Installation and Operation Manual

ATEM Mini

February 2021

English, 日本語, Français, Deutsch, Español, 中文,

한국어, Русский, Italiano, Português and Türkçe.
Languages
To go directly to your preferred language, simply click on the hyperlinks listed in the
contents below.

English 3

日本語 185

Français 368

Deutsch 551

Español 734

中文 917

한국어 1100

Русский 1283

Italiano 1466

Português 1649

Türkçe 1832
 English

Welcome
Thank you for purchasing ATEM Mini for your live production streaming!

If you’re new to live production switchers, then you’re about to become involved in the most
exciting part of the broadcast industry and that’s live production! There is nothing like live
production and it’s so easy to become addicted to the adrenaline rush of editing in real time while
the live event unfolds before your eyes.

ATEM Mini is a small live production switcher that automatically converts 720p and 1080p HD video
and connects it directly to your computer via USB. The computer sees your ATEM Mini as a webcam
so it can be streamed online using your favorite online streaming application like YouTube or
OBS Studio.

ATEM Mini switchers use the same internal video processing used in the largest ATEM switchers,
so even though the unit is small and portable, you get the same amazing level of control and
professional features so it is very powerful. You can use the high quality buttons on the built in
control panel, or launch ATEM Software Control and perform more complex switching. For example,
you can manage all your graphics, set up keyers, record and run macros, and even mix and
enhance your audio using a full audio mixer with faders and advanced EQ and dynamics controls.

ATEM Mini lets you start small, then expand your ATEM workflow as your projects grow. There really
is no limit to what you can do! We hope you get years of use from ATEM Mini and have lots of fun
with your live production!

This instruction manual should contain all the information you’ll need for installing your
ATEM Mini and getting started.

Please check the support page on our web site at www.blackmagicdesign.com for the latest
version of the ATEM software. When downloading software, please register with your information
so we can keep you updated when new software is released. We are constantly working on new
features and improvements, so we would love to hear from you!

Grant Petty
CEO Blackmagic Design
Contents
Getting Started  6 Switching Modes  38
Plugging in Power  6 Using ATEM Software Control  40
Plugging in Video Sources  7 Media Manager  41
Plugging in a Monitor and Testing Inputs  7 Audio Mixer  41
Connect a Microphone  8 Camera Control  42
Cut Transitions  9 Using the Software Control Panel  42
Connecting to Skype or Zoom  10 Processing Palettes  46
Setting the Webcam Source  10 Media Player Tab  47
Switching your Production  12 Output Tab  48
Using Cuts and Transitions  12 Recording ISO Files  51
Switching Sources using a Cut  12 Preparing Media for Recording  57
Switching Sources using an Auto Preparing Media on a Computer  57
Transition  12
Timecode Generator  59
Transition Styles and DVEs  13
Using the Audio Mixer  60
Controlling Audio  14
Shaping your Audio Mix using
Using Picture in Picture  15 Advanced Fairlight Controls  62
Using the Upstream Keyer  16 Using the 6 Band Parametric Equalizer  63
Fade to Black  17 Fairlight Controls Workflow Guide  69
Using a Still Graphic  17 Using the Media Page  69
Additional Features on ATEM Navigating the Browse Window  70
Mini Pro and ATEM Mini Extreme   19
ATEM Media Pool  71
Stream Buttons  19
Image File Types  72
Recording using the Record Buttons  20
Creating a TGA File with
Setting the HDMI Output using an Alpha Channel  72
the Video Out Buttons  21
Using Camera Control  75
Direct Streaming via Ethernet  22
DaVinci Resolve Primary
Smartphone Tethering  26 Color Corrector  79
Additional Features on ATEM Using Macros  82
Mini Extreme  27
What is a Macro?  82
Connecting Headphones  28
The Macros Window in
Select Bus  28
ATEM Software Control  82
Camera Control  29
Changing Switcher Settings  88
Macros  31
Setting Audio Input and
Using SuperSource  31 Output Behavior  89
Using the Multiview  33 Multiview Settings  90
ATEM Software Control  38 Labels Settings  91

