Blackmagic Design Teranex Mini HDMI to SDI 12G | SD HD Ultra HD Supported Converter

I own about 20 of these Teranex units (all of which have smart panels installed) and just like many others have experienced, I too are dealing with the exact same "lock up" issue. These devices are decent (when they work), but when they lock up, forget it. When this happens, whatever process it was performing completely stops, …meaning ZERO output from the device. To make matters worse, when the unit locks up, the screen will only display "Teranex Mini" and you lose all ability to control the unit locally via the smart panel or even remotely over a network for that matter. The only way to recover from this lock up issue is to power cycle the unit. Good times.Now, if you're using these for something critical like I am (i.e. live broadcasting), you're in big trouble. Mine are in a (well ventilated) rack, connected to a power sequencer with almost no access to the rear. So when one of my units lock up, I can’t just “unplug it & plug it back in”. I literally have to power down the entire rack just to reset it. Now imagine this happening to multiple units, multiple times daily. Thanks Blackmagic!Speaking of "well ventilated", don't believe the "smart thermal design" marketing BS on Blackmagic's website. I personally think they knew this was an issue and tried to spin it into a selling point. Lemme explain, these things run INCREDIBLY HOT. To cool itself, the unit draws in air from the left and exhausts it out the right. This design is fine if you’re only running a single unit. If you have three units on a single shelf, get your chocolate and marshmallows ready. All that super hot air from unit one must pass through unit two, then through unit three before it finally gets exhausted out. Huh? The unit furthest right runs so insanely hot it will likely fail as a result of overheating. Good job Blackmagic.Like much of Blackmagic’s stuff, this thing could have been a real game changer with its compact modular design, nifty rack mount shelf, and neat smart panel. Unfortunately, “like much of Blackmagic's stuff”, it also fails to meet the mark.If Blackmagic's products were half as good as their marketing game, they'd be dangerous.

The manual says it is good to use in any production environment, but beware they are incredibly loud. I don't see how it could be used where a human is present and trying to be productive.