I do agree the IS-Mini is a good LUT box.

We will be supplying them from early Feb

Steve

Hello.

I've read the whole thread with a lot of interest.

I was considering the BMD HDLinkPro, so I could de-embed audio form the SDI signal and use it to emulate P3 space on a Dell U2713HM.

Is the AJA LUT-box, a better option?

Kind Regards,

Jj

Yep, the AJA LUT box works perfectly with LUTs.
But you need to check audio capabilities - it passes audio, bit what exactly is your workflow to be?

Steve

Steve
Hello Steve.

I am looking for a suitable option to de-embed the six channels of 5.1 from the HDMI stream. A friend who is very knowledageable in sound, recommends the DATASAT AP20 processor. That would be my last resort option as it is quite expensive.

Basically, I'm building a QC station for DCDMs and DCPs.

Any suggestions are welcome.

Kind regards,

Jj

I have to say we do not recommend any audio kit, as that is not our area of expertise.
You really need to talk to an audio expert!

Sorry

Very interesting thread, I've used the HDLink for 3 years, just using it to convert HD-SDI into HDMI, but was about to start testing it as a LUT box until I came across this thread. Close call!

On a similar note, has anyone used the new Mac Pros to output HDMI straight to a projector / monitor for accurate grading? Is this a sensible workflow, Steve? Any landmines in that field?

Best,

Pat Wintersgill
Colourist / Head of Picture
Creativity Media

Hi Pat, with Windows I'd have no issue using direct HDMI - with Macs I have found them to be very, very unreliable for colour accuracy...

Yikes.

So Mac Pro via Thunderbolt into Ultrastudio express, HDMI out from there might be more sensible? Have you seen that in action by any chance?

Best,

Pat Wintersgill
Colourist / Head of Picture
Creativity Media

Yes, you need a video board like AJA or Blackmagic to get proper colour and bit depth, as pointed by Steve HDMI managed by MacOS can be hicky, it has ICC, 8 bit only and a bit of that Apple magic on top

Hello Guys! I wish I read this tipic sooner. I bought an HD Link Pro and it is useless. I'm very disappointed. I'm going to give a very hard time to kristian at black magic.

I see there is an HD Link LUT building option in Lightspace CMS, but the problem stays the same. Is there any advice here how to get back my blacks??

I can't load it into the colorgrading programe (Resolve) because I'm using a second calibrated monitor as well.

Ok, have done some homework on this issue..
Now the problem is stated to be a problem you would expect based on it being a 17point LUT.
Over at BMD forum see (http://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=9964&p=213528#p213528) to see comments to this effect from some well respected people..

But the thing that then gets me is that the AJA unit as listed on your website is a supported LUT box and it is also limited to 17point.
Does it have the same issues as the HDlink?

Steve, can you expand on this from your perspective?

Thanks

jamiegau
Yep, I can easily expand on that.

It is total rubbish!
The errors with the HD Link Pro have NOTHING to do with the LUT being 17^3.

The AJA for example does not suffer the same issues at all.

And you can 'test' any LUT within LightSpace via the 'Active LUT' function before uploading into the HD Link Pro, and that proves the validity of the 17^3 LUT.
(You can export the LUT in the HD Link Pro format and re-import into LightSpace to prove the LUT workflow)

The HD Link Pro distorts the LUT - end of story!

Steve

Back in 2012 I picked up an HDLink for half-price at a consignment sale. 3 years later, I finally got around to trying it out. I was able to confirm everything Steve said.
I ran SMPTE bars out of Resolve (w/ a Decklink), to a Tektronix scope. Then I did the same through the HDLink, and overlaid the results:

You basically don't see anything special, because the signal was identical.

Compare to:
Then I created a LUT. First I installed it in Resolve and measured. Then ran it through pipeline #2 (LUT in HDLink), and as you can see from the overlay, it's a mess. The results are decidedly different.


Here's a PSD file with the 4 frame grabs:
http://drewlahat.com/misc/Color/HDLink_Tests.psd

Now in my case, the LUT is for calibrating a consumer client display, which was at >dE11 beforehand. So it's still worth using vs. not using anything, but at least be aware of what you're doing. I also measured the display chain with the LUTs running in Resolve vs. the HDLink, and magically, the skew that the HDLink added made it even better. Oh well.

Now, Blackmagic finally has an answer to this. As has been announced at NAB 2016, the Teranex Mini converters ($500) now support 33-point 3D LUTs. So we have another LUT box in the market. I'm looking forward to Steve trying it out to make sure it has none of the woes the old HDLink had...

https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/teranexmini