SmallHD 702 problem with Amira

[Kirk Miller]

Is anyone else having trouble using SmallHD 702 monitors with Arri cameras? I'm having a problem where the 702 frequently gets stuck in a distorted aspect when I make a change in the menu, switch over to bars, power down, etc, on my Amira. The only way to fix it is to re-patch the monitor. I contacted SmallHD and was told it's a known firmware bug with how the 702 handles the HDSDI stream from Arri cameras, but they didn't make any assurances it would ever be fixed. I've observed the problem with three different 702 monitors now, and never with any other monitors. I'm curious if other people have seen this as I'd never heard of any issue. I've attached a picture below, and a link to a video.

SmallHD 702 Stuck.jpg

[Jan Heugel]

Hey Kirk,

we've DP7Pros here - I never ran into a problem like you're having.
Besides I wonder what they might declare special with our SDI data - since it is a standardized signal - other than our additional metadata the imagery is "off the shelf".

Do you have more infos?

Best,
Jan

[Kirk Miller]

Hello Jan,

This is all the information I received from SmallHD support:

"I just conferred with my colleagues here and found out that this is a known firmware bug as you suspected. It has something to do with the Codec that the Arri sends out and how our monitor reads it. R&D is aware of the issue but I do not have an update on whether this will be fixed yet in a future firmware. "

It seems to occur whenever the SDI signal is briefly interrupted, such as when switching back from bars or back from playback.

Kirk

[Jan Heugel]

Dear Kirk,

could you save a user-setup of the cameras state when you're able to provoke this behavior?
Post it here as an attachment.

In the meantime we'll reach out to SHD and look into this.
I'll keep you posted.

Jan

[Kirk Miller]

I wasn't able to upload a setup file, I'll send you a PM with the link. Also included camera log folder.

It happens with both processed and clean SDI signals.

Thanks for looking into it Jan!

Kirk

[Jan Heugel]

Hi Kirk,

good news, I just got word from the guys at SmallHD!

Here's what they wrote:

"We were able to recreate the problem and find a fix for it. The fix will be part of the new firmware we release for the 500 & 700 series monitors, which should be out in a couple of weeks."

A big thanks to my colleagues at ARRI Inc. for the quick supply of a camera to SmallHD R&D!

Cheers,
Jan

[Kirk Miller]

That is great news Jan. I was about ready to send the monitor back. Thank you for getting them a camera to troubleshoot with.

[Kirk Miller]

Unfortunately, SmallHD has still not posted a fix for this problem.

[Kirk Miller]

SmallHD has finally posted a firmware update to fix incompatibility issues with Arri cameras for 500 and 700 series monitors.

https://www.smallhd.com/community/lates ... sidefinder

[Jan Heugel]

Hey...,

Kirk was faster... we also got an email from the SHD dev team to announce this update.

I hope that solves the problem for everyone!

Best,
Jan