Blackmagic Design SmartView Duo Dual 8-Inch SDI Monitor

Blackmagic Design SmartView Duo Dual 8-Inch SDI Monitor

The Blackmagic Design SmartView Duo puts two independent 8-inch LCD monitors into one compact rack-mount unit, so two SDI feeds can be watched side by side wherever a rack is already installed: outside broadcast trucks, studio control rooms, post production suites and live event racks. Each screen works independently, accepts its own SD, HD or 3G-SDI source, and passes a reclocked loop-through output on to the next device in the chain.

This is a monitoring product, plain and focused. It does not include the waveform and scope displays of the separate SmartScope Duo 4K, and its screens are 800 x 480 pixels each, so incoming HD pictures are scaled to the panel. What it offers instead is dependable, always-on picture monitoring for two feeds in very little rack space, with remote adjustment of both screens over Ethernet.

Key features

• Two independent 8-inch LCD screens in one rack-mount unit
• 800 x 480 pixel resolution per screen with 16.7 million colours
• Auto-switching SD, HD and 3G-SDI inputs with reclocked loop-through outputs
• Format support up to 1080p60, including 1080PsF, 1080i and 2K DCI rates
• Remote setup and adjustment of screens over Ethernet with loop-through
• Tally input on a 9-pin D connector for live production use
• Configuration and firmware updates over USB 2.0 or Ethernet with the SmartView utility
• Screens can rotate upside down for the best viewing angle in the rack

Two feeds, monitored independently

Each display is a TFT active matrix LCD with a response time under 15 ms, a typical contrast ratio of 500:1 and hardware-based real-time colour space conversion between YUV and RGB. Multi-rate support means the monitors auto-detect standard definition, high definition and 2K inputs, so a rack that handles mixed-format work does not need its monitors swapped when the job changes. SDI compliance covers SMPTE 259M, 292M, 296M, 372M, 424M Level B and 425M, and the colour space follows REC 601 for SD and REC 709 for HD sources.

Built for racks and control rooms

The Duo is designed to live in equipment racks, where its dual-screen layout replaces two separate monitors and their power supplies with one unit drawing under 20 watts from the included 12V universal supply. Because both screens can be adjusted remotely over the Ethernet connection, an engineer can set up and correct monitors across a facility from one desk rather than walking the racks, and the Ethernet loop-through lets multiple units be chained on the same network run. The tally connector integrates with live production switchers so on-air sources are identified at the monitor itself.

Formats in detail

Supported SDI formats include 525i59.94 NTSC and 625i50 PAL; 720p at 50, 59.94 and 60; 1080p from 23.98 to 60 frames per second; 1080PsF at 23.98, 24, 25, 29.97 and 30; 1080i at 50, 59.94 and 60; and 2K DCI at 23.98p, 24p and 25p plus PsF equivalents. Video sampling is 4:2:2 and 4:4:4. The SmartView utility runs on macOS 10.15 Catalina or later and 64-bit Windows 10, and handles adjustment and firmware updates over USB 2.0 high speed or Ethernet.

Where SmartView Duo fits

Use SmartView Duo for confidence and programme/preview monitoring where operators need to see two feeds clearly and continuously: broadcast racks, flypacks, venue AV racks and post suites. For colour-critical grading or signal analysis, a dedicated grading monitor or the SmartScope range is the right tool; for compact dual-feed SDI monitoring that installs in minutes and runs all day, SmartView Duo is the unit Blackmagic built for the job.