Battery Converters

HD OK

These are the converters used to convert the HDMI output of the Sony and Panasonic HD cameras to the more useful SDI.

Usage

As these are battery converters, they have an On-Off switch to prevent running out of charge when not in use. Make sure it is switched on when in use and switched off when not.

The battery indicator is a small LED that flashes according to the remaining charge. The key for the flashes is printed on the top of the case. Experience suggests they have about 3 hours charge.

Resolution

These offer no way to select the resolution, so it must be set at the source. If the source uses HDMI handshaking to determine resolution, the converter will tell the device the highest resolution it is capable of (1080p50/60) instead of the target resolution of the equipment at the other end of the broadcast chain (usually 1080i50).

Firmware

Firmware is updated using (the otherwise useless) Blackmagic Converter Utility software. They are currently held at 1.9, due to the HDMI handshaking in later versions not working correctly with our cameras and convincing them to output in an SD format. This has been fixed as of v3.0.2.