BlackMagic DeckLink Video Feed Garbled

[JasonVP]

Hey folks -

Some time ago, I know I was successfully using Zoom with my 4-port BlackMagic Decklink 4K card in my Mac.  I removed the Decklink card to work on quieting the noisy fan, and just recently popped it back in.  During that time, some Zoom update seems to have mucked up the interaction between it and the BlackMagic card.  Per the attached image, that video feed is massively cropped and obviously all messed up color and pixel-wise.  But it's kinda, sorta, maybe trying to show the image on the camera.

Is there a secret switch I have to flip in order to get Zoom to grok the video feed from the BM card?

Thanks!

[RN]

Hey @JasonVP, is their software or firmware drivers that come with the device? Have you tried uninstalling the program and reinstalling it to see if that helps? Also, within your Zoom client settings > Video > Advanced > Uncheck the two settings related to de-noise and hardware acceleration to see if that helps. If unchecked, try checking both to see if that helps? 

Let me know what you figure out after doing the following ☝️

[JasonVP]

There's no driver package for the BM cards; they just work in MacOS as is.  So there's nothing to uninstall/re-install.  I did try nuking all of Zoom and its various preference files and re-install that.  Didn't make a difference.  Neither did the denoise/hardware accel buttons.  Selected or unselected, it doesn't matter.

Further data: the video feed does show up just fine in apps like OBS Studio, as well as other meeting software (eg: WebEx).

Thanks.

[RN]

Hey @JasonVP Ah, my bad, macOS, not Windows! Interesting... let me see If I can do some digging on this for you. 

[RT79]

New zoom is working! 5.9.6 (4993) 

[SciTechNick]

Exact same issue here after updating to 5.9.1 on my Mac. BlackMagic Quad HDMI PCIx card. Works fine in all other capture apps.

[JasonVP]

@RN I wonder, given what Nick has said, if there's a way to download past versions of Zoom directly?  I've seen 3rd party DL sites with the previous versions, but I'd rather avoid those and pull from Zoom instead.  Do you know if that's possible?

[RN]

Hey @JasonVP @SciTechNick wouldn't suggest downgrading by any means, but have you tried OBS for this purpose (https://obsproject.com/)? OBS can take your Decklink inputs and present them to Zoom as a single virtual webcam program output. 

Let me know if you're experiencing the same thing? 

[SciTechNick]

I can confirm this works, been using it as a workaround. Would prefer this be a temporary workaround though… as my office is already warm enough with just zoom running 😉

[JasonVP]

I'm well aware of OBS Studio (Check the "About" .. I'm a top donor) but would rather not use virtual cameras as a solution.  This is clearly a code-related thing w/Zoom as it used to work.  So I'm going to press again: is there a way to downgrade to previous versions so we can step back and see where it broke?

[RN]

Hey @JasonVP @jeremyrmck @SciTechNick appreciate all your patience on this. I would suggest opening a support ticket with our Zoom technical support and they can further look into your issue. If you're having trouble opening one I can most certainly assist you with that as well! 

[JasonVP]

And we're done here. 🙂

[JasonVP]

Hi @RN -

Unless I'm mistaken, I don't think I can open a support ticket w/Zoom's tech support given that I'm not a corporate customer.  I'm just a lowly end user.

If I'm mistaken on that, please clarify for me.  Otherwise someone else is going to have to do that for the collective participants in this thread (and it's growing daily).

We really need prior versions available so we can figure out which version actually broke the Decklink.

[solabc16]

FYI, we've just opened a support request - ticket number #13135683. If we hear back with any workarounds, I'll update this thread, but hopefully we'll actually get a point release patch sharpish.

I see it's also affecting the UltraStudios as well : https://community.zoom.com/t5/Meetings/Blackmagic-Ultrastudio-Mini-Recorder/m-p/30062

Best

- J

[RN]

Hey @JasonVP no prob! I have converted your Zoom Community discussion into support request #13136701 because it is a unique case that may be more appropriately handled by our Support Agents. In the meantime, let me know if I can help you with anything along the way. I will be following this ticket as well. 😀

Feel free to share the solution with our Community Users once we've got this solved for you! 

