Blackmagic Design has unveiled the new UltraStudio Express 3G family of high-speed USB4 capture and playback products. This compact and portable family is designed for high-quality broadcast use and is compatible with Mac, Windows and Linux computers with USB4 or Thunderbolt 4 connections.

The family includes two models, the UltraStudio Express Monitor 3G plays back to 3G-SDI and HDMI and the UltraStudio Express Recorder 3G captures from 3G-SDI and HDMI. The UltraStudio Express 3G family are pocket-sized and powered by their USB connection, allowing them to draw power from a computer battery. Both models work in all SD and HD video standards up to 1080p60.

The UltraStudio Express Recorder 3G is an input only model and captures from 3G-SDI and HDMI in SD and HD. It’s suitable for live streaming using software such as Open Broadcaster, or archive from old broadcast decks into popular edit software or the free included Media Express software. Customers can even record from game consoles.

The UltraStudio Express Monitor 3G is an output only model, and plays back to 3G-SDI and HDMI in SD and HD. It’s suitable for monitoring playback from popular edit software such as DaVinci Resolve.

UltraStudio Express models include fast USB4 with video capture and playback plus power, all over a single USB cable. USB4 provides massive data speeds, giving enough bandwidth to handle high resolutions, deeper bit depths and advanced frame buffer formats such as 4:2:2 and 4:4:4. UltraStudio Express 3G uses the DeckLink API, so almost all video software works.

UltraStudio Express is designed to support the highest quality video. Most software has support for capture and playback to all popular video formats such as Apple ProRes, DNxHD or even 10-bit uncompressed, so users are never locked into a single file format.

UltraStudio Express 3G supports all popular video software, allowing customers to work with the software they already know. UltraStudio Express Recorder 3G is ideal for live streaming with software such as Open Broadcaster. UltraStudio Express Monitor 3G, meanwhile, is suitable for use with DaVinci Resolve for broadcast editing and colour correction work.

UltraStudio Express works with Fusion, which is the visual effects software integrated into DaVinci Resolve, as well as Adobe After Effects and Photoshop. Fusion Studio is a node-based compositing VFX tool with 2D and 3D environments, hundreds of effects and more. Customers can download and use Fusion free of charge in DaVinci Resolve.

UltraStudio Express 3G models all feature multi-rate 3G-SDI and HDMI connections that support all SD and HD video standards, making it ideal for worldwide broadcast video use. When working in SD, UltraStudio Express 3G supports 525i59.94 and 625i50 standards. In HD, it supports 720p, 1080i and 1080p standards, up to 1080p60. For working with 3G-SDI sources, customers can switch between level A and level B.

If customers want to build a custom solution for their UltraStudio Express, then customers can download a free advanced developer SDK for Mac, Windows, and Linux. The developer SDK makes it easy to develop their own custom solutions for in house use, or to sell to other broadcasters. The Desktop Video SDK also provides low level control of hardware when customers need flexibility, as well as high level interfaces which are a lot easier to use when customers need to perform more common tasks.

“We know how important our UltraStudio models are to customer workflows, so we’ve been working hard to get them into more hands,” said Grant Petty, Blackmagic Design CEO. “By building these new models around USB4, we can keep them even more affordable so customers can plug into the computers they already use. They’re extremely compact, they power from the USB connection so customers can even run them from their laptop battery. They’re perfect for working anywhere.”