Using BlackMagic Design Intensity Shuttle

How do you install that very expensive "card" into an iMac?

Some folks are getting that old FW stuff to work on newer Macs, some don't have as much luck. Get the iMac, try it out. See if you can get it to work. The Intensity Shuttle is an old product, I'd not rely on it much these days.

Look into the BMD UltraStudio HD Mini.

The “cost” depends on how you use Final Cut. If you use it just for personal purposes, then I agree with BenB, it’s an expensive option.

However, if you use FCP to produce videos for clients as I do, I have to pursue the best quality I can achieve for them. Many of those clients have used scenes from old SD BetacamSP and 1-inch video tapes in current HD projects, so a high quality capture card was a necessity. And of course, in a business setting it becomes a depreciating asset that’s just part of the cost of doing business.

From an operational point of view, it doesn’t matter that the card is in a separate enclosure and not within the computer itself. It functions just like it was installed inside a computer. With my old Mac Pro, it was inside the machine. Now with the Mini, it’s in an external enclosure. It works exactly the same.

THIS CAPTURE CARD would be a big step up from the Canopus 300. I have an older version of this card. I’ve captured hundreds of hours of analog video footage from 1-inch, Betacam, Mini-DV, 3/4 U-matic, and VHS over the years and have been very pleased with the results.

In order to use the Intensity Shuttle (either Thunderbolt or USB), you'll need to have Blackmagic Desktop Video installed and capture with that. I have no idea if all of that works any more, it's been a good 16 years since I've used that stuff. These days I use a RetroTINK 4K and capture it's HDMI output onto an Atomos Ninja RAW, then copy the files that it records onto the SSD into Final Cut Pro.

Chandidvevi, I will ask my friend about your digitization project. Do you have an idea of the typical running time for the tapes?

As for using ProRes 422, don’t be afraid of it. It is native to your Mac, and works flawlessly. It is the only capture format I’ve ever used for my clients. The ProRes 422 LT setting may not be good enough to handle the typical noise found in analog video, and ProRes 422HQ is more than you need. You should use ProRes 422.

Anyone who knows what a "flying erase head" is has been in the business for a while. ;-)

My answer about the TBC is: yes...and no. I did not need to use a TBC to capture video with the AJA Kona LHi card I used. However, my setup was likely not the norm.

Here's what my legacy video digitization suite looked like:

All of the machines except the 3/4 U-Matic and the VHS deck had their own built-in time base corrector. With the 3/4 machine, I used that Fortel Turbo II TBC because I could come out of the 3/4 using the DUB OUT connector, and the TBC provided COMPONENT outputs for capture. This bypassed all the color processing circuitry in the 3/4 machine and most of that circuitry in the TBC. However, I also used an AJA-10 sync generator to lock everything to house sync. The AJA capture card could also be genlocked to the house. In digital video today we don't have to concern ourselves with horizontal and vertical sync pulses, but in analog video they were very important.

When I had to capture from the VHS machine, I did not use a TBC. I would set the AJA card sync reference to VIDEO IN, and the card then locked up to the sync pulses from the video coming into it from the VHS machine. I also used the Y/C output of the VHS machine, thus bypassing all the color processing circuitry in that machine, too. Less expensive capture cards default to using the sync pulses from the video input because that's the only input they have. They don't provide a way to lock to an external source. But some of them have difficulty providing a stable capture if the input video signal is really noisy, as in a 2nd generation VHS dub.

You asked about stable capture during shuttle, but I can't answer that because I never tried to do it. However, I captured hundreds of camera field tapes over the years that had blank spots between scenes here and there. Even when there was nothing on the tape, the card still captured the video. When I played back the digital file, I just got a screen full of snow in the blank spots, just like what was on the tape.

Ben, I’m not sure how to interpret your comment. No, I sure don’t shoot with Arri’s. That’s WAY beyond my budget. I shoot with a couple of old Panasonics and my phone when I have to.

I don't mean to come off as looking down my nose at small video producers. They have a very important role in today’s video world. I used to be a very active video producers/editor, but today I have joined the ranks of small video producer/editors. That’s why my name here is “Old_Video_Guy.” I’m 80 years old.

The AJA card I have was purchased a long time ago because back then many of my clients wanted to release old, tape-based SD videos on YouTube. They wanted it up-sampled to what I call “pseudo-HD.” That card was perfect for the task, and has paid for itself many, many times.

Fast forward to today, and anyone working with analog video on tape has to be very careful about the device they choose to digitize that video. They have a choice of a lot of different devices to do that, and not all of them provide professional results. A couple of years ago I was mentoring a young man getting into digital video. He was digitizing some 3/4” U-Matic video and some VHS stuff, using an inexpensive capture card. The results he was getting were terrible! We were not sure what the problem was until he sent me one of his capture files. I immediately saw compression artifacts and noise in the video that made them look awful. I had him send me one of the 3/4” tapes to be sure the issue was not in the original tape. The tape was fine. The end result here was that the card he was using was junk. He bought a new and better card and all the problems were solved. I don’t want the OP to get into this same situation with the analog video he will work with.

Yes, the card I suggested is expensive, but the results are stunning. If you are working for paying clients, you have to at least consider it.

@Old_Video_Guy, as a fellow editor who's taken many laps around the sun, I appreciate your experience with analog capture. We store a client's library of ancient Betacam SP footage and I dread the day they ask for something.

Terry, if/when they do ask for something from those old Betacam reels, get in touch with me. I don't do that work myself any longer, but a good friend of mine, who works for KDKA in Pittsburgh, has all my BetacamSP, D9, 3/4" and 1-inch gear. It's set up in his home and he specializes in digitizing old analog video.

Oh...one more thing... he uses the same capture card that I do...you know...the expensive one. ;-)

Old Video Guy, do you need to use a TBC with older tapes and machines? I found I had to get a TBC to capture some older tapes that has stop motion animation on them. Even with a flying erase head doing the edits, it's enough to confuse the sync of most digital things to screw up the capture. Can the card still capture while shuttling the tape back and forth? If yes then a TBC probably wouldn't be needed in most scenarios.

Thanks for the reply! I would love to have all that stuff just so I could capture from it. I do still have the Sony DSR-45. Used to be I could capture an entire tape as one 14GB file of native DV code. But FCP (and even FCP7) eventually made it so that you get a new file every time the camera is paused, and the files do not butt up together seamlessly. Hyper annoying, I wonder why they thought that would be desirable.

Chandidvevi, I spoke with my friend about your project, and he will not be able to do it. He has quite an array of legacy video tape machines in his studio, but he does not have a Hi8 machine in his arsenal.

Hi (bonjour),

Tahoe drops FireWire import and camera control within Final Cut Pro.

Michel

BenB, It’s easy to install a PCIE card into an IMac or a Mini. Here’s how.

As for the cost…you get what you pay for.