Blackmagicdesign Blackmagic Video Assist Installation And Operation Manual

Installation and Operation Manual

Blackmagic

VideoAssist

July 2017

English, 日本語, Français, Deutsch, Español,

中文, 한국어, Русский

and

Italiano.

Languages

To go directly to your preferred language, simply click on the hyperlinks listed in the
contents below.

English 3

日本語 55

Français 108

Deutsch 161

Español 214

中文 267

한국어 320

Русский 373

Italiano 426

Welcome!

Thank you for purchasing your Blackmagic Video Assist.

We are extremely excited to have designed the Blackmagic Video Assist family of products.
We think they are the perfect solution to help you shoot better video on any type of camera.
Your video assist combines the best of our monitoring and recording technologies for on
set monitoring and professional recording into easy to use very compact products.

English

Blackmagic Video Assist models can be mounted on your camera, or with the underside
fold out stand you can use them on a desk for general deck and monitoring use. That’s
perfect for use as a master recorder for a live production switcher.

Blackmagic Video Assist has a 6G-SDI input so it will monitor Ultra HD. Blackmagic Video
Assist 4K records Ultra HD on two SD cards for continuous recording and is also a powerful
audio recorder, so you can mix analog audio into the SDI or HDMI recording. Your video
assist is a very versatile monitor and recorder that you can use with any camera and on
any project.

This instruction manual contains all the information you need to start using your video assist.

Please check the support page on our website at www.blackmagicdesign.com for the
latest version of this manual and for updates to your video assist’s software. Keeping
your software up to date will 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 continually working on new features and improvements,
so we would love to hear from you!

Grant Petty

CEO Blackmagic Design

Contents

Blackmagic Video Assist

Getting Started 5

Plugging in Power 5
Plugging in Video 6
Plugging in Audio 6
Inserting SD Cards 7

Recording 8

Remote Control via the LANC Connector 8
Continuous Recording 8
Recording Clean HDMI

fromDSLR Cameras 9

Playback 9

Settings 10

Changing Settings using the
Touchscreen 10

Volume and Analog Audio Levels 17
Storage, Monitor, Display,

Audio and Setup Settings 18
Monitoring using on screen meters 23
Video Scopes 24

About SD Cards 29

Choosing a Fast SD Card 29
Formatting SD Cards

usingyour Video Assist 29
Formatting SD Cards using a Computer 30
Working with Files from SD Cards 32
Checking Disk Speed 32

Blackmagic Video Assist Setup 33

Video Settings 33

About Settings 33
Changing the Language 33

Using DaVinci Resolve 36

Introducing DaVinci Resolve 36
Importing your Clips 36
Editing your Clips 37
Trimming Clips 38
Mapping Keyboard Shortcuts 39
Adding Transitions 40
Adding Titles 41
Adding Audio Tracks 41
Color Correcting your Clips 42
Using Scopes 43
Secondary Color Correction 44
Qualifying a Color 45
Adding a Power Window 45
Tracking a Window 46
Using Plugins 47
Mastering your Edit 48

Post Production Workflow 49

Working with 3rd Party Software 49
Using Final Cut Pro X 49
Using Avid Media Composer 50
Using Adobe Premiere Pro CC 51
Using Autodesk Smoke 2013 51

Help 53

Warranty 54

Getting Started

Plugging in Power

Getting started with your video assist is as simple as plugging in power, connecting your video
source, plugging in your audio and inserting an SD card.

This section shows you how to get started including:

■

Plugging in Power

■

Plugging in Video

■

Plugging in Audio

■

Inserting SD cards

To supply power, plug in the supplied power adapter to your video assist’s power input on
theright side panel.

With external power connected, you can also charge two LP-E6 type Lithium-Ion batteries,
which can be mounted to battery slots 1 and 2onthe back panel. To plug an LP-E6 type battery
into your video assist, gently press thebattery against the inside top edge of the battery slot,
then slide the battery down against the back panel until you feel it click and lock into place.
Press the battery release button on the top panel to remove a battery. For more information
onbattery use andhow to monitor the battery power remaining, refer to the ‘settings’ section in
this manual.

To power on the unit, press the power button on the right side panel. Pressand hold
topower off.

SD CARD SD CARD +12V POWER

Connect external power to the +12V power input.
Press the power button to turn the unit on.

Getting Started

5

Blackmagic Video Assist 4K

SD CARD SD CARD +12V POWER

SD CARD SD CARD +12V POWER

PUSH

ANALOG AUDIO IN

PUSH

SDI OUT

SDI IN

HDMI IN HDMI OUT

A kickstand is provided so you can mount the
unit on your desk. Simply lift the edge of the

Your video assist uses common
LP-E6 type batteries.

stand and gently swing it into the open position.

Plugging in Video

The next step is to plug your SDI or HDMI source videointo the MiniBNC, BNC or HDMIinput.
The unit will auto detect the SDI or HDMI input depending on what you connect first. Mini BNC
to regular BNC cables can be purchased from your nearest professional video equipment
stores. Mini BNC connectors are also commonly known as DIN1.0/2.3 connectors.

PUSHPUSH

ANALOG AUDIO IN

SD CARD SD CARD +12V POWER

HDMI IN HDMI OUT SDI IN SDI OUT

Connect your source video to the SDI or HDMI input on the left side. Connect an HDMITV or SDI monitor by
plugging into the HDMI or SDI output. You can listen to the audio on your clips during recording and playback
by plugging a headset into the headset jack. On Blackmagic Video Assist 4K you can also listen to your audio
during playback via the built in speaker below the LCD.

Plugging in Audio

When plugging in your video, audio is also connected as it’s embedded in the SDI or HDMI
video signal. However, Blackmagic Video Assist 4K also has built in mini XLR connectors so you
can plug in external balanced analog audio as well.

