Blackmagic Design Adds ExFAT Disk Compatibility

Blackmagic Design Pty. Ltd. announced HyperDeck Software Update 3.5, a software update for it’s HyperDeck Studio that adds support for the industry standard ExFAT file system so Windows formatted ExFAT disks can be inserted for recording and playback.

                    HyperDeck Studio

ExFAT is also supported on Mac OS X, so this means disks can be natively mounted on both Windows and Mac OS X without third party software required.

ExFAT is a Windows-based operating file system including large sized disk and file support, compatibility and performance. All modern Windows computers include support for ExFAT and can format disks. In addition, Mac OS X also supports ExFAT disks, so ExFAT formatted disks can be plugged into both Windows and Mac OS X machines without third party software required.

Support for ExFAT on HyperDeck broadcast recorders is transparent to the user as there is no settings for this feature and the HyperDeck will detect the format of the disk and automatically record and playback from that disk. This means the customer can format disks for ExFAT or HFS+ and mix and match those disks on the same HyperDeck automatically without changing any settings.

This HyperDeck Software Update 3.5 will be available in September 2012 free of charge for all HyperDeck Shuttle, HyperDeck Studio and HyperDeck Studio Pro customers.

HyperDeck Shuttle, HyperDeck Studio and HyperDeck Studio Pro record direct to SSDs which offer fast read and write speeds, so they have the bandwidth required for full SD or HD recording and playback. Unlike tape, or any other broadcast storage device, SSDs are used in laptop and desktop computers, so are constantly increasing in size, while purchase prices have been dropping over the last few years. This means the cost per minute of recording is now much less any any other broadcast format, and getting cheaper every day.

HyperDeck Studio is the solution to replace ageing broadcast decks due to it’s quality, direct file format compatibility with NLE software, and easy to use deck style design with broadcast desk features.

It allows recording and playback from SDI and HDMI sources, and includes support for RS-422 deck control. Unlike broadcast decks, it can record forever because it includes dual SSD slots. This allows a new blank disk to be inserted while recording, and when the current recording disk is full, HyperDeck Studio will continue to record across onto the new blank disk. Disks can be swapped constantly for continuous recording.

"This is a very exciting update because it lets our customers use their HyperDeck with Windows computers and there is no need for any third party utility, as ExFAT is native to Windows machines," said Grant Petty, CEO of Blackmagic Design. "Ever since HyperDeck broadcast recorders were announced we have been asked by customers for better Windows support. We think this new ExFAT support in HyperDeck will be very well received by our broadcast and Hollywood post production customers! And it’s a free update."

HyperDeck Family features:

• Record and playback to standard 10-bit uncompressed QuickTime and compressed media files.
• Uses fast off the SSDs available from computer resellers at low cost.
• Supports both HFS+ for Mac OS X, and ExFAT for Windows and Mac OS X file systems.
• 3 Gb/s SDI and HDMI inputs and outputs.
• QuickTime and MXF file formats are compatible with Final Cut Pro, Avid Media Composer and more.

Availability and Price
HyperDeck Software Update 3.5 with ExFAT support will be available in September 2012 free of charge from the Blackmagic Design web site for all HyperDeck users. HyperDeck Studio is available from resellers worldwide for $995 and HyperDeck Shuttle for $345.