusion 5.3
  • Steinberg Nuendo 3.2

Note: Sony Vegas Pro 8.0b support is a public beta release. Blackmagic Design does not recommend using this beta for mission critical projects. Users must turn off drawing to desktop when using Blackmagic video output to prevent dropped frames.

While older versions of these applications might work, these are the only versions which are officially supported and for which verification testing has been performed with current drivers for DeckLink, Multibridge and Intensity. Accordingly we recommend using these specific software versions for the latest features and compatibility.

Memory

  • We recommend at least 2 GB of RAM for both SD and HD for Windows XP Professional.
  • We recommend at least 4 GB of RAM for both SD and HD for Windows Vista.

Blackmagic Recommended computer systems

DeckLink, Multibridge and Intensity can be used with:

Recommended Workstations - These computer systems that have been tested in house at the Blackmagic Design lab with DeckLink, Multibridge and Intensity. After purchasing one of these systems, you will need to install DeckLink, Multibridge or Intensity and your desired software from the list of supported applications above.

Recommended Motherboards - If you want to build your own computer for use with DeckLink, Multibridge or Intensity, these motherboards are the ones to use. You might want to do this to save costs and are comfortable with building your own PC, or else you have some special configuration you need to build. Once the PC is built, you will need to install the DeckLink card and your desired software from the list of supported applications above.

Recommended Workstations for Standard and High Definition

  • Hewlett Packard Z400
  • Hewlett Packard Z600
  • Hewlett Packard Z800
  • Hewlett Packard xw8200
  • Hewlett Packard xw8600 (not recommended for DeckLink PCI-X cards)
  • Hewlett Packard xw9300 

Recommended Motherboards

  • Asus P5E
  • Asus P5B
  • Gigabyte EP45-DS3
  • Gigabyte x48DQ6
  • Intel D975XBX
  • Tyan Thunder K8WE (S2895)
  • XFX 790i Ultra
Dell systems are not supported.

Chassis
If you are building your own PC for use with DeckLink, Multibridge or Intensity, the first thing you will need is a chassis, also known as an enclosure or a case.

Some chassis include space and connections for an internal disk array. Other chassis do not provide this facility and you may need to use an external disk array for video that you capture and play back depending on the video standard and codec you intend to use.

Recommended Chassis

  • Antec Titan 650, HD-capable internal disk array
  • Lian Li PCA77, HD-capable internal disk array
  • Supermicro SC745TQ-R800, HD-capable internal disk array
  • Supermicro SC745TQ-700, HD-capable internal disk array
  • Supermicro SC942S-600, HD-capable internal disk array

Host Bus Adapters
A host bus adapter (HBA) is the kind of PCI card that connects a disk array to your computer. Some HBA's are designed for internal disk arrays, some for external disk arrays and some will connect both internally and externally. Please check the manufacturer's web site for details of internal and external connectors for your HBA. HBA's are available for different kinds of disk arrays including Serial ATA II (SATA II) and Fibre Channel (FC).

 Recommended SATA II HBA's

  • 3ware 9550SX (PCIe)
  • Highpoint RocketRAID 2220 (PCI-X)
  • LaCie eSATA II PCI Express Card 3Gb/s - 4Ports (PCIe)
  • Promise EX8350 (PCIe)
  • Sonnet Technologies Tempo SATA E4P (PCIe)
  • Sonnet Technologies Tempo SATA X4P (PCI-X)

 Recommended Fibre Channel HBA's

  • ATTO Celerity FC-22XH (PCI-X)
  • ATTO Celerity FC-24XL (PCI-X)
  • ATTO Celerity FC-42XS (PCI-X)
  • ATTO Celerity FC-44ES (PCIe)
  • LSI Logic LSI7104XP-LC (PCI-X)
  • LSI Logic LSI7202XP (PCI-X)

Disk Storage

Recommended Disk Storage for SD and HD Uncompressed 4:2:2

  • CalDigit HD Pro
  • Ciprico MediaVault series
  • G-Technology Gspeed
  • LaCie 4Big Quadra (2 units stripped RAID0)
  • Maxx Digital Evo2 HD
  • Medéa VideoRaid FCR2X
  • Medéa VideoRaid XTRM4
  • Promise VTrak series
  • Sonnet Technologies Fusion 500P. Use 1 unit for SD, or 2 units for HD, in conjunction with a Tempo SATA E4P or X4P.

Recommended Disk Storage for SD and HD Uncompressed 4:4:4 and 2K

  • CalDigit HD Pro
  • G-Technology Gspeed
  • Lacie 4BIg Quadra (4 units stripped RAID0)
  • Maxx Digital Evo2 HD (on 64-bit Windows)

Recommended Graphics Cards

PCIe x16

  • ATI FireGL Series
  • ATI Radeon 45X Series
  • nVIDIA Gforce 9x series
  • nVIDIA Quadro FX series

 

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