This page summarizes the various brands of video input and output devices supported by Ventuz. This includes
Ventuz will run on any graphics card that fully supports Direct3D 9.0c under Windows 7 or higher.
AMD | FirePro Series (recommended) Radeon Series (with limitations) |
Ventuz supports the ATI FirePro™ S400 Synchronization Module to synchronize multiple GPU's in a cluster of Ventuz installations.
Nvidia | Quadro Series (recommended) Geforce Series (with limitations) |
Ventuz supports the Quadro Sync and Quadro G-Sync boards to synchronize multiple GPU's in a cluster of Ventuz installations
The NVIDIA Quadro Digital Video Pipeline is currently not supported by Ventuz. The SDI output of these board family can be used as monitor output. External key, Audio and other features of this product line are not address by Ventuz.
Intel | Intel integrated graphics |
While Intels integrated graphics solutions are becoming better and better, they generally can not compare to the capabilities of the GPU's from AMD and Nvidia. Intel GPUs are not recommended for production. Often, however, they are the only choice for tablet- or laptop-based productions. In these cases, be sure to verify your performance and build Ventuz scenes carefully.
Direct3D | Windows 7 compatible graphics board |
If there are any other vendors left Ventuz can't state any technical information about them. Ventuz may run on such boards without any promises!
Ventuz Name | aka | Standard | Description | Deltacast | Aja | Blackmagic | DVS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
270 Mb/s | 525i60, 625i50 | ||||||
SD | SD | SMPTE 259 | SD link | X | X | X | X |
1.5 Gb/s | 1080i60, 1080p30, 720p60 | ||||||
HD | HD | SMPTE 292-1 | HD link | X | X | X | X |
3.0 Gb/s | 1080p60 | ||||||
HD-DL | SMPTE 372 | 2x HD links as interleaved lines | X | X | X | X | |
3GB-DS | SMPTE 425-1 | 3G link carries two independend HD streams muxed | - | (X) | - | - | |
3GB | 3G | SMPTE 425-1 | 3G link carries a HD Dual Link stream muxed | X | (X) | X | X |
3GA | 3G | SMPTE 425-1 | 3G link | X | X | X3 | X |
6.0 Gb/s | 2160p30 | ||||||
HD-QL | none | 4x HD links as quadrant images | X | X | - | - | |
3GB-DI | 2si 30Hz | SMPTE 425-3 | 2x 3G Level B-DS links carry 4 HD streams as interleaved pixels | X | - | X | - |
6G | none | 6G link | - | - | X | - | |
12.0 Gb/s | 2160p60 | ||||||
3GB-QL | none | 4x 3G Level B-DL links as quadrant images | (X) | (X) | - | - | |
3GA-QL | none | 4x 3G Level A links as quadrant images | X | X | - | - | |
3GB-QI | 2si 60Hz | SMPTE 425-5 | 4x 3G Level B-DL links as interleaved pixels | (X) | - | - | - |
3GA-QI | 2si 60Hz | SMPTE 425-5 | 4x 3G Level A link as interleaved pixels | X | - | - | - |
6G-DL | none | 2x 6G links | - | - | X | - | |
12G | none | 12G link | - | - | (X) | - |
The first solution to transmit 4k was to use four HD or 3G links with each link transporting a quadrant of the image. This was not adopted as a standard. The disadvantage is that you can not convert a quadrant-image stream into a continuous stream without buffering the whole image and a minimum delay of 1/2 frame. Instead SMPTE 425-3 / -5 interleave the pixels in a pattern that allows conversion to a continuous stream with a buffer and a delay of only 1-2 lines.
Ventuz allows you to use multiple SDI boards from different vendors at the same time. The amount of simultaneous streams depends on the used boards, the video formats and speed of the main boards PCI-Express slots.
