System Recommendations

Supported Operating Systems

Cinegy Desktop software is certified to run on the following operating systems, which have been patched with the latest Microsoft updates and hotfixes:

  • Windows Server 2019

  • Windows Server 2022

  • Windows 10

  • Windows 11

Cinegy Desktop components are tested on fully patched versions of the supported operating systems at the time of version release, and problems may be encountered if a machine is not at this minimum patch level. Supported released versions are continuously tested against the recommended operating system, and incompatibilities that new patches might introduce will be addressed via a new Cinegy software release where appropriate.

To ensure compatibility and optimal performance, users should verify the compatibility of their chosen SDI card with the operating system.

Supported Hardware

The performance of a machine within the Cinegy Desktop workflow depends significantly on the chosen workflow scenarios, used resolutions, etc. Therefore, precise hardware recommendations cannot be provided.

Nevertheless, as we continually optimize our software tools for improved performance, we have tested the following typical configurations for our and our customers' reference. Please note that these hardware recommendations are based on previously tested older systems. The listed CPUs should be used as a guide for selecting modern equivalent options rather than strict requirements.

Cinegy products work only on machines with a CPU supporting a minimum instruction set SSE4.1.

Hardware Recommendations for Ingest Operations

Cinegy Capture Desktop Edition is a high-volume media ingest system for broadcast and media production environments, capable of capturing live streams. For capture operations, the performance requirements are based on the Cinegy Capture system recommendations.

Hardware Recommendations for Import Operations

File-based sources are captured using Cinegy Convert Desktop Edition. For import operations, the performance requirements are based on the Cinegy Convert system recommendations.

Hardware Recommendations for SD Operations

Dual-core processor with 2 GHz or better (Core2Duo, Core i5). 2GB of RAM or better (4GB when using a 64-bit OS). Gigabit Ethernet.

Recommended hardware: Any Windows 10-certified PC. NVIDIA GeForce GT240 or GT430 graphics card or better.

Hardware Recommendations for HD Operations

Single six-core processor with 2 GHz or better (Core i7 or single Xeon 56xx) or dual quad or six-core processors. 6GB of RAM. Gigabit Ethernet.

Recommended hardware: HP Z400 or similar. NVIDIA GeForce 200 series graphics card or better.

SDI Video Card Support for Monitoring

Cinegy Desktop supports the following SD/HD SDI video cards: Blackmagic DeckLink family of cards, DVS Centaurus II (LT), and Atomix LT.

Recommended hardware: Blackmagic is a good value for money for this task.

Memory

Standard Definition video – at least 4GB of RAM.

High Definition video – at least 6GB of RAM.

Recommended hardware: 6GB of RAM or more.

If other applications are running on the machine at the same time, additional memory may be advised.

Graphics Card

There are no particular requirements in regards to graphics cards unless the optional video output of such a card is supposed to be used as a control video monitor output. Any recent graphics card from NVIDIA will work. Even integrated graphics adapters, as found in the motherboard chipset by Intel, will work fine in most scenarios.

Note
 If you are using an NVIDIA graphics card, we recommend that you optimize its performance by setting the "Prefer maximum performance" value for the "Power management mode" parameter in the NVIDIA Control Panel.
Note
 To use GPU decoding offload for H.264 and Daniel2 encoded media files in Cinegy Desktop, the proper NVIDIA graphics card and graphics driver are required. In case other cards are installed, only CPU decoding is possible.
Note
 Daniel2 GPU encoding and decoding are supported by NVIDIA video boards that have CUDA Compute Capability 3.5 and higher. If the NVIDIA video board has the CUDA Compute Capability of an earlier version, then use Daniel2 CPU encoding and decoding.
Note
 Please perform the process of updating NVIDIA drivers only upon stopping Cinegy applications. For detailed instructions on installing the NVIDIA driver, please refer to the NVIDIA Drivers installation article.

To work with Cinegy Title, only NVIDIA boards are currently certified. Other cards may work, but with no guarantee. For editing purposes, in Cinegy Desktop / Cinegy Title Editor, graphics cards like NVIDIA GeForce GT 240 or GT 430, or better, are recommended.

For HD applications, the graphics adapter should be equipped with at least 256 MB of memory, and the memory bus width should be 128-bit or better. For HD playback, motherboard-integrated graphics, to date, are not fast enough.

Note
 After installing a dedicated graphics card, please disable the onboard graphics card (e.g., Matrox) using the Windows Device Manager > Display Adapters and selecting the "Disable device" option for that card.

Supported video hardware for control monitor video output:

  • Any VGA card that can output the DirectX overlay on the video out. DirectX/3D 9 acceleration support is recommended, and NVIDIA is recommended for Cinegy Desktop with Cinegy Title.

  • Blackmagic Design DeckLink series SDI video boards.

  • AJA Kona family and AJA Corvid family SDI video boards.

  • Deltacast SDI video boards.

  • DVS Centaurus II (LT), Atomix LT video boards.

  • Distributed memory buffer - a shared RAM technology.

