Synchronizing the SDI Output to an External Signal

You can synchronize the SDI output with other equipment in a broadcast or post production environment.

Supported Synchronization Methods

The Send Graphics to SDI page provides two methods for synchronizing the SDI output to a common sync source—pixel-accurate or frame-accurate synchronization.

Pixel-accurate synchronization synchronizes the pixel scanning of the SDI output to the house sync signal. When using pixel-accurate synchronization, the SDI refresh rate is determined by the sync signal.

Frame-accurate synchronization synchronizes the frame rate of the SDI output to the house sync signal. The sync signal determines the available SDI signal formats.

Supported External Sync Signal Types

The following two external synchronization signal types are supported:

  • SDI

  • Composite, which can be one of the following:

  • Composite Bi-level (NTSC or PAL sources use bi-level composite signals.)

    Composite Tri-level (HDTV sources commonly use tri-level composite signals.)

Connecting to an External Sync Source

To use an external sync source:

  1. Connect the sync signal to the appropriate BNC connector.

  2. On NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500/5500 SDI cards, you can connect to both types of sync sources at the same time. The software gives precedence to the SDI signal, but you can select which signal to use.

    You can connect multiple systems to the same house sync by daisy-chaining the house sync cable to each card using BNC T-connectors.

  3. Follow the instructions in To set up your graphics-to-SDI output for setting up your SDI system to use the external sync signal.

 

Related topics

 

Synchronizing the SDI Output