ATEM Mini 4
HyperDeck Settings  91 Network Connection  127
Setting the HDMI Output Source  92 Remote Administration  130
Saving and Restoring Internet Connection  130
Switcher Settings  92
Connection Status  132
Preference Settings  94
Connecting to ATEM Mini Pro or
ATEM Mini Setup Settings  96 ATEM Mini Extreme  132
Updating your ATEM Mini  97 Remote ATEM Mini Pro  134
Configure Page  97 Broadcast Video Reference  135
Setting up Open Broadcaster  98 Factory Reset  135
Using Adobe Photoshop with ATEM  100 HyperDeck Control  136
Using Multiple Control Panels  101 Introducing HyperDeck Control   136
Connecting to a Network  103 Controlling HyperDecks with
Using DHCP and Fixed IP Addresses  103 ATEM Software Control  138

Manually Setting a Fixed IP Address  104 Controlling HyperDecks with

External Hardware Panels  139
Changing ATEM Mini Network
Settings  105 HyperDeck Setup with
ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel  140
Changing the Hardware Panel
Network Settings   106 Controlling HyperDecks with
ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel  142
Setting the Switcher’s IP
Location on the Panel  107 Connecting ATEM 1 M/E
Advanced Panel  143
ATEM Software Control
via the Network  108 Using ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel  144
Connecting to an Internet Router  109 Performing Transitions using
Getting a Stream Key  110 ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel  150

Keying using ATEM Mini  111 Recording Macros using

ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel  161
Understanding Keying   111
Using ATEM Camera Control Panel  163
Luma Key   111
Changing Network Settings  165
Linear Key  112
Camera Control Panel Layout  167
Pre multiplied Key  112
Controlling Cameras  171
Performing an Upstream
Luma/Linear Key  113 Using Audio  178

Chroma Key  115 Connecting other Audio Sources  178

Performing a Chroma Key  116 Using Embedded

HDMI Audio Sources  178
Pattern Key  119
Using a Third Party Audio Mixer
DVE Key  121
Control Surface  179
Performing Upstream
Help 
181
Keyer Transitions  124
Regulatory Notices  182
Creating Video Links with
ATEM Streaming Bridge  126 Safety Information  183
Direct Connection  126 Warranty 
184

ATEM Mini 5
Getting Started
At first glance ATEM Mini might seem intimidating with all the connectors and buttons, however
the unit is actually very easy to set up and use. Each feature serves a specific function and it
won’t take long to get familiar with ATEM Mini and know exactly what each feature does.
This section of the manual will show you how to get started with your ATEM Mini, including how
to connect power, connect an HDMI video source, connect a microphone and plug into your
computer so you can start broadcasting online.

Plugging in Power
The first step to getting started is to plug in the mains power supply using the supplied power
adapter. If your power supply has a locking ring, secure the connection to ATEM Mini by
tightening the connector to the unit. This locks the power cable to ATEM Mini preventing it from
being accidentally removed.

1 2

Connect power to ATEM Mini’s power Secure the connector to ATEM Mini by
input using the supplied cable tightening the connector screw

TIP  It’s important to note that the power supplies for ATEM Mini are different as the
ATEM Mini Pro and Extreme models use a little more power so its power supply can
provide more current. However they are both 12 volts. So this means it’s important to
use the power adapter supplied with each unit. If you have different models of ATEM
Mini then it might be a good idea to label each power adapter so you know which
adapter is for each unit.

Getting Started 6
Plugging in Video Sources
Plug your HDMI cameras and other HDMI sources into ATEM Mini’s HDMI inputs. The first input
you plug in will set the video format, so if the first video source you plug in is 1080p50, all other
inputs will automatically be converted to 1080p50.

Plug HDMI sources into ATEM Mini’s four HDMI inputs

Switch between your sources by selecting the large numbered buttons on the unit.

Plugging in a Monitor and Testing Inputs

With your video sources connected, you can now plug an HDMI television into ATEM Mini’s
HDMI output and check all the inputs are working. This is also a good opportunity to check
sources and see if your shots are smoothly switching between each other.

Plug an HDMI television or monitor into ATEM Mini’s HDMI output so you can
monitor your program output and check all your sources are working properly

TIP  ATEM Mini Pro and Extreme models have a powerful multiview feature that lets
you see all your inputs, plus program and preview outputs simultaneously on one
screen. For more information, refer to the ‘Using the Multiview’ section.

Getting Started 7
To check your sources, simply press the numbered video out buttons on ATEM Mini’s control
panel and watch the HDMI television. If your sources are working correctly, you should see
them switch between each other. On ATEM Mini Extreme models, the video out buttons select
the source for the second HDMI output.

Connect a Microphone
When broadcasting a PowerPoint presentation or a Kickstarter video, you might want to use a
microphone so your voice can be heard loud and clear. Plug a microphone, for example a small
wireless collar microphone, into one of the 3.5mm audio inputs.
If you are broadcasting an interview, plug the second microphone into the second 3.5mm
audio input. You can even plug a music player into one of the audio inputs and mix it into
your production.

