Blackmagicdesign Audio Monitor 12G Installation And Operation Manual
Installation and Operation Manual
Blackmagic
Audio Monitor 12G
November 2018
English
Welcome
Thank you for purchasing a Blackmagic Audio Monitor for your production needs!
We hope you share our dream for the television industry to become a truly creative industry by
allowing anyone to have access to the highest quality video equipment.
Audio monitoring is crucial for any video production workflow, whether it’s broadcast,
post production or live production. Blackmagic Audio Monitor gives you all the features of
professional audio monitors in a compact rack mount design. You can connect to virtually all
types of audio equipment for high quality monitoring. The original Blackmagic Audio Monitor
supports 6G-SDI for connecting Ultra HD video up to 30 frames per second. Blackmagic Audio
Monitor 12G supports 12G-SDI for connecting Ultra HD video up to 60 frames per second and
also supports level A and B 3G-SDI video signal inputs.
This instruction manual contains all the information you need to start using your
BlackmagicAudio Monitor.
Please check the support page on our web site at www.blackmagicdesign.com for the latest
version of this manual and updates to your Blackmagic Audio Monitor’s internal software.
Keeping your internal software up to date will always ensure you get all the latest features.
When downloading software, please register with your information so we can keep you
updated when new software is released. We are constantly working on new features and
improvements, so we would love to hear from you!
Grant Petty
CEO Blackmagic Design
Contents
Blackmagic Audio Monitor 12G
Getting Started 4
Introducing Blackmagic Audio Monitor 4
Plugging in Audio 4
Selecting your Audio Source 5
Connecting Video Outputs 5
Using Blackmagic Audio Monitor 6
Using the Control Panel 6
LCD 6
Audio Level Meters 7
Solo Left and Solo Right 7
Channel Up and Channel Down 7
Input 8
Mute 8
Volume 8
Audio Monitor Setup 9
Blackmagic Audio Monitor Setup 9
Mac OS X Installation 9
Windows Installation 9
Updating the Internal Software 9
Meter Tab 10
Configure Tab 12
Changing Network Settings 12
®
Installing the optional BlackmagicDolby
Installing the Module 13
Confirming Dolby Audio 14
Developer Information 15
Controlling Blackmagic Audio Monitor 12G using Telnet 15
Blackmagic Audio Monitor 12G Ethernet Protocol V1.0 15
Help 19
Regulatory Notices 20
Safety Information 21
Warranty 22
Decoder Module 13
Getting Started
Introducing Blackmagic Audio Monitor
Blackmagic Audio Monitor and Blackmagic Audio Monitor 12G are single rack real time audio
monitoring solutions that can be used with a variety of video and audio sources in live, post
production and broadcast environments.
Blackmagic Audio Monitor connects to SD/HD/3G/6G-SDI, digital AES/EBU and analog audio
equipment to ensure outputs have the correct audio levels. The 12G model supports 12G-SDI so
you can connect Ultra HD video up to 60 frames per second. Left and right channel LED level
meters let you see where your audio is peaking and the built in LCD shows your SDI video input
plus important information such as input connection type, video format,frame rate, audio
channels and volume level.
You can monitor up to 16 channels of embedded SDI audio, or use XLR connectors for balanced
analog and AES/EBU digital audio.There are also RCA connectors so you can plug in consumer
equipment such as HiFi systems and iPods.
Your Blackmagic Audio Monitor includes two high quality internal full range speakers and two
sub woofers that give you a wide range of frequencies for clear and deep sound reproduction,
or you can connect a headset for confident sound monitoring that is great if you are in a noisy
environment!
The front panel of Blackmagic Audio Monitor 12G
The rear panel of Blackmagic Audio Monitor 12G
Plugging in Audio
Blackmagic Audio Monitor supports virtually all types of audio equipment! If you want to
connect SDI signals in SD, HD, 2K or even Ultra HD, you can plug in via the SDI input using a
standard BNC connector. The 12G model supports level A and B 3G-SDI video signal inputs.
Plug in using XLR connectors if you want to monitor digital AES/EBU audio from equipment
including disk recorders and digital audio consoles, or from analog equipment such as audio
mixers or Betacam SP decks. Analog audio from consumer equipment such as VCRs and DVD
players can be connected using standard RCA connectors. You can also connect headphones
via the 1/4” TRS headphone jack when you need to listen to your audio privately without
disturbing others.
