Reddit mentions of Blackmagic Design Intensity Extreme HDMI and Analog Capture & Playback Device - Thunderbolt

What would you like to know about the tech side? I occasionally make videos and have learned a lot about editing and the best tools for the trade and I also know most of what the AH guys use. For example:

• They use apple iMacs for their stations
  
  
• They also use Mac Pros for storage of video (mostly the old models but some have the new ones)
  
  
• Editing as far as I can tell is done with Final Cut Pro X
  
  -Not Final Cut Pro X it is Final Cut Pro 7 and occasionally when using a PC to edit they use Adobe Premiere Pro CS6/CC
  
  
  
• Recording video is done with the blackmagic capture cards Also I think Ray occasionally uses an El Gato capture card
  
  
• Recording audio is done with Audio-Technica AT2050 microphones
  
  So there are the tools they use but how the setup works is more elaborate so I will give a set by step instruction of what they do for a Let's Play.
  
  1.) They get the mics out and get them all connected to a single computer that is connected to the tv/monitor set up between Jack and Geoff's desks as seen in this photo
  
  2.)To record their audio and have it all synced together they use Audacity which is what is displayed on the tv/monitor discussed in the first step.
  
  3.) They get whatever video game they are playing turned on and also have their capturing devices started capturing (capture card info and setup here)
  
  4.) After all recording and capturing is on and working they sync their audio to their video by doing something simple like saying up while they are on the main menu of there game and going up on the menu.
  
  5.) Once all these steps are done they can begin recording the Let's Play.
  
  6.) After recording the Let's Play they save all the audio and export it to whoever's computer is going to be editing the video. The video however is first stamped with their name (lets say for minecraft) on the top left of their video and then exported.
  
  7.) The video being exported is then sent like the audio to whoever's computer will be doing the editing.
  
  (I'm a bit hazy on how they do a few things from here but I will attempt to give an accurate depiction of how it's done.)
  
  8.) From here it can vary depending on what the Let's Play is but for the sake of this lets say it's a Minecraft Let's Play. So all of the video has now been sent to Gavin (or Lindsay!) and they put the audio from the Let's Play into the video by using Final Cut Pro 7/Adobe Premiere Pro and the gameplay audio is also adjusted along with whatever audio issues there might be in the recorded audio.
  
  9.) I don't know exactly what Gavin/Lindsay/Whoever uses to swap screens but it is a program that allows them to watch all of the video at once and click which screen will be the visible one at that point of the video. (You could do this without the program but it would take a lot longer.)
  
  10.) After that they will trim the video up by deleting slower segments of the video where not a lot of interesting things happen (another long process). Once the editor believes it's good they will rematch the video for any errors and if they think its good they put the opening and ending banners (logo video parts at the beginning and ending of the videos) and export it one last time.
  
  11.) They will then upload the video to YouTube and either set a scheduled time for it to come out or if its late have it come out immediately then.
  
  12.) They start the process over again for the next Let's Play!
  
  Okay so after typing that all out I want to make it clear I do not work for them so their way of making and editing the video might be a little different but what I have written is pretty accurate to how they make a Let's Play.
  
  Here is a difference for other videos (achievement guides, This Is... , Easter Eggs, HUNT, Fails of the Weak, etc.) as well:
  
  
• They do NOT record the audio at the same time as the video. What they do is record the video edit it in Final Cut Pro X and then record themselves (and usually someone with them) while they watch the finished edited video and discuss whatever they need to about the video.
  
  
• After recording the audio it's a quick edit to add it to the finished video and export and upload it to YouTube.
  
  
• In these other videos they usually make more abrupt and noticeable cuts compared to Let's Plays.
  
  ...That's just to name a few differences!
  
  
  If anyone has any questions I will try to answer them! Also if I made a mistake let me know and I will fix it!
  
  

I use a Hauppauge PVR and a Blackmagic Intensity Extreme

No, an HDMI to USB wire is not something you'll find.

They are incompatible signal types so the closest thing to what you're asking for is AJ expensive converter box - but you may not need the thing you're actually asking for.

You've got three options here and it depends on the model camera you've got.

If it's supported on your camera, you can set up live view over the USB output on your camera using EOS Utilities (if it's a canon DSLR), Nikon Capture NX (for Nikon of course), and you can use Capture One Pro for tethering some Sony cameras.

If that isn't an option, then you either need an actual converter box and with and HDMI input and compatible software. If you want it to not look like shit, these are not cheap.

The one I usually recommend (because it just always works is the Blackmagic Design Intensity Extreme HDMI and Analog Capture & Playback Device - Thunderbolt

The EASIEST option is simply to get a small LCD display with an HDMI input. SmallHD makes the best ones I've worked with but there are plenty of cheaper options. (You absolutely get what you pay for here).

Having said all of that it really depends on exactly what you're hoping to gain from this.

Having this stream so you can use your camera as a webcam isn't a great idea so I'd just get a dedicated webcam if that's you're goal.

If you're hoping to use it for still photography and lining up shots, live view is your best bet - but keep in mind that using live view often inhibits some options with still photography (some cameras can't fire strobes in live view for example) so you need to do some research.

It may just not be possible to do what you want with the camera body you have.... but I have no idea since you didn't bother to include that detail.