Connect microphones to ATEM Mini’s mic inputs

To add the microphone to your audio mix, press the ‘on’ button. This switches the mic input on
air until you press ‘off’. The button will illuminate red when on air.

Getting Started 8
Cut Transitions
Now that you have your cameras and microphone connected, ATEM Mini is ready to start
switching your production. This happens when you switch from one video source in your
broadcast to another. A source can be any HDMI video signal connected to the HDMI inputs. It
can also be a still graphic, a keyer, or any internal source like a color generator, color
bars, or black.
In the demonstration below ATEM Mini will cut from input 1 to input 2.

To perform a cut:
1 Input 1 is illuminated red to indicate input 1 is currently live on air.
2 Select a ‘cut’ by pressing the ‘cut’ button. Pressing ‘cut’ tells ATEM Mini you want to use
a straight cut instead of an auto transition.
3 Now press the input 2 button.

Input 1 will now immediately switch to input 2 and you will see input 2 illuminated red, which
means input 2 is now live on air. This is known as a cut as you are ‘cutting’ directly from one
source to another.

Getting Started 9
Connecting to Skype or Zoom
Plug ATEM Mini’s webcam output into your computer’s USB input. Your computer will recognize
ATEM Mini as a webcam and you can select it as the webcam source in your streaming
program, such as Skype, Zoom or OBS Studio.

Plug your computer into ATEM Mini’s webcam out USB-C connector

Setting the Webcam Source

In most cases, your streaming software will automatically set ATEM Mini as the webcam, so
when you launch your streaming software you will see the picture from your ATEM Mini straight
away. If your software doesn’t select ATEM Mini, simply set the software to use ATEM Mini as
the webcam and microphone.

Setting the Webcam on Skype

1 2

Click on the profile picture and select ‘settings’. Select ‘audio & video’ from the sidebar

3 4

Click on the ‘camera’ menu and select Now go to the ‘microphone’ menu and select
Blackmagic Design from the list. You will see Blackmagic Design as your audio source.
the video from ATEM Mini appear in the preview
window.

Getting Started 10
With your Skype settings set correctly, perhaps try out a Skype call with a friend as a quick test
to check your broadcast setup is working.

Setting the Webcam on Zoom

1 2

Before joining a meeting, click your profile Click the ‘video’ tab and select
picture and select settings. Blackmagic Design from the list. The video from
ATEM Mini will appear in the preview window.

Now click the ‘audio’ tab and select

Blackmagic Design as the microphone.

With your ATEM Mini now set as your webcam you are now ready to broadcast your video to the
world live!

TIP  ATEM Mini Pro and Extreme models can also directly stream via Ethernet to any
streaming platform including YouTube and Twitch. This means you can stream to
YouTube while simultaneously recording your program to a flash disk via the USB-C
connection. For more information on direct streaming, see the ‘Direct Streaming and
Switcher Control via Ethernet’ section later in this manual.

Getting Started 11
Switching your Production
With ATEM Mini, you can switch cleanly using professional cuts or transitions. For example, a cut
will instantly change from one source to another and a transition will change sources over a
defined duration often using an effect. For more information, refer to the ‘using cuts and
transitions’ section later in this manual.

Using Cuts and Transitions

When switching video sources, you can use a straight cut which will immediately change one
source to another, or a transition which gradually changes one source to another over a defined
duration. Transitions appear as an effect, for example a cross dissolve or mix, a dip to colour, or
even a stylized wipe and you have many styles to choose from.

Switching Sources using a Cut

In the demonstration below ATEM Mini will cut from input 1 to input 2.

To perform a cut:
1 Input 1 is illuminated red to indicate input 1 is currently live on air.
2 Select a ‘cut’ by pressing the ‘cut’ button. Pressing ‘cut’ tells ATEM Mini you want to use
a straight cut instead of an auto transition.
3 Now press the input 2 button.

Input 1 will now immediately switch to input 2 and you will see input 2 illuminated red, which
means input 2 is now live on air. This is known as a cut as you are ‘cutting’ directly from one
source to another.

