Blackmagic Design Announces Remote Bluetoo Camera Control for URSA Mini Pro

Blackmagic Design Announces Remote Bluetooth Camera Control for URSA Mini Pro posted: 02/05/2017

New API makes it possible for customers to create remote camera control applications for URSA Mini Pro on their iPads, phones, and laptop computers

Blackmagic Design announced a new open protocol for URSA Mini Pro cameras that will allow customers to create their own remote control solutions via Bluetooth. The protocol is being demonstrated at NAB2017, with the API and sample code anticipated to be released to customers free of charge in June 2017.

All URSA Mini Pro cameras feature built in bluetooth, but it hasn't been enabled until now. The built in Bluetooth will allow customers to send and receive commands from up to 30 feet away. To make the new Bluetooth support even more flexible, Blackmagic Design has developed a new open protocol and is publishing a developer API, along with sample code, for customers that wish to build their own camera control solutions.

A demonstration iPad app and sample code will be provided to customers that want to use this feature. The iPad app allows customers to create digital slate applications that feed metadata, such as scene, shot, take information and even full script lines to multiple cameras on set while shooting. Common remote control of camera settings like frame rate, format and shutter angle are all possible from the demo app.

With a fully open API and developer support for URSA Mini Pro Bluetooth, customers can go well beyond the demonstration app. They can build an iPad application to remotely adjust camera settings and motorized lenses while the camera is mounted on a crane. Technically skilled customers could even build an application that uses the camera's built in DaVinci Resolve color corrector so that images can be graded live during a shoot.

New workflows are also possible. A great example of this is that customers can mount Blackmagic URSA Studio Viewfinders on multiple URSA Mini Pro cameras to create a live multi camera shooting scenario, however instead of connecting to a switcher, the iPad can trigger all cameras to record to their internal media with matching metadata. This means the media can be later edited using DaVinci Resolve 14 multicam editing to work as fast as live production, however with the accuracy of post production. That's faster, lower cost and higher quality editing than was easily possible in the past.

URSA Mini Pro has been received extremely well by our customers, said Grant Petty, Blackmagic Design CEO. Customers love the broadcast features and controls, the built in ND filters and interchangeable lens mount. Now, the possibilities are truly endless because customers are going to have the tools they need to build completely custom remote control solutions of their own design using the new Bluetooth support!

Availability and Price

Camera 4.4 update, which will support the URSA Mini Pro bluetooth API and sample code will be available in June 2017 as a free download from the Blackmagic Design website for all existing URSA Mini Pro customers.

About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world's highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design's DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company's Emmy award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com

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