Support

Raptor software subscriptions

Here’s a PDF document to download for information about Raptor software subscriptions and the computers you might use.

Download this HTML page for Raptor64 prerequisites and instructions to set up your computer for a Raptor software subscription.

The Raptor update server contains all current and older Raptor updates.

Raptor64 update v2026.11

Release highlights

  • NOTE: Raptor updates now distributed in a single-EXE setup program (the current update is called Setup_Raptor64_v2026.11.exe) to ease installation of updates.
  • New: Independent recording! An SDI input that isn’t in use can now record on its own, in its own video window, separately from Raptor’s main recording, so a second unit on the same stage (shooting inserts or close-ups, for example) can roll and cut whenever it needs to without putting Raptor in Dual mode. Choose “SDI #n – enable independent recording mode” from the “Ins” menu, and that input opens in its own window with its own “Record”, “In”, “Out”, and “Book” buttons, and using its own SDI output. When you stop recording, a “Save independent recording” window proposes a name made from the current scene and take plus that input’s camera letter, ready to edit, and the saved recording shares a sourcelist row with the main takes of the same scene and take, so they cue together. Each input keeps its own format, camera letter, and picture settings for independent recording. Not available in Dual mode.
  • Improved the layout on smaller monitors and in Dual mode: two or three video windows now get more room, independent playback windows switch to a compact row of buttons instead of overlapping each other, and the VFX plate’s buttons are no longer cut off.
  • Fixed problem where VFX controls were inaccessible.
  • Opening or closing an independent playback window, or cueing another file in one, no longer disturbs the main windows or Raptor Monitors: paused main video windows no longer stay black, and Raptor Monitors no longer flash and reconnect, lose their channel names, or stop new viewers from connecting.
  • Clicking “In”, “Out”, “Pause”, or “Book” on a frame that already has a bookmark now adds to that bookmark instead of losing one of the two. For example, “In” on a pause bookmark now gives a single bookmark that pauses and is also the in point.
  • The sourcelist now keeps its place when it refreshes itself, for example when an independent window opens or closes, instead of jumping to the top, and keeps your newest clips in view if they were showing.
  • If a USB audio input is connected but Windows won’t let Raptor use it, Raptor now explains why at startup and how to fix it (a Windows microphone privacy setting is off, or another program is using the input), instead of silently leaving the input off the “Ins” menu.
  • If an audio device such as a Mackie Onyx is unplugged while Raptor is running, the status bar now names it in red (“Onyx lost: reconnect, press Live”) instead of asking you to restart Raptor. Plug it back in and press “Live” to get audio back.
  • Fixed Raptor restarting itself when VFX was turned on, or the number of active inputs was changed, while an independent playback window was open.
  • Fixed a hang that could happen when the VFX file’s camera letter was set to a letter an input was already using.
  • If the sourcelist’s “Play file on SDI #n” can’t play a file, Raptor now says so and returns that channel to normal use, instead of leaving it half set up.
  • The “Help” menu now shows when your copy of Raptor was built, just under the version number.
  • General performance and stability enhancements
  • For more details on these and other enhancements, please see the complete list of changes available here.

Notes

  • This update is for installation only on Raptor software subscriptions, On-Set Monitor, Raptor Quad 2 and Dual 2 decks.
  • This is a complete release, so it can be installed over any other Raptor version.
  • (Software subscriptions) Blackmagic Desktop Video v15.3 is supported in this release for software subscriptions. You may download the “Windows x86” driver from the Blackmagic website and install it on your computer.

Download update ZIP file, copy setup program inside to a flash drive

  • Click this link (Setup_Raptor64_v2026.11.zip) to download the update file.
  • (Quad 2, Dual 2 decks) Ensure deck is powered by a UPS (uninterruptable power supply) before performing an update.
    • (Quad 2, Dual 2 decks) If deck power is lost during the update process, deck could require repair at our office. Do not update firmware while in the middle of a job!
  • Open the downloaded ZIP file, and copy the setup file inside to your freshly-formatted flash drive, and eject drive from your computer.
  • After trashing or ejecting the USB drive from your computer, please don’t remove drive until the activity light on the USB drive stops blinking.
  • (Software subscriptions) Note that you may need to click “More info” and “Run anyway” to run our installer.

