Magewell Pro Convert SDI TX

About this product

At a camera position, space and sockets are both short. The Pro Convert SDI TX is made for that spot: it is the smallest of the SDI encoders, and a single network cable can power it and carry its video. It takes one SDI source, such as a broadcast camera, and puts it on your network as an NDI stream. SDI is the single-coax video connection used on professional cameras. NDI is a way of sending live video between devices and software over an ordinary Ethernet network. The box works on its own, with no computer, and its single SDI input makes it a tidy fit beside the camera.

What goes in

• SDI input. One BNC connector accepting SD, HD and 3G-SDI, up to 2048×1080 at 60 frames per second. Signals with 10-bit or 12-bit colour depth are supported.
• Cable length. It can receive 3G-SDI sent over up to 180 m of cable, so you can also keep the encoder at the network switch and run coax to a distant camera.
• Audio. Up to 16 channels of audio embedded in the SDI signal.
• Need loop-through? This compact model has a single SDI input. To pass the SDI signal on to a mixer or monitor as well, choose the Pro Convert SDI Plus.

What comes out

• NDI High Bandwidth. This is the full-quality form of NDI, also called Full NDI. The encoder produces it at up to 2048×1080 at 60 fps, 4:2:2 8-bit.
• HDR. HLG, one of the HDR formats, is supported.
• Audio. 16 channels embedded in the NDI stream, so every channel on the SDI feed reaches your software.
• NDI version. NDI 6.2 is supported.
• Resolution and frame rate. The output can match the input or be set to a custom resolution. The frame rate is the same as the input, or one half, one third or one quarter of it, so you can trim the stream to suit the network.
• Where it can be used. NDI Studio Monitor, OBS, vMix and any other NDI-enabled product.

Built for full NDI

• NDI High Bandwidth throughout. This model is dedicated to full-quality NDI. If you need NDI HX, SRT, RTMP, RTSP, HLS, H.264 or H.265, look at the Ultra Encode range.
• Audio from the source. All audio is taken from the SDI signal, so a single BNC cable brings in picture and sound.

Small, PoE powered and ready to mount

• Power. Standard PoE (IEEE 802.3af) through the network cable, or 5 V through the USB 2.0 Type-B port using the supplied 5 V / 2.1 A adaptor. Maximum consumption is about 7 W, so an ordinary PoE switch port is enough.
• Tally. A tally light is supplied, so whoever is at the camera can see when it is live. It plugs into the Mini-DIN 8 socket.
• PTZ camera control. A pan-tilt-zoom camera can be controlled through NDI using the VISCA, VISCA over UDP, PELCO-P or PELCO-D protocols, which lets you move the camera over the same network cable.
• Mounting. An L-bracket is supplied, and there is a ¼-20 threaded hole, the thread used on camera accessories, so you can fix it to a tripod or rig.
• Size. 100.9 mm × 60.2 mm × 23.3 mm.

Setting it up

• Connect it and it finds its own settings: it detects the input format automatically and takes its network address by DHCP.
• Settings such as de-interlacing, scaling, frame rate and aspect ratio are changed in the Web UI from a browser, with no software to install.
• Units can be registered with Magewell Control Hub and managed together. HTTP APIs are provided for control systems.
• It is designed for very low latency.

Where it sits in the range

The Pro Convert SDI Plus has the same 2048×1080 60 fps limit and adds an SDI loop-through in a slightly larger case. For 4K see the Pro Convert SDI 4K Plus (6G-SDI) and the Pro Convert 12G SDI 4K Plus. For an HDMI source in the same small case, see the Pro Convert HDMI TX. All models are on the Pro Convert encoders page.