Getting Started

6

NOTE On Blackmagic Video Assist 4K you can set the audio settings to record analog

channels 1 and 2, orchoose one channel analog audio and one channel SDI or
HDMIaudio, depending on your source video. For more information about analog audio
andadjusting levels refer to ‘Audio Settings’ in the ‘Settings’ section.

Inserting SD Cards

To start recording clips, you need to insert a compatible SD card.

For high quality HD recording, we recommend high speed UHS-I SD cards. However, if you are
recording standard definition or lower bit rate, lower quality compression you might be able to
use slower cards. Generally the faster the cards, the better.

If you are recording Ultra HD on Blackmagic Video Assist 4K, then we recommend high speed
UHS-II type SD cards. These cards need to be capable of write speeds above 110MB/s for
recording up to Ultra HD 2160p30. Blackmagic Video Assist 4K also has two SD card slots. You
can record to either one, or insert two SD cards for continuous recording or fast media
change overs.

Before using your cards, you will need to format them to either HFS+ or exFATformats. It’s easy
to format your media via the ‘storage’ settings. Refer to the ‘settings’ section for more
information on storage settings.

If you want to, you can format your cards using a Mac OS or Windows computer. When using
your media on Mac OS then you can use HFS+ which is the Mac disk format. If you are using
Windows then you should use exFAT format, which is the Windows disk format and Mac OS
computers can also read exFAT format.

To plug in an SD card:

1 Hold the card with gold connectors facing the LCD and align it with the SD card slot.

2 Gently push the card into the slot until you feel it lock firmly into place.

To remove the card, gently push until you feel it click, then release. The card will eject a short
distance, allowing you to hold the edge of the card and remove it from the slot.

To start recording you’ll need to insert an HFS+ or exFAT formatted UHS-I or UHS-II SD card.
You can easily format your SDcard using the ‘storage’ settings in the touchscreen menu.

That’s all there is to getting started. With power, video and a formatted SD card you can now
start recording!

Getting Started

7

Recording

To start recording straight away, simply swipe the touchscreen up or down to reveal the on
screen display, then tap the circular ‘record’ icon at the bottom of the LCD. The ‘record’ icon will
become a square ‘stop’ icon during recording. Tap the stop icon to stop recording.

While recording, the timecode counter in the status strip will continuously update, showing you
the duration of your clip. When the on screen display is hidden on your video assist, a small record
indicator will be displayed at the bottom of the LCD so you can easily confirm you’re recording.

You can record your clips to QuickTime files using AppleProRes and Avid DNx codecs.

You can also set your video assist to use ‘timecode’ or ‘SDI/HDMI start/stop’ trigger recording.
This lets you start and stop recording triggered by information received via the HD-SDI or HDMI
signal. For information on how to set your chosen codec, or to enable trigger recording, refer to
the ‘settings’ section in this manual.

To start recording, simply swipe the touchscreen up or down to reveal the on
screen meters, then tap the ‘record’ icon. Tap again to stop recording.

NOTE When recording from an HDMI or SDI camera, make sure the output is clean

with overlays turned off as any overlays that are present in your camera’s video output
will be recorded with your image. Please refer to the section titled ‘recording clean
HDMI from DSLR cameras’ for more information.

Remote Control via the LANC Connector

On Blackmagic Video Assist 4K you can start and stop recording remotely using an external
LANC controller. Simply plug the LANC controller into the 2.5mm LANC input on the right side
of the unit.

Continuous Recording

Blackmagic Video Assist 4K supports continuous recording using 2 SD card slots. If you are
recording an important event and you don’t want to stop recording, simply insert a formatted
SDcard in slot 2. When the first card is full, your video assist will automatically switch over to
the second card. There will be no frames dropped in the process. For example, ifthe first
segment on card 1 stopped at 00:40:01:00, the recording on the second card will start at
00:40:01:01.

Recording

8

When editing your clips on the timeline, simply place the second clip against the tail of the
firstand they will play through the recording as if it is one complete clip.

Having SD cards inserted in both slots also lets you quickly change media. If you want to stop
recording at a defined moment, you can simply stop recording, choose ‘card 2’ in the storage
settings, then tap record again.

TIP For continuous recording or fast slot change overs using Blackmagic Video

Assist4K, make sure your cards are formatted before you start your recording.

Recording Clean HDMI fromDSLR Cameras

Some DSLR cameras record 8-bit video internally, and some can provide a clean video image
via their HDMI output. By plugging the DSLR camera’s HDMI output into your video assist, you
can bypass the camera’s internal compression and record using high quality 10-bit ProRes or
Avid DNx codecs. Some DSLR cameras can output 10-bit 4:2:2, which is higher quality video
than their internally recorded 8-bit 4:2:0 compression.

Many DSLR cameras are also limited to short recording durations, so an added benefit of
recording externally is bypassing these recording limitations. This is particularly helpful when
recording live events or interviews for documentaries.

To make the most of this feature, you will need to set your camera to output a clean image with
overlays turned off. This is normally done by changing your DSLR camera’s HDMI output
settings so it does not show any status information in the video signal. This is important
because if there are any overlays visible in your image via the HDMI output they will be
recorded in your video, which you probably don’t want.

To check the DSLR camera overlays are not visible:

1 Swipe the touchscreen up or down to hide the on screen meters so you can monitor

only your DSLR camera’s image. OnBlackmagic Video Assist 4K the status display at
the top of the LCD is independent and separate from the image. This means you can
monitor the entire image cleanly andstill have the status display visible.

2 With the on screen meters hidden, carefully check the DSLR camera’s output video

does not show any information other than your clean video image. If you can see
camera overlays on your video assist’s LCD, change the HDMI output or display menu
settings on your camera so HDMI overlays are turned off.

With a clean HDMI output from your camera you can now record better quality video!

