I could not test all the capabilities of Decklink because the computer on which I performed the tests (P4 2.4, 500mb ram) does not meet the minimum recomendations by Blacmagic. Nevertheless, some practical conclusions could be drawn. When I'll get a new computer I will correct the test results where appropriate.
I tested the DECKLINK SP card. It does not matter which card you have because they all use the same driver. The only difference between them is input/output configuration, unless you buy one of their HD capable cards.
The DECKLINK SP card has analog component and composite inputs and outputs, while on the digital side there is an SDI (serial digital) ouput and one SPDIF audio output available. Additionaly, there is genlock input and also an RS422 connector to interface with 9 pin devices directly, without conversion boxes. All connectors come on 2m long multicore cable, so that I could connect them to the patch bay directly. On the card itself there is a single 25 pin SUB D connector.
Decklink is one of the newer video I/O interface cards (similar cards are Bluefish 444 and Aja), which don't have much processing power on board.They depend on the CPU and graphic card performance, so the minimum specification for the computer is quite high. Blackmagic suggests for example Nvidia Quadro FX1300 workstation video card, which costs over 600 Eur. This is something to keep in mind when using Decklink with Nuendo.
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Installation is fast and simple, and the same card can be installed on Mac or PC.
There are two applications installed.
SETTINGS window is located in Control panel and here you can select which inputs and ouputs will be used. You can also use Proc amp to adjust color while capturing, select pulldown options and choose frame or field display in stop mode.
DECK CONTROL is the actual aplication program to capture and play video. Here you select video and audio format, control your VTR etc. There are all sort of codecs available, up to 10 bit uncompressed RGB 4:4:4, but for Nuendo users Photo jpeg codec will be the most adequate. This is an Quick time standard codec, with average video quality, but with relatively low CPU requirements.
DECK CONTROL is a bit substandard when compared to other similar applications. There is no audio VU meter available on the main page, so when the capturing starts you cannot monitor audio levels. Blackmagic obviously expects that users will capture and play video inside applications like Adobe Premiere. Nuendo users usually don't have Premiere and will have to work with DECK CONTROL.
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