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Experiencing random black frames with XA40 hdmi output, but this has never happened using sd cards

michaelvlong
Apprentice

We have been experiencing random occurances of black frames being recorded from our Canon XA40 but not with the recording to the SD cards.  The SD card video is always perfect.  We are recording hdmi output with an ATEM Mini Pro ISO device that is routed to the camera 1 port on the ATEM. All HDMI cables are high speed 4k cables, although we are not outputting anything at 4K. We have other HDMI inputs routed to this ATEM, but none of the other hdmi video have had any black frames.  We've also tried using different ports on the ATEM for the XA40 but no matter the combination of port or number of hdmi delivery ports we use on the ATEM, there is always some black frames being delivered from the htmi port by the XA40..

General setup:

- Canon XA40 output fps matches that of the ATEM Mini Pro ISO configuration of 1920 x 1080 @ 59.94 fps.
- No other configuration setup for the ATEM Mini Pro ISO.
- We are recording about 90 minutes every week.

In our sound booth, we have isolated the power delivery to the ATEM and the Canon XA40 to be on a separate circuit from other devices. We had thought there may have been a power drop due to the number of devices in the sound booth. This change did not stop the occasional black frames being output.

We are at a loss to know what else to look for or try. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

1 REPLY 1

Hazel_T
Product Expert
Product Expert

Hi michaelvlong,

There is a setting to double check with an issue like this. If the HDMI Scan Mode is set to PsF the frame rate output would be different from what you have the ATEM set to and it could cause dropped frames. To check that go into the camera menu, go to the Display Setup section, select HDMI Scan Mode, and set it to P. That sets the camera to output the same frames it is recording, so it should help prevent dropped frames in your ATEM. 

If the issue continues does the same thing happen if you connect the camera to a different HDMI monitor or device?

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