Playback

Swipe the touchscreen up or down to reveal the on screen meters, then tap the playback
transport control icons at the bottom of the LCD.

To play your clips, tap the ‘play’ icon.

During playback, tap the ‘pause’ icon to momentarily ‘freeze’

the playback on a frame of video. Tap again to resume playback.

You can skip backwards or forwards through your clips by repeatedly

tapping the forward or reverse skip icons. Tapping reverse skip once will
restart the current clip.

Playback

9

During playback you can scrub your clip forwards or backwards by dragging the scrubbing
slider left or right. Tap the LCD to reveal or hide the slider.

Looping playback

Tap the loop icon once to set your video assist

to play back the current clip on a continuous loop.

Tap again to play all your

recorded clips on a continuous loop.

Tap a third time to turn loop off.

Shuttle through your clip by dragging the scrubbing slider forwards or backwards. During
playbackmode, a panel will appear near the top left corner of the screen. This panel displays the
number of clips recorded on your SD card, the current clip being played and the duration of the clip.

Settings

Changing Settings using the Touchscreen

Your video assist features a built in touchscreen. The touchscreen is used to monitor your video
and audio, plus change settings.

You can change most settings by tapping on the icons in the status strip at the top of the LCD.
Audio settings, such as levels adjustment or headphone volume, can be adjusted by swiping
the touchscreen up or down to reveal the on screen meters at the bottom of the LCD, then
tapping the audio meters.

Tap outside of the settings to hide a settings window. Swipe left or right, or tap the ‘back’ icon
to hide the storage settings.

To change settings:

1 Tap the setting you wish to change in the status strip or on screen meters.

For example, if you want to set the recording codec, tap the codec indicator in the
status strip to open the codec settings. If you want to adjust audio levels, simply tap on
the audio meters.

2 In your chosen settings window, tap the menu buttons, arrows or slider icons to choose

from the available settings. Tap outside the window to close the settings.

Settings

10

Overlays

Tap the overlays icon to open the zebra, focus peaking, guides and grid settings.
Thesesettings let you display overlays on the LCD to help with exposure, focus, composition
and framing when connected to a camera.

Overlay features are not visible via the SDI or HDMI output.

Zebra

The zebra feature helps you achieve optimum exposure by displaying diagonal lines over areas
of the video that exceed your set zebra level. For example, if you set the zebra level to 100%,
you’ll know that any area of the image displaying the zebra pattern will be clipped. If you set the
zebra to 90%, you can feel confident that you have some extra exposure headroom to protect
the highlights in your shot.

TIP You can also set the zebra to highlight areas of your image that represent specific

video levels on a waveform, for example setting the zebra for 50% means you can
visually identify which regions of your image will appear at approximately 50% on a
waveform scope.

To turn the zebra feature on and change the zebra level, tap the left and right arrows or drag
the slider in the ‘zebra’ setting.

Focus Peaking and Focus Assist

Focus peaking and focus assist settings give you powerful tools to help focus your images fast.
Focus peaking displays edge lines on the sharpest areas of the image. Sensitivity settings let
you change how strong the lines are.

To turn edge lines on and change the sensitivity settings, tap the left and right arrows or drag
the slider left or right. Sensitivity levels include ‘low’, ‘medium’ or ‘high’. In images with lots of
detail and high contrast, the lines can be distracting, so in these conditions you can select ’low’
or ‘medium’. Alternatively, for low contrast shots with less detail, select ‘high’ so the lines are
stronger and easier to see.

Changing the color of the edge lines can also make them easier to see in conditions where
their color may match the image. To change the color, simply tap the left and right arrows in the
‘focus line color’ setting.

Edge lines are extremely effective. They can be so pronounced that you can even monitor the
depth of your focal plane, plus watch it move closer or further into your shot as you adjust your
camera’s focus ring.

For more information on selecting focus assist tools, refer to the ‘monitor settings’ section in
this manual.

Guides

The frame guides feature provides aspect ratio overlays for various cinema, television and
online standards. Tap the ‘guides’ menu button, then tap the left or right arrows, or drag the
slider icon left or right to choose a guide or to turn the guides off.

Settings

11

You can choose from the following frame guides:

HDTV

Displays action and title safe regions of your image within a 1.78:1 aspect ratio
compatible with 16:9 HD television and computer screens.

4:3

Displays the 4:3 aspect ratio compatible with SD televisionscreens, or to help frame
shots when using 2xanamorphic adapters.

2.40:1, 2.39:1 and 2.35:1

Displays the broad widescreen aspect ratio compatible with anamorphic or flat
widescreen cinema presentation. The three widescreen settings differ slightly based
on the changing cinema standards over time. 2.39:1 is one of the most prominent
standards in use today.

1.85:1

Displays another common flat widescreen cinema aspect ratio. This ratio is slightly
wider than HDTV, but not as wide as 2.39:1.

Grid

The grid feature displays a ‘thirds’ overlay with two vertical and horizontal lines placed in each
third of the image. Tap ‘on’ or ‘off’ to view or hide the thirds overlay.

Thirds are an extremely powerful tool to help compose your shots. For example, the human eye
typically looks for action near the points where the lines intersect, so it’s helpful to frame key
points of interest in these zones.

TIP An actor’s eyeline is commonly framed along the top third of the screen,

so you can use the top horizontal third to guide your framing. Thirds are also
useful to maintain framing consistency between shots.

2.39:1 frame guides are useful for framing shots to suit a popular
flat widescreen cinema format.

False Color

The false color feature displays color overlays on your image that represent exposure values.
The color values correspond to optimum exposure settings, for example pink for Caucasian skin
tones and green for 38.4% middle grey. False color is also helpful to know when shadows and
highlights are near clipping or clipping.

Settings

12

With a range of tonal values on the LCD at once, this gives you a broader overview of your
exposure which you can use to refine lighting on set, or make exposure changes to
compensate.

