Blackmagic Design Adds New Professional Capture and Playback Options for Your Thunderbolt 3 Workflows

The world of professional capture and playback is (finally) here for Thunderbolt 3 computers, as users can now connect their computers to a wide range of video equipment to build high-performance edit workstations.

The new Blackmagic Design UltraStudio Express 3G is also available to help users archive from old broadcast decks, output broadcast graphics, or even assist with live streaming.

Let’s take a look at this new Blackmagic Design UltraStudio Express 3G product and explore what it offers for your SD, HD, Ultra HD, and 4K DCI formats.

The New Blackmagic Design UltraStudio Express 3G

Credit: Blackmagic Design

As far as workflows go, everything sounds pretty direct and easy, as Blackmagic Design reports that users of the Blackmagic Design UltraStudio Express 3G can simply connect to the Thunderbolt 3 port to get a wide range of video and audio connections that operate in all SD, HD, Ultra HD, and 4K DCI formats up to 60 frames per second.

Connections for the Blackmagic Design UltraStudio Express 3G are also set to include SDI, HDMI and analog video and audio with broadcast-quality 10‑bit YUV and 12-bit RGB in Apple ProRes and uncompressed file formats.

The UltraStudio is also designed to support most of your favorite video software options on Mac, Windows, and Linux, such as DaVinci Resolve, Avid Media Composer, Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, and many other NLEs and apps.

Price and Availability

Credit: Blackmagic Design

If you’re interested, Blackmagic Design offers a ‘breakout box’ style design for the UltraStudio that aims to give users virtually every connection they’ll need to connect to professional decks, monitors, and other equipment.

This means they'll be ideal for equipment racks or post-production suites where editors need to position them on a desktop or editing station. The UltraStudio Mini models will also feature a more compact design overall that's more portable, so it’s a solid choice for when they need to access video connectivity for live camera capture or on-set color grading on location.

You can find more info on price and availability on the company’s website here.