Video Test Pattern Generator
SD-ConnectTM is able to generate the following test patterns (NTSC or PAL) on SDI and analog outputs:
  • PAL Test Patterns
  • Bars (100%)
  • Bars Red (100%)
  • Black Field
  • Bowtie
  • Chroma Sweep
  • Digital Ramp
  • EBU Bars Red
  • EBU Bars
  • Edge Markers
  • Grey Field
  • Luma 5-step
  • Luma Ramp
  • Luma Sweep
  • Modulated 5-step
  • Modulated Ramp
  • Multiburst 420mv
  • Multiburst 5.8MHZ
  • Multipulse 5.8MHZ
  • Pulse & Bars
  • Ramp 120
  • Red Field (100%)
  • SDI EQ
  • SDI PLL
  • SIN (X)/X
  • UBM Ramp
  • Valid Ramp
  • VITS 330
  • White Field
  • NTSC Test Patterns
  • Bars Luma
  • Bars Red (100%)
  • Bars Reverse
  • Black Field
  • Bowtie
  • Chroma Sweep
  • Digital Ramp
  • Edge Markers
  • EIA Bars
  • FCC Composite
  • Full Bars
  • Grey Field
  • Luma 5-step
  • Luma Ramp
  • Luma Sweep
  • Modulated 5-step
  • Modulated Ramp
  • Multiburst
  • NTC7 Combination
  • NTC7 Composite
  • Pulse & Bars
  • Red Field
  • SDI EQ
  • SDI PLL
  • SIN (X)/X
  • SMPTE Bars
  • Super Black
  • White Field
 
Video Proc Amp
Video Processing Amplifier - SD-ConnectTM can adjust brightness, contrast, hue, and saturation on all incoming analog video.
View the menu controls for the Proc amp.
 
Genlock (Reference In)
SD-ConnectTM has a separate input for Genlock, to lock the video in the converter to the video in the rest of the studio.
SD-ConnectTM can also generate an internal reference signal if a common reference generator is not available.
 
Audio Level Meters
SD-ConnectTM has built in audio level meters on the LCD display that show -60dB to 0dB gain.
 
Built in Control and Display with Rotary Encoder
SD-ConnectTM has a built in LCD panel for control and diagnostics. A rotary encoder is used to dial in selections.
 
