Blackmagicdesign DVI Extender Manual
Instruction Guide
DVI Extender
Windows™
August 2009
Mac OS X™
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Contents
DVI Extender
How to Install
Hardware Installation 6
Installation and Removal on Mac OS X 7
Installation and Removal on Windows 7
Using Blackmagic Converter Utility 8
The Converter Utility Interface 9
Using DVI Extender 10
Using DVI Extender with a Mac OS X computer 11
Using DVI Extender with a Windows computer 12
Troubleshooting 14
Frequently Asked Questions 16
Support 18
Warranty
Warranty Terms and Conditions 20
05
19
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Welcome
3
Welcome to DVI Extender!
Welcome to DVI Extender, the easy way to extend your computer display using 3 Gb/s SDI video
connections so you can route your computer display anywhere in your facility!
DVI Extender simply plugs into the DVI-D monitor connector on your computer, and powers from the
USB port. A short USB and DVI cable is included so you keep the cable mess behind your computer to
a minimum! DVI Extender also includes an audio input using the same mini jack connector common on
computer audio outputs!
DVI Extender is compatible with HDLink Pro and HDLink Optical Fiber models for the monitor end of
the computer display connection. The advantage of using HDLink Pro for the SDI to DVI extensions is
you can router either DVI Extender or regular SDI video to your monitor, and the display will
automatically change!
If you want to convert computer graphics to SDI video, then DVI Extender can be switched to video mode
using Blackmagic Design’s Converter Utility software. This software lets you change between Extender
and Video modes, and then your computer will be able to select from a range of video resolutions. Please
note that not all operating systems and display drivers support all video formats.
We think it should take only a few minutes to connect DVI Extender! Before you install, please
check for the latest version of the Converter Utility software on the support page of our website at
www.blackmagic-design.com
Lastly, please register your DVI Extender when downloading software updates. We would love to keep you
updated on new software updates and new features for your DVI Extender. Please send us any suggestions
for improvements to the software as we are constantly working on new features and improvements, so
we would love to hear from you!
Grant Petty
CEO Blackmagic Design
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Welcome
4
USB 2.0 connection to computer
Analog audio input from computer
Power lamp
DVI-D input from computer graphics card
SDI output
DVI Extender at a Glance
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How to Install
5
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Installation
6
Hardware Installation
The DVI Extender package includes cables for USB, audio and DVI-D so there is nothing extra to buy. You
can use longer cables if you wish, particularly if you have a computer where the DVI, USB and audio ports
are not close to each other. DVI-D cables should be no longer than 6 feet, or 2 meters, in length.
Firstly connect DVI Extender to a USB 2.0 port on your computer using a USB cable. The power lamp
should illuminate. We recommend DVI Extender be directly connected to a dedicated USB 2.0 port on
your computer for reliable operation. If you work in a secure computing environment, where USB ports are
unavailable, DVI Extender can be powered using a third-party, AC-to-USB power adapter.
Connect the regular analog audio output of your computer to the “AUDIO IN” port of DVI Extender using
an audio cable. On most computers, the regular analog audio output will show a headphone icon and/or
be colored lime green.
Connect the DVI output of your computer to the “DVI-D IN FROM PC” port of DVI Extender using a
DVI-D cable.
Connection to Mac Connection to PC
DVI Out
USB
Audio Out
USB
Audio Out
DVI Out
DVI Out
USB
Audio Out
USB
Audio Out
DVI Out
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Installation
7
Installation and Removal on Mac OS X
After downloading the Converter Utility software and unzipping the downloaded file, open the resulting
disk image to reveal it’s contents.
Drag the Blackmagic Converter Utility icon and drop it on to the Applications icon. Blackmagic Converter
Utility is now installed.
To remove Blackmagic Converter Utility from your Mac, simply drag its icon from the Applications folder to
the Trash and then choose to Empty Trash.
Installation and Removal on Windows
After downloading the Converter Utility software and unzipping the downloaded file, you should see a
Converter Utility folder containing this PDF manual and the Converter Utility installer.
Double-click the installer and follow the onscreen prompts to complete the installation. When the installation
has finished, it will prompt you to restart the computer. The restart will load a USB driver for Converter Utility
so that it can communicate with any Blackmagic Design Mini Converter. Click “restart” to complete the
installation process. Once the computer has restarted, Blackmagic Converter Utility will be fully installed
and ready to use.