4Getting Started
PUSH PUSH PUSH
-45 -30 -20 -10 -3 +3
L
R
0
SOLO
LEFT
SOLO
RIGHT
CH CH
INPUT
SDI 1080PsF/30 Ch 1&2
HDMI OUT
SDI IN SDI LOOP OUT AES/EBU IN
321 54
1. HDMI 2. SDI embedded audio 3. XLR for AES/EBU
4. XLR for Analog audio 5. RCA for consumer audio connections
Selecting your Audio Source
After plugging in your audio equipment to Blackmagic Audio Monitor, all you need to do is
select your connection by pressing the INPUT button on the control panel. When your input is
selected and audio is present, you’ll notice the audio level meter LEDs illuminated. The audio
level meter consists of 2 rows of colored LEDs and are brightly lit so you can easily confirm your
audio input is working.
The INPUT button lets you cycle through your audio connections and you can see them on the
color LCD with information including input type, audio channels and volume level. That’s all you
need to do to monitor audio with Blackmagic Audio Monitor.
Connecting Video Outputs
If you need video as well as audio monitoring, Blackmagic Audio Monitor’s video outputs let
you monitor video with audio on a large screen, or connect to more video equipment.
The HDMI output and SDI loop output can be used to monitor video and embedded audio.
You can connect to SD, HD, 2K and even Ultra HD capture devices such as DeckLink 4K
Extreme with a single SDI cable. Connect video with embedded audio to recording decks such
as HyperDeck Studio via SD/HD-SDI or the latest Ultra HD display and projectors via HDMI.
The selection buttons allow you to choose which input you wish to monitor, isolate left and right stereo
channels, move up or down through available audio channels, and mute the speakers or headphones.
5Getting Started
Using Blackmagic Audio Monitor
SDI 1080PsF/30 Ch 1&2
Analog Ch 1&2
Using the Control Panel
Blackmagic Audio Monitor’s control panel provides fast access to critical functions and status.
LCD
The built in color LCD features a text overlay that displays important status information, such as
your selected input, the video format if SDI is connected, selected audio channels, and the
volume level for your speakers or headphones. The LCD will also display any incoming SDI
video signal. If there is no SDI video detected, a music icon will be displayed.
The following information is displayed for each selected input:
SDI input
SDI, video format, selected audio channels.
The color LCD displays audio and video information
including connection type, video format, selected
audio channels and volume level.
A music icon is displayed on the LCD unless
monitoring an SDI video signal.
Balanced AES/EBU XLR input
AES/EBU, selected audio channels.
Balanced XLR analog inputs
Analog, selected audio channels.
Unbalanced RCA analog inputs
HiFi, selected audio channels.
6Using Blackmagic Audio Monitor
Audio Level Meters
-45 -30 -20 -10 -3 +3
L
R
0
SOLO
LEFT
SOLO
RIGHT
CH CH
INPUT
SDI 1080PsF/30 Ch 1&2
Blackmagic Audio Monitor’s level meters feature two banks of green, orange and red LEDs that
show the strength of your audio levels. If all LEDs are lit, your audio levels are too high and
are clipping.
The behaviour of the audio level meters will change depending on which meter type setting
you have selected in the Audio Monitor Setup utility. If you are using VU metering, adjust the
output levels on your audio equipment so the meter peaks at the 0dB indicator on the control
panel. This maximizes the signal to noise ratio and ensures your audio is at the highest quality.
Ifyour audio peaks beyond the 0dB indicator there is a high risk of sound distortion.
Please refer to the ‘Audio Monitor Setup’ section for information on installing Blackmagic Audio
Monitor Setup and setting the level meter types.
Solo Left and Solo Right
These buttons let you isolate left and right channel audio so you can listen for any potential
audio problems in each channel independently.
Selecting Solo Left deactivates the right audio channel. The audio
level meter will continue to display both levels.
To monitor left channel audio:
1 Press the Solo Left button. The button will become backlit green and your audio
will play through the left speaker only.
2 Press Solo Left again to return to stereo audio monitoring.
To monitor right channel audio:
1 Press the Solo Right button. The button will become backlit green and your audio
will play through the right speaker only.
2 Press Solo Right again to return to stereo audio monitoring.
Channel Up and Channel Down
These buttons let you cycle through 16 channels of audio embedded in your SDI connection.
Press the channel up button to move up through 8 pairs of audio channels. Press the channel
down button to move down through the pairs of channels.
7Using Blackmagic Audio Monitor
Loading...