Black Magic seems to be changing tight lipped policy

[Chris Barcellos]

After a landside hoots and howls which seemed mainly centered around a wall of silence about some basic firmware corrections that is almost universally agreed as needed, the representatives on the forum, Kristian Lam and Terry Frechette are at least acknowledging firmware corrections are in the works and have confirmed a new firmware update coming first weeks of May.

Blackmagic Forum • View topic - How about Update of Update about firmware updates

[Chris Barcellos]

In a new post in the same thread, BMD's Kristiam Lam reports that the coming firmware update will address the loss of low end response in the camera recordings. Good news for those of us who want to shoot single system sound.

[Chris Barcellos]

Latest post from Company representative Kristian Lam is:


Kristian Lam
Blackmagic Design
Posts: 308
Joined: Tue Aug 21, 2012 5:11 am
Update about the update that was about the update
PostTue May 06, 2014 5:25 am

Hi guys,

Here's an update about the update of the update. :)

Things are looking good and we've knocked out quite a few beta releases now. There are still some remaining items to check off from the list before we can release anything but it's looking really close.

[Chris Barcellos]

Black Magic has gone silent again. Three weeks past the time it was generally promised, there is still no new firmware.

The silence, and lack of activity makes one wonder if we are dealing with a failing company at this point.

[Wacharapong Chiowanich]

Perhaps all the flurries of these uncooked, 4K devices in the past couple of years have finally broken the camel's back. BMD used to be a very good and reliable company selling PP gear some of us really needed.

[Gary Huff]

It will be interesting to contrast with AJA when the CION is released and out in the wild.

[Chris Barcellos]

Joshua Helling, from Blackmagic, in a thread started by an irate user titled "The Lyning", posted the following responses to some pretty heated discussions on the website:

"Re: The Lying
Unread postFri Jun 06, 2014 8:56 am

Hey guys, I know you guys are upset about what you feel is a lack of information coming from us. Honestly I don't have a lot more to add, but I felt it was time to jump in here.

Eugene C. wrote:
First they said the BMCC was capable of "recording the highest quality uncompressed audio" - the audio on this thing is worse than any consumer camera I've ever used.


Yeah, the audio on the BMCC is not as good as it should be, and I agree that an improvement is long overdue. That firmware that keeps getting talked about, I've seen it. It's being tested. We did intend for it to be available a few weeks after NAB, but firmware for several cameras turn out to be quite a big job.

I know this isn't the "release date" you want, but it is coming.

Eugene C. wrote:
Multiple promises from this forum's admins that "more cool stuff" would be coming - it never came.


Not to pick points, but the forum admins, myself included to not set pace or release schedule for new features.

Eugene C. wrote:
The BMPC4K came out without RAW, even though it says it on the box and all over the sales page on this site.


Yup, this has taken too long to get to you guys. Though it is in the update I mentioned earlier.

Eugene C. wrote:
People find out there are major issues with the BMPC4K and try to send in the camera to be replace - BMD stops accepting RMAs for their faulty cams and says a firmware update will fix it, so shut up and wait for us to fix it.


Now this is not true. And honestly stating things like this doesn't help anything, let alone the tone of the forums. I understand you're upset, but trying to incite riots doesn't help.

Now this is the part where i've got to be very careful with how I say things. This is tricky because it's abstract. Support has NEVER said that the FPN will be fixed in firmware. We have said that we HOPE this can be improved with firmware, it could also need to come back to us.

And I seriously doubt that anyone from BMD has ever told you to "shut up and wait".

Now, about the RMA's. Here's the thing. I, that is to say, my support team. Cannot change the FPN in those cameras. If there is something else wrong with the camera we can issue an RMA to fix them. Ultimately if you are unhappy with the camera you should see about returning it.

The bottom line is, I know we have engineers working on how we can improve the FPN, but we still don't have any sort of clear timeline. I have been in contact several times a week asking for an answer to this myself.