Status and Error Messages
SD-ConnectTM's LCD display gives it's status and any error messages for quick troubleshooting of connections to the converter. The possible error messages are as follows:
NO DECK.  SD-Connect™ detects that it is not connected to an RS-422 deck.
LOCAL DECK CONTROL.  A connected deck appears to be set for local deck control.  This will prevent an editing application from controlling the deck through SD-Connect™. 
NO DECK REF.  A connected deck is reporting that it has lost its reference signal. 
NO TAPE.  A connected deck is reporting that there is no tape in the deck. 
TAPE BEGIN OR END.  A connected deck is reporting that the tape in the deck is either at its beginning or at its end. 
WRITE PROTECTED.  A connected deck is reporting that the tape in the deck is write-protected.  An operation involving recording to the deck will not work properly.
ANLG VIDEO UNLOCKED.  SD-Connect™ could not lock to the incoming analog video signal. 
NO GEN LOCK.  When an ANLG VIDEO UNLOCKED appears, the internal clocking begins to drift from external reference.  If the selected analog video source is provided in time, the system will recover its lock to external reference.  When timing has drifted too far to attempt recovery, the NO GEN LOCK error will appear and you should select System/System Reset to restart the system.
SDI VIDEO UNLOCKED.  SD-Connect™ could not lock to the incoming SDI video stream. 
NO 1394 STREAM.  In playback mode, SD-Connect™ was unable to find a start-of-frame pattern in the incoming 1394 stream.
AES ERR CH1/2.  In capture mode, with AES/EBU selected under Capture Settings/Audio Src, the system did not find a valid audio signal for channels 1 and 2.
AES ERR CH3/4.  In capture mode, with AES/EBU selected under Capture Settings/Audio Src, the system did not find a valid audio signal for channels 3 and 4.
MISSING SDI CH1/2.  In playback mode with Playback Settings/Source/SDI selected or in capture mode with Capture Settings/Audio Src/SDI selected, this indicates the absence of SDI embedded audio on channels 1 and 2.
MISSING SDI CH3/4.  In playback mode with Playback Settings/Source/SDI selected or in capture mode with Capture Settings/Audio Src/SDI selected, this indicates the absence of SDI embedded audio on channels 3 and 4.
BAD DV STREAM DATA.  In playback mode, this indicates that the on-board DV codec has detected data in the DV stream it is unable to decode.  In order to let the user know that a playback has failed, the system makes no attempt to recover from the error and continue decoding the incoming DV stream.  Instead it simply outputs black and follows this error in the error line with a PLEASE RESET SYSTEM error.
1394 UNPLUGGED.  This error appears whenever the system detects that no other node exists on the 1394 bus, as will be the case when the cable has been unplugged or all other devices are powered down.  It clears as soon as another powered-up device appears on the bus.
LAN UNPLUGGED.  This error appears when you attempt to enter the System/Update menu without a connection to another device on the LAN, as will be the case when the cable has been unplugged.  As long as the error condition exists, you will not be able to enter the menu.  As soon as you are again connected to another device on the LAN, as you will likely be after plugging in the LAN cable, the next attempt to enter the System/Update menu will clear the error.
REF INTERNAL—NO EDIT.  Although the Edit menu will be unavailable with SD-Connect™ running under internal reference, SD-Connect™ has no way to communicate this to the editing application.  It is, therefore, possible to initiate an edit operation from the application with SD-Connect™ set for internal reference.  In case SD-Connect™ does see such an operation while running under internal reference, this message will appear and no recording will take place.  The message may be cleared by selecting the Edit/Clear option from the SD-Connect™ menu system.
INVALID OUT POINT.  In insert-edit mode, you must set the outpoint for the edit through the SD-Connect™ menu system before initiating it from the editing application.  As long as SD-Connect™ sees that an outpoint has been set and that it occurs at or beyond the inpoint established by the editing application, SD-Connect™ will attempt to complete an edit operation.  Where the outpoint has not been set or occurs before the inpoint, SD-Connect™ will abort the edit operation, record nothing on the tape, and display this error.  The error will clear on selection of Edit/Clear or on entry of an outpoint through Edit/Outpoint/Set or Edit/Outpoint/Use Current.
EDIT LEADER LATE.  If SD-Connect™ fails to see its dedicated edit-operation leader clip within six seconds of initiation of recording by the editing application, it will display this error and abort the edit operation.  Most often, this error will occur when you have not prepended the leader clip to the sequence to be recorded, though it may also appear if for some reason the application is not able to stream through frames in the sequence to record after it signals the start of recording to SD-Connect™.  The error will clear on selection of Edit/Clear or the initiation of a new edit operation from the application.
BAD EDIT LEADER.  If SD-Connect™ fails to see the markers it expects in its dedicated edit-operation leader clip after initiation of recording by the editing application, it will display this error and abort the edit operation.  This error usually results from a frame that the editing application has dropped or repeated in streaming through frames in the leader and may suggest throughput problems on the host computer system.  The error will clear on selection of Edit/Clear or the initiation of a new edit operation from the application.  An additional line (LDR COUNTS=mm nn) appears following BAD EDIT LEADER, where mm and nn are diagnostic values that may help troubleshoot the problem.
LEADER RECALIBRATED--PLEASE REPEAT EDIT.  SD-Connect™ adjusts for the possibility of slight differences from one deck to another in rolling through the edit leader.  If it is unable to adjust, SD-Connect™ will automatically recalibrate its handling of the leader and display this message in two parts, one after the other on the error line.  A subsequent edit may then be able to adjust for the deck.   The error will clear on selection of Edit/Clear or the initiation of a new edit operation from the application. 
DECK EDIT FAILED.  If SD-Connect™ finds an adjustment it deems too large to make, it will display this message.  It is possible this message might appear as a result of some unknown glitch, but it might also appear if a deck is in need of repair.   The error will clear on selection of Edit/Clear or the initiation of a new edit operation from the application.  An additional line (NEEDED ADJUST=mm) appears following DECK EDIT FAILED, where mm is a diagnostic value that may help troubleshoot the problem.
EDIT ABORTED BY APP — In insert-edit mode, if SD-Connect™ sees a command from the application to stop before it has reached the outpoint, it will display this message.  When the application stops before the outpoint, recording will shortly stop, just as it would normally during an assemble edit.  This error will clear on selection of Edit/Clear or the initiation of a new edit operation from the application.
 
RS-422 Tape Deck Control
SD-ConnectTM uses industry standard RS-422 tape deck control and can translate between 1394 tape deck control and RS-422.
 
NLE / DV Support
SD-ConnectTM has full non-linear editing with DV25 support. This is a screenshot of application support. The following applications are fully supported:
Apple Final Cut Pro
Adobe Premiere
Sony Vegas
Avid XPress Pro (PC and Mac)
Grass Valley NewsEdit
Pinnacle Liquid Edition
 
Upgradeable Firmware
SD-ConnectTM has a built in Ethernet connection which allows the upgrading of firmware with an internet connection. As we are continually improving the firmware, it is very important that you upgrade the firmware on a regular basis.
When updating, SD-ConnectTM uses DHCP or manual entry to get an IP address and DNS numbers. It then goes to our ftp site and downloads the software and firmware and updates itself. This allows us to continually add features to your video converter.
View a screenshot of an update in progress.
 
