Compatibility
Will EndoMac Pro work with my endoscopy tower?
Almost certainly, if your processor has a video output you can reach. EndoMac doesn't replace your tower and doesn't talk to the processor: it reads the image the processor already sends to the monitor, through a USB capture card. This page explains how to check your own equipment before you call us.
What we have tested, and what we haven't. EndoMac Pro is in daily clinical use on an Olympus CV-190. Every other processor listed here is compatible by specification — it produces a standard video signal that a capture card can read — but we have not run it ourselves. We confirm your exact model on the call, before anyone buys anything.
How the image gets from your tower to the Mac
The signal chain has three links and no software in the middle:
- The processor sends the live image to your monitor and, at the same time, out of a second video output (HDMI, DVI-D, SDI or an analog one).
- A USB capture card turns that video signal into something a computer can read. It is a small box, roughly the price of a good cable, and it needs no drivers on macOS.
- The Mac sees the capture card as an ordinary camera. EndoMac reads it, keeps the sharpest frame when you press capture, and writes every image to disk as it arrives.
Nothing is added to the tower and nothing is modified inside it. If you unplug the capture card, the room goes back to exactly how it was.
Which video output does my processor have?
Look at the back panel of the processor, not the light source. Most endoscopy processors of the last fifteen years have at least one digital output, and many have several at once so they can feed a monitor and a recorder.
| Processor | Digital output usually available | What you need | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Olympus CV-190 / CV-190 Plus | DVI-D, HD-SDI | DVI→HDMI cable, or an SDI→HDMI converter, into the capture card | Tested |
| Olympus CV-170 / CV-180 | DVI-D, plus analog outputs | DVI→HDMI cable into the capture card | By specification |
| Olympus EVIS X1 (CV-1500) | DVI-D, SDI | DVI→HDMI cable, or an SDI→HDMI converter | By specification |
| Pentax EPK-i series (EPK-i5010, EPK-i7010) | DVI-D, HD-SDI | DVI→HDMI cable, or an SDI→HDMI converter | By specification |
| Fujifilm VP-4450HD | DVI-D, HD-SDI | DVI→HDMI cable, or an SDI→HDMI converter | By specification |
| Fujifilm ELUXEO (VP-7000) | DVI-D, SDI | DVI→HDMI cable, or an SDI→HDMI converter | By specification |
| Older processor, analog only (S-Video, composite, RGB) | S-Video / composite / RGB | An analog capture card, or an analog→HDMI converter first. Image quality is limited by the signal, not by EndoMac. | Case by case |
If your processor is not on this list, that is not a problem — the list is short because these are the models we are asked about, not because the others are excluded. The question is always the same: does it have a video output, and what shape is the connector?
Which capture card do I need?
A USB video capture card that macOS recognises as a standard camera, with no driver to install. We use a UGREEN CM630 (HDMI to USB-C) day to day; equivalent cards from other makers work the same way. What matters is:
- UVC class (USB Video Class). This is the reason it needs no drivers: macOS already knows how to talk to it.
- 1080p at 60 fps, or 1080p at 30 fps at minimum. Frame rate is what makes sharpest-frame selection worth anything.
- HDMI input, because every other connector converts to HDMI cheaply and reliably.
- A USB-C connection straight into the Mac. Avoid running it through an unpowered hub shared with other devices.
We do not sell hardware and we earn nothing on the card. If you already have one, we will try yours first.
Connector by connector
HDMI
The simplest case: one cable from the processor's HDMI output to the capture card. Nothing to convert.
DVI-D
The most common case on endoscopy processors. A passive DVI-D to HDMI cable is enough: the two carry the same digital signal, so this is a change of connector, not of format. DVI carries no audio, which does not matter here.
SDI / HD-SDI (BNC)
A round screw-on connector, common on processors meant for an operating room. It needs a powered SDI-to-HDMI converter, a small box costing less than the capture card. SDI is the best signal on the list: it runs long distances over a single cable without degrading.
S-Video, composite, RGB
Analog outputs on older towers. They work, through an analog capture card or an analog-to-HDMI converter, but the image you archive will be standard definition, because that is all the processor is sending. If the tower has a digital output as well, always use it instead.
Things worth checking before the call
- Is the output already in use? If a recorder or a second monitor is on it, you need either a free output or an HDMI splitter. Most processors have more than one.
- Where will the Mac sit? HDMI over long runs gets unreliable past about 10 metres. SDI does not have that problem, and a short HDMI run to a Mac mini on the tower cart solves it either way.
- Does the processor overlay patient data on the output? Many do. Anything burned into the image is captured with it, so it is worth deciding what the processor should display.
- The Mac. Apple Silicon and macOS 15 Sequoia or later. A Mac mini is the usual choice for a procedure room.
Questions we get about equipment
Do I have to change my tower?
No. EndoMac reads the video output your processor already has. The tower, the scopes and the light source stay exactly as they are.
Does EndoMac control the processor?
No, and that is deliberate. It only receives video. It cannot change a setting on the tower, which means it cannot interfere with a procedure.
Is my processor's model supported?
If it has a video output, almost certainly. We have tested the Olympus CV-190 in daily use; the rest are compatible by specification and we confirm your model on the call before anything is bought.
What resolution do the images come out at?
Whatever your processor sends, up to 1080p. A digital output gives you HD; an analog one gives you standard definition. EndoMac cannot add detail the signal does not carry.
Can I keep recording with my current recorder?
Yes, if the processor has a spare output or you use a splitter. EndoMac does not take the signal away from anything else.
Does it work on an Intel Mac?
No. EndoMac Pro requires Apple Silicon and macOS 15 Sequoia or later.
Tell us your processor model and we'll check it
A 20-minute call. We look at the back of your tower, work out the cable and the capture card, and show you capture, recovery and reports.
Request a demo Or send us a photo of the back panel on WhatsApp