Decimator MD-HX (Tutorial) - The ONE Livestream Tool For Pros

[@NoelDelPilar]

Excellent information. Have one, never use it yet.

[@zephanmoses]

Such a great tool

[@EastTexasProductions]

I have 2 of these already and about to add 2 more. Best tool ever.

[@creightonholub]

thank you for putting the bottom line up front.

[@sidestreetvideoproduction7278]

I found the menu's confusing, but your demo helped clarify things for me. Thanks for the great tutorial.

[@zephanmoses]

It’s not too bad once you get it down but definitely confusing at first.

[@bob76451]

I use one every single time I plug a computer/laptop into my video system. It just makes sure everything plays nice.

[@zephanmoses]

Yep! That’s when I use them the most.

[@allanclloyds]

You briefly touched on a USB-C to HDMI cable for Macs, would be great to see a video on dealing with EDID & HDCP issues - lots of bad information about that out there!

[@zephanmoses]

I really haven’t had any issues with it but I’m usually running my signal from MacBook to a decimator before it hits the atem and it’s been flawless so far.

[@bardsolo]

@@zephanmoses Can the decimator take the 720 p /60 from my macbook and convert it to a 1080i /60 into a blackmagic ATEM?

[@zephanmoses]

@@bardsolo I’d check the full list of specs on their website but I believe so.

[@youritguy1]

Will add that to my list called (Zephan Said to BUY THIS NOW)... lol

[@zephanmoses]

They’re a live saver in so many situations. Probably my favorite device.

[@youritguy1]

@@zephanmoses :)

[@DouglasWidick]

My canon eosm6 isn't converting to SDI for me..I might have to get a decimator to see if it helps

[@zephanmoses]

The Decimator will at least tell you on screen what resolution is coming in over the HDMI cord and then if necessary it will scale/convert it. How are you currently converting from HDMI to SDI? What cables? What adapters? What converters?

[@thomasnoe2714]

I bought one specifically for use with teleprompter so that I could see a laptop screen image reversed on the teleprompter. I can't get it to work. zero color output, zero HDMI output. I'm not interested in the re-scaling as i'm doing HDMI In and HDMI out. Only interested in ability to flip the image. My telepropter shows an unreversed image when I take the decimator out of the chain. So I know the monitor and all cables work just fine. How do I get the HDMI output to actually work. If I don't get this working soon I'll be forced to return it as a defective device so any guidance would be appreciated.

[@zephanmoses]

Thanks for reaching out. Need a little more information - is it hdmi cable out of the laptop into the decimator hdmi input and then hdmi cable from the decimator output into the teleprompter? What type of cables? What cable length? Any adapters/converters/hubs in between? Chances are you have some settings wrong. In the decimator you need to tell it which source to output over the hdmi and you’ll be able to choose from hdmi, sdi or duc (down up converter). Something else you can do to troubleshoot is to set your time code in the decimator to free run and then there’s a setting to output a color when it has no input. When set properly it will output the color if there’s no input. This is an easy way to find out if your input isn’t working. Also on the screen you’ll see three things: H which is the incoming hdmi signal resolution and frame rate S which is the SDI incoming signal and frame rate and D which is the scaled output resolution. Check that you have a signal next to H - chances are it’s 1080p30 if you plugged everything in right. If you don’t have information next to H then the signal isn’t even making it into the Decimator in which case it could be a bad cable, the cable is plugged into the output instead of the input or your computer is not set up properly in the display output settings to send a signal over HDMI.

[@justhoodug]

Why should I choose that over Blackmagic bidirectional HDMI/SDI converter

[@zephanmoses]

As I mentioned on your other comment - the MD-HX does scaling. The bidirectionals do not. It does up, down and cross conversion so you can scale framerates and resolutions while simultaneously converting hdmi to sdi or sdi to hdmi. A great example is if you have a livestream that’s streaming at 1080p60 but you have a projector or a screen to output to that can only take 1080p at 30 frames. The decimator can scale/convert the 60 down to 30. We also use decimators in between a laptop and SDI switchers to convert the laptop from hdmi to sdi but also to run it through the scaler. It prevents a lot of issues with flickering and signal problems in general.

[@justhoodug]

Thanks Moses for this elaborate explanation

[@fed02]

Hi, I dont know where I could get an answer after scouring the internet. Recently, i did a event which the NEC projector caused me a lot of issues. I linked it to my camera and the only frame rate that the projector could show the image was 50fps & 60fps. It did not work on 24, 25, 30 fps. Would a decimator help me in my situation?

[@zephanmoses]

Yes if the projector supports other framerates. Some cameras only output 50/60p. Newer and more expensive cameras have more control over the framerate they can output.

[@fed02]

@@zephanmoses Thank you. Can i scale up? camera 30fps and the projector 60fps?

[@zephanmoses]

@@fed02 You can but it's not going to add any information that isn't already there. It will convert the framerates just fine but I would recommend testing any videos since motion might look funky.

[@chrismanchester6363]

Can the flip work on hdmi in and hdmi out?

[@zephanmoses]

The flip occurs on the output but you can choose between outputting HDMI, SDI or the DUC which is the scaled source. The DUC is also able to be set to scale the HDMI input or the SDI input.

[@Mobi-Kenzo]

@@zephanmoses I know this is an old thread, but so does that mean it can be used to simply carry an HDMI signal (HDMI signal going in, and out of Decimator), or does it have to be an HDMI going into SDI, or vice versa?

[@zephanmoses]

@ it could be used to duplicate the hdmi signal. So it can go HDMI > SDI and it can loop HDMI > HDMI (one or both).

[@Mobi-Kenzo]

@@zephanmoses Wow, I appreciate the quick reply for such an old video! Okay so, i've managed to use it for my teleprompter as an extra display. However, now it does not want to flip the screen horizontally. I've tried many different settings.

[@zephanmoses]

@@Mobi-Kenzo So you have to make sure that the HDMI is set to output the Scaler, not the HDMI input. Basically, any time that you flip the image using the built in decimator flip feature, it's technically using the scaler to do this. So if the HDMI output is set to the HDMI input, you'll never see it flipped, but if you change your HDMI output to be the scaler, you'll see it.

[@megamattzero7348]

Can it rotate video 90 degrees with black bars on the sides?

[@zephanmoses]

I have to check on that one. I know it can flip but the easiest way to find out is to look at their support page and the online manual. I don’t know that I’ve ever done that though.

[@megamattzero7348]

@Zephan Moses - Live Streamer thanks for the reply! I have the Blackmagic Atem Extreme ISO however rotation is greyed out in the DVE section. Do you know how to enable it? I was looking for a solution but I couldn't find anything online.

[@zephanmoses]

@@megamattzero7348 I don't believe the ATEM Extreme DVE is capable of rotation if it's greyed out. Might be a feature of higher end atems that share the same software control application.

[@markthomas8018]

Does it work with liveu solo?

[@zephanmoses]

Of course

[@paulloth]

Isn't this just a Blackmagic Crossconverter from another company?

[@zephanmoses]

No this is not a Blackmagic converter. BM does have an up down cross but it uses dip switches and doesn’t have nearly as many features.

[@JustMeBroooo]

I can't find one in stock anywhere (aside from the overpriced amazon links)?? Is the livestreaming business really blowing up THAT much?? lol

[@zephanmoses]

It’s busier than ever! Check out the brand Lumantek on B&H as a good alternative. It even has a built in LCD screen. Blackmagic also has an up down cross converter it just doesn’t have as many features.