Blackmagic Design overpromising and underdelivering: 1080p60 bullshit

[Brad]

Some may remember their little fiasco with the Intensity Shuttle. It's becoming a disturbing pattern at this point. They seem to keep repeating this "mistake". Here I'm documenting their lies for future reference.

--- Intensity Shuttle USB 3.0, Intensity Extreme, Intensity Shuttle Thunderbolt ---

1080p60 recording - the preserve of high-end cards - was also initially mooted in advertising, but never worked and is now excised from Blackmagic's promo materials.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-vs-gameplay-capture

One exciting feature of Intensity Shuttle (and UltraStudio Pro) is it includes full support for HDMI and component up to 1080p60. However even though current USB 3.0 computers support full 10 bit uncompressed at normal 1080i HD frame rates, current USB 3.0 computers don't yet have enough speed to operate at progressive frame rates. But Intensity Shuttle is ready as computers get faster!

http://forums.majorleaguegaming.com/topic/169817-blackmagic-intensity-shuttle-captures...nent-and-hdmi/
http://forum.doom9.org/showpost.php?p=1391462&postcount=671

Google proof of the phrase's existence

Not to be a stickler, but it was a main point in your article. The Intensity Shuttle w/ Thunderbolt DOES NOT support 1080p60.
http://www.blackmagic-design.com/products/intensity/techspecs/
The only external model for Thunderbolt that supports 1080p60 is the UltraStudio 3D (which is $1000) supports the 1080p60. http://www.blackmagic-design.com/products/ultrastudio3d/
I even called them to confirm. I have since then emailed them about whether the Intensity or the Intensity Extreme will support 1080p60 in the future via firmware upgrade or if it’s a power issue and not something that is possible.

Wow! Very interesting. I pulled the specs for the Intensity Shuttle Thunderbolt before it went for sale, and i’m sure it was there. So maybe they removed that capability right before launch. I’ll update the article to reflect this. Thanks for pointing it out.

http://blog.kertgartner.com/2012/05/blackmagic-intensity-extreme-review/

As I had surmised, the Intensity Extreme is essentially a more rugged (aircraft grade aluminum casing), portable, and Thunderbolt version of the Intensity Pro [$189] card, while the Intensity Shuttle Thunderbolt is the desktop version. One downside is the Intensity Extreme doesn’t do 1080p60/50. The Intensity Shuttle Thunderbolt (the original Intensity Shuttle [$189] is a USB 3.0 product) will do up to 1080p60/50, but it's larger, not as rugged, and you'll have to wait for it.

Blackmagic tells me that customers that ordered the Intensity Extreme when it was announced, then realized the Intensity Shuttle Thunderbolt is better suited to their needs, can change existing orders that have not been filled.

Finally, apart from the 1080p60/50 difference, technically, there are no image quality differences between the two. Quality would be effected only by variables like source, cables, etc. If you were to have the same inputs/outputs for each, image quality would be the same.

http://notesonvideo.blogspot.ca/2012/02/more-on-blackmagic-intensity-extreme.html

With this new type of connection, Intensity Shuttle Thunderbolt will officially support 1080p60 capturing. The Blackmagic Intensity Shuttle will start selling Q1 of 2012 at an MSRP of $239.

So my questions after finding out about this release, will this new version of the Blackmagic Intensity Shuttle be supported for the PC when Thunderbolt starts making its way to PC motherboards starting Q2 of 2012? I have an Intensity Shuttle USB 3.0, and was promised 1080p60 support in the future. If this support does not happen at all, can I get an exchange for the newer Intensity Shuttle Thunderbolt if I pay the difference? Or can they be upgraded for a fee? This marks the first time that a capture card capable of 1080p60 breaches the $500 mark below $300, but it's only for Mac at the present time.

http://www.xsplit.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=4709


--- UltraStudio Mini Monitor and UltraStudio Mini Recorder ---

UltraStudio Mini Monitor and UltraStudio Mini Recorder support all common SD/HD formats for incredible quality video up to 1080p60 and will be available in November for only US$145.

“UltraStudio Mini Monitor and UltraStudio Mini Recorder let you work anywhere because they are extremely compact and are powered from the Thunderbolt connection,” said Grant Petty, CEO, Blackmagic Design. “You can simply plug into any Thunderbolt enabled laptop or a desktop computer and start working. With support for high bandwidth formats up to 1080p60 these are easily the most advanced capture and playback solutions that are small enough to fit in your pocket. There is nothing more portable!”

• Supports all common SD/HD video formats up to 1080p60.

http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/press/pressdetails?releaseID=32227


Then the devices are actually released and the tech specs quietly drop support for 1080p60. Only the far more expensive "3D" and "4K" units now advertise that feature.

UltraStudio Mini Recorder

HD Format Support 720p50, 720p59.94, 720p60, 1080PsF23.98, 1080p23.98, 1080PsF24, 1080p24, 1080PsF25, 1080p25, 1080PsF29.97, 1080p29.97, 1080PsF30, 1080p30, 1080i50, 1080i59.94 and 1080i60.

UltraStudio 3D

HD Format Support 720p50, 720p59.94, 720p60, 1080PsF23.98, 1080PsF24, 1080PsF25, 1080PsF29.97, 1080PsF30, 1080p23.98, 1080p24, 1080p25, 1080p29.97, 1080p30, 1080i50, 1080i59.94, 1080i60, 1080p50, 1080p59.94, 1080p60.

http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/ultrastudio/techspecs