Switching Sources using an Auto Transition

Transitions let you smoothly switch from one source to another over a defined duration. For
example, a mix transition gradually fades the current source into the next until the original
source is no longer visible. A wipe transition will move a line across the original source
revealing another effectively wiping across the image.
You can add a colored border, or make it soft so the edge is smooth and pleasing. You can
even use digital video effects or DVEs, such as a squeeze or push, to move the images as they
transition from one to the other.
In the demonstration below ATEM Mini will switch from input 1 to input 2 using a mix transition:

To perform a mix auto transition:

1 Press the ‘mix’ button to select a mix transition.

Switching your Production 12

 2 Now press a duration you want for the mix.

3 Press the ‘auto’ button to tell ATEM Mini you want to use an automated transition.
4 Press the input 2 button to perform the mix transition.

You will now see inputs 1 and 2 buttons illuminated red while the transition happens and your
broadcast changes to input 2. When the transition is complete, input 2 will be illuminated red to
indicate it is now live on air.

Transition Styles and DVEs

The buttons above the ‘auto’ button contain different transition styles, including a mix cross
dissolve and a dip to color.
You can also select horizontal and vertical wipe transitions by pressing their respective
transition style buttons. These also include DVE push and squeeze transitions.

Press the transition type button for the transition you want to use, for example a horizontal
or vertical wipe, push or squeeze DVE transition, and mix or dip transition

ATEM Mini Extreme models provide more transition types. Below is a table of the different
transition types you can select on the control panel.

DVE Push Horizontal DVE Squeeze Horizontal

DVE Push Vertical DVE Squeeze Vertical

Circle Wipe Box Wipe

Diagonal Wipe Diagonal Wipe

Vertical Wipe Horizontal Wipe

Mix Dip

Switching your Production 13

Controlling Audio
When setting up your production or during your broadcast, you will likely want to control audio
levels if the sound is too quiet or too loud.
When an audio level is too loud it will clip. Clipping means the audio has increased beyond the
maximum accepted level and when this happens it can distort and sound unpleasant.
Pressing the up and down arrow buttons for each input will increase or decrease the audio level
for the respective source. For example, if the presenter’s voice is too loud and risks clipping,
you can decrease the audio level by pressing the down button incrementally until the
level is safe.

ON OFF
Pressing the on or off buttons will let you permanently enable the audio from the
respective input source, or turn its audio off completely.

ON – When the input’s audio is set to ‘on’, the input audio will be heard permanently,
even if the source is not currently on air.
OFF – When the input’s audio is set to ‘off’, the source audio will never be heard even if
the source video is on air.

AFV
AFV stands for ‘audio follows video’ and will let the audio for a respective input be heard
whenever the source is switched on air.

To enable or disable AFV for each input, simply press its AFV button.

Switching your Production 14

 MUTE
Headphone controls include a mute button to silence all audio playback including
program audio. This is helpful if a presenter wants to mute program audio while speaking.
The button will illuminate red when selected.

RESET
Pressing the ‘reset’ button will restore the input audio level to its default position. This is
helpful if you want to cancel any adjustments or reference the original level before you
made changes.
On ATEM Mini Extreme, pressing the reset button for the headphone input will restore the
headphone level to its default setting.

Using Picture in Picture

Picture in picture superimposes a second source over your broadcast video source in a small
box you can position and customize. Input 1 is the default picture in picture source, so if you’re
broadcasting gameplay and want to superimpose your reactions, plug your camera into input 1
and it will appear in picture in picture.

Switching your Production 15

To enable picture in picture:
1 Make sure your video to be inside the box is plugged into HDMI input 1.
2 Plug your main video into one of the other HDMI inputs.
3 In the picture in picture buttons on control panel, press ‘on’.

You will now see the picture in picture box appear on the screen. To select a different position,
press any of the position buttons.
ATEM Mini Extreme models feature additional picture in picture configurations including a single
side box arrangement and the ability to superimpose two sources over the background. HDMI 1
and HDMI 2 are the default sources when dual picture in picture sources are enabled.

Using the Upstream Keyer

ATEM Mini’s upstream keyer is used to superimpose graphics or blend one video layer over
another using transparency. This means you can tell ATEM Mini to make an input source’s
background color invisible using the chroma keyer, or only use a specific section of a graphic
using a luma or linear key. Linear keys are great for visual effects, titles and lower third graphics.

Press the ‘key’ on or off buttons to switch the upstream keyer on and off air

TIP  ATEM Mini’s advanced chroma keyer is perfect for keying graphics from a
PowerPoint presentation. For example, you could have a series of graphics designed
to be keyed over a background and these can played out directly from a PowerPoint
sequence. All you need to do is make any invisible areas green, or any solid color that
isn’t used in your graphic, then set the chroma keyer to make that color transparent.
The images from your computer will be high quality over HDMI so will key very cleanly
and look fantastic.

