Solution for playing PS3 output in Vista 64?

As I already mentioned, the Blackmagic Intensity is a capture card device. Let's be clear about this. You're not gonna get all the bells and whistles of a media tuner device.

As far as how I play directly off the Intensity, there's 2 ways I do this.

I use Cineform's HDLink (not to be confused with Blackmagic's HDLink hardware monitoring platform). It's a separate app that comes included with Cineform's codec package which has support for Blackmagic and Aja cards. I can play directly off the preview screen but the screen of course will be in a window and you cant maximize it full screen or scale it in any way. It's fairly large enough (for me) to play within it but its not meant for display purposes. You can do ths similarly with the Media Express software included with Intensity or within your video editing software if it has capture capability, granted its has Intensity support. Sony Vegas Pro, Adobe Premiere Pro (along with cheaper consumer level Adobe Premiere Elements) and Final Cut Pro on the Mac will work with Intensity.

The other method is to have a separate monitor (whether TV or Computer monitor) connected to HDMI out or component outputs on the Intensity. I have mine hooked up via HDMI to a HDTV set next to my edting workstation (2 desktop LCD monitors on the PC + an additional LCD HDTV set next to it). The video signal from the Intensity's output isn't just a passive feed but is a processed signal. Essentially with the right software, you can use the card to display live video broadcast with realtime overlays like graphics, titles, etc if you need to. Also, there is no lag or latency (humanly negligible if any) between the input and outputs. What I see on the preview window on my PC is in sync with what I see on my HDTV via output. I've played through entire game of Uncharted 2 and even Halo 3 online without issue so really, its realtime.

You wont really need any special software to display real time monitoring other than whats already included in the box, Media Express software. But I would suggest downloading to latest driver/firmware and getting their latest Media Express software (v2.0.1 at the time of this posting) free from their website as it has more features to work with. What's important is that your external monitor supports the source resolution - HD 720p, 1080i, 1080p.

Go over the documentation from Blackmagic-design and see if this is the right solution for you.
http://blackmagic-design.com/downloads/manuals/eng/IntensityManual.pdf

Also worth mentioning, if you do plan on purchasing the Intensity, make sure you get "the Intensity Pro" and not the standard "Intensity" card. The Intensity Pro has HDMI i/o ports AND breakout cable port for analog i/o ports. The standard Intensity which is now discontinued has ONLY HDMI i/o ports (no dongle) which in your case would be useless for the PS3. Just be sure which one you buy as some vendors maybe still carrying these old ones.

What you mentioned bout streaming to a friend, I have no clue as the card doesnt do that. But you have Youtube...
 
Thanks again for all the info. And yeah, I don't think I really care about all the little bells and whistles; just trying to get a clearer picture of what I would be getting and I think you've helped in that regard.

As far as streaming to a friend, I had noticed that on their "software" page it mentions "live streaming":
http://blackmagic-design.com/products/intensity/software/

I think when I looked at it before, they had some kind of generic streaming software box on there in their little diagram, but now it looks like it shows Adobe Flash CS4 Professional. Not sure if it is talking about streaming a video feed over a network or creating a file that is in a streaming format, maybe just the latter, though it seems like the former should be possible with the right software... but that was what was worrying me when they were just referring to some generic "streaming software", just how easy it will be to find all the software desired for various things or how much it actually comes with, etc. Since it seems very much like they're not saying "it comes with this, that, and the other software" so much as they're saying "it works with/is compatible with this, that, and the other software". Which I understand, and even that some software may be expensive, was just trying to get a feel for the software availability.

~Troop
 
I think they are referring to starting out with a good raw HD format to use to convert to any "stream" format depending on your editing software. Going back to what I was saying about CPU resources during editing, it's ideal to utilize either uncompressed formats or an Intermediate codec that will retain high quality and doesnt use up a lot of computer resources to decode it. The only software (other than drivers/fimware) Blackmagic provides is Media Express. If you plan to dabble in video editing, make sure to check out some editing software and find which one will be right for you.

Here's wikipedia's list of proprietary and free editing software packages:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_editing_software

The most popular high level editing packages are Adobe Premiere/After Effects, Sony Vegas Pro, Final Cut Pro (Mac), Avid and Edius. But these can vary from being moderately expensive (few hundred dollars) to very expensive (1-3+ thousand dollars) but worth every penny and powerful used by mainstream film companies whether it be Hollywood, independents movies, tv, commercials, etc... There are also cheaper consumer level versions with less features (but still powerful to certain degree) so check those out as well. Both the pro-versions and consumer versions for most of these editors should have trial versions you can download to take for a spin. But if all you want to do is capture a stream with basic editing features check out the free stuff like VirtualDubMod, Windows Movie Maker, or iMovie on Mac.

Of course, the hard (but fun) part will be learning how to use it all and learning the whole art of film making, editing, camera techniques, cinematography, post production, special effects, etc... Like other arts, it will be a life long learning process that never ends acquiring and perfecting all the tricks of the trade.
 
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