BlackMagic Decklink Capture

Device capture/BlackMagic Decklink Capture

For capturing external live video sources, Composer provides a BlackMagic Decklink Capture input.

Blackmagic Decklink Capture v3 - Supports both Windows and Linux OS. Support for multiple Decklink capture cards.

Note!

Starting with Composer R1 2025, the framerate of the cameras must match the framerate of your Composer project.

  • Input channel - Selected input channel

  • Device name - The name of the selected device

  • Start playing on startup - Check this option to enable capture at application launch. For autostart of inputs, the Autostart inputs options also must be activated on the application level (See the chapter Runtime Performance) 

  • Keep last frame on lost input - If the DeckLink capture loses the video signal, the last captured frame will be displayed as a still image until the capture resumes.

  • Use host pinned memory - Used pinned memory will speed up the capture performance.

  • Commands:

    • Start capture - Starts the capture

    • Stop capture - Stops capture

    • Pause/Unpause - Pause/Unpause capture

    • Playback state - Current playback state

  • Performance and properties:

    • # captured frames - The total number of captured frames

    • # frames played back - Current played frames

    • Last capture event - Displays the log message of the most recent event.

  • Optional TAGS (space separated)

    • TAGS - Add a "tag"  that can be used in the input smart search function. It is possible to add several tags by separating them by a SPACE char.

  • Resolution:

    • Width - captured video width (pixels)

    • Height - captured video height (pixels) 

* Debug properties. Only visible if 'Show Debug Properties' is enabled in Settings.

Product Compatibility

The following capture cards are currently supported:

  • BlackMagicDesign Decklink Duo 2

  • BlackMagicDesign Decklink Quad 2

  • BlackMagicDesign DeckLink Quad HDMI Recorder (Capture v3 and later) 

  • BlackMagicDesign DeckLink 8K (Capture v3 and later)

  • BlacMagicDesign Mini Recorder (Capture v3 and later)

Other Decklink versions might work but are not tested or officially supported.

Using multiple capture cards is only supported by the input "Blackmagic Decklink Capture v3" and later.

The two alternatives Blackmagic Decklink Capture v2, Blackmagic Decklink Capture (Windows Only) have been deprecated. However, if you have old projects using these versions of the Decklink input, they will still work and appear in the list of added inputs. We recommend upgrading them to Blackmagic Decklink Capture version 3.

Recommendation!

Using too many Blackmagic Decklink inputs simultaneously can impact the performance of Composer.

Hint!

If you are uncertain about the incoming video format, use the Blackmagic Media Express to detect the video format.

Note!

When using two DeckLink cards of the same type, the cards may be mixed up when restarting the server. To prevent this, use the Label in Desktop Video Settings to name the connectors

For more information and driver updates, please visit https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/support/.