Feature summary:
Deltacast Series / Model audio k+f keyer duplex multiformat bypass dual link 3G 4k Timecode AFD Tracking FG/BG/GM Specials DELTA-hd-e-key 22 yes yes yes yes timebase yes - - - yes yes yes - softkey, key-input, key-delay DELTA-hd-e-key 11 yes - yes yes timebase yes - - - yes yes yes - softkey, key-input DELTA-3G-elp-key 2k yes yes yes yes timebase - yes A & B - yes yes yes - softkey, key-input DELTA-3G-elp-key 4k yes yes (4k) yes (4k) yes timebase - yes A & B HD-QL, 3GB-DI, 3GA-QL, 3GA-QI yes yes yes yes softkey, key-input DELTA-3G-elp-4c/8c yes yes - yes timebase - yes A & B HD-QL, 3GB-DI, 3GA-QL, 3GA-QI yes yes yes yes softkey DELTA-HD-* yes yes - yes timebase - - - HD-QL, 8 yes yes yes yes softkey DELTA-3G-* yes yes - yes timebase - yes A & B HD-QL, 3GB-DI, 3GA-QL, 3GA-QI 8 yes yes yes yes softkey DVS Model audio k+f keyer duplex multiformat bypass dual link 3G 4k Timecode AFD Tracking FG/BG/GM Specials Centaurus II3 yes yes yes4 yes full yes yes - - yes yes - - softkey Centaurus II LT3 yes - - yes full yes - - - yes yes - - softkey Atomix3 yes yes - yes full yes yes A & B - yes yes - - softkey Blackmagicdesign Series / Model audio k+f keyer duplex multiformat bypass dual link 3G 4k Timecode AFD Tracking FG/BG/GM Specials Decklink Extreme 3D yes yes (HD) yes (HD) 1,4 - - - yes B - yes - - - Decklink 4k Extreme yes yes (3G) yes (3G) 1,4 yes - - yes A & B 3GB-DI, 6G, 6G-DL2 yes - yes - 4k series 9 yes - - yes - - - A & B 6G yes - - - 4k extreme 12G series 10 yes yes (6G) yes (6G) 1,4 yes - - yes A & B 3GB-DI, 6G, 6G-DL yes - yes - Decklink Duo/Quad yes - - - - - yes A & B - yes - yes - will appear as multiple devices Decklink Duo/Quad 2 yes yes (HD) yes (HD) 1,4 yes - - yes A & B - yes - yes yes will appear as single device Datapath Model audio k+f keyer duplex multiformat bypass dual link 3G 4k Timecode AFD Tracking FG/BG/GM Specials VisionAV-SDI2 - - - - - - - A & B - - - - - VisionSC-SDI4 - - - - - - - A & B - - - - - VisionSC-HD4+ - - - - - - - - - - - - - AJA Model audio k+f keyer duplex multiformat bypass dual link 3G 4k Timecode AFD Tracking FG/BG/GM Specials Corvid 88 yes yes (4k) yes (4k) yes - - - A HD-QL, 3GA-QL - - yes yes Kona 4 yes yes yes yes - - - A HD-QL, 3GA-QL - - yes yes Kona 3G yes yes yes yes - - - A - - - yes - Kona LHe+ yes yes yes yes - - - - - - - yes - Kona LHi yes - - yes - - - - - - - yes - Io 4K yes yes yes yes - - - A HD-QL, 3GA-QL 11 - - yes yes Io XT yes yes yes yes - - - A - - - yes -
Limitations:
Some lines in the table describe a whole category of products. If a certain option requires more jacks than the board offers, the mode is obviously not supported. For instance, a blackmagic decklink board with only one output can not support key+fill, while it's larger brother with two outputs will. If a product certain product of a product family breaks the rule, it will be mentioned either in the footnotes (like 8) or as a special line in the table. For instance the Decklink Dual as two outputs but does not support to output key+fill.
Deltacast | Delta-HD series Delta-3G series Delta-Key series |
The Deltacast HD and 3G SDI boards have been designed for real-time video IO in television broadcast. They provide precisely the feature set required for reliable SDI IO and VANC processing. Neither more, nor less. The Deltacast product range are recommended for use with Ventuz. Please contact Ventuz sales or your Ventuz Broadcast Integrator for details.
Ventuz 5.02.00 uses a patched version of Deltacast SDK 5.19. Please use the drivers in the driver folder of the Ventuz installation director and not the drivers from the download page.
We support the following Deltacast products:
Currently not supported are:
Matching Deltacast Drivers with Ventuz Versions
For Deltacast boards, the driver version must match the SDK version perfectly. Use the drivers that are installed in the Ventuz directory, usually at "C:/Program Files" in English windows installations.