Run Setup_Raptor64_v2026.11.exe

  • With the computer or Raptor deck running, plug in the USB flash drive.
  • If this is a subscription computer with external SDI I/O, power on the SDI I/O devices and attach them to the computer.
  • If you own a Stream deck XL, plug it into the computer, so our profile can be correctly loaded.
  • Launch Windows Explorer on the flash drive by pressing <Windows key> + “e”, then clicking the new drive letter representing your flash drive, probably “D:” or “E:” or “F:”, on the left side of the window.
  • Double-click on the Setup application, whose icon is a blue triangle on a gray square. Raptor decks will restart, but subscription computers generally will not.
    • Do not interrupt Raptor decks during this restart.
  • After installing an update, if Stream deck control is available on the computer, a checkbox will be presented to copy the Raptor stream deck profile to the computer. You only need to install this once, if you want our profile (button layout) for your Stream deck XL.
  • Subscription computers will also offer a checkbox that pauses Windows Update, to reduce the chance of your computer getting updates when you’re not ready for them.
  • To verify that the update completed, please check that the title bar (at the top of the Raptor application) reports the updated version number, then remove the flash drive.

Raptor64 software subscription information

Recent Raptor64 changes

  • New: “Wipe” VFX mode! Choose “Wipe” in the VFX tab’s mode list, and a single slider wipes the background plate on over the live video, left to right, right to left, top to bottom, or bottom to top. Check “Live video on top” to wipe the live video on over the plate instead. Like Mixing, Wipe works in Live and Record, the wipe stays inside any crops you’ve set, clicking the “Wipe” label re-centers the slider, and the wipe position, direction, and layer order are saved with your other VFX settings and presets. Wiping has always been possible with the mixer settings, but now it’s far easier with these dedicated controls.
  • New: Streaming standby! Two new buttons on the “Streaming” tab (Standby clients, and Standby all) temporarily hide streams from Raptor Monitors, then clicking “Normal” brings them back without anyone touching the devices. “Standby all” affects every Raptor Monitor at once, while “Standby clients” affects only the devices you’ve checked in the new “Client” column of the “Manage Raptor Monitors” window. A device on standby shows a “Stand by for picture” screen with a live clock, and its picture comes back on its own a few seconds after you press Normal. While a standby is on, the Streaming tab’s label reads STANDBY ALL or STANDBY CLIENTS so you can see it from anywhere in the interface. Raptor Monitor v2026.10.2 or later required to support this feature. Devices running an older Raptor Monitor version will be disconnected when standby is engaged, and must be manually reconnected after standby is disabled.
  • Raptor Monitors that connect before you’ve authorized them, or that you de-authorize while they’re watching, now see a “Waiting to be authorized to view streams” screen that shows the device’s IP address and the current time. Their streams start automatically as soon as you authorize them (Raptor Monitor v2026.10.2 or later required).
  • Fixed the selected VFX mode (Mixing, a keying mode, or Wipe) reverting to “Single layer” after a Raptor session in which VFX wasn’t turned on.
  • Fixed a problem that caused Raptor Monitors to flash black at seemingly random times.
  • Redesigned the “Manage Raptor Monitors” window, extending authorized-device limit to 50 devices, and easing management of un-authorized devices to prevent them from filling the list. Device shows new “WAITING for authorization” status, if it’s waiting for you to authorize it.
  • The VFX plate window’s playback buttons no longer run off the right-hand edge on some screens.
  • You can remove a single favorite by ctrl+clicking it in the Favorites menu, instead of finding the clip in the sourcelist.
  • Fixed a problem that could prevent some Raptor Monitors from automatically being added to the list of authorized users. This could have happened if the router handed out DHCP addresses whose last number was 25 or below, and if certain other addresses already existed in the list of authorized Raptor Monitors.