Switching your Production 16

ATEM Mini Extreme features four upstream keyers. Use the ‘key 1’ on or off buttons to switch
upstream keyer 1 on or off air. To switch to other upstream keyers save them in a macro or use
ATEM Software control. For more information on macros, see the ‘Using Macros’ section later in
this manual.

Fade to Black
The fade to black button is an easy way to start and end live broadcasts. Fade to black
performs a mix to black which happens across all video layers at the same time. This means all
video inputs, stills and any upstream or downstream keyers that are visible in your broadcast.
When performing a fade to black, the master program audio will also fade out to silence.
Simply press the FTB button to perform the fade to black. The button will flash while enabled.

To fade up from black, simply press the FTB button again. This is a clean way of starting and
finishing a broadcast.

Using a Still Graphic

ATEM Mini and Mini Pro switchers’ ‘still’ button is another input source you can switch to in your
production. Press the ‘still’ button to switch a still loaded in the media player to air.
To take the graphic off air, simply switch to a different input source.
The ‘still’ button will switch a graphic loaded in ATEM Software Control’s media pool. ATEM
Software Control is an extremely powerful software control panel that opens a world of options
and lets you do a lot more with ATEM Mini.

Switching your Production 17

On ATEM Mini Extreme model switchers, use either of the two media player sources, for
example MP1 or MP2, to switch to a loaded still.

For more information on how to load stills into the media player, see the ‘using the media page’
section later in this manual.

Switching your Production 18

Additional Features on ATEM Mini Pro
and ATEM Mini Extreme
ATEM Mini Pro and Extreme model switchers have additional features that give you more
options for your broadcast and even more ability to control your production directly from the
unit without the need for a computer.
Dedicated buttons on the control panel let you switch sources to the HDMI output, start/stop
streaming and start/stop recording.

ATEM Mini Pro and Extreme model switchers provide more features so you have more
control from their built in control panels plus additional streaming options

You also have the choice of streaming via the webcam output or direct streaming via Ethernet.
At any time, you can record your broadcast to an external disk via USB-C and use the dedicated
record buttons on ATEM Mini Pro to start and stop recording.
One of the most exciting additional features is the multiview. This powerful feature displays a
multiview on the HDMI video output that shows a comprehensive overview of your production.
All HDMI input sources, the program and preview outputs, plus important recording, streaming
and audio status information is presented on one screen so you always know exactly what is
happening during your broadcast!
This section describes all the additional features and how to use them.

Stream Buttons
Streaming is built into all ATEM Mini Pro and Extreme model switchers, so you don’t need to use
any complicated software to get started. Just use the included ATEM Software Control to select
what streaming service you intend to use and then enter in the streaming key. Once you have
completed this setup, you can simply press On Air to go live! There is more information in the
live streaming section of this manual.

Additional Features on ATEM Mini Pro and ATEM Mini Extreme 19

 The stream buttons labeled ‘on air’ and ‘off’ let you start and stop streaming directly

When your broadcast has finished, all you need to do is press the ‘off’ stream button and your
stream is stopped. This means once you are set up and streaming, the switcher is completely
independent and you don’t need to go back to your computer to stop and close your stream.

TIP  After your streaming details are entered into the ‘output’ palette in ATEM Software
Control, your streaming setup is now stored in your ATEM Mini Pro or Extreme so you
can start streaming again immediately, even after a power cycle. This makes it easy to
stream a new broadcast without having to reset your streaming software every time.
On ATEM Mini Pro and ATEM Mini Extreme, it is actually easier and faster to stream via
Ethernet. This lets you stream immediately via any internet connection on a computer
or internet router, while simultaneously giving you the additional benefits of
ATEM Software Control over the same connection.
For information on setting up streaming and control via Ethernet, refer to ‘direct
streaming and switcher control via Ethernet’ later in this section.

Recording using the Record Buttons

ATEM Mini Pro and Extreme switchers let you record your stream via USB-C using an external
disk or flash drive. For example, you can connect a Blackmagic MultiDock 10G and record
directly to an SSD. When the disk indicator above your switcher’s record button illuminates
green, press the record button and you are now recording your broadcast to disk. To stop
recording, press the ‘stop’ button.
ATEM Software Control records your stream using H.264 compression with an optimized
compression ratio to provide high quality video without large file sizes.

