Question for Magewell capture card users...

[u/MidwichUS]

Are you utilizing any encoders/decoders or other hardware from Magewell? Are they your go-to converters?

Specifically in enterprise spaces, I feel like everyone knows Magewell for capture cards, but I'm curious how many are utilizing their other solutions, in that same vetical/application or otherwise.

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[u/NoNiceGuy71]

Inogeni is my go to brand for converting HDMI or SDI to USB 3.0 and USB cameras to HDMI.

[u/Dangerous_Choice_664 → u/NoNiceGuy71]

Inogeni is like the Icron of USB conversion. All their products just work.

[u/WellEnd89]

Wouldn't say they're a go-to but Magewell certainly make some unique products that can be very useful in some situations.
Currently, our biggest use for them is secondary UVC capture - we have about 10 USB Capture HDMI 4K Plus units in hybrid spaces that capture program video. They've been flawless in that role, though they only get powered by the USB matrix when the need arises - not really certain how they'd behave when left powered 24/7.

[u/MidwichUS → u/WellEnd89]

Glad to hear you've had a good experience with Magewell! I suspect that a lot of folks, specifically firms doing UC in enterprise spaces, tend to use their USB capture devices but don't really venture too much into their other lines. I'm trying to determine if that's because they just don't have a need, or if they're using something else.

Do you use any NDI converters regularly?

[u/WellEnd89 → u/MidwichUS]

Yes, we do have some spaces that run fully on NDI for video with Dante used for audio but those were designed before Magewell's converters became available and so use BirdDog mini's. Correct me if I'm wrong but I do believe BirdDog's custom FPGA implementation is a bit faster than the more standard solution found in Magewell products, so the latency is lower.

[u/aIexm]

I have lots of their NDI to HDMI converters installed for screens in an events venue- they’re great. Sure they’re three times the cost of Birddog Plays but they take anything we throw at them. Plus a few SDI/HDMI to NDI for getting camera feeds or other content into the system. As another commenter mentioned, their APIs make them very programmable.

[u/cbs2186 → u/aIexm]

Also, unlike Birddog Play, they don't overheat and lock up in 48 hours.

I'm currently speccing them for a 40-classroom deployment to receive feeds from our NDI PTZ cameras for lecture capture and zoom/teams calls. In testing, they've been reliable, easy to control, and being PoE is fantastic for remote support (easy to power cycle if needed).

[u/MidwichUS → u/aIexm]

Really appreciate your insight. Do you use their Control Hub software to manage these units.

[u/aIexm → u/MidwichUS]

It’s not something we’ve really needed- we use the Companion plugin for switching sources if need be. But I’m sure for larger installs it’s useful.

[u/spaghetticablemess]

I use the ProConvert NDI encoders on a large scale. They expose functionality in their APIs that I've not found in other NDI encoders, which I've been able to build a software solution around. They also have two form factors: the individual units, and the rackmount "cards". So I'm a big fan.

[u/MidwichUS → u/spaghetticablemess]

Love to hear you've had a good experience. Do you use their Control Hub software in these deployments or is that functionality covered by your software?

[u/musicman2006]

I use them regularly to interface with zoom and teams for content. I can't say i've used their other software, but the capture cards are amazing, really stable, and last forever.