  • The main playback area’s “Linked” checkbox is now enabled only while there is an independent playback window or the plate while VFX plate mode is in use to link with. It’s now unchecked when the last of those goes away.
  • Fixed playlist problem that sometimes prevented playlist edits from appearing on timeline until a sourcelist cue was cued, then a playlist clip was cued, again.
  • Fixed problem where “Backup or restore files and metadata” did not copy files, instead repeatedly reporting that “File doesn’t exist”.
  • New: “Linked” playback controls! A single play or seek button click can operate on main and/or independent and/or plate playback windows by just clicking “Linked” near the playback controls in at least two of those areas.
  • New: “Really fullscreen” big-video window modes available by pressing F11, clicking arrows next to timeline on a big video window mode, or clicking “View” / “Big video windows – really fullscreen” menu item while in a big video window mode. This causes title bar, main menu, and all buttons to be hidden, leaving only video windows and the main timeline. Hotkeys still work, and gray background elements now display as black.
  • New: “Add clips to favorites” and “Remove clip from favorites” items added to sourcelist right-click menu, so you can manage favorites list without having to cue anything.
  • Per-viewer streaming watermarks now available! Each Raptor Monitor viewer can now be assigned unique watermark text, which is shown on all it’s video streams. Watermark position, size, rotation, and opacity can be set with the “Configure watermarks” button on the “Streaming” tab. Raptor Monitor v2026.6 required to support this feature.
  • Raptor Monitor for Android now available on the Google Play store!
  • Fixed a problem in Raptor Monitor that caused a few frames of additional latency to be added to stream #1.
  • Raptor Monitor now automatically re-connects to Raptor after Wi-Fi goes away and reconnects.
  • (Subscriptions, Quad 2 and Dual 2 decks with i7-8700K CPU) Added 13 new Stream Deck buttons. Ten “Router Tab 1” through “Router Tab 10” buttons recall the first ten Videohub preset tabs, and display the currently selected Videohub preset in blue. Also, three more buttons toggle the Rehearsal, Pickup, and Print Take checkboxes, and also show a blue icon when the checkbox is checked and a gray icon when unchecked.
  • (Subscriptions, Quad 2 and Dual 2 decks with i7-8700K CPU) Added Elgato Stream Deck support, including pre-built profile for 32-button Stream deck XL. Stream Deck buttons respond to the current status of the Raptor, so they show gray icons when Raptor is not running or when a button is not applicable to the current state (e.g., Play grays out while recording).

Updates for older decks

The final updates for older decks can be found by clicking the links below, choosing the file you want, then clicking the “Download” button.

Raptor updates are always available on the Raptor update server or on the “Support” tab on the RaptorDDR.com website

Wi-Fi equipment notes

Ubiquiti UniFi Wi-Fi 7 or 6 access points and UniFi UCG-Ultra

This is our favorite on-set Wi-Fi solution for 2026.

If your idea of the perfect Wi-Fi setup includes one or more access points mounted on stands positioned around the set, then you will like this Ubiquiti UniFi system. UniFi offers Wi-Fi 7 and Wi-Fi 6 access points, which are managed by the UniFi Cloud Gateway (UCG-Ultra), and powered by PoE (power over Ethernet) injectors.
This setup allows your access point(s) to be positioned right by the Director, Script Supervisor, or other clients who need your Wi-Fi. Since they’re powered by PoE in your cart, each access point requires only a single Ethernet cable back to your cart.
This UniFi network is managed by the UniFi app on your phone or tablet.
As with the Alien routers, multiple UniFi access points can be configured to work together in your Wi-Fi network, and they support a wired backhaul for maximum performance.

➡️ Click here to download our setup instructions for a Ubiquiti UniFi UCG-Ultra and UniFi Wi-Fi 7 or 6 access points.

