New range of Mini Converters are machined out of solid aluminum for a super heavy duty design that’s able to withstand live production and broadcast environments.
IBC 2011, Amsterdam, The Netherlands - September 9, 2011 - Blackmagic Design today announced a new family of super heavy duty Mini Converters that feature a unique design that’s machined from a solid block of aluminum for amazing strength, as well as for protecting connectors. Heavy duty mini converters also include innovative features and technologies such as 3 Gb/s SDI. There are 4 models in the Mini Converter Heavy Duty product range which are all priced at only €425.
Blackmagic Design’s heavy duty mini converters will be demonstrated on the Blackmagic Design IBC 2011 booth at #7.H20.
Unlike traditional converters which are designed using standard metal boxes for indoor use, Blackmagic Design’s new heavy duty mini converters have been totally redesigned using techniques taken from military products to allow for super strength, and are better suited for live production environments. Each converter is machined from a solid block of aluminum, and is able to withstand amazing crushing forces such as if accidentally run over by a car or truck.
To help eliminate problems with connector damage, each converter’s machined metal chassis overhangs the connector area so all connections are protected. Printing is laser etched so helps eliminate labeling being damaged through rough outdoor handling. There is also a dust resistant rubber boot covering the configuration switches.
No other video converter available is built as tough as Blackmagic Design’s new heavy duty mini converters!
Even with this super strong design, the new heavy duty mini converters also include extremely powerful features such as 3 Gb/s SDI technology, redundant SDI inputs, balanced analog and AES/EBU switchable audio, standard 1/4 inch jack audio connections and an international power supply that includes adapter plates for all international power sockets.
Redundant SDI inputs are designed to be used on live events where cables could be damaged by crowds so if video input is lost, the SDI inputs instantly change. Loop thru SDI allows the SDI input to loop to other equipment. 3 Gb/s SDI allows Mini Converters to be upgraded via the built in USB connection to support new television formats in the future. Built in mini switches allow settings to be changed for audio types, audio de-embedding channels, analog video types and more.
There are 4 models of Mini Converter Heavy Duty: Mini Converter Heavy Duty SDI to Analog, Mini Converter Heavy Duty Analog to SDI, Mini Converter Heavy Duty SDI to HDMI, and Mini Converter Heavy Duty HDMI to SDI. All these models are priced at €425.
“When we developed the new heavy duty Mini Converters, we designed them to be used in live production so we knew they had to be a whole order beyond what had been designed before. Our main goal was to be able to run over the converters with a car or truck and they must keep working. We looked closely at devices for the military and how they were designed to be tough, and then combined that knowledge with elegant styling so the converters still look really nice!” said Grant Petty, CEO, Blackmagic Design. “To test how tough these converters are, we took them out and ran over them repeatedly with a Centurion Mk8 battle tank weighing 54 tons. Even after running over them multiple times while operating with live video, there was not a single glitch, and the converters kept working fine! That just shows how tough these new converters truly are!”
Availability and Price
All models of Mini Converter Heavy Duty are available now for €425 from Blackmagic Design resellers worldwide.
Press Photography
Product photos of the heavy duty Mini Converters, and all other Blackmagic Design products, are available at www.blackmagic-design.com/press/images.
About Blackmagic Design
Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and film restoration software for the feature film, post-production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability, while the company’s DaVinci Emmy™ award winning color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including stereoscopic 3D and 4K workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore, and Australia. For more information, please check www.blackmagic-design.com.