We have included a chart in this section that shows how the colors correspond to specific
tonal values.

False Color Chart

Video Format and Frame Rate

Input video resolution and frame rate is displayed in the ‘Format’ section of the status strip. For
example, 2160p29.97, 2160p25, 1080p59.94, etc.

The following video input and output formats are supported:

Supported Input and Output Formats

6G-SDI Input and Output

525i59.94 NTSC, 625i50 PAL

720p50, 720p59.94, 720p60

1080PsF23.98, 1080PsF24

1080i50, 1080i59.94, 1080i60

1080p23.98, 1080p24, 1080p25, 1080p29.97, 1080p30, 1080p50, 1080p59.94, 1080p60

2160p23.98, 2160p24, 2160p25, 2160p29.97, 2160p30

HDMI Input and Output

525i59.94 NTSC, 625i50 PAL

720p50, 720p59.94, 720p60

1080i50, 1080i59.94, 1080i60

1080p23.98, 1080p24, 1080p25, 1080p29.97, 1080p30, 1080p50, 1080p59.94, 1080p60

2160p23.98, 2160p24, 2160p25, 2160p29.97, 2160p30 (Blackmagic Video Assist 4K)

Codec

Tap the ‘codec’ indicator to open the relevant settings, then tap the arrow icons or slider to make your
selection. The codecs available depend on the model you are using. For example, both models can
record HD video to Apple ProRes and Avid DNxHD codecs with a range of bit rates. Blackmagic
Video Assist 4K also lets you choose ProRes and DNxHR codecs for Ultra HD recording.

ProRes codecs are recorded as QuickTime files. DNx files can be recorded as QuickTime or
native MXF files. Refer to the table in this section for more details regarding the codec options.

Settings

13

Supported Codecs

Clips are recorded as QuickTime files except for DNx MXF files where MXF appears in
the codec name.

Blackmagic Video Assist Blackmagic Video Assist 4K

Codecs Bit Depth Codecs Bit Depth

ProRes 422 HQ 10 ProRes 422 HQ 10

ProRes 422 10 ProRes 422 10

ProRes 422 LT 10 ProRes 422 LT 10

ProRes Proxy 10 ProRes Proxy 10

DNxHD 220x 10 DNxHD 220x 10

DNxHD 145 8 DNxHD 145 8

DNxHD 45 8 DNxHD 45 8

DNxHD 220x MXF 10 DNxHR HQX 10

DNxHD 145 MXF 8 DNxHR SQ 8

DNxHD 45 MXF 8 DNxHR LB 8

– – DNxHD 220x MXF 10

– – DNxHD 145 MXF 8

– – DNxHD 45 MXF 8

– – DNxHR HQX MXF 10

– – DNxHR SQ MXF 8

– – DNxHR LB MXF 8

Timecode

The timecode counter displays the duration of your clips in hours:minutes:seconds:frames.

Trigger Record

Tap the ‘trigger record’ indicator to select between timecode run or SDI/HDMI trigger recording.
This lets you start and stop recording triggered by information received over the SDI or HDMI
connection. To disable trigger recording, select ‘never’.

T/C Run

When timecode run is selected, your video assist will start recording as soon asit
detects running timecode from your SDI or HDMI source. Recording will stop when the
timecode has ceased. This feature is useful when connecting cameras that don’t
support SDIstart/stop trigger recording. You may need to set your camera’s timecode
setting to ‘record run’ to make sure timecode only runs while your camera is recording.
If your camera’s timecode isset differently, for example time of day timecode, the
timecode is always running and will continuously trigger the recording on your
video assist.

Settings

14

SDI/HDMI

This setting will set your video assist to start and stop recording when you press the
record start and stop button on your camera. For SDI/HDMI start/stop trigger recording
you will need to use a camera that can trigger the record function via HD-SDI or HDMI.
Cameras which support trigger recording may include menu options such as ‘trigger
rec’, HD-SDI remote I/F’ or ‘SDI remote start/stop trigger’.

Source

Displays the connected SDI or HDMI input source. The unit will use the first source connected.
If you have another source connected, your video assist will swap over to the other if the signal
from the original source is lost for a brief period of time. This can be useful for redundancy if you
need to run a back up signal.

Card

Displays the status of the SD card currently selected in the storage settings.

Blackmagic Video Assist 4K has 2 SD card slots. To choose a card to record to:

1 Tap the ‘card’ status or swipe the touchscreen left or right to open the

‘storage’ settings.

2 In the storage settings simply tap the ‘card 1’ or ‘card 2’ icon near the top left of the

touchscreen.
You can also format your cards in the storage settings by tapping the ‘format card’ icon

underneath the information for each card.

Settings

15

Below is a list of the different indicators that may appear in the card status. The status
indicators are:

Loading

When inserting an SD card, the indicator will display ‘loading’ to let you know the unit is
verifying your card.

Ready

When a formatted SD card is verified, the status will display ‘ready’ to indicate your card
is ready to record.

Format

If your SD card needs to be initialized, the indicator will flash ‘format’ to prompt you to
format the card. Tap the ‘card’ indicator or swipe the touchscreen left or right to open
the ‘storage’ settings where you can format your card. For more information refer to the
‘about SD cards’ section.

No card

This indicator is displayed when there is no card inserted in the selected SD card slot.

Card full

The ‘card full’ indicator will flash for approximately three minutes prior to stopping
record when an SD card has used its maximum recording space.

When your card is full, the indicator will turn solid red and the recording will stop.
Yourvideo assist will then save the last recorded file.

If you have a formatted card in slot 2 of Blackmagic Video Assist 4K, the unit will
automatically switch over to slot 2 and continue recording to your second card.

Record Time Remaining

While in playback mode, the status indicator will display the record time remaining
foryour SD card.

