Hyperdeck Shuttle on the Cinetronic 2

[Iain Baird]

Here are a few pics of my latest little project - Marrying the Hyperdeck to the Cinetronic 2, while still keeping the Battery Mount on the Monitor.

 

The Hyperdeck is not the ideal recorder for all of my purposes, it's impractical to use to record EVERY take as you can not delete clips from the machine and files tends to use up a lot of space - especially in this 'KEEP ROLLING' digital world we are in now. It also does not have a trigger function that works with the Alexa unless the Alexa is set to "roll timecode on record" which on most sets it is not. It recognizes the Panasonic protocol SDI trigger but I'm not sure what cameras use that. So presently I'm using it to record rehearsals and TAKES that I'd like to keep for my own purposes. If I'd like to keep anything I record it after the fact by playing it back from the camera and making a duplicate onto the Hyperdeck. I've been bringing home the SSD card on the weekends to delete what I don't want and archive the footage I like.

 

I'm hopeful that Blackmagic still has plans to improve the firmware to add a few more features that will make the unit more Steadicam friendly. Clip delete and more all encompassing SDI trigger recognition would be a good start.

 

I have all of the power cables running through the Shuttle. There is a direct feed from the Battery to the Monitor and a regulated 12v feed on a switch soldered directly to the Hyperdeck circuit board. I've taken the battery out of the Hyperdeck as I don't want to be charging the internal battery while I'm powering the unit anyways with the monitor batt. The shuttle can handle more than 12v but I'm playing it safe with the regulator.

 

 

 

The Hyperdeck Shell is thick enough to tap M3 threads into it to reattach the battery mount onto the back of the Recorder. The Shuttle comes apart pretty easily if you're handy with electronics and have torx screwdriver bits.

 

 

The two backs of each unit are attached to each other using small nuts and bolts I drilled four holes into the corners of the Cinetronic back cover to allow the BM back cover to be attached first. There are two screws in the Cinetronic back that are covered by the shuttle and can no longer be used but the strength of the plates together make them unnecessary.

 

 

There are a few tricks along the way and it's late here so if anyone has any questions I'd be happy to answer them later.

 

IB

 

 

[Sanjay Sami]

Looks like a slick solution. Do you have any issues with the sandwiching that may affect the monitors ability to radiate heat ?

Ive been scratching my head to find a good mounting solution. It just is such an inconvenient size ...

[Jens Piotrowski SOC]

Instead of hard mounting it, you could put a male and female A/B plate on the hyper and pass the power through it. It makes it removable.

[Iain Baird]

Sanjay, from what I understand from Chris at Cinetronic there should be no issues as they were at one time planning on building something similar but then interest in the Shuttle wained I suppose.

 

I've had no overheating issues but I've only been using it for a few weeks now. I'm in Ireland at the moment and although it's been a hot & sunny summer by Irish standards it's not been through any rigorous testing environments yet!!

 

The size of the Shuttle is perfect - they look like they were made for each other when attached. If BM can improve the operating system it may turn out to be a winner all around.

 

IB

[Iain Baird]

Jens, I considered this but those plates are never as solid as I would like not to mention the added size in the whole setup. What I did do is put a Male to Female connector on the power connection from the AB mount to the Shuttle and used matching connectors from the shuttle to the Cinetronic. This way with just a screwdriver and some allen keys I can easily take the Shuttle out anytime and plug the AB mount back into the Monitor.

 

IB

[Iain Baird]

Here's a look at the custom cable's I've installed for the SDI path. The signal goes through the Hyperdeck first then onto the Monitor through a short jumper. The co-ax SDI connections on the Hyperdeck are DIN 1.0/2.3 - not ideal in the BNC world we work in, but I've made quite a few backups of varying sizes along with the ones here in the pic which are the exact length they need to be. I'm using a nice and flexible RG179 cable to allow for easy hookup.

 

 

IB

 

 

[Alan Rencher]

Instead of hard mounting it, you could put a male and female A/B plate on the hyper and pass the power through it. It makes it removable.

 

Do you know where to get a male plate?

[Michael Maga]

[Jens Piotrowski SOC]

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem?sbk=1&nav=SEARCH&itemId=171007704991

[Sanjay Sami]

I like your short DIN to BNc's

I am powering the Hyperdeck with a Ptap connection. Is that what you are doing ? Do you have a separate power source for the monitor ?

[Iain Baird]

Sanjay, all the wiring is inside the Hyperdeck. From the battery plate I have a power supply routed directly to the Monitor and a separate feed on a 12V regulator for the Hyperdeck. I've taken the internal battery out of the Shuttle and have the power soldered directly to the Shuttle circuit board. I have a switch on the side of the AB plate that can turn off the Shuttle feed if I'm not using it.

[Iain Baird]

BlackMagic has just released new firmware 4.0 with updated codec options. They now have a few more recording choices including Pro Res proxy. These files are much smaller and more practical for playback purposes. If they ever sort out Clip delete and SDI trigger I'll be thrilled.

 

IB

[Iain Baird]

.....unfortunately it's not a feature available for the shuttle yet, just the studio version. Damn

 

IB

[Victor Lazaro]

.....unfortunately it's not a feature available for the shuttle yet, just the studio version. Damn

IB

Yeah, proxy and enabling the display button would be amazing. The other nice thing would be record triggers with canon cameras (it's only Red and Sony for now.)