4x HDMI inputs into mimoLive (alternative to ATEM Mini)

Gabriele_LS · August 19, 2020, 10:37am

Hi @Oliver_Boinx, during the mimoLive 5.8 keynote, you mentioned an alternative to ATEM Mini to bring 4 HDMI inputs into mimoLive.

I did a quick research online, based on what you said, and I found these two devices:

Are they the devices you recommend to achieve such a goal?

Alastair1 · August 19, 2020, 10:58am

Some of the other BMD Decklinks allow you to use channels for either in or out discretely. eg Decklink Duo 2. But that seems to be the only 4 channel with HDMI (inputs only) they make.

And if we need more than one slot, say for a eGPU and a Decklink card or two, this three slot Sonnet SE IIIe seems to have it covered? Have you used the one slot or three slot Sonnet eGPUs at all, @Oliver_Boinx & @Achim_Boinx? I think you mentioned the compact Sonnet Breakaway Puck RX 560 in live stream demo videos in the past.

Oliver_Boinx · September 23, 2020, 9:16am

Yes. That is what I recommend.

Oliver_Boinx · September 23, 2020, 9:18am

If I read the Sonnet SE IIIe website correctly, it doesn’t support eGPU. But it will support multiple DeckLink cards.

Alastair1 · October 30, 2020, 1:05am

Ok, thanks Oliver.

What recommendations do you have for eGPU other than the compete one you have in the ‘yellow box’?

I feel like getting a Mac mini to replace my ageing mid-2015 MBP but the lack of good GPU is a turn off. If I can pair with a full sized GPU with some grunt then it still comes in less than a new MBP, and I get the 4x TB3 ports either way.

Oliver_Boinx · October 30, 2020, 4:11pm

I’m using the eGPU on one TB3 port and have an external PCIe box on the second TB3 port.

Alastair1 · November 2, 2020, 3:28am

Thx, @Oliver_Boinx . I’m asking if you know of a good eGPU enclosure and card combo for Mac mini other than the compact one you are using? I don’t need to be so compact because not making a “yellow box” type of thing straight away until I get some more experience of what I’m needing on location.

Gabriele_LS · November 2, 2020, 6:37am

Hello @Alastair1, if you have no budget limits, the best combo is the following one:

Alastair1 · November 2, 2020, 3:45pm

thanks Gabriele — I often wonder if all the threads and math units on gaming cards are put to use by video effects software. there’s some people saying on Amazon they have days of issues with the drivers, on macOS are drivers required or will macOS already be able to run it?

Certainly affordable if it buys me a huge leap in stability and mimoLive and video/graphics software processing power. another nice thing about a good GPU card is I could buy a PC/Linux motherboard and plug and play with it there for Resolve Da Vinci too.

Gabriele_LS · November 2, 2020, 4:02pm

@Alastair1 you can easily find several videos on YouTube regarding the combo I mentioned. And, again, that’s the best option currently available on the market (for OS X, of course). If you search for an eGPU for a Mac that does not have an internal discrete GPU, you simply cannot find anything better than that. If your Mac is less than two years old and is equipped with an internal discrete GPU, the advantage coming from having an eGPU is going to be small. Otherwise, it is going to be huge.

Alastair1 · November 2, 2020, 4:20pm

My MBP is mid-2015 and I’m really sick of it’s constant problems (since I got it but even worse lately with ports not working all the time and/or GPU flaking out with external monitors attached. Going to get a Mac mini which is why I’m looking for an eGPU. I could go a spec’d up iMac but I hate their closed architecture and have a new 27" Dell 4K colour calibrated monitor already, so I’m leaning towards Mac mini. And if I go to the dark side (windows/linux) I still have the GPU to use with a desktop PC I guess for cheaper CPU, RAM etc.