Ubiquiti AmpliFi Alien router

If you want Wi-Fi gear for Video Assist streaming that offers Wi-Fi 6, performs well, is easy to configure and use, and comes in a single piece, the Ubiquiti AmpliFi Alien router might be a great choice. Unfortunately, it runs from AC power, and you can’t disable the Wi-Fi on the unit at your cart, if you only want Wi-Fi out at the director’s cart.
It powers on in about 60 seconds, and has an LCD front panel showing a progress bar as it’s starting.  It includes 4 gigabit Ethernet ports on it’s back for attaching wired Ethernet devices, like your Raptor and Videohub.  Its initial setup and on-set monitoring are done from an app on your iPhone, iPad or Android phone or Android tablet.
The Alien router is a good choice if you want an “all-in-one” device that will live on your cart, and you have room on top of your cart for something 10″ tall and about 4.5″ across that looks like a swollen Pringles can.  It’s internal antennas are built into the top of the router, so works best sitting somewhere up high.  It’s powered by 120V AC, has an internal power supply, and comes with a removable 2-pin AC power cord like a Mac Mini.
If you need to cover more space, multiple Alien routers can be used together in a single network.  It also supports a wired backhaul for maximum performance.

➡️Click here to download our setup instructions for an Alien router.

Ubiquiti UniFi Wi-Fi 6 access points, UniFi cloud key, and EdgeRouter-X router

This is still a good on-set Wi-Fi solution, but the EdgeRouter-X is a little difficult to deal with. If you’re setting up a new system, use the UCG in the first instructions above, rather than this solution.

If your idea of the perfect Wi-Fi 6 setup includes access points mounted on stands positioned around the set, then you might prefer UniFi Wi-Fi 6 access points managed by a UniFi cloud key, and powered by PoE (power over Ethernet) injectors.  This setup also requires an EdgeRouter-X router, and could require a gigabit Ethernet switch.
This setup requires more gear in your cart — the cloud key, PoE injectors, router, and switch will live in your cart — but the access points can be positioned right by the Director, Script Supervisor, or other people who need the Wi-Fi signal.  Since they’re powered by PoE in your cart, each access point requires only a single Ethernet cable back to your cart.
A UniFi network like this isn’t as easy to setup or manage as a network based on an Alien router.  You’d manage the Access Points through the Cloud Key from a mobile browser, and if you need to manage the EdgeRouter-X, that’s also done from a mobile browser.
As with the Alien routers, multiple UniFi access points can be configured to work together in a single network, and they support a wired backhaul for maximum performance.

➡️ Click here to download our setup instructions for a Ubiquiti UniFi Wi-Fi 6 access points, UniFi cloud key, and EdgeRouter-X router.

Ruckus R710 and EdgeRouter-X

NOTE: We no longer recommend the use of the Ruckus R710 AP, as it is no longer competitive with many other Wi-Fi access points. Before finding the Ubiquiti Wi-Fi 6 products, we liked the Ruckus R710 access point and EdgeRouter-X as a Wi-Fi (not Wi-Fi 6) solution for streaming.  We believe that either of the previous Wi-Fi 6 solutions are better than using the Ruckus R710.
Click here to download our setup instructions for the Ruckus R710 and EdgeRouter-X.

➡️Click here to download our setup instructions for the Ruckus R710 and EdgeRouter-X.

FAQ


• How do I control a Videohub with my Raptor?

With the Smart Videohub series (the ones with AC power and a LCD monitor on the front panel), Blackmagic changed the way they’re controlled.  These Smart Videohubs can only be controlled over a LAN connection — the USB connection is there only for firmware updates.

Hook your deck and Smart Videohub together with a gigabit router (our suggested method), or by just plugging a LAN cable between them (if you have nothing else to connect to a LAN), and give them both time to get up and running.

Look in the “Info” panel at the bottom left corner of the Raptor’s GUI, and note it’s IP address.

