Blackmagic increases its portfolio with the purchase of Ultimatte and Fairlight

While Ultimatte develops cutting-edge solutions to improve the use of green and blue chromas in film and television, Fairlight is recognized for designing advanced products for digital audio processing both live and in post-production.

Blackmagic has announced the purchase of two prominent companies in the sector: Ultimatte and Fairlight. While Ultimatte develops cutting-edge solutions to improve the use of green and blue chromas in film and television, Fairlight is recognized for designing advanced products for digital audio processing both live and in post-production.

Ultimatte is recognized around the world for providing professional quality results, in which it is not possible to distinguish between virtual and real sets. Likewise, it creates equipment to eliminate in real time the green or blue screen used in recording studios to superimpose the image of journalists and presenters on virtual backgrounds. Almost all reporters or meteorologists work in front of this type of screen when reporting the news or weather report.

For the past 40 years, the company has been responsible for manufacturing the computer and physical support necessary to combine the images of these people against maps, stock diagrams and other graphic elements. In fact, Ultimatte products are being used to achieve completely fictitious recording sets.

Ultimatte employs advanced 4:4:4:4 image processing and provides improved masking controls that allow users to accurately separate the subject from the background. In addition, it provides features for adjusting composition and direct and indirect light, as well as suppression tools and controls for elements on the edges, all in real time.

Ultimatte was founded in 1976 and has been awarded not only an Oscar, but also an Emmy, thanks to its real-time compositing technology, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Grant Petty, executive director of Blackmagic Design, commented that "the solutions for creating chroma compositions offered by Ultimatte have been the preferred option for 40 years. Virtually all of the most important broadcasters in the world have incorporated the equipment developed by this company into their work dynamics."

Fairlight

As for Fairlight, it is a company that develops products for digital audio used in the creation of surround sound mixes, the transmission of live events and the post-production of film and television projects.

It has an outstanding track record in the design and manufacturing of integrated audio consoles and computer applications recognized for their exceptional quality, speed and flexibility. The Fairlight Live product line includes mixing consoles designed for the most demanding live productions and provides users with advanced audio processing technology, with control surfaces ranging from 12 to 60 faders, and input and output interfaces with redundancy systems to perform critical tasks in broadcast studios, field mobiles, religious centers and performance venues.

Fairlight also manufactures a wide range of post-production products, ranging from compact mixing workstations to consoles with dedicated controls. The audio engines produced by Fairlight have a capacity of 1000 tracks and allow the creation of highly complex compositions without prior mixing, in addition to offering 64 channels for monitoring audio signals.

Exceptional project post-production consoles and editing programs provide users with touch controls and unique features, such as temporal compression and stretching, to achieve perfect synchronization between the audio in a clip and the images. In order to offer products for the television and film market, Fairlight also develops surround sound systems that allow projects to be delivered in DTS MDA, Dolby Atmos, 5.1 and 22.2 (NHK) formats, among others. These complex mixers also provide the possibility of reproducing images in 2K and 4K definition.

Teranex OFF

Blackmagic has also announced the new Teranex AV, an innovative standards converter designed especially for audiovisual professionals. It is an innovative standards converter designed especially for professionals in the audiovisual sector. It is similar to the Teranex Express model, but it also has internal memory to store logos and graphic elements, as well as a special function that offers the possibility of freezing the image. On the other hand, it allows 1089 different types of conversions to be carried out in any format with a maximum resolution of 2160p60 and extremely low latency, which facilitates the projection of the material in sync with the event covered.

One of the most notable features of this equipment is that it has 12G SDI outputs and connections with four SDI links that facilitate the use of audiovisual surfaces made up of several screens. It also has an HDMI 2.0a input and two individual HDMI outputs, one for raw signals and the other for processed material. It should be noted that this model also includes connections for professional and hi-fi audio equipment that allow it to be used with iPods, laptops and lapel microphones.

New DeckLink Mini 4K models

The DeckLink Mini Monitor 4K and DeckLink Mini Recorder 4K PCIe models, two new PCIe cards with the capacity to process UHD content and high dynamic range (HDR) images, are other new features from Blackmagic.

Both versions are available and support material in different definitions up to a maximum resolution of 2160p30.

In addition to featuring 6G SDI technology, these new low-profile PCI Express 2.0 cards include four lanes and HDMI 2.0a connections. These features allow you to process professional quality material in 10-bit YUV or 12-bit RGB formats, as well as high dynamic range images with their corresponding metadata. Furthermore, both models facilitate the use of Rec. 2020 color space and are compatible with Blackmagic Desktop Video development tools, making them ideal for OEMs or users who want to develop custom capture and playback solutions.

The DeckLink Mini Monitor 4K version provides the ability to play SDI and HDMI signals in any format with a maximum resolution of 2160p30. For this reason, it is widely used by editors and colorists who work with programs such as DaVinci Resolve.

The outputs automatically adjust to the format of the transmitted material, making it ideal for use with all types of modern HDMI televisions, professional monitors and projectors. It should be noted that this card is also the most economical option among devices that play high dynamic range content.

For its part, the DeckLink Mini Recorder 4K model allows you to capture images from SDI or HDMI sources, such as cameras and recorders, with the aim of storing them on computer equipment. Thanks to its low-profile design, it offers exceptional flexibility and easily integrates into outdoor mobiles or any live broadcast environment.
Both models are capable of processing compressed or uncompressed files in open formats such as QuickTime and DPX, so they are compatible with virtually all editing and special effects programs. This gives users the ability to work with applications such as DaVinci Resolve, Fusion, Media Composer, Final Cut Pro, and Premiere Pro, among others.

Updates

Finally, the Australian company has released some significant updates to some of its products. Among others, the new version for the Blackmagic Video Assist 4K model stands out, which allows false colors to be used to check exposure and offers new transmission speeds for DNx formats, among other features; Fusion 8.2 version 8.2 and DaVinci Resolve 12.5 version 12.5.
The Video Assist 4K update incorporates new features that make it easier to use the focus indicator, as well as adjust exposure using new tools to generate false color images.

Additionally, users using Avid applications on Windows can save DNxHD (220/145/45) and DNxHR (HQ/SQ/LB) files in MXF format instead of .mov, improving compatibility with the operating system. This version also allows you to disable the automatic screen orientation function. This simplifies the use of the device with stabilizers and other equipment designed to move the camera along with its platform simultaneously.

Regarding the new version of DaVinci Resolve, it provides greater compatibility with the metadata integrated in the RAW files generated by Blackmagic Ursa Mini cameras that have the latest version of the operating system. It also offers new labels for color spaces when exporting content in QuickTime format, additional options for smart folders and innovative functions for filtering timelines in the Color module based on the use of plug-ins, among other features. Also includes Fusion Connect for Linux.

Access to the IBC 2016 Special in Audiovisual Panorama