 
 
Auto-Switch between capture and playback in NLE applications
SD-ConnectTM automatically switches between playback and capture when using an NLE application. For example, when the capture window is selected in an NLE application, SD-ConnectTM sends the video from the selected video input to the application. If a clip window is selected, SD-ConnectTM changes mode and takes the video from the application and sends it out to all video outputs. You can quickly capture video and play it back without changing a setting on SD-ConnectTM.
 
True Standalone Mode
SD-ConnectTM can function completely standalone. All adjustments and settings can be made using the front panel LCD and rotary knob. No need to have a computer nearby to adjust the brightness of the picture, this can be changed right at the converter. Some competitive video converters must be plugged into a computer with USB or firewire to make adjustments and change settings.
 
Software Rollback Feature
The new software can roll-back to old versions of software in the event that the new software does not work in your particular configuration. We attempt to test the software with most used configurations (decks, cameras, editing apps), but are unable to test everything. In the event that previous versions of the software work, you can roll back to the working version. A list of available roll back versions is listed on the support site.
 
User Presets
User Presets can be stored in order to allow you to set up video/audio inputs, picture control (brightness, contrast, hue, saturation), and other presets for your specific applications. 11 presets can be stored and can be named for your specific application.
 
Frame Accurate Insert Edits
By using our leader clip in front of the video you want to insert at a specific timecode, you can use SD-ConnectTM to accurately insert the video onto your tape. Convergent Design's unique method guarantees frame accuracy. Set the in point inside the editing software and set the out point on SD-ConnectTM, place the leader in front of the video you want to insert onto the tape, and SD-ConnectTM accurately places the video. Be sure to download our specially made leader clips for NTSC and PAL and read the application note available in the downloads section.
 
Simple Menu Interface
New in version 1.1.148, the simple menu interface allows you to set up user configurations, select the valid user configurations, than have the SD-ConnectTM boot up and show only the valid user configurations you have set up. This allows an experienced user set up the SD-ConnectTM, then prevent inexperienced users from making a change other than the configurations already set up.
 
RS-422 Loop Thru mode
RS-422 to RS-422 allows users of standalone video editors (Media 100, Avid Adrenaline, Discreet Edit, ...) the ability to control a deck (eg component Beta SP) with RS-422 while the video is converted from component to/from SDI in the SD-ConnectTM. The loopthru feature lines up the timecode with the video and allows the SD-ConnectTM to automatically switch from capture (component in) to playback (SDI in) on a RS-422 stop command. A play command switches it back to capture mode with virtually no delay.  Note: A null modem cable or adapter is required on the PC RS-422 port.  This can be supplied by Convergent Design upon request.
 
 
Video Legalization
There is an option in the system menu to legalize all video to legal levels. Analog video is automatically scaled when an illegal value is detected. 1394 and SDI video is now cropped to legal levels when this option is on. Both luma and chroma are cropped to maximum and minimum legal values.
 
Switchable DV audio channels
A new option in the capture and playback menus allows the DV audio channels to be switched to channel 3 and 4 on the SD-ConnectTM. If audio is switched to 3/4 in the capture menu, channels 3 and 4 input is put into the DV stream. If audio is switched to 3/4 in the playback menu, audio from the DV stream is put out on channels 3 and 4.
 
Switchable print to tape audio/video channels
Under the edit menu, there is a new option to select which audio/video channels are printed to tape. You can now lay video down without disturbing the audio currently on the tape or lay audio down without disturbing the video on the tape.
 
Genlock Phase Adjustment
Under the system menu, there is now an option for Phase Adjustment that changes the time delay between the reference input and the SD-ConnectTM output. This adjustment can be made between -4.7 uSec and +4.7 uSec in increments of 37 nSec. The purpose of this adjustment is to allow the SD-ConnectTM to work with SDI routers, which are very sensitive to the phase between the reference and the SDI data. Now the SD-ConnectTM works with house sync, which may have increased delays due to cable lengths, and SDI routers.
Simultaneous Bidirectional Conversion
In Standalone Mode (Application = Standalone), the SD-ConnectTM can convert from SDI to analog video and from analog video to SDI simultaneously. All SD-Connects are capable of this in conjunction with 2 channels of audio (either embedded over SDI or through AES/EBU). There is a hardware option to enable 4 channel audio conversion. Contact sales for pricing on the hardware option. To achieve best results, all sources must be genlocked in this mode.
DV Snoop Mode
In DV mode only, SD-ConnectTM can enter "DV Snoop Mode", allowing it to monitor the 1394 video and audio, while capturing or playing back to/from the camera/deck.