Battery Level Remaining

Displays the amount of power remaining in your batteries. Tap the battery icon to open a larger
display with more precise information about your battery levels.

During operation, your video assist will use the battery with the lowest charge first, then swap
over to the other when depleted without interruption. When recharging batteries, both will
charge simultaneously. Batteries will take approximately 3 hours to fully charge when not in use
depending on battery type and conditions.

On Blackmagic Video Assist, two fully charged Canon LP-E6 batteries will supply power for
approximately 180 minutes of record time. Blackmagic Video Assist 4K will run on two fully
charged batteries for approximately 80 minutes of record time.

Settings

16

Zoom

The zoom feature lets you zoom into your image so you can carefully check your focus when
connected to a camera, or study fine details in your video image. The zoom feature can be
used when framing a shot before recording, or during playback, but is disabled while
recording a clip.

To turn the zoom feature on, simply tap the zoom icon located underneath the battery level
remaining indicator. To turn zoom off, tap the icon again. The zoom feature can be used when
monitoring Ultra HD or HD video.

Volume and Analog Audio Levels

Speaker Volume

To adjust the volume for the built in speaker on Blackmagic Video Assist 4K, swipe the LCD up
or down to reveal the on screen meters, then tap the audio meters to open the volume and
analog audio level settings. Simply drag the volume slider to increase or decrease the volume.

TIP To avoid potential feedback when a microphone is connected, the speaker is

enabled during playback, but is disabled while your Blackmagic Video Assist 4K is
recording or monitoring the video input.

Headphone Volume

To adjust the headphone volume, simply tap on the audio meters at the bottom right of the on
screen display. On Blackmagic Video Assist 4K, the speaker volume setting will change to
‘headphone’ as soon as you plug in a pair of headphones, then you can adjust the volume just
as you would for the speaker volume.

Analog Audio levels

On Blackmagic Video Assist 4K, analog audio levels via the XLR inputs can be adjusted by dragging
the sliders for each input. The level range you can adjust on each input is +10dB to +65dB.

Settings

17

To record optimum audio without clipping, adjust the sliders on each input until the levels are
peaking between -20 and -12dBFS on the XLR input audio meters.

Refer to the ‘monitoring using on screen meters’ section for more information.

Storage, Monitor, Display, Audio and Setup Settings

Swipe the touchscreen left or right to open additional settings and information. Here you can
monitor storage information for your SD card, format your card, adjust monitor and display
settings, plus change the date and time. On Blackmagic Video Assist 4K, you can also adjust
audio settings. To hide the settings and return to your video image, swipe left or right, or tap the
‘back’ icon at the bottom left corner on Blackmagic Video Assist 4K.

Storage Settings

The storage settings let you monitor the capacity of your inserted SD cards, format type, for
example HFS+ or exFAT, and the amount of free space available. You can also format your cards
directly using your video assist. For information on formatting SD cards, refer to the ‘about
SDcards’ section.

Settings

18

Monitor Settings

In the monitor settings, you can choose from two different types of focus assist tools, enable
anamorphic de-squeeze and blue only, plus change the rotation of the display based on the
physical positioning of the unit.

Focus Assist

Select ‘lines’ to display colored outlines around sharp areas of the image, or ‘peaking’
to display exaggerated sharpening detail around the areas of the image that
are in focus.

Focus Line Color

This setting lets you change the color of the focus assist lines to green, red, blue, or
white. Changing the color of the focus assist lines can help make them easier to see
against similar colors in your image.

Anamorphic De-squeeze

Blackmagic Video Assist 4K features an ‘anamorphic de-squeeze’ setting. This allows
you to correctly display horizontally ‘squeezed’ images from a camera using an
anamorphic lens. The de-squeeze amount required to correct your image will vary, as
each anamorphic lens has a different squeeze factor. You can select the de-squeeze
amount of ‘1.33x’, ‘1.66x’, ‘2x’ to correspond with the level of squeeze on different
anamorphic lenses. Select ‘off’ to disable the setting.

Screen Rotation

If you want to disable the automatic display rotation, simply set this setting to ‘none’.
Now the display will stay locked to the current position even if you turn it upside down.

You can also set the display to flip 180º. This will keep it locked to that position and is
helpful when the unit is mounted to a camera rig in an upside down position.

To enable the automatic screen rotation, select ‘auto’.

Blue Only

Blackmagic Video Assist 4K features a ‘blue only’ mode that displays only the blue
channel, represented as a black and white image. If there is noise in a digital video
signal, it is most visible within the blue channel, so you can easily check for noise by
using this feature. The black and white image can also be used for assistance when
checking camera focus. To enable ‘blue only’ mode, select ‘on’.

Set the ‘Display 3D LUT’ setting to ‘on’ and tap the left or right
arrows in the ‘3D LUT’ setting to select which 3D LUT to display
when monitoring your input source or during playback

Settings

19

Display 3D LUT

Your video assist can display the input video with 3D LUTs applied to the image. A 3D LUT is
only used on the display and not actually recorded into the video itself, so you don’t need to
worry that your recorded image will have the look permanently applied. However, if you want to
apply the same LUT to your image in DaVinci Resolve, you can simply import the exact same
LUT .cube file used in your video assist into DaVinci Resolve and apply it to your grade.

This gives you powerful options such as matching a look in post that you monitored on set, or
conforming to a specific color profile. Refer to the DaVinci Resolve instruction manual for more
information on how to use 3D LUTs in your color correction, including exporting LUTs as .cube
files so you can import them into your video assist.

You can import up to six 3D LUTs using the
Blackmagic Video Assist Setup software utility.

To import a 3D LUT:

1 Connect your video assist to a computer with Blackmagic Video Assist Setup installed.

2 Launch the setup software and open the settings for your video assist by clicking on

the circular settings icon.