To remove Blackmagic Converter Utility from Windows XP, go to the Add or Remove Programs control
panel, select Blackmagic Converter Utility and click on Remove.
To remove Blackmagic Converter Utility from Windows Vista, go to the Programs and Features control
panel, select Blackmagic Converter Utility and click on Uninstall.
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Using Blackmagic Converter Utility
8
Using Blackmagic Converter Utility
It does not matter whether you launch Blackmagic Converter Utility before or after connecting the DVI
Extender to your computer with a USB cable. If DVI Extender is missing or is not detected for some reason,
the Converter Utility will report, “No converter connected” in its title bar. Otherwise it will report the name
of “DVI Extender” in the title bar.
If Converter Utility contains newer firmware than that currently installed in your DVI Extender, it will prompt
you to update the firmware. Just follow the on screen instructions to complete the firmware update. Once
the firmware update is complete, or if no firmware update is required, you will be able to make adjustments
to your DVI Extender using the Converter Utility.
Any adjustments made through the Converter Utility interface will immediately be saved to the DVI
Extender itself. This means that if power is lost to the DVI Extender, the new settings will be re-established
as soon as power is restored to the DVI Extender. This means you never need to worry about losing your
settings on the DVI Extender.
The Converter Utility interface is the same as that used with Blackmagic Design’s range of Mini Converter
and OpenGear Converter products, and is the same on both Mac OS X and Windows. Any features that
are not applicable to your DVI Extender will be grayed out and inactive. For example, DVI Extender does
not include any analog video and so all the adjustments for Video Levels are grayed out and inactive. DVI
Extender does not include AES/EBU audio and so those settings are also grayed out.
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Using Blackmagic Converter Utility
9
The Converter Utility Interface
The Converter Utility interface is composed of three panes for Video Levels, Audio Levels and Settings.
Click these tabs in order to reveal any adjustable options for DVI Extender. Most of the settings are self-
explanatory but there are a couple of points worth mentioning.
The Video Levels pane is grayed out as there are no analog video adjustments to be made. DVI Extender
uses an all-digital video path from DVI to SDI. This means that your video output will be perfect and no
adjustments are necessary.
In the Audio Levels pane, two analog audio input channels can be adjusted independently as analog audio
levels may vary between channels because analog is not perfect. The other two analog audio channels
are grayed out as they are used by other Blackmagic Design products and are not applicable to DVI
Extender. Similarly, the 8 channels of AES/EBU digital audio are grayed out as they are not applicable to
DVI Extender.
The Settings pane provides two options for DVI Extender.
Extender mode supports most regular computer display resolutions up to 1920 x 1200. It requires the use
of a Blackmagic Design HDLink Pro (or newer HDLink model) at the other end of the SDI cable. HDLink
products support connection to digital displays including DVI and HDMI.
Video mode configures DVI Extender to output SMPTE compliant SDI video and audio which can be
used with virtually any other SDI hardware from Blackmagic Design and other companies including Sony™,
Panasonic™and many more. Video resolutions supported by this mode are: 720 x 480, 720 x 576, 1280 x
720 and 1920 x 1080.
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Using DVI Extender
10
After connecting DVI Extender to a second DVI graphics output of your computer, and plugging in the USB
cable to provide power, the primary display on your computer is likely to blink off and on as the computer
detects the new DVI display. This is normal computer display behavior and does not indicate a problem.
If you have not already chosen between the Extender and Video modes, launch Blackmagic Converter
Utility on a Windows or Mac OS X computer, click on the Settings tab and select the desired mode.
Extender mode should be chosen if you wish to work with computer display resolutions. It assumes that
you have a Blackmagic Design HDLink Pro or HDLink Optical Fiber, at the other end of the SDI cable, and
also a DVI-D display.
Video mode should be chosen if you wish to work with video resolutions, i.e. NTSC, PAL and HDTV. By
working at video resolutions, you will be able to connect the SDI output of DVI Extender to almost any
other SDI hardware such as SDI tape decks, SDI video capture cards, SDI waveform monitors and SDI
broadcast monitors.
Your choice of mode will take immediate effect and might cause your primary graphics display to blink off
and on as the computer detects the new DVI setting.
While Blackmagic Converter Utility only runs on Mac OS X and Windows, DVI Extender should work with
the DVI output of computers running almost any operating system, such as Linux.
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