Send a screen out over SDI with a Blackmagic card

If your video switcher takes a cable rather than a network feed, ChristChant can play a screen directly out of a Blackmagic SDI port. Each port runs on the card's own clock, like a broadcast graphics box.

What you need

• A Blackmagic DeckLink or UltraStudio device.
• Blackmagic's Desktop Video driver, installed on this computer. ChristChant talks to the card through it. ChristChant shows a Download link if the driver is missing.

Set it up

1. 1Connect the card and check that it appears in Desktop Video Setup.
2. 2In ChristChant, open Settings, then Network & Streaming.
3. 3Scroll to SDI Outputs and choose Scan for SDI devices.
4. 4For each port, choose the Screen it should play and the Format, such as 1080p, 1080i or 720p.
5. 5Turn on Embed audio if the switcher should receive the screen's sound.

Fill and key

To lay lyrics or scripture over a camera, set the port's keying to Fill and key on paired connectors. The fill leaves on one connector and the key on its pair.

• Choose Premultiplied or Straight for the fill type, to match what your switcher expects.
• Set the pair to Fill and key in Desktop Video Setup as well.
• Use Full-frame program instead when you want the whole picture on the cable.

If it does not appear

• No SDI device found: check the connection, confirm the card in Desktop Video Setup, then scan again.
• SDI is not available in this build: use an HDMI output with an HDMI-to-SDI converter, or send NDI to an SDI decoder.

Prefer a network feed? See Stream your service: NDI, SDI or go live directly.