Using it’s front panel, assign the Smart Videohub an IP address where the first three octets (first three numbers with dots between them  — like 192.168.1, or 169.254.200) match the IP address of your deck.  Then just pick any number between 10 and 250 for the last octet that’s different from what your deck has (I’d suggest using something between 200 and 250).

The subnet mask should remain “255.255.255.0”, and the gateway IP address doesn’t matter.

After doing that, I would power cycle the entire cart a few times, to ensure the deck controls the Smart Videohub each time it comes up.


• Raptor networking and streaming

For streaming to work, a Raptor must be hooked up (via wired ethernet) to a WiFi Access Point or WiFi router.

A DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server assigns IP addresses to all the devices on a network. By using DHCP, you’re able to easily ensure that your TCP/IP addresses will not conflict, and that all of your devices will be able to talk to each other.

NOTE: there can be only one DHCP server on any network.

Raptors, iPads, and most other networking devices support DHCP.  However, Videohubs can’t get their IP address from a DHCP server, so they must have an IP address assigned manually to work on a network.  For video assist needs, the big difference between a router and a switch or hub is that a router has a DHCP server in it.  A Ruckus R710 access point can also be configured to enable it’s internal DHCP server.

If you need to hook two of your carts together making a single network for file sharing, you must ensure there’s only one DHCP server (router) on the entire network.  If each cart has it’s own gigabit router, you should replace one of the routers with a gigabit switch.


• External drive formats

If you need to use an external disk on both a Mac and a Raptor, all Quad and Dual decks come with MacDrive software so they can read and write (non-RAID) HFS+ disks. Older, single-channel decks would need to use exFAT (which isn’t as robust as HFS+).

Also, if a drive isn’t being recognized, try plugging it into both the blue USB3 ports and the non-blue USB2 ports, and be sure to use the drive’s power supply, if it came with one.

If a disk will only be used with Raptors or other Windows devices, NTFS is a great drive format.

NOTE: APFS (Apple File System) is currently not recognized by any operating system other than MacOS, so Raptors cannot read APFS disks.


• Raptors and external drives

When a Raptor looks for files to add to the sourcelist, it first looks on the internal disk (in the E:\RXVideo folder), then it looks in the RXVideo folder on any USB-attached hard drives.  If it finds clips only on an external drive, it shows the camera ID for that clip as a lowercase letter, indicating that it will be played from an external disk.

If you’ve used “File” / “Backup or restore deck” to back up all of your files to a USB hard drive, and then deleted the original files from the internal disk, the deck will find and play your backup files directly from the USB hard drive, with all of the bookmarks, ins and outs, and other metadata.

So, you could back up a few files (or all the files) from the internal disk, disconnect the USB hard drive (so the files on the USB drive can’t possibly be deleted), and click “File” / “Delete all clips from this deck” to clear everything off the internal disk, to give yourself lots of room.

Before you delete any files, however, you should triple-check that you see an asterisk (*) in the “B” column on all of your files in your sourcelist.  That “*” indicates that a file is backed up.

Plus, I’d do a test delete of a few files, just to make sure there are no problems playing the files from the USB hard drive.  And, it’s smart to back up all of the files to a second USB hard drive before deleting any originals from the deck.
Get backup disks large enough to hold everything you expect to need.  Drives are always getting bigger and cheaper, but right now, there are 8TB and 10TB USB hard drives for a few hundred dollars.

If you get a WD external hard drive that works with their “Drive utilities” software, you can install it onto another computer, and use “Drive Utilities” to set the drive to never go to sleep.  That’s very important!  If your external drive goes to sleep, there will be a delay of a few seconds every time you try to play anything from the drive.

This same mechanism lets you back up all of the files on one deck, then move the USB hard drive to another deck, and have instant access to all of those files.

Tech notes

Raptor Quad, Dual, 3D and HD+

Raptor HDx

Raptor X and Raptor 50