The fitting Deltacast Drivers are bundled with Ventuz. For reference, here is a table that matches Ventuz version, Deltacast SDK version and the driver version as displayed in the device manager. A different driver version will be displayed for the Gen1, Gen2 and DVI boards, fortunately they are easy to discern:
Ventuz 4 | Ventuz 5 | Deltacast SDK | HD/Gen1 | 3G/Gen2 | DVI | Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4.00.00 | 5.13 | 5.4.79.0 | 1.0.44.0 | 5.3.24.0 | ||
4.01.00 | 5.14 | 5.4.91.0 | 1.0.71.0 | 5.3.28.0 | ||
4.04.00 | 5.15 | 5.4.112.0 | 1.0.125.0 | 5.3.36.0 | ||
4.05.00 | 5.16 | 5.4.121.0 | 1.0.138.0 | 5.3.41.0 | ||
4.05.02 | 5.16patch | 5.4.124.0 | 1.0.138.0 | 5.3.41.0 | Ventuz 4.05.02 is also compatible with the unpatched 5.16 driver. | |
4.06.00 | 5.17 | 5.4.125.0 | 1.0.151.0 | 5.3.42.0 | ||
4.08.00 | 5.00.00 | 5.19patch | 5.4.133.0 | 1.0.231.0 | 5.3.47.0 | There is no official 5.18 SDK |
4.09.00 | 5.03.00 | 6.00 | 5.4.150.0 | 1.0.309.0 | 5.3.62.0 |
Bidirectional Configurable Boards
The DELTA-3G-elp-d 8c, DELTA-3G-elp-d 4c and DELTA-3G-elp 2c can be switched from all input to all output, and anything in between. For instance, the 4c board can act as 40 31 22 13 or 04 board.
To reconfigure the board, click the board options button on the boards icon. Do this before setting up any stream for this board. Unlike other boards where each jack can be configured individually, with these boards you split the jacks into two groups, inputs and outputs. Check the cabling guide on how this works.
Genlock Offset
It is possible to use a different video format for the genlock signal then for the output that is to be synchronized, as long as the refresh rate is the same. For instance, using PAL as genlock and 720p50 as output is ok. But notice that for deltacast boards, the video format of the output defines the units for the genlock offset: changing the genlock by one line will change the genlock by one line in 720p, not one line in PAL. This also works with genlock format set to auto, since the video format ouf the output stream is always known. If multiple outputs with different video format are defined, the effect of the genlock offset is unspecified.
4k modes
The following boards support 4k modes:
DELTA-hd-e-Key 22
This is the most versatile HD keying option for Ventuz.
If there is trouble with a Deltacast keyer if genlock is set to Internal, program the genlock manually to the input port of the background signal or external reference! (Ref)
The new keying boards
The DELTA-3G-elp-key 2K and DELTA-3G-elp-key 4K are the new keying boards by Deltacast. They do not completely replace the DELTA-hd-e-Key 22 because they lack bypass relays and the delay line mode, but they provide the performance required for 3G and 4k modes.
Unlike all other Deltacast boards, when doing external keying with key+fill, the input jack associated with the fill output will be switched to an output jack and output the key. So when doing external keying on TX1, the RX1 jack will output the key. This allows the board which is normally in a 4 input 4 output configuration to output a 2 x 4 link 4k signal for external keying using all its 8 jacks.
Memory Pre-Allocation
This only applies to PCIe "gen 1" boards. The info-box you can open with the 'i' button at the board icon will tell you which PCIe generation the board supports. The "gen 2" hardware has this problem fixed and memory pre-allocation is not required.
Sometimes, initializing Deltacast boards will fail with the following error message:
Starting video stream failed. Sometimes this can be fixed by setting Deltacast specific registry keys for 'memory pre-allocation'
This is a problem with Deltacast Gen1 drivers on Windows Vista and later (7, 8.0 8.1 and Windows 10).