Supported Formats, Codecs, and Devices

Supported Formats

SD TV Formats

PAL 4:3

SDTV 4:3 25

NTSC 4:3 non-drop

SDTV 4:3 29.97 non-drop frame timecode

NTSC 4:3

SDTV 4:3 29.27

PAL 16:9

SDTV 16:9 25

NTSC 16:9 non-drop

SDTV 16:9 29.97 non-drop frame timecode

NTSC 16:9

SDTV 16:9 29.97
HD TV Formats

720p/50

HD720 16:9 50 progressive

720p/59.94 non-drop

HD720 16:9 59.94 progressive, non-drop frame timecode

720p/59.94

HD720 16:9 59.94 progressive

1080p/23.976

HDTV 1920x1080 23.976 progressive

1080p/24

HDTV 1920x1080 24 progressive

1080p/25

HDTV 1920x1080 25 progressive

1080p/29.97 non-drop

HDTV 1920x1080 29.97 progressive, non-drop frame timecode

1080p/29.97

HDTV 1920x1080 29.97 progressive

1080i/50

HDTV 1920x1080 50 interlaced

1080p/50

HDTV 1920x1080 50 progressive

1080i/59.94 non-drop

HDTV 1920x1080 59.94 interlaced, non-drop frame timecode

1080i/59.94

HDTV 1920x1080 59.94 interlaced

1080p/59.94 non-drop

HDTV 1920x1080 59.94 progressive, non-drop frame timecode

1080p/59.94

HDTV 1920x1080 59.94 progressive
UHD TV Formats

2K/23.976

UHDTV 2048x1080 23.976

2K/24

UHDTV 2048x1080 24

2K/25

UHDTV 2048x1080 25

2K/29.97 non-drop

UHDTV 2048x1080 29.97 non-drop frame timecode

2K/29.97

UHDTV 2048x1080 29.97

2K/50

UHDTV 2048x1080 50

2K/59.94 non-drop

UHDTV 2048x1080 59.94 non-drop frame timecode

2K/59.94

UHDTV 2048x1080 59.94

UHD25

UHDTV 3840x2160 25

UHD29.97 non-drop

UHDTV 3840x2160 29.97 non-drop frame timecode

UHD29.97

UHDTV 3840x2160 29.97

UHDp/23.976

UHDTV 3840x2160 23.976

UHDp/24

UHDTV 3840x2160 24

4K/23.976

UHDTV 4096x2160 23.976

4K/24

UHDTV 4096x2160 24

4K/25

UHDTV 4096x2160 25

4K/29.97 non-drop

UHDTV 4096x2160 29.97 non-drop frame timecode

4K/29.97

UHDTV 4096x2160 29.97

4K/50

UHDTV 4096x2160 50

4K/59.94 non-drop

UHDTV 4096x2160 59.94 non-drop frame timecode

4K/59.94

UHDTV 4096x2160 59.94

UHD 2160p50

UHDTV 3840x2160

UHD 2160p59.94 non-drop

UHDTV 3840x2160 non-drop frame timecode

UHD 2160p59.94

UHDTV 3840x2160

UHD 4320p25

UHDTV TV 7680x4320

UHD 4320p29.97 non-drop

UHDTV TV 7680x4320 non-drop frame timecode

UHD 4320p29.97

UHDTV TV 7680x4320

UHD 4320p50

UHDTV TV 7680x4320

UHD 4320p59.94 non-drop

UHDTV TV 7680x4320 non-drop frame timecode

UHD 4320p59.94

UHDTV 7680x4320

Natively Supported Video Codecs

IMX

DV

MPEG-2

AVC-Intra / AVC-Ultra

XAVC Intra

Apple ProRes

Avid DNxHD/HR

H.264

HEVC
Note
 Please note that some of the video codecs listed here may require an additional purchase of a codec license, depending on the product version or bundle used. Contact the Cinegy Sales Team for details.

Export

Export to File

Adobe Flash (FLV)

Microsoft Video (AVI) – uses pre-installed DirectShow filters

MPEG (MPG)

MP4 Flash (MP4)

MXF Operational Pattern 1A (MXF)/AS-03

QuickTime (QT) – uses a pre-installed QT player

Real Media (RM)

SeaChange Export (SAF)

Sound Export (WAV)

Windows Media (WMV, WMA)

Export to EDL

Export to ALE

Export to XML

Export to XML (for Final Cut)

Export to Tape

DeckLink SDI

FireWire IEEE(1394) device

DVS SDI

AJA Kona Family

Export via Virtual VT

DVS SDI

Consolidate to Tape

DeckLink SDI

FireWire IEEE(1394) device

DVS SDI

AJA Kona Family

Consolidate via Virtual VT

DVS SDI

Export from Cinegy / Import to Avid

SD codecs

MXF DVSD 420/411 MXF DV25 411/411 MXF DV50 422 MXF IMX30 MXF IMX40 MXF IMX50 MXF Avid 15:1s

HD codecs

MXF DV100 MXF DNxHD 120/145 MXF DNxHD 185/220 MXF Avid 15:1s MXF XDCAM EX 35 Mbit MXF XDCAM HD 422 50 Mbit

*uses export job drop folder (Cinegy Convert)