Press the record button, marked ‘rec’, to record your broadcast

to an external drive or flash disk via USB-C

Additional Features on ATEM Mini Pro and ATEM Mini Extreme 20

Disk Status Indicator
The disk status LED indicator lets you know the status of the recording media. For example, the
indicator illuminates green if the current drive is formatted and ready to record and red while
recording.

Indicators include:
Green Formatted disk is detected and ready to record.

Red Disk is recording.

The record button will also indicate the performance of the drive. When the record button is
slowly flashing red, this indicates there is low disk space. When the record button flashes red
rapidly, the disk performance is poor causing skipped frames.

NOTE  To record to an external drive, you first need to format the disk.
Refer to the ‘preparing media for recording’ section for more information.

Setting the HDMI Output using the Video Out Buttons

The video out buttons on the right side of the switcher are used to switch sources to the HDMI
output on ATEM Mini Pro and HDMI out 1 on ATEM Mini Extreme. The default output source for
ATEM Mini Pro is the multiview and you can read more about this powerful feature later in this
section. ATEM Mini Extreme’s default output is program for output 1 and multiview for output 2.

Press the video out buttons to switch a source to the HDMI output

To change the HDMI output source, press any of the video out buttons. For example you can
select the HDMI inputs for isolated camera recordings, or select the program output or
multiview. Compared to ATEM Mini, having the buttons built into ATEM Mini Pro and Extreme
means you can change the HDMI output directly from the unit itself! In addition to the 8 HDMI
inputs, program and multiview, ATEM Mini Extreme lets you select a clean feed or the
preview output.

NOTE  If you want to switch camera 1 direct or preview to the HDMI output, these
sources are available from the ‘output’ menu in ATEM Software Control.

Additional Features on ATEM Mini Pro and ATEM Mini Extreme 21

Direct Streaming via Ethernet
ATEM Mini Pro and Extreme switcher’s Ethernet connector lets you stream directly while
simultaneously providing the added benefits of ATEM Software Control. You can learn more
about this powerful control software in the ‘using ATEM Software Control’ section.

Plug into your internet router via Ethernet to stream directly

You can select which platform you want to use in ATEM Software Control and set all the relevant
settings for your stream. If you are setting up a broadcast on your channel that you will regularly
use, these settings will be stored in your switcher and you can then plug into any internet
connection at any time and broadcast directly from the unit.
This section includes how to configure settings for YouTube Studio and Twitch.

TIP  As you’re setting up your broadcast, it’s worth loading a standby graphic into
ATEM Software Control’s media player and switching it to the program output so you
can perform a quick test broadcast before actually going live.

To configure your settings for YouTube Studio:

1 2

Log into your YouTube account. Click the ‘go live’ If prompted, choose to start your stream ‘right
icon. now’ or at a ‘later date’ and select ‘streaming
software’ from the options. Otherwise, select Edit

3 4

Enter your broadcast name and details. Set the Set the child protection to the
broadcast to ‘public’ so anyone can watch. appropriate setting and press save.

Additional Features on ATEM Mini Pro and ATEM Mini Extreme 22

 5

An auto generated stream key will appear in the

stream settings, click ‘copy’ to copy the stream key.

Now you have copied the stream key for your broadcast, you will need to paste it into the
stream details in ATEM Software Control.

1 2

In ATEM Software Control’s processing Set the platform to YouTube by clicking in the
palettes, click on the ‘output’ tab. menu and selecting YouTube from the menu list.
Open the ‘live stream’ palette. Set the server to ‘primary’.

3 4

In the ‘key’ setting, paste the stream key Set the streaming quality to low, medium,
you copied from YouTube. or high. This will also set the quality for the
recording output via USB-C.

With all the streaming details now set, it’s worth

performing a quick test broadcast to make sure
everything is working. Press the ‘on air’ button
on your switcher, or click on the on air button in
the live stream palette.

Additional Features on ATEM Mini Pro and ATEM Mini Extreme 23

YouTube Studio is now ready to start broadcasting. It may take a few moments for the memory
buffer to initiate. When the buffering is complete, the ‘go live’ button will appear in the YouTube
Studio manager and all you need to do is click ‘go live’.
You are now broadcasting!
To test that everything is working properly, click the ‘share’ icon, copy the link and paste it into a
new window or tab in your internet browser. You can now monitor your live stream just like a
member of your audience.
When your production has finished, press the ‘off’ streaming button on your switcher to stop
your broadcast.

