ATEM Television Studio

The goods were delivered quickly and everything was fine. Many thanks

First things first: the ATEM switcher is a breakthrough. Never before has it been possible to do this kind of video switching at this price point. Although completely digital the ATEM feels like analog in its ease of configuration. Cameras pop up instantly the moment they're plugged in, and the device switches between them effortlessly without stutters or lag. There are three different versions of this device, and this one is the least expensive of the line. It lacks a few features the more expensive units have, including some of the fancier DVE effects that the others bring. But for my purposes (covering news events mostly) this device fits the bill. It can do basic chroma keying and titling but won't be able to run multiple tracks of video simultaneously. To really use it, however, you'll need some additional hardware. I had to purchase a Behringer SRC2496 24-Bit/96 kHz A/D-D/A & Sample Rate Converter in order to get audio working, along with a mixer that could output balanced audio to it (and extra $500 or so all-in). The reason is that this particular ATEM does not have analog audio inputs and can only accept audio in the digital AES/EBU format. I ended up buying a small "Rack case" and installed both the ATEM and SCR2496 into it. Pretty slick. I also needed to buy a small HDMI television to view the ATEM's cool multicamera operation screen. It simply would not work with a few LCD monitors I had kicking around using an HDMI to DVI adapter. You'll also need additional hardware to stream live from the device out to the Internet. Black magic makes an HDMI to thunderbolt adapter that I have my eyes on once some of the streaming services certify it as working (Livestream currently has that particular device in beta). But once all of that stuff was purchased the switcher worked flawlessly. I used a Canon HF100 and a Canon HF200 interfaced to the ATEM through their HDMI outputs. Audio from a wireless lavalier and stationary mic synced up well to the video and I was able to record an hour long presentation with multiple cameras to a recent Macbook Pro. I also connected a Macbook air via HDMI for grabbing an active screen as well as playing video. The switcher does not have enough memory to store much video footage so the Macbook air acts as my video playback deck. The output master dropped right into Final Cut X for a few last tweaks before I sent it off to YouTube. Really nice workflow. This particular model outputs an H.264 stream as either 1080i or 720p. Video quality looks great. If you want to do uncompressed video you'll need either to pull it in off the HDMI port, or purchase one of the other two ATEM models that feature a USB 3.0 connector for uncompressed recording. Note that the USB 3.0 feature will only work on Windows machines equipped with USB 3.0 capabilities. Wireless HDMI extenders should work well with this provided they can output a 1080i or 720p signal. I haven't experimented with that yet but I do have a Phillips model I'm going to play with. Blackmagic also makes a device that converts HDMI to fiber and back again that's reasonably priced for going longer distances. Bottom line: this is a no frills switcher that reminds me a lot of the old standard def one we have at our local cable station. But it's a no frills switcher that even with all of the extra stuff is still thousands of dollars less than anything else on the market. Configuration was far easier than expected and is literally plug and play. For less than $1500 you can take all of the stuff you already have and start your own multi-camera broadcast facility. Why not do it? **UPDATE 11/28/2012** Just one thing I wanted to update on this review. Blackmagic has released a significant firmware update that added the ability to pull audio in through the HDMI port. So now it's possible to forgo the analog to digital converter and run your mics directly through one of your cameras or anything else that can output audio through HDMI.

Ottimo prodotto per fare i montaggi video in diretta. Anche la spefizione è stata cellera. Una piccola pecca accettabile e che il mixer acetta solo i 1080i e non 1080p

This product is quite revolutionary. I remember back in my college days in the late 90s when broadcast switching required an entire room full of $25,000+ equipment. Now it fits into this slim device! And the HD quality is amazing! My church purchased this switcher mid-2013 after reading online reviews and youtube videos of the TV Studio. We only went with it because the alternatives were $5,000 and up! We are so glad we went with the TV Studio because not only was it a fraction of the cost, but it is very reliable! We used this device in two locations to broadcast worship sets for our church's ministry. We never put it in a rack but simply placed in on a desk and it worked fine. It was thrown around a bit and the aluminum construction held up fine. We had a few power surges and outages and the TV Studio powered right back up. We use Canon HF G20 and G30 camcorders via HDMI and HD-SDI cables into the TV Studio, then we have the Black Magic mini-Recorder via thunderbolt into our Mac, and then we broadcast live via Ustream. A few notes for newbies just exploring live broadcasting: - The TV Studio can only handle one format at a time. Right now we set it to 1080i/59.94 fps, which is the standard setting in most prosumer camcorders (i.e. Canon HF G20) and digital SLRs. - We'd highly recommend using camcorders over Digital SLRs when doing video broadcasting for live events that require zooming and moving subjects. Digital SLRs simply can't keep up. - The h.264 archive option via the usb cable produces really great quality for most purposes. We aren't a movie production company so we don't need all the 4-2-2 color saturation and we don't have time for post-production. So the h.264 is a great way to archive a local copy (in case Ustream or our internet connection goes down). - The TV Studio has an HDMI program output and two HD-SDI program outputs. All three can be used simultaneously. So you can broadcast to Ustream, to a projector, and to a TV! You will need HDMI-SDI converter devices (available via Blackmagic or Atomos). - The TV Studio is best controlled by plugging a network cable (CAT5E or CAT6) into a network hub and then plugging your computer into the network hub. That way your computer can get both internet (for videostreaming) and control the TV Studio switcher. *** ONE ADDITIONAL NOTE *** If you read old reviews, people say that the TV Studio does not have the ability to pull audio in without the Behringer SRC2496. But that changed in mid-2012 when a firmware update enabled the TV Studio to pull audio in through the HDMI or HD-SDI cable. So what we do is take the audio of a live band from the mixer board and feed it into the camcorder using an XLR to 1/8-inch ministereo cable. We set the camcorder to "manual mic" mode and set the level to 25% (this step is very important). Then we pull the audio in from the camcorder to the ATEM TV Studio via an HDMI cable. Works perfectly. If you have a buzz in the audio, try the Ebtek Hum Remover!

Purtroppo dopo un'ora di funzionamento si e' guastato, in questo lasso di tempo non ho potuto giudicare. MI e' dispiaciuto ma ho dovuto renderlo.