3 In the ‘video’ tab, you will see 6 empty slots you can use to import 3D LUTs. Simply

click on the ‘import LUT’ button for an empty slot and choose a LUT .cube file from your
computer. Click ‘open’ to confirm your selection.

4 Make sure you ‘save’ your new settings by clicking the ‘save’ button on the bottom

right corner.

To monitor your video using LUTs:

1 Open the ‘monitor’ settings on your video assist by swiping left or right on the

touchscreen, then tapping ‘monitor’ in the menu bar.

2 Turn the ‘Display 3D LUT’ setting to ‘on’ by tapping its left or right arrows. Tap again to

disable the LUTs.

3 In the ‘3D LUT’ setting, tap its left or right arrows to select the slot you imported the LUT

into, or keep tapping to select a different one if you have other LUTs in different slots.

Swipe left or right, or tap the ‘back’ arrow at the bottom left of the touchscreen, to return to your
source image. Now you can monitor your input video with the 3D LUT applied. You can even
use 3D LUTs when monitoring playback.

Settings

20

Display Settings

Tap the ‘display’ setting icon to open the display settings. Here you can easily adjust the
LCDbrightness, contrast and saturation. Tap the setting you want to adjust, then drag the slider
icon to the left or right.

Brightness

Adjusts the general brightness of the LCD. For example, if you are outside in bright
conditions, increase the LCD brightness to make it easier to view.

Contrast

Increases or decreases the range between the bright and dark areas of the image.
High contrast can reveal detail and depth in the image, and low contrast can make the
image appear soft and flat.

Saturation

Increases or decreases the amount of color in your displayed image.

All settings will be remembered when the unit is powered off. It’s also worth mentioning that
any changes to these particular settings will affect the image displayed on the LCD, but not your
recorded video.

Audio Settings

Blackmagic Video Assist 4K is also a powerful audio recorder. Each XLR input has independent
settings such as:

1 XLR Line, XLR Mic or Video

When connecting professional audio equipment other than microphones to the analog
XLR inputs, make sure you set the recording level to ‘XLR line’. Most professional audio
equipment outputs ‘line’ level audio which is a stronger signal compared to ‘mic’ level.

Alternatively, when connecting microphones to the XLR inputs, set the respective input
to ‘XLR mic’ level. This is because microphones typically output a signal that is slightly
weaker in strength compared to equipment with line level output, so the signal is
boosted slightly by your Blackmagic Video Assist 4K to optimize the recording level.

If you want to bypass the XLR analog inputs and maintain the embedded SDI or
HDMIchannels 1 and 2 from your source video, select ‘video’.

NOTE Blackmagic Video Assist 4K remembers your settings even after power

cycling. Make sure you reset your audio settings when changing your
connections.

Settings

21

2 XLR Padding

If you are shooting in a noisy environment or near unpredectably loud sounds, you can
set the XLR padding feature to ‘on’. This will drop your audio levels down by a small
amount and give you slightly more range in levels which may help you prevent clipping.
If you are shooting in normal audio conditions, set this feature to ‘off’.

3 Phantom Power

When connecting microphones that are not self powered, you can power them using
phantom power via the XLR connector. Simply turn the setting to ‘on’.

NOTE Make sure you have phantom power turned ‘OFF’ when using

microphones that are battery powered as some battery powered microphones
can be damaged when phantom power is supplied.

Setup Settings

Setup lets you set the language, set the date and time for your video assist’s internal clock, plus
displays the device name, and the internal software version currently installed on the unit.
Video Assist also has a setting for HDMI range.

The setup settings page on Video Assist has an additional ‘HDMI range’ setting

Language

Tap the left or right arrows to switch between ‘English’ and a different language that you have
loaded. Refer to ‘Blackmagic Video Assist Setup’ for more information.

HDMI Range

The Video Assist HD model has an HDMI range selector, which allows you to specify the type
of signal being input to the unit. For an accurate display of your image, the input range you
select on your Video Assist HD needs to match the output range for the signal being output
from your source. For example, select ‘full’ when your source video is being output as full data
range, or ‘video’ when your source video is being output as video range.

Select ‘auto’ if you are not sure which setting to choose, and the selection will be made
automatically by the unit. Note that Blackmagic Video Assist 4K does not have this setting and
selects the HDMI range automatically.

Setting the Date and time

When these settings are maintained and accurate, useful information is recorded in your clip
files to inform you of the date and time each clip was recorded.

Settings

22

To adjust the date and time settings:

1 Tap the ‘pen’ icon to edit the settings.

2 Tap the day, month, year or time edit arrows to change a setting.

3 Tap ‘save’ to confirm the change.

Monitoring using on screen meters

Your video assist features useful on screen meters such as a histogram and audio levels meter
so you can check your exposure and luminance range on cameras, plus monitor the level of
your source audio.

Histogram

The left side of the on screen meters displays a histogram showing the distribution of the
luminance in your video. Pure black is on the far left side of the display and pure white is on the
far right of the display. When the video signal sharpens to a point at the bottom edges within
these limits you’ll know your shadows and highlights are not clipping, which means details in
the tonal ranges of your video are preserved.

Audio Meters

The right side of the on screen meters displays audio meters showing audio levels for channels
1and 2 of the input source. The display is calibrated to dBFS units and features peak hold
indicators which stay visible for a short time so you can clearly see the maximum levels reached.

To achieve optimum audio quality, ensure your audio levels do not reach 0 dBFS. This is the
maximum level, meaning that any audio that exceeds this level will be clipped, resulting in
distortion. Ideally your peak audio levels should fall in the upper end of the green zone,
between -20 and -12dBFS. If your peaks enter into the yellow or red zones, corresponding to

-12and -6dBFS your audio is in danger of clipping.