To configure your settings for Twitch:

1 2

Log into your Twitch account. Click on your Click on ‘creator dashboard’.
account avatar in the top right corner.

3 4

In the stream manager preferences, A primary stream key will be

select ‘channel’. automatically generated.

Click ‘copy’.

Now you have copied the stream key for your broadcast, you will need to paste it into the
stream details in ATEM Software Control.

Additional Features on ATEM Mini Pro and ATEM Mini Extreme 24

 1 2

In ATEM Software Control’s processing Set the platform to Twitch by clicking in the menu
palettes, click on the ‘output’ tab. Open the and selecting Twitch from the menu list.
‘live stream’ palette.

3 4

Click on the ‘server’ setting menu list and select In the ‘key’ setting, paste the stream key you
the server nearest to your location. copied from Twitch.

5 6

Set the streaming quality to low, medium, With all the streaming details now set, it’s worth
or high. This will also set the quality for the performing a quick test broadcast to make sure
recording output via USB-C. everything is working. Press the ‘on air’ button
on ATEM Mini Pro or Extreme switcher, or click
on the on air button in the live stream palette.

You are now on air! To check your broadcast, click on your account avatar and select ‘back to
Twitch’. Once in the main Twitch window, click your avatar icon again and select ‘channel’. You
will now see your broadcast on your channel and the live indicator will appear at the top of
the window.

NOTE  If you are using additional ATEM control panels with your ATEM Mini, then you
might need a dedicated IP address. For more information, refer to the ‘connecting to a
network’ section.

Additional Features on ATEM Mini Pro and ATEM Mini Extreme 25

Direct Streaming by Sharing Your Computer Internet
With ATEM Software Control now connected to your switcher, you can set up a direct stream via
your computer’s internet connection.

To set up your ATEM Mini Pro or ATEM Mini Extreme for software control and direct streaming:
1 Plug your ATEM into your computer’s spare Ethernet port. It may take a moment for
DHCP to find the unit and assign an IP address.
2 Launch ATEM Software Control.
3 You will see ATEM Mini Pro or ATEM Mini Extreme listed as a connected ATEM switcher
on your network. Simply select your switcher from the list.
4 Click ‘connect’.

5 Configure your computer to share its internet connection through its Ethernet port.
Mac: in System Preferences, click ‘sharing’ then select ‘internet sharing’ from the
‘service’ list. In the ‘share your connection from’ menu, choose ‘wi-fi’ if your Mac is
connected to the internet over wifi. In the ‘to computers using’ list, select ‘ethernet’. In
the ‘service’ list, tick the ‘internet sharing’ checkbox. When you are asked if you are
sure you want to turn on internet sharing, click ‘start’.
Windows: in the Windows search box, type ‘view network connections’ and press enter.
Right click on the internet connection and select ‘properties’. On the ‘sharing’ tab, tick
‘allow other network users to connect through this computer’s internet connection’.
Select a network connection in the menu then click ‘OK’.

ATEM Software Control will now appear with buttons and indicators illuminated. You can now
operate your switcher the same way you would via USB-C. Your ATEM switcher is now setup for
direct streaming via your computer.

Smartphone Tethering
Once you have set up your ATEM Mini Pro or ATEM Mini Pro ISO model switcher to stream to
YouTube, Twitch or other platforms, you can now direct stream using your smartphone. This
means you can set up fast and be streaming to the world in any location where your
smartphone has a 4G or 5G cellular connection or is capable of reverse tethering your WiFi
connection.
1 Simply connect a cable from your smartphone to the USB-C port on your
ATEM Mini Pro.
2 Once connected, make sure your smartphone device has hotspot activated.

On your iOS device open settings> personal hotspot and make sure ‘allow others to join’
option is on.
For Android devices, swipe the screen to display the quick menu. Press and hold the hotspot
icon and then turn on USB tethering.
Now you can press the On Air button on your ATEM Mini Pro switcher to go live!

Additional Features on ATEM Mini Pro and ATEM Mini Extreme 26

 USB

TIP  Once you’ve finished streaming, we recommend turning off tethering connections
to save battery life.

Additional Features on ATEM Mini

Extreme
With ATEM Mini Extreme, there are more button options for your broadcast available directly
from the control panel. These include dedicated buttons for camera control, a select bus and
six direct macro selection buttons.

With ATEM Mini Extreme, you can connect two USB-C devices at the same time. This means
you can record to USB while streaming to your computer via USB or tethering to a smartphone
so you can stream using your smartphone’s internet connection.