Eugene C. wrote:
BMCC and BMPC4K owners unite and state many times on this forum that we all expect at least some kind of communication from this company on a timeline for firmware updates by NAB 2014.

NAB 2014 comes and not a word from BMD on fixing the issues with their existing camera line even though it's common knowledge how many people want their cameras to work as advertised from this company. People grumble all over this forum and the internet, but still, nothing from BMD on the issues, even after their press release - until...

A video surfaces from the NAB 2014 with Dan May (President of BMD) admitting they are spread too thin and chooses to use their very limited resources to introduce new products at NAB even though there are major issues that need to be fixed with their existing products.
link to actual video: Interview With Dan May - President of Blackmagic Design - YouTube


Kristian actually posted something in the forums from NAB about upcoming firmwares and that we had intended to have a beta for you guys at the show. Dan says this in the very video you linked. We just didn't get it over the line.

So to say that you demanded an answer by NAB, then to follow it up saying we didn't answer. We did respond. You may not have liked the details, but to sensationalize what happened, again, it just doesn't help.

elevatevisuals wrote:
...but these are long announced features that they used to base the sale of these cameras on...yet still haven't delivered on...

There needs to be transparency about this "already announced/promised" stuff at the very least.


But we have been transparent. We've mentioned what's coming in the firmware, which fixes a lot of outstanding issues, adds 4k raw (which was missing from release) and sets the platform for future enhancements by unifying the firmware base.

However, if you are specifically referring to something else, let me know and I'll see if I can get an answer.

Eugene C. wrote:
In that video Dan May basically says, "...yeah umm, we know there are issues and features that were advertised on those cameras you already purchased from us, but umm...yeah...we're kind of too busy working on more cool stuff for trade shows to worry about bugs and promised features...so maybe you should just buy this new URSA if you want what was advertised in the camera you purchased, because we're busy working on that right now...so yeah."

Interview With Dan May - President of Blackmagic Design - YouTube

Odd, that's not what he says at all. I understand your frustration. But some of your comments aren't helping at all.

Eugene C. wrote:
Off topic huh?


Yes. It is. Most of your post is conjecture and spreads misinformation. But inside all of that, I see a guy that is just reaching out to get answers anyway he can. And I feel you on that. But that is why the post is moved.

Eugene C. wrote:
So when can we expect the firmware that was supposed to be here last month? Since you can take time to move threads around, maybe you can take the time to update us on the status of the updates since it's now been double the time you said it take.


Eugene, it's in testing now. We intended to have it out by end of May, but there were show stoppers that prevented it's release. I'm sure you'll agree that at this stage in the game, we've gotta get this one right. So we're not just gonna let this one out with show stopping bugs just to make a date. That would be worse than missing the date.

Ubstar wrote:
Do you guys at Blackmagic just ignore all the emails you receive. Your name is listed on the petition and I know you get an email every time it is signed. It must be nice to ignore the customer base that has supported your company.
[/quote]

Well, support has filtered them out. I believe Terry still gets them. Support had to filter them mostly because they we impeding our ability to help customers."

[Sabyasachi Patra]

It costs lot of money to hire good people who can identify and fix problems. At the moment Black Magic is in such a sorry state that they have no idea whether the FPN can be fixed by firmware or hardware needs to be updated. When someone is bewildered, you can very well imagine what the response will be. So expecting Black Magic to solve the problem and that too soon is actually hoping them to do some Black Magic.

They know they have treated their customers like guinea pigs and they seem to be fine with it. I think they hope to get the new URSA right and get some happy customers and hope that the previous customers just give up after years and years of trying.

It is such a shame that this company could have done so much to impact the industry. I guess its competitors are learning "how not to pull the trigger on your own head" from Black Magic's misadventures.


PS: This post doesn't advocate violence

[Paul Cascio]

It's a shame that a company that has such great ideas seems to be so lacking in execution. If you alienate enough customers, eventually no one will buy your new and unproven products. It seems as if buying a BM product is like buying a lottery ticket, there's just so much risk. I would love to see the company merge with one that has a proven system of product development and implementation.