Identifying Video-Tap SRII

[Evin Cameron]

Hey everybody, trying to decode this video tap that's been installed on this SRII - I can't even tell if it's functional as I didn't get any signal the first time I tried assuming it was a digital signal. After checking out the Visual Products website I noticed their current HD digital video tap is a completely newer model, so now I'm assuming it's a matter of converting the analog signal. But now I'm having trouble finding any sort of converter that'd work - with the exception of a cheaper amazon option that I'd be willing to try just to see if I could get a signal. 

 

Does anybody have any insight or knowledge into this? Any help would be much appreciated.

[Ruben Arce]

I don't know about the video tap, but if you tried HD-SDI and it didn't work and it seems to be an old model of the video tap that should be composite signal through a BNC connector. Composite was very common on TVs, video games and DVD players. It was in the form of 3 RCA connectors. Yellow (video) red and white (audio). If you want to make sure the video tap works you can get a BNC to RCA converter and test the video tap using a TV that still has those inputs or a monitor.

The device you found on Amazon can work fine if you want to convert the signal to HDMI. There are some other devices that can convert the signal to HD-SDI. Using a high definition monitor is not going to change the original signal which is standard definition (assuming it is SD). You can also get a monitor with SD-SDI or composite input and use it without converters. People get converters mainly because they already have professional monitors with HD-SDI input or HDMI.

[Robin Phillips]

the product you listed just says BNC to HDMI, so it doesnt indicate that it has both the analogue to SDI converter AND the upscaler.

Before I got my SR3 updated to an HD tap, I used one of these https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/CONVMAAS2--blackmagic-design-mini-converter-analog-to-sdi-2

remember BNC is the actual connector for SDI, SDI is a digital signal going over a cable with BNC connectors (though if you just search for SDI cable you'll find them). you do need a certain quality cable to carry higher and higher quality images, but given that at most you'll be dealing with a basic 422 or less HD-SDI signal at the end of your chain that probably wont be an issue. 

to then go to HD-SDI you either need another adapter or a recorder that can take SD-SDI and cross convert to HD (the pix240i could do this I know). 

[Evin Cameron]

Thank you both for the info, I'm hoping regardless of quality with that converter to just even see if the video tap even functions - since there's no power lights or anything for it I won't know until I can get signal from it. 

 

14 hours ago, Robin Phillips said:

Before I got my SR3 updated to an HD tap, I used one of these https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/CONVMAAS2--blackmagic-design-mini-converter-analog-to-sdi-2

Were you able to power this with onboard power at all? Or were you always tethered to wall power? If my tap works without issue I'd love to pick something up like this instead of the HDMI amazon option. But I'd love to be able to keep everything onboard power-wise. 

[Robin Phillips]

I had a cable that would send the right voltage range into the box. I think the way I was doing it was I was going 12v out of the SR3's converter to a block of P tap connections, then went P tap to barrel into the converter. 

If you have one of the new https://elokuvakonepaja.com/ battery plates (they have them for regulated 12v or 24v for v and AB mount batteries), you can just use one of the p tap plugs off the side of it to run a cable to the adapter. No affiliation with the Elok guys but I do have some of their power accessories and they've been great. Getting off the Arri SR battery system was a major improvement for using my film cameras