This problem arises when the computer is running for some time and can be solved by restarting the Computer. A permanent solution is to set a few Windows registry keys. This can be done by copying the following text into a file named "xxx.reg", and then double-clicking on the file. This will set the registry keys:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\DELTA-hd] "PreallocPool0Size"=dword:03000000 "PreallocPool1Size"=dword:03000000 "PreallocPool2Size"=dword:03000000 "PreallocPool3Size"=dword:03000000 "PreallocPool4Size"=dword:00000000 "PreallocPool5Size"=dword:00000000 "PreallocPool6Size"=dword:00000000 "PreallocPool7Size"=dword:00000000 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\DELTA-dvi] "PreallocPool0Size"=dword:03000000 "PreallocPool1Size"=dword:03000000
download this registry file from www.ventuz.com
The problem arises when the Deltacast driver can not allocate enough continuous memory for the video buffers. Using this registry file will reserve 288 MBytes of memory at boot time, making it unavailable for other purposes. You might want to tweak this a bit to save memory:
Each pool is associated to an input or output of the HD/DVI board. The hexadecimal number "03000000" equals to 48 MByte, which should be more than enough for a reasonable amount of HD buffers.
The number of pools to pre-allocate is the number of SDI inputs plus number of SDI outputs. Blackburst reference inputs (genlock) do not count. Example: a 2 in 2 out board needs pools 0 to 3 pre-allocated, a 2-in card needs pools 0 and 1 pre-allocated.
The way these "preallocation pools" are mapped to the individual input and outputs is rather complicated, so it's best to pre-allocate for all available inputs and outputs even if some of them are not used.
The file above will work for a hd-e-key 22 and a dvi-e 20 board. For a hd-elp-d 44 or 80, also set the pools 4 to 7 to 03000000.
DVS | Centaurus II (LT) Atomix series |
DVS boards have been designed for very reliable and stable video IO between the SDI and PC worlds.
Both supported boards use up to 8 PCI-Express lanes. When inserted into a 4 lane PCI-Express slot, data transfer between Ventuz and the board works only at half speed. Please check for correct installation of the card by checking the Video Device Information.
Centaurus II
Atomix Series
AJA | Kona / Corvid |
The following AJA SDI Boards are officially supported:
The small boards LHe+ and LHi only support one stream with audio.
Our implementation for AJA boards has currently the following limitations:
The Kona 3G (and some other modern AJA boards) can operate in two modes: in Normal mode they have 2 inputs and 2 outputs, can operate 2 streams simultaneously and features an up/down converter. In Quad mode the up/down converter is not available, but the 4 connectors can be switched freely between input and output, allowing for a 4:0 or 0:4 configuration, or everything in between, and 4 streams can be operated simultaneously.
This is possible because the central chip in all SDI boards is an FPGA. This chip contains thousands to millions of hardware logic cells that can be re-wired by uploading a bit-file to form whatever hardware is desired. When programming an FPGA, it is not only a software that is changed, but the hardware itself. Sometimes vendors do not manage to fit all features into the limited logic cells and supply different bit-files for different feature sets.
As Ventuz can not use the up/down converter but greatly benefits from individually switching inputs and outputs, it is strongly recommended to flash the Kona 3G into "Quad" configuration.
The required flash program can be downloaded at our web page. After the end of the flashing process, the software will ask you to power down your computer. You really must power down your computer, or the update will no take effect.
If you have problems installing the driver package, uninstall it completely using the control panel, programs & features. Then install it again. This should make the driver installer re-scan all hardware and install the drivers correctly, as you can verify with the device manager.
Datapath | VisionAV-SDI VisionSC-SDI |
The VisionAV-SDI can capture a single channel SDI signal. Currently we do not support audio with Datapath boards.
Recommended Driver : 7.11.0.1028.
Black Magic Designs | Decklink series UltraStudio series |
We support three product families from Blackmagic design:
BlackMagic frequently updates their product lineup. The current generation of BMD boards us usually labeled "4k". All these products support simultaneous input and output. Older products only support one operation at the time, which is input, output or keying.
Most BMD boards only support one input and one output stream, and before the "4k" series not even at the same time. Even if a board has 2 or 4 input jacks you can have only one input and one output stream at a time, the additional jacks are for multi-link streams like HD-dual link or SMPTE 425-3 3G-LevelB dual link.
The exception are the Decklink Duo / Decklink Quad boards. The first generation of these boards support two or four independent channels. Still they can not be used to create key+fill because each channel is independent and can not be used in a dual link mode. Also, you can not have input and output of a channel operate at the same time.
The second generation, Decklink Duo 2 / Decklink Quad 2, are versatile boards. The duo has four and the quad has eight jacks that can be individually used as input or output. Each pair of jacks can be used for internal and external keying.
Not all boards support internal and external keying for all video formats. See the big vendor table above for details.
