Magewell Pro Capture Dual SDI

About this product

Two SDI cameras at the end of long cable runs, a production PC with one spare slot, and monitors that still need a feed. That is the job the Pro Capture Dual SDI does for broadcasters, venues and houses of worship. It takes two SDI sources at once, the coaxial video connection used by broadcast cameras, and hands the uncompressed picture and sound to software on that computer, which then records, streams or switches it. It is a two-channel HD PCIe capture card with a loop-through for each input, so both sources can carry on to monitors or other equipment.

What goes in, and what carries on

• SDI. Two BNC inputs accepting SD, HD and 3G-SDI, including 2K at 2048×1080. Each input appears in software as a separate capture device, so you can record or switch them independently. For 6G or 12G-SDI and 4K, see the 4K cards on the Pro Capture range page.
• Long cables. A built-in equaliser allows cable runs up to 150 metres for 3G-SDI, 190 metres for HD-SDI and 330 metres for SD-SDI, so the PC can sit in the control room while the cameras stay in the hall.
• Audio. Up to eight mono channels of embedded audio per input at 48 kHz, which saves running separate audio cables. These are channels 1 to 8 of the 16 that SDI can carry.
• Loop-through. Each input has a loop-through output, up to 2048×1080, so a monitor or other equipment gets the signal without a splitter. These use compact SMA connectors, and two 33 cm SMA to BNC adapter cables are in the box, so standard BNC cables connect straight away.

Signal details

The inputs handle SD, HD, 3Ga and 3Gb signals at 10 or 12-bit. With dual-link and 3Gb dual-stream signals, the card captures the first link or first stream. Closed captions are available to developers through the SDK. For HDMI sources, see the Pro Capture Dual HDMI.

Picture work done on the card

Video processing happens on the card, which leaves the computer’s processor free for your software. The card handles cropping, scaling (up or down conversion), de-interlacing, aspect ratio conversion, colour space conversion and frame rate conversion, all with 10-bit processing, so interlaced camera pictures can reach your software already converted. A PNG image can be overlaid as an on-screen display. One input can feed an unlimited number of capture streams at once, each with its own resolution, frame rate and colour format, so two programs can use the same source in different sizes.

Fits slim cases and towers

• Slot. PCIe Gen2 x4. It fits a slot that is physically x4 or longer; x8 and x16 slots also accept it.
• Size. A low-profile card: 116.2 × 64.4 mm for hardware revision C1 and 117.8 × 64.4 mm for revisions C2 and C3. A low-profile bracket is supplied, so it is ready for a slim chassis.
• Power. About 9.15 W at most in High Performance mode, or about 8.34 W in Low Power mode, taken from the slot, so there is no extra power lead.
• Several cards. A rotary switch on the card gives each one a number (0 to F), so several can sit in one computer and be told apart in software.

Works with the software you already use

• Operating systems. Windows 10, 11 and Server 2016 to 2025, Linux (kernel 2.6.35 and above, including ARM) and macOS.
• Standard interfaces. DirectShow on Windows, V4L2 on Linux and AVCaptureSession on macOS, so it works with OBS, vMix, Wirecast, XSplit and VLC among others.
• Magewell software. Magewell’s Capture Express program is included, which lets you check a signal before any other software is set up, and there is a Capture SDK for developers on Windows, Linux and Mac.

Where it sits in the range

Choose the Dual SDI for two HD SDI sources with monitoring. For a single SDI source, see the Pro Capture SDI (PCIe x1, loop-through on BNC). For four SDI inputs, see the Pro Capture Quad SDI, a normal-height card with all four connectors given over to inputs. For two HDMI inputs, see the Pro Capture Dual HDMI. All cards are on the Pro Capture range page.