[solabc16]

Hey @RN , it was actually me - that's our ticket, but no problem. Anything that get's some focus on this!

This is exactly the kind of issue that makes any software vendor's decision to default to 'Automatic Updates' terrifying - experience tells us this is going to happen at some point, it's a when not if. Luckily we're experienced enough to have made sure this was off across our facilities and this was a controlled incident.

What would really help in the meantime would be getting us access to the 5.8.6 installer, as this version does not have this issue and would get the affected studio back up and running.

Best

- J

[jeremyrmck]

Hi, I'm having the same trouble. Is there any progress on this?

[solabc16]

Hello Folks

Just to say the update also knocked one of our studios with the same h/w configuration out, video feed works perfectly in all other applications we use it with.

If you're going to push updates and not provide access to previous versions, the QC has to be a whole load better.

So as mentioned above, is there no way to get a previous install directly from Zoom whilst you figure this out and get it fixed?

Best

- J

[solabc16]

Hello Again

FYI, @RN and Zoom technical support - attached are screenshots of this working correctly on 5.8.6; images intentionally blurred as these shows are currently in post-production.

You will also note that in 5.8.6 all supported video formats are enumerated and displayed, and if there are multiple cards these are repeated for each card. In 5.9.1 we only see a single entry for each card installed in the system.

We went from 5.8.6 to 5.9.1, so we can't provide any information on whether this affected interim versions as well. I cannot see anything in the release notes that specifically covers this change in behaviour.

Best

- J

[VideoAssist]

+1 for this problem.  I have a decent sized show happening on Tuesday that I was going to rely heavily on this and auto updates completely broke this with no release notes warning.  Need old versions!

[solabc16]

Latest from support:-

Currently, the Blackmagic line is not an officially supported device for Zoom. We officially support the Magewell Capture Card line found here: http://www.magewell.com/.

Latest from me:-

Not acceptable.

We can easily work around this by reverting to 5.8.6, so please make this version available to we can go back and get our systems working again.

There is nothing in your release notes relating to Blackmagic devices, so not good enough folks.

-----------------------------------

@RN - please escalate and get us access to 5.8.6, so we can sort this mess out. This has been working for years and still works find in every other video capture application we use.

Best

- James

[RN]

Hi @solabc16 apologies for the unexpected Blackmagic capture card not being supported, as you previously stated that this was working in previous versions. I have left an internal note to request that the ticket be escalated internally with our Support team.

Let me know how I can help you any further! 

[PS_]

@RNYou can help by providing a direct download link on Zoom's site to 5.8.6 to revert to a working version. I dealt with this EXACT issue yesterday and luckily found a website with an installer package to downgrade, but would have preferred it come directly from Zoom!

[WaxNite]

100% That would be very helpful. I pay a monthly fee, and having equipment stop working with no way of going back to the previous version that worked in unacceptable. What the hell am I paying for if the product breaks ever other update?

[solabc16]

Hello again @RN 

I'm still getting updates from support saying the case is active and being looked at by the engineering team.

However, what nobody seems to want to pay any attention to is giving us a solution to get us out of this bind.

To provide v5.8.6, even if only to those who have opened technical support cases, would go a long well to helping what are paying customers out. This is entirely within your gift, so it is inexplicable that you are not taking steps to right this mistake and focus on the customer.

Please can you escalate through whatever means you have at your disposal.  Auto-updates and inadequate release notes land this firmly at Zoom's doorstep.

Best

- James

[solabc16]

Hello All

After making my last update to support as strong as I could muster, whilst remaining polite, we have now been provided with links from Zoom to download previous versions.

We rolled back our affected systems last night to 5.8.6 and all is once again working properly.

I've asked what the protocol is here and have referred them (again) to this thread, to see if it's ok to share them (or if they will share them).

Whilst great we're at this point @RN , the fact it has taken 2+ weeks to provide a solution that could have been made available almost instantly is not the customer experience we need or I'd hope you aspire to deliver. The way these changes are handled, release notes updated and the responsibilities enabling auto-updates by default now puts in your court, is something that you need to be taking a considered look at.