Additional Features on ATEM Mini Extreme 27

Connecting Headphones
ATEM Mini Extreme model switchers have a headphone input for monitoring the program
output using headphones.

Select Bus
The select bus located at the top of ATEM Mini Extreme is used to assign sources for effects
processing and keyers. The select bus is used to select key inputs and can also be used to
change your key and fill source to an upstream or downstream keyer while on air. For instance,
if there are two angles of weather presenter in front of a green screen, you can use the select
bus to cut between the angles while the key is being broadcast.

To assign a source to upstream keyer 1 on ATEM Mini Extreme:

1 Select the upstream luma keyer 1 by pressing K1LUM.
2 Select ‘2’ from the source buttons in the top row. The input connected to input HDMI 2
is now the fill and key source for the key.
When performing a luma key, the same source is used for both fill and key.
To refine your key parameters, such as mask and gain, use the palettes tab in ATEM
Software Control.

Additional Features on ATEM Mini Extreme 28

Camera Control
When using Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K and 6K, you can adjust camera settings
including iris, gain, focus and shutter directly from ATEM Mini Extreme.

Buttons will illuminate green when selected

These buttons, located above the audio options for each input, adjust the camera much in the
same way as the camera control panel in ATEM Software Control. By default, the arrow buttons
control iris when no other option is selected.

NOTE  ATEM Mini Extreme model switchers can also adjust camera settings on
Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro cameras. Connect a Blackmagic BiDirectional SDI/HDMI 3G
converter between the camera and switcher to switch and now you can use camera
control on both the control panel and ATEM Software Control.

Iris

To set auto exposure on, press both of the arrow buttons simultaneously. This setting
automatically adjusts the aperture to maintain a constant exposure while keeping shutter angle
consistent. This will keep motion blur unaffected, but may affect your depth
of field.
To manually adjust the iris
1 Press the up arrow to increase the aperture.
2 Press the down arrow to decrease the aperture.

TIP  The arrow buttons control iris unless another setting, for example gain or
shutter, is selected. The selected setting will time out 3 seconds from the last
button press.

Additional Features on ATEM Mini Extreme 29

Gain

The camera gain setting allows you to turn on additional gain in the camera. On Blackmagic
Pocket Cinema Cameras, this setting relates to ISO. This is important when you are operating in
low light conditions and need extra gain, or ISO, in the front end of the camera to avoid your
images being under exposed.
To adjust the gain
1 Press the gain button to highlight it.
2 Press the up arrow to increase the gain or the down arrow to decrease it.

It’s worth noting that adding gain will increase noise in your images.

Focus

To use your camera’s auto focus feature, hold down the focus button for three seconds.
To manually adjust the focus
1 Press the focus button to select it.
2 Press the up arrows up or down to manual focus while viewing the video feed from the
camera to ensure your image is nice and sharp.

Black

To adjust the black level

1 Press the black button to select it.
2 Press the up arrow to increase the black level or the down arrow to decrease.

Shutter

This setting automatically adjusts shutter value to maintain a constant exposure while keeping
iris aperture consistent. If you want to maintain a fixed depth of field, this is the setting to
choose. It’s worth mentioning that the subtle automatic adjustments of the shutter may have an
effect on motion blur. It’s also worth keeping an eye out for any flicker that may be introduced
from various light fixtures on indoor shoots. The auto iris feature is not available when the
‘shutter’ auto exposure mode is selected.
To adjust the shutter
1 Press the shut button to select it.
2 Press the up arrow to open the shutter or the down arrow to close it.

Additional Features on ATEM Mini Extreme 30

Macros
A macro is a recorded series of events you can save and then access when needed. Macro
buttons on ATEM Mini Extreme models let you recall the first six recorded macros. This is useful
when using repeated sequences, such as transitions in and out of graphics, so you only have to
press a single button to play a sequence of elements.
To run a macro, simply press the numbered macro button on the unit and the macro will run
immediately. Macros can also be used to recall additional upstream and downstream keyers.

When a macro contains a user wait, the button will flash to indicate it
needs to be pressed again to resume the sequence.

For more information on recording macros, including naming macros, see the ‘Using Macros’
section later in this manual.

Using SuperSource
ATEM Mini Extreme switcher models include a feature referred to as SuperSource allows you to
arrange multiple sources on the monitor at one time. The SuperSource processor appears on
your ATEM switcher as a single video input. For example, if you were broadcasting a discussion
between four presenters, you could superimpose