Blackmagic drivers don't need to match perfectly, using a driver that is outdated or using a new driver with an old Ventuz version is usually OK, as long as the major version matches (9.x or 10.x).
Ventuz 4 | Ventuz 5 | Desktop Video Driver | Comment |
---|---|---|---|
4.00.00 | 9.7.7 | ||
4.04.00 | 5.00.00 | 10.3.1 | Major version bump, 10.x driver required |
5.03.00 | 10.8.4 | fixes for Windows 10 anniversary update |
We recommend to always use the latest Blackmagic driver, the table above shows which driver version we used for testing.
Deltacast | Delta-DV series |
Datapath | VisionRGB VisionAV VisionSC |
Datapath have developed a sizeable portfolio of capture cards providing HD video capture or HDMI capture capabilites as well as a number of high resolution video capture modes. Ventuz supports the Vision-AV and Vision-SC series, including the VisionSC-HD4+ board.
Recommended Driver : 7.11.0.1028.
Black Magic Designs | Decklink series UltraStudio series |
As of Ventuz 4.04.00 the input source can be selected in the AV configuration. Only one input can be used at a time.
When getting video from HDMI / DVI inputs, you must specify if the input is in RGB 4:4:4: or YUV 4:2:2. This is done with the board options. When using autodetect, this will be done automatically, too.
Ventuz currently supports camera tracking data input from various camera tracking systems vendors - see below.
Camera Tracking is only supported for SDI input and output and certain models. Check the SDI-Vendor list above to see which SDI board models are supported.
Trackmen http://egripment.com/home/ | VioTrack TorqTrack ManuTrack |
German vendor Trackmen develops various camera tracking systems using various technologies. Trackmen uses in all cases the same consistent protocol for tracking data transfer, so all Trackmen systems can be connected to Ventuz, regardless of the tracking technology used. Currently Trackmen collaborates with crane manufacturer Egripment to offer sensorized cranes and pedestals - since these systems use Trackmen technology, they are also supported by Ventuz.
NCam | NCam |
British manufacturer NCam develops Optical Camera tracking solutions that use a lightweight sensor bar attached to the camera to track natural features in the environment, allowing the camera to move freely in all locations - that makes this system especially well suited for shoulder-held or steady-cam shots, or for augmented reality projects outside of the studio.
Stype Kit | Stype Kit |
Croatian manufacturer Stype offers a sensorizing kit with auto-aim functionality, called Stype Kit, for existing cranes and jibs. The system does not require any additional external sensors or infra-red cameras and there is no need for any physical modifications of the camera crane.
Mo-Sys StarTracker | StarTracker |
British manufacturer Mo-Sys is a traditional vendor of solutions for remote heads & motion control, broadcast robotics, mechanical and optical camera tracking for AR and VR, and on-set visualization. One of the latest additions to their portfolio is an optical camera tracking system called StarTracker, which features a small sensor camera tracking a cloud of markers placed on the ceiling - that makes it mostly usable for permanent in-studio setups
We introduced built-in support for Head Mounted Displays (HMD) such as HTC-Vive and Oculus Rift. See the related How To for more detailed information.
HTC Vive integrated through Open VR |
Oculus Rift integrated through Open VR |
NewTek | Tricaster series |
iVGA is a network protocol that can be used to send video streams from Ventuz to a Tricaster. The two configured outputs are reachable under the following address:
1. http://127.0.0.1:49480/AirSend.mpg 2. http://127.0.0.1:49481/AirSend.mpg
NewTek NDI | Network Device Interface |
NDI, or Network Device Interface, is a technology developed by Newtek that allows creating or receiving video streams over a standard computer network. You can use NDI Streams as an INPUT or create an OUTPUT and broadcast the output via NDI. Please refer to the how to use NDI documentation.
Off-Screen |
This is rendered to an invisible buffer on the GPU. The purpose of this is to transmit this buffer to the Ventuz Director or other applications, to display a preview of the rendering pipes.
Windows Media Foundation |
Webcams and other devices often ship with Windows Media Foundation drivers. This is currently only supported for inputs. Some older devices come with Video for Windows or DirectShow driver. Windows Media Foundation wraps these drivers into a WMF filter.
At the time of writing Ventuz supports the DLP Design IO8 and the Numato 16 Channel USB GPIO boards.