CentOS - Mar 2017 - OT: hardware: blackmagic video capture cards

Hi, folks,

   I'm still trying to find a video capture card that won't crash Dell
servers, and ran across a Blackmagic BDLKDUO2 DeckLink Duo 2. It claims
to support Linux. I'm also seeing, in the few non-Blabkmagic or sales
pages I can find, that they like "binary blobs". I also haven't
been
able to find anything about o/s or library requirements.

   Has anyone run across these cards, or know anything at all about them?
All we're doing with them is running a few video cameras in for
surveillance of our secure rooms, no audio, nothing fancy, with the
motion package reading the input.

      mark

On 3/16/2017 11:12 AM, m.roth at 5-cent.us wrote:
>     I'm still trying to find a video capture card that won't crash
Dell
> servers, and ran across a Blackmagic BDLKDUO2 DeckLink Duo 2. It claims
> to support Linux. I'm also seeing, in the few non-Blabkmagic or sales
> pages I can find, that they like "binary blobs". I also
haven't been
> able to find anything about o/s or library requirements.
>
>     Has anyone run across these cards, or know anything at all about them?
> All we're doing with them is running a few video cameras in for
> surveillance of our secure rooms, no audio, nothing fancy, with the
> motion package reading the input.
I would use tcp/ip network cameras, ideally with PoE to simplify running 
power to them.   plus cat-5 is a lot easier to run than coax or HDMI.

I've got one of these, works well enough. 
https://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-Megapixel-Resolution-monitoring-TV-IP320PI/dp/B00MUJ69WM

I'm not using it, but these should work great with ZoneMinder or most 
any other video surveillance/recording package.



-- 
john r pierce, recycling bits in santa cruz

John R Pierce wrote:
> On 3/16/2017 11:12 AM, m.roth at 5-cent.us wrote:
>>     I'm still trying to find a video capture card that won't
crash Dell
>> servers, and ran across a Blackmagic BDLKDUO2 DeckLink Duo 2. It claims
>> to support Linux. I'm also seeing, in the few non-Blabkmagic or
sales
>> pages I can find, that they like "binary blobs". I also
haven't been
>> able to find anything about o/s or library requirements.
>>
>>     Has anyone run across these cards, or know anything at all about
>> them?
>> All we're doing with them is running a few video cameras in for
>> surveillance of our secure rooms, no audio, nothing fancy, with the
>> motion package reading the input.
>
> I would use tcp/ip network cameras, ideally with PoE to simplify running
> power to them.   plus cat-5 is a lot easier to run than coax or HDMI.
>
<snip>
Thanks, but no. IP cameras are explicitly right out. I said "secure
rooms"
(no, no, these are not server rooms, "Server Room" requires serious
paperwork, etc....) but they *are* secure. We want no one able to connect
but us. And we've already got some perfectly good cameras that run BNC.
The reason I'm back to looking is the BT878 cards we have work fine... on
older, non-Dell servers. Firmware updates? What are those? A few years
ago, I tried tracking down the manufacturer... who got sold, and sold
again, and IIRC, sold again. I tried contacting the final owner, and got
no answer whatever.

So, we were looking for a newer capture card. These Blackmagic are PCIe; I
think the BT878's are PCI, or maybe PCI-x, and personally, I think
there's
an issue in the chip Dell uses on their m/b to convert - it's a TI chip.

Anyway, thanks for the thought.

Oh, right... and we would not want a camera that we can't update the
firmware, and might be sending info back to China, or maybe it's being
used in a DDoS attack via the IoT....

     mark

On 3/16/17 11:12 AM, m.roth at 5-cent.us wrote:
> Hi, folks,
>
>     I'm still trying to find a video capture card that won't crash
Dell
> servers, and ran across a Blackmagic BDLKDUO2 DeckLink Duo 2. It claims
> to support Linux. I'm also seeing, in the few non-Blabkmagic or sales
> pages I can find, that they like "binary blobs". I also
haven't been
> able to find anything about o/s or library requirements.
>
>     Has anyone run across these cards, or know anything at all about them?
> All we're doing with them is running a few video cameras in for
> surveillance of our secure rooms, no audio, nothing fancy, with the
> motion package reading the input.
>
>        mark
>
> _______________________________________________
> CentOS mailing list
> CentOS at centos.org
> https://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos
Blackmagic support is sketchy at best.

I'd have to say they allegedly support Linux.

I got one of the USB 3 units that claimed Linux support and was told 
"nuh uh" with not even an attempt to find a way to make it go.

Find something different.

Bruce Ferrell wrote:
> On 3/16/17 11:12 AM, m.roth at 5-cent.us wrote:
>> Hi, folks,
>>
>>     I'm still trying to find a video capture card that won't
crash Dell
>> servers, and ran across a Blackmagic BDLKDUO2 DeckLink Duo 2. It claims
>> to support Linux. I'm also seeing, in the few non-Blabkmagic or
sales
>> pages I can find, that they like "binary blobs". I also
haven't been
>> able to find anything about o/s or library requirements.
>>
>>     Has anyone run across these cards, or know anything at all about
>> them?
>> All we're doing with them is running a few video cameras in for
>> surveillance of our secure rooms, no audio, nothing fancy, with the
>> motion package reading the input.
>>
> Blackmagic support is sketchy at best.
>
> I'd have to say they allegedly support Linux.
>
> I got one of the USB 3 units that claimed Linux support and was told
> "nuh uh" with not even an attempt to find a way to make it go.
>
> Find something different.
>
Thanks muchly. That's what I needed to know. *sigh*

      mark