Channel 1 on top with the peak audio levels falling in the upper end of
the green zone and levels in danger of clipping on channel 2

On Blackmagic Video Assist 4K, tap on the audio meters to reveal
the analog audio level sliders. Drag the sliders left and right
to decrease or increase the audio levelsfor each channel.

Settings

23

To adjust your analog audio levels on Blackmagic Video Assist 4K, simply tap the audio meter
and then drag the sliders for each channel left or right.

NOTE To record audio plugged into the XLR connectors on Blackmagic Video

Assist4K, select ‘XLR line’ or ‘XLR mic’ in the audio settings.

Video Scopes

Blackmagic Video Assist 4K has a set of four real time video scopes that you can use to monitor
the internal data levels of your video signal. You can choose to display a waveform, parade,
vectorscope or histogram. Using these scopes you can monitor your tonal balance and check
the levels of your video to avoid crushing your blacks and clipping the highlights, plus monitor
any potential color cast in your clips.

Each scope provides an accurate graphical analysis of the various characteristics of the video
signal, showing you the relative strength and range of individual video components including
luma, chroma, saturation, hue, and the red, green, and blue channels that together, comprise
the color and contrast of your video signal.

The video scopes menu bar showing the scope display options

Enabling the scopes

To access the video scopes, tap the histogram in the lower left of the screen on
yourVideo Assist 4K. This will open the ‘display select’ menu bar at the bottom of the
screen. From here, you can choose the scope you want, for example, waveform,
parade, vectorscope or histogram. To view the video image without a scope,
select ‘video’.

Tap outside of the ‘display select’ menu bar to close the menu.

Adjusting the scopes

With a scope selected, tap inside the image to open the adjustment sliders and
video icon.

The adjustment sliders and video icons

Settings

24

Tapping the adjustment sliders icon opens the brightness and opacity sliders on the left
of screen.

The two sliders let you refine the brightness and opacity of the scope against the
underlying video image.

Brightness – Adjust the brightness to make fine details in the scope graph more or

less defined.

Opacity – Adjust the opacity to set the amount of transparency for the scope.

Making adjustments to both settings lets you find the perfect combination so you can
monitor the video and scopes at the same time.

Lowering the opacity slider allows you to see the video
image and the scope at the same time

Tapping the video icon displays the scopes full screen, while displaying the video
image in the top right corner. This provides another option to view both scopes and the
video image at the same time, but lets you study the scopes in greater detail.

Tapping the video icon will display the scopes full screen with
the video image in the top right corner of the screen

Settings

25

Waveform

The waveform display provides a digitally encoded waveform similar to traditional luminance
waveform monitors, which is used to monitor the luma or brightness levels of your video signal.

The bottom of the graph indicates the black level, or shadows, of the image, while the top of the
graph indicates the white level, or highlights. The range between the top and bottom of the
graph indicates the overall contrast ratio of the image you’re evaluating. Depending on your
footage, your waveform will look different. If you are monitoring video which is high contrast,
you might not see any values in the mid grays.

For perfect video levels without clipping, you will want to make sure the blacks in your
waveform do not drop below 0% and the whites do not exceed 100%. If the levels exceed these
boundaries, the video image will be clipping and you will see the results as lost detail in the
shadows and highlights of your image.

The waveform monitor is a graphical representation of the image, showing luma values
corresponding to the same horizontal position within the video image. For example, if filming an
outdoor scene where the left side of your sky is overexposed, you will see the left side of the
waveform graph above 100%.

The waveform display showing luminance values

RGB Parade

The RGB parade shows separate waveforms displaying the luminance of each red, green and
blue color channel. By showing a comparison of each channel, the parade scope makes it
possible to monitor the levels of each channel, plus spot color casts by comparing the
highlights, midtones and shadows between each channel. For example, if the shadows are
higher in the blue channel, your blacks will have a shade of blue to them.

Having the ability to see how the differences between all the tonal ranges compare within each
channel gives you an extremely detailed overview of color in your image. You can immediately
spot white balance issues and color casts, and because the parade scope shows a waveform
for each channel, you can also see if one specific color channel is clipping, which you may not
see if you are looking at a single combined waveform.

The three separate RGB waveforms follow the same principles displayed in the waveform
scope, with the top, middle and bottom positions representing the highlights, mid tones and
shadows along the horizontal axis of the video image.

Settings

26

The RGB parade displays separate waveforms displaying
theluminance of the red, green and blue channels

Vectorscope

The vectorscope measures the overall range of color hue and saturation within an image.
Blackmagic Video Assist 4K has a traditional vectorscope, emulating a trace drawn graph, with
100 percent color bar saturation targets positioned at the graticule markers surrounding the graph.

Heavily saturated colors in the frame stretch those parts of the graph closer to the edge, while
less saturated colors remain closer to the center of the vectorscope, which represents 0
saturation. By judging how many parts of the vectorscope graph branch out at different angles,
you can see how many hues there are in the image, with the specific angle of each part of the
graph showing you which hues they are.

Additionally, by judging how well centered the middle of the vectorscope graph is relative to the
center of the vectorscope, you can get an idea of whether there is a color imbalance in the
image. For example, if the vectorscope graph is off centered, the direction in which it leans lets
you know that there is a color cast or tint in your image.

While color balance can be monitored on both the RGB parade display and vectorscope
display, color balance issues will often be easier to see in the vectorscope display.

The vectorscope displays the overall range of
color hue and saturation within the image

Settings

27

TIP When monitoring a video signal that contains skin tone, you will want to keep

yourwarm color saturation along a line at approximately 10 o’clock on the vectorscope.
Thisis known as the “fleshtone line” and is based on the color of blood beneath the
skin’s surface. The fleshtone line is therefore applicable to all skin pigmentations and is
the best way to ensure the skin tones look natural.

