> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://captivatehelp.newbluelive.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://captivatehelp.newbluelive.com/set-up-your-production/chapter-index/output-graphics-with-sdi.md). # Output graphics with SDI If your Captivate license includes SDI output, you can drive a Blackmagic DeckLink, AJA, or BlueFish444 SDI output card directly from Captivate. (These cards are commonly called "capture cards" because most of them capture too, but in this article we’re using them for output.) Captivate’s default SDI mode is **key + fill** — one connector carries the alpha key and another carries the fill, intended for the key/fill input of a downstream switcher such as a TriCaster, a vMix system with SDI inputs, or a hardware switcher. With your project’s alpha turned off, Captivate switches to a single-output-per-channel mode. * [Set up SDI output](#set-up-sdi-output) * [Which connectors the menu offers](#which-connectors-the-menu-offers) * [Choose between internal and external keying](#choose-between-internal-and-external-keying) * [Tested cards](#tested-cards) ## Set up SDI output 1. In the Captivate playout window, click the **Program Out** menu and choose **SDI**, then select **Blackmagic DeckLink**, **AJA**, or **BlueFish**. **📌 NOTE**\ The SDI submenu only appears when Captivate detects a compatible SDI card. If you have a card and don’t see it in the menu, install the card vendor’s latest drivers and restart Captivate. The **Card Output Connections** dialog appears. The dialog is informational — it tells you which physical SDI connectors to plug your key and fill cables into: *"Please connect SDI 1 & 2 of your DeckLink Duo 2 to Key and Fill."* This dialog reappears whenever you change the device assigned to a Captivate channel, showing the connector instructions for the newly selected device. Tick **Do not show this dialog again** to suppress it. 2. On each Layers tab, use the device-channel dropdown to pick which SDI output that tab plays out to. Different tabs can use different sub-devices on the same card, and (if you have more than one card) different tabs can use different cards. 3. Click a graphic’s **Play** button to broadcast it through SDI. **❗ IMPORTANT**\ SDI output normally runs in **key + fill** mode and requires a card with two or more SDI outputs that support external keying. If your project has alpha turned off, Captivate uses one SDI connector per Captivate channel instead — see [Set the project format](/set-up-your-production/set-up-your-project.md). ## Which connectors the menu offers The choices in the device-channel dropdown come from how the card is currently configured, so the same card can offer different things in different projects: * **With your project’s alpha on**, Captivate puts the card into a keying configuration and offers its connectors in **pairs**, because a key and a fill together take two connectors. The pair is labelled **SDI 1 & 2, Key/Fill**, or **SDI 1 & 2, In/Out** when Downstream Key is on (see below). * **With alpha off**, Captivate offers each connector on its own — **SDI 1**, **SDI 2**, and so on — and each can play out a different Captivate channel. On cards that can be reconfigured this way — a DeckLink 8K Pro or Duo 2, for example — turning your project’s alpha on or off therefore changes the list. If a connector you expected has disappeared, check the project’s **Alpha Key** setting first. When switching alpha on or off reconfigures a DeckLink card mid-session, Captivate re-matches your outputs by the connector printed on the card rather than by position in the list. On cards whose connectors aren’t enumerated in the order they’re labelled, that’s the difference between keeping the cable you plugged in and silently moving to a different one. If Captivate can’t bring the chosen output up, it says so and clears the selection rather than quietly using a different connector: *"…supports the current project video format, but the device could not be initialized. The output selection has been reset. Check that the device is available and try again."* That message is about the device, not your project format — another application may hold the card, or the card may be in a configuration that can’t provide the route. Close anything else using the card, then choose the output again. ## Choose between internal and external keying By default, Captivate sends key + fill out two SDI connectors and lets your switcher do the keying — **external** keying. If your card supports it (most current Blackmagic DeckLink and all current AJA models do), the card can key internally and emit a single composited SDI feed — **downstream** keying. To switch, open **Project Settings** and turn on the **Downstream Key** checkbox (it sits next to **Alpha Key**). With it on, Captivate uses the card’s internal keyer instead of external key + fill. **Downstream Key** appears only when your project’s **Alpha Key** is on and the selected SDI card supports internal keying — it needs the alpha to do the composite. {% hint style="info" %} In earlier releases this setting lived under the **Program Out** → **SDI Setup** menu. It now lives in **Project Settings** as **Downstream Key**. {% endhint %} ## Output over IP (SMPTE ST 2110) Newer Blackmagic DeckLink cards can send video over Ethernet with SMPTE ST 2110 instead of — or alongside — coaxial SDI. When Captivate detects an IP-capable DeckLink card, its **Program Out** → **SDI** submenu lists that card’s IP connections: **IP 1** and **IP 2** on IP-only cards, or **SDI+IP 1** on hybrid cards that carry SDI and IP at once. Choose one exactly as you’d choose an SDI connector. If the card can’t run your project’s video format over IP, Captivate shows a **Select Video Format** dialog listing the formats the card does support; pick one and continue. {% hint style="info" %} SMPTE ST 2110 output requires a Captivate edition that includes it — see [Feature availability by edition](/reference/entitlements-sku-matrix.md). {% endhint %} ## Driver requirements Captivate requires Blackmagic DeckLink driver versions that match the DeckLink SDK Captivate is built against. If your driver is older, Captivate displays a one-time **DeckLink Outdated** warning naming the required version when you first try to use SDI output. Update the driver from the Blackmagic website. ## Tested cards The cards below have been tested by NewBlue. Other DeckLink and AJA cards may also work as long as the card’s driver advertises external keying support and the card can run at your project’s resolution and framerate. Cards that don’t pass that capability check will not appear in the SDI menu, even if they’re listed below. ### Blackmagic DeckLink Supports Windows and macOS. **Tested:** * DeckLink Duo 2 * DeckLink Quad 2 * DeckLink 4K Extreme * DeckLink 4K Pro * DeckLink 8K Pro * UltraStudio HD Mini * UltraStudio 4K Mini * UltraStudio 4K Extreme **Known not to work** (no external keying): * DeckLink Mini Monitor (base and 4K) * DeckLink Mini Recorder (base and 4K) * DeckLink Duo (original) * DeckLink Quad (original) * DeckLink Studio 4K * DeckLink SDI 4K * UltraStudio Mini Monitor * UltraStudio Mini Recorder ### AJA Supports Windows only. **Tested:** * Kona 4 * Kona 3G (discontinued) * Io x3 * Io 4K Plus * Io 4K * Io XT * Corvid 44 * Corvid 88 * Corvid 22 * Corvid 24 **Known not to work:** * Kona 5 * Kona HDMI * Kona IP * Kona LHi * Kona 1 * Kona LHe Plus * Io IP * Io Express * T-Tap * U-Tap SDI * U-Tap HDMI * Corvid 3G * Corvid * Corvid HEVC * Corvid HB-R ## See also * [Set the project format](/set-up-your-production/set-up-your-project.md) — how alpha and premultiplied alpha settings affect SDI output. --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. 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