World’s first video product with Thunderbolt™ technology allows portable capture and playback with dual link 3 Gb/s SDI, HDMI 1.4a and analog video, 10 bit video and dual stream 3D!

MILPITAS, Calif. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — August 29, 2011 — Blackmagic Design today announced the world’s first video product with Thunderbolt technology. UltraStudio 3D which allows portable capture and playback with full resolution dual stream 3D support, 10 bit hardware architecture, dual link 3 Gb/s SDI, support for up to 1080p60 in SDI and component analog and HDMI 1.4a connections, as well as full SD, HD and 2K support, is now shipping for only US$995.

UltraStudio 3D is a compact and portable solution that uses the new Thunderbolt™ interface for dual link 3 Gb/s SDI, HDMI 1.4a and analog component/s-video/composite, as well as balanced analog and AES/EBU digital audio capture and playback. UltraStudio 3D is perfect for 3D workflows as it features interleaved, side by side, frame packed and dual stream capture and playback.

Dual stream 3D allows customers to use the UltraStudio 3D dual link SDI connections to capture and play back two streams, one for the left eye and one for the right eye. The two streams are recorded into two separate media files. Dual stream 3D is higher quality because each eye is full resolution video, but dual stream is less compatible with current editing software. To solve this problem, Blackmagic Design’s Media Express 3 has been upgraded to handle both interleaved and dual stream 3D for capture and playback of 3D media for a complete 3D solution.

With SDI, HDMI and analog video capture and playback, combined with balanced analog and AES/EBU digital audio, UltraStudio 3D lets customers connect to all decks, cameras and monitors! UltraStudio 3D instantly switches between SD, HD and 2K, so is the ideal solution for all post production and broadcast users when working on design, editing, paint and effects tasks.

UltraStudio 3D is also based on a new internal hardware design with support for 10 bit SDI video and full support for video rates up to 1080p60 via SDI, HDMI and analog component. Thunderbolt™ technology easily handles this quality, and allows high end post production quality and features in a portable design.

“We are so excited to release the world's first feature film quality Thunderbolt™ technology based capture and playback device. Working closely with Intel and Apple on this project, I cannot believe how many advanced industry leading features are packed into this single product,” said Grant Petty, CEO, Blackmagic Design. "UltraStudio 3D has finally provided a real, portable high quality solution at a price anyone can afford!"

"Thunderbolt technology is a game-changer for media creators”, says Jason Ziller, Intel’s director of Thunderbolt Marketing, “Enthusiasts can now work with multiple streams of full resolution video with extreme portability.”

UltraStudio 3D Key Features

• Thunderbolt™ technology at 10 Gb/s data rate.
• 3G SDI (3 Gb/s SDI) in and out, supports SD, HD up to 1080p60 and 2K.
• SDI inputs include full SDI re-clocking for capture from poor quality SDI sources.
• HDMI 1.4a in and out, supports SD and HD formats up to 1080p60 and frame packing 3D.
• Hardware based 10 bit Up, Down and Cross-Conversion.
• Component analog in and out.
• Component analog switches to s-video and composite.
• 2 channel balanced analog audio in and out.
• 2 channel AES/EBU unbalanced audio in and out.
• Genlock/tri-sync input.
• Sony™ compatible RS-422 deck control.
• Supports uncompressed 8 and 10 bit and compressed video capture and playback.
• Capture/playback of side by side, line by line, top and bottom and frame packing 3D via HDMI.
• Capture/playback of side by side, line by line, top and bottom and dual stream 3D via SDI.
• Includes hardware SD and HD keying.
• Compatible with Mac OS X computers with a Thunderbolt™ port.
• Supports Final Cut Studio, Premiere Pro, Photoshop, After Effects, DaVinci Resolve and more.
• Includes free developer SDK.
• Includes free Media Express 3 capture and playback software.