We had to find alternate solutions for those two weeks, as I'm sure have others, and some of those are going to stick.

Best

- James

[RN]

Hey @solabc16 apologies for the delay in response as the community is where discussions on problems can be taken here, however, limited the number of resources and tools when troubleshooting without properly escalating to our Support team and engineering team to get you and other community members the solution to fix the issue you're facing. 

Glad to hear our Support team was able to revert you back to a couple of versions, as we don't advise users or suggest reverting to previous versions as the point of updating Zoom is for the new features,  security enhancements, and bugs fixes -- therefore, please be aware reverting of versions none of the newly implemented security enhances, bug fixes and features will be available to you. We didn't anticipate this to happen and we're here to get this resolved for you! 

For others on this thread @JasonVP @WaxNite @PS_ @VideoAssist please use this redirect to downgrade 👉 https://zoom.us/client/5.8.6.2879/Zoom.pkg?archType=arm64

Just for some insight, 5.9.3 looks like it's coming this weekend, would suggest updating after the release and looking into the release notes to see if our eng team was able to resolve this. However, please note we are aware of this and a fix is coming. 🙂

[AndrewLo]

Can I get a direct download link for Zoom Client 5.8.6.2879 for M1 macs on MacOS Montery? 

[kegobeer]

Here's where I found it: https://zoom.en.uptodown.com/mac/download/4148398

I have it running on my M1 Mac Mini without any issues and that version fixed the garbled video I was having with my Decklink card.

[kelmcbri]

Try this:

Mac 5.8.6 (2879)

PKG: https://zoom.us/client/5.8.6.2879/Zoom.pkg

M1 Processor version:
https://zoom.us/client/5.8.6.2879/Zoom.pkg?archType=arm64

[sarxws]

Thanks, I have an interview in 3 hours and the update destroyed my setup. I wouldn't have been able to fix it without your link. A shame this is happening for so long.

[RT79]

Hello, does anyone know if the garbled green screen has been resolved with 5.9.3? I submitted a ticket and wasn't able to get an answer. 

[SciTechNick]

I just confirmed it is not fixed in 5.9.3. Exact same issue / no change.

[RT79]

Thanks for the confirmation. It's very annoying. Everything has been working fine during the pandemic and now this! Our church relies on zoom. Hopefully they can fix this issue soon! 

[RN]

Hey @RT79 @JasonVP @SciTechNick @sarxws I am following up on eng. convo around this issue. No update yet, but I will give you all insight as to the next steps on a fix. Thank you all for your patience on this with me and apologies for the delay! 😀

For others on a temporary workaround suggest using the redirect to downgrade in the meantime until we get this resolved

Mac 5.8.6 (2879)

PKG: https://zoom.us/client/5.8.6.2879/Zoom.pkg

M1 Processor version:
https://zoom.us/client/5.8.6.2879/Zoom.pkg?archType=arm64

[RN]

Hey @RT79 @JasonVP @SciTechNick @sarxws just an update on this for you all. More cases are being reported and gathered, our eng. team is aware of this and I will be updating you all once we've come to a resolution! Thank you again for your patience on this with me. 😄

[RN]

Hi @RT79 @JasonVP @SciTechNick @sarxws @solabc16 @jeremyrmck @VideoAssist @AndrewLo @WaxNite and everyone else on this discussion! 

Zoom client 5.9.6 is released, please try to update and see if you're still encountering your issue? Heres how to Upgrade Zoom to the latest version

[jmoretti]

This release resolves the issue for me.  Zoom version: 5.9.6 (4993) on MacOS 12.2.1 is successfully working with my UltraStudio Recorder 3G driver version 12.2.2 using HDMI.

Thank you!

[RN]

@jmoretti Amazing! 🙌 great news 🙂

[sarxws]

Thank you for letting me know. We have already completely migrated to Citrix due to the length of time waiting on the Zoom fix and concerns for future updates. Perhaps we will give you a try again in the future.