I made the (apparent) mistake of updating OBS 25 on Lubuntu 20.04 LTS with OBS 29 on Ubuntu Studio 22.04 LTS, so that I could use a version of the Advanced Scene Switcher plugin that promises to consolidate most of the automation into one place.
The previous rig was using 3x SDI -> HDMI -> USB 3 and 1x HDMI -> USB 3, so 4 cheap HDMI -> USB capture cards and 3 converters from SDI to HDMI. And the latency was somewhat random as well. Minor annoyance, not worth jeopardizing the system for, but I did want the automation. So I bought a second NVMe SSD with the idea to shut down, pull the old one, and install on the new, so I could always go back to the old if it turned out not to work...but now it refuses to boot from the old one!
So my backup plan didn't work, and I need to make this work. Meanwhile, OBS 29.0.2 on Ubuntu Studio 22.04 LTS refuses to use all of the (identical) USB capture cards. They all work simultaneously for a few seconds, and then they freeze, except for the one oddball that isn't converted from SDI. If I go into the Properties for a frozen Source and change anything, it works again...for another few seconds. And I had discovered in the meantime that they're actually USB 2 devices with USB 3 plugs, that MJPEG-compress it in the card before it even gets to the computer!
The previous rig was using 3x SDI -> HDMI -> USB 3 and 1x HDMI -> USB 3, so 4 cheap HDMI -> USB capture cards and 3 converters from SDI to HDMI. And the latency was somewhat random as well. Minor annoyance, not worth jeopardizing the system for, but I did want the automation. So I bought a second NVMe SSD with the idea to shut down, pull the old one, and install on the new, so I could always go back to the old if it turned out not to work...but now it refuses to boot from the old one!
So my backup plan didn't work, and I need to make this work. Meanwhile, OBS 29.0.2 on Ubuntu Studio 22.04 LTS refuses to use all of the (identical) USB capture cards. They all work simultaneously for a few seconds, and then they freeze, except for the one oddball that isn't converted from SDI. If I go into the Properties for a frozen Source and change anything, it works again...for another few seconds. And I had discovered in the meantime that they're actually USB 2 devices with USB 3 plugs, that MJPEG-compress it in the card before it even gets to the computer!
So I got a Decklink Duo 2, with the idea to both boost the picture quality and eliminate the SDI -> HDMI converters. (and it was surprisingly cheaper than the HDMI version anyway) I still have an HDMI -> SDI converter from some previous troubleshooting, so that one oddball input can work too.
I downloaded the installer from the website as a Linux tarball, unpacked it, and installed all 3 packages:
- desktopvideo_12.4.1a15_amd64.deb
- desktopvideo-gui_12.4.1a15_amd64.deb
- mediaexpress_3.8.1a4_amd64.deb (had to install a dependency manually, but then it worked)
For testing, I kept the oddball going to its HDMI -> USB capture card, and the passthrough from that goes to my spare HDMI -> SDI converter, and then to the Decklink. Another channel now uses the SDI passthrough of a converter to HDMI, because it also goes to an HDMI switch in addition to the Decklink. And the remaining 2 go directly to the Decklink.
I don't know which channel is what yet in OBS - I figure it won't be too hard to trial-end-error just 4 of them - but all of them are black:
Log: https://obsproject.com/logs/VMKdk9tkTcArqvFm
The Program window is the HDMI -> USB converter that has the passthrough to the HDMI -> SDI converter, and then to the Decklink. It doesn't matter which channel of the Decklink I try; they're all black. All but one also behave as shown here, in the Desktop Video Setup, so I'm pretty sure that's the one that doesn't have the far end connected yet.
Media Express also shows black, and the Video Setup tracks it too.
If I rearrange things from the above:
PC -> HDMI -> USB with HDMI passthrough -> SDI -> Decklink, where that one USB works, out of 4
to:
PC -> HDMI -> SDI -> HDMI with SDI passthrough -> Decklink, and send the second HDMI to the USB converter
then it still does the same thing. USB works, as a conversion from the SDI split this time, and the Decklink is still black on all channels.
And likewise for:
PC -> HDMI -> SDI -> Decklink, using the same of two outputs from the HDMI -> SDI converter, and sending the other one ultimately to USB, which still works.
sudo apt [update|full-upgrade|autoremove], then reboot, doesn't change anything. (it did get some updates though)And:
Code:
hrcc@hrcc-BroadcastMain:~$ BlackmagicFirmwareUpdater status
0: /dev/blackmagic/io0 [DeckLink Duo 2] 0x123 OK
1: /dev/blackmagic/io2 [DeckLink Duo 2] 0x123 OK
2: /dev/blackmagic/io1 [DeckLink Duo 2] 0x123 OK
3: /dev/blackmagic/io3 [DeckLink Duo 2] 0x123 OK
hrcc@hrcc-BroadcastMain:~$