Laptop Thunderbolt, Display Port & HDMI to SDI with EDID.

[bluemando]

We are looking at a "bullet proof" Lectern/Podium setup for Laptop computers to feed Video (w/audio embed) to/through our SDI Video Matrix switcher to feed projectors and other video switchers. Currently we run an adaptor at the podium that does not have EDID functionality and as we have been having some difficulties we are hoping to alleviate those with a more robust box at that location. We have chosen to ignore Analog video at this time and our in-house standard is 1080p. It seems simple enough, all we want it to do is for anybody to plug their Mac or PC laptop into a DisplayPort or HDMI cable and have it come up without fail, every single time.
My question is regarding a really solid converter that will do this job without getting into something that is way overkill. i.e. don't want a scaler or a switcher.

Is anybody using something like this that they could recommend?

Thanks for any help.

Tim G.

 

[65535]

HDMI is going to to be your more common connector for use with converters.

BlackMagic Designs has this model.

Blackmagic Design: Mini Converters Models
Mini Converter HDMI to SDI

Don't know about EDID though since I don't think you can transfer EDID data over SDI you just need to set the video output to 1920x1080 60Hz.

That model is nice since it can embed analog or AES/EBU audio to the SDI output.

If you have audio already embedded on HDMI I would use the Kramer FC-113

FC-113 - HD-SDI - Kramer Electronics

 

[museav]

Based on my experience, there are too many variables that may be unknown or that you may not be able to control to expect a 'works as expected every time with any source' result, however you may be able to find an effective and reliable enough solution.

I have been going through this very issue for quite some time now working with a university to get new multimedia classroom and lecture hall presentation systems to integrate with a centralized, HD-SDI/3G-SDI based production/distance learning system. The related issues that have come up along the way have been an eye opener. For example, 65535 suggested setting the laptop output for 1920x1080@60Hz, but does your SDI based system accept 1080p at 60Hz or does it want 59.94Hz? I've encountered some situations where "60Hz" is used to refer generically to 60Hz and 59.94Hz but other cases where it refers to only 60Hz or actually means 59.94Hz. Also, if a source device is not one of the more recent HDMI versions then will it support the YUV color space that SDI uses or might it support only RGB color space commonly used for computer graphics? After a few bad experiences with HDMI>HD-SDI conversion I have gotten where I always include a scaler that can accept a range of inputs and provide a known compatible output to the HDMI>HD-SDI converter or use a higher end converter that ideally incorporates scaling, frame rate conversion and color space conversion.

Then there is HDCP. Since SDI does not support HDCP any HDCP protected content, be that content or device driven, will not be accepted. Many people say that is no problem since they never display protected content, until someone tries it. It also means you have to be careful of ever inserting an HDCP compliant device before the HDMI>HD-SDI conversion as that device could trigger HDCP for the source and thus result in no output from the converter.

Another thing we found interesting is that with some laptops and tablets connecting an external display via HDMI resulted in that output defaulting to an extended desktop mode. Other devices seemed to default to using the internal display's settings rather than reading the external port's EDID. These types of issues can be addressed by adjusting the display settings but made it not always quite as 'plug and play' as desired.

 

[jclampe]

We switched to completely to HD-SDI in our auditorium about 2 years ago - and had almost the same problems.... actually we haven´t found a plug and play solution which always works without any additional setup. Most of the time we connect laptops to a seamless switcher, which does the conversion and retiming.
After a couple of trials we found the following devices quite useful - but even though, they are not hassle free.

Matrox Convert DVI Plus
http://www.matrox.com/video/en/products/convert_dvi_plus/
Provides EDID and includes an up-/downscaler. The "plus" version allows you to select a "region of inters" from the computer screen - which is quite helpful if you work with a Q&A webcast tool, like we do. You can crop the image only to show the question and not the moderated part. Genlock (blackburst and tri-level) is also supported.

GrassValley ADVC G1
http://www.grassvalley.com/products/advc_g1
Great and reliable product with genlock, up-/downscaler and several inputs (computer and video signals)
The only thing is, that it shows always the last captured frame when it looses signal - this might be really confusing. The guys at GV are working on that.

DoReMi Labs DSDI-20s or XDVI-20s
http://www.doremilabs.com/products/proav-products/dsdi-20s/
Same thing like the GV product, whereas the XDVI-20s is a cross converter - (DVI to HD-SDI and vice versa)
Simple setup and remote control capability (IR Remote and OSD) - well, from the conceptional perspective quite the same like the DVI converter made by Geffen - but reliable an working ;-) - Deinterlacing and interlacing, genlock and a brilliant image quality.


From my perspective a hassle fee setup is not possible - as museav said ... there are too many variables.
The three devices made our life easier. They work like expected - but special setups, uncommon resolutions, timings or special requirements still need proper testing and playing with the settings.