Blackmagic Design's new UltraStudio Mini 12G adds Thunderbolt 4 capture and playback

Following closely on the heels of the recently launched Blackmagic UltraStudio Express 3G, Blackmagic Design has announced the UltraStudio Mini 12G family, three Thunderbolt 4 capture and playback devices for broadcast use, supporting SD, HD and Ultra HD up to 2160p60.

Here’s the lineup:

UltraStudio Mini Recorder 12G is capture only, taking input from 12G-SDI and HDMI. It suits live streaming with Open Broadcaster, archiving from broadcast decks, and capturing from game consoles.

UltraStudio Mini Monitor 12G is playback only, outputting to 12G-SDI and HDMI. It includes dual 12G-SDI outputs for fill and key, automatically converting the alpha channel in graphics to a key output for broadcast graphics work.

And rounding out the options, UltraStudio Mini Replay 12G supports simultaneous 12G-SDI capture and playback, with independent fill and key outputs plus a dedicated monitoring output. It also supports the live action replay features in DaVinci Resolve 20.

 

All three connect over a single Thunderbolt 4 cable, which also supplies power. Thunderbolt 4's bandwidth supports higher resolutions, deeper bit depths and frame buffer formats including 4:2:2:4 and 4:4:4:4, with real-time alpha channel conversion to 10-bit 12G-SDI fill and key outputs. The devices use the DeckLink API, so they work with most video software, and the Thunderbolt link is bidirectional, letting the Replay 12G model capture, process and output in real time, including for use as a real-time graphics or AI processor.

On fill and key outputs, hardware supports both RGBA and YUVA frame buffers. RGBA graphics are transcoded to YUV 4:2:2:4 video on both outputs at 10-bit precision.

Supported software includes DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro, Media Composer, Premiere Pro, Fusion, After Effects and Photoshop. A free developer SDK is available for Mac, Windows and Linux.

UltraStudio Mini 12G is available now from Blackmagic Design resellers worldwide. Pricing is as follows: 

UltraStudio Mini Recorder 12G: $445
UltraStudio Mini Monitor 12G: $445
UltraStudio Mini Replay 12G: $559