Histogram

The histogram shows the distribution of the luminance or the black to white information along a
horizontal scale, and lets you monitor how close the detail is to being clipped in the blacks or
whites of the video. The histogram also lets you see the effects of gamma changes in the video.

The left edge of the histogram displays shadows, or blacks, and the far right displays highlights,
or whites. If monitoring the image from a camera, when you close or open the lens aperture you
will notice the information in the histogram moves to the left or right accordingly. You can use
this to check ‘clipping’ in your image shadows and highlights, and also for a quick overview of
the amount of detail visible in the tonal ranges. For example, a tall and broad range of
information around the middle section of the histogram corresponds to good exposure for
details in the midtones of your image.

Your video is likely being clipped if the information bunches to a hard edge at 0% along above
100% on the horizontal scale. Video clipping is undesirable when you are shooting, as detail in
the blacks and whites must be preserved if you subsequently want to perform color correction
in a controlled environment. When shooting, try to maintain your exposure so information falls
off gradually at the edges of the histogram with most forming around the middle. This will give
you more freedom later to adjust colors without whites and blacks appearing flat and lacking
in detail.

The histogram shows the distribution of the luminance, or the
black to white information along a horizontal scale

Settings

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About SD Cards

Choosing a Fast SD Card

It’s important to use high speed UHS-II SD cards for Ultra HD and HD recording, or UHS-1 cards
for HD recording. These cards are rated for fast data speeds and support larger storage sizes.

For Ultra HD recording on Blackmagic Video Assist 4K, you will need to use the fastest UHS-II
cards available. We have included a table below that shows the latest compatible SD cards for
recording Ultra HD, HD and SD video. It’s worth regularly checking the latest version of this
manual for more up to date information and can always be downloaded from the Blackmagic
Design website at www.blackmagicdesign.com/support

The following table contains SD cards we have tested and are able to record video up to a
given maximum format on Blackmagic Video Assist 4K.

Compatible SD Cards

Maximum Supported Format Manufacturer / Model Size

Ultra HD 2160p30 inc MXF Transcend SDXC UHS II 180MB/s 64GB

Ultra HD 2160p30 inc MXF Lexar SDXC UHSII 2000x 300MB/s 64GB

Ultra HD 2160p30 inc MXF Lexar SDHC UHSII 2000x 300MB/s 32GB

Ultra HD 2160p30 inc MXF Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC UHSII 64GB

Ultra HD 2160p30 Delkin Devices SD SDHC UHSII 250MB/s 32GB

Ultra HD 2160p30 SanDisk Extreme Pro SDXC UHSII 280MB/s 64GB

HD 1080p60 inc MXF SanDisk Extreme Pro UHS I 95MB/s 64GB

HD 1080p60 Lexar SDHC UHS II 1000x 150MB/s 32GB

HD 1080p60 Lexar SDXC UHS II 1000x 150MB/s 64GB

HD 1080p60 Lexar SDXC UHS II 1000x 150MB/s 128GB

HD 1080p60 Lexar SDXC UHS II 1000x 150MB/s 256GB

HD 1080p30 inc MXF Lexar SDHC UHS I 633x 95MB/s 32GB

HD 1080p30 inc MXF Lexar SDXC UHS I 633x 95MB/s 64GB

Most UHS-I and UHS-II SD cards should be fast enough to record compressed HD video up to
60 frames per second, however it’s worth testing your card’s record speed to be sure. You can
do this using Blackmagic Disk Speed Test software which can be downloaded from the
Blackmagic Design support center. For information on using Disk Speed Test, refer to ‘checking
disk speed’ in this section of the manual.

Formatting SD Cards usingyour Video Assist

It’s very easy to format your SD card using the storage settings. You can format your card using
HFS+ or exFAT formats.

HFS+ is also known as Mac OS Extended. It is the recommended format as it supports
“journaling”. Data on journaled media is more recoverable and less likely to be corrupted.
HFS+is natively supported by Mac OS.

About SD Cards

29

ExFAT is supported natively by Mac OS and Windows without needing to purchase any
additional software. However, exFAT does not support journaling which means data is less
protected against the rare event your media card is corrupted.

Your video assist can format your SD cards in HFS+ or
exFATformats using the ‘storage’ settings. Swipe the touchscreen
left or right to open the ‘storage’ settings menu.

To format your SD card:

1 Swipe the touchscreen left or right, or tap the card status display to open the

storage settings.

2 Tap the ‘format card’ icon. On Blackmagic Video Assist 4K, tap the icon that

corresponds with your selected card. For example, ‘format card 1’ or ‘format card 2’.

3 Tap the left and right arrows to select your desired HFS+ or exFAT format type, then tap

the ‘format card’ icon again.

4 A warning will appear asking you to confirm the format. If your SD card contains data

already recorded, make sure you back it up before formatting as this action cannot be
undone. Tap ‘format card’ to continue, or ‘cancel’ to cancel the format.

5 A progress bar shows you the progress of the format. ‘Formatting complete’ will appear

when the format is done.

6 Tap the ‘ok’ icon to return to the storage settings.

Formatting SD Cards using a Computer

SD cards can also be formatted using a Mac OS or Windows computer.

Preparing SD Cards on a Mac OS computer

Use the ‘disk utility’ application included with Mac OS to format or initialize your SD card in the
HFS+ or exFAT formats. If your SD card already has files recorded on them, remember to back
up your media as all data will be lost when it is formatted.

1 Plug an SD card into your computer’s SD card slot or via an SD card reader.

2 Go to ‘applications/utilities’ and launch ‘disk utility’.

3 Click on the disk icon of your SD card and then click the ‘erase’ tab.

4 Set the format to ‘Mac OS extended (journaled)’ or “exFAT”.

5 Type a ‘name’ for the new volume and then click ‘erase’. Your SD card will quickly be

formatted and made ready for use.

About SD Cards

30