StudioTech 38: Blackmagic Design Hyperdeck Studio

StudioTech 38: Blackmagic Design Hyperdeck Studio

Blackmagic Design lent us the Hyperdeck Studio for a few days so we could get a chance to play with it and produce this review, thanks to Blackmagic.

This compact 1U 19″ rack mount unit is, like all, Blackmagic products sturdily built and has that professional ‘feel’ to it. Recording onto SSD drives it allows continuous recording in any of it modes due to the dual drive slots. Currently supporting 3 recording modes – Uncompressed QuickTime, Avid DNxHD Quicktime and Avid DNxHD MXF.We were very impressed with the unit!

There are a few things we hope that Blackmagic will address to increase the appeal of the device even more:

  • Enable the Ethernet control and software
  • Provide support for ProRes codecs
  • Add a simple track numbering when using the LCD display for playback

Blackmagic frequently update there firmware and software so we hope all of these items will be addressed and turn this device into a much more appealing unit.

Linking the Hyperdeck Studio with the Blackmagic Design ATEM control software to allow autostart, playback and recording would be an attractive option for ATEM owners. We could envisage an ATEM with 2 or 3 of the Hyperdeck Studios in a small rack making an incredibly powerful switching solution – but only if the software integrates them together.

If this device supported ProRes codecs we would certainly be seriously looking at having one in the studio. If your workflow is based on Avid Media Composer, or you have a need for uncompressed recording, then the Avid codec support makes this a very attractive option today.

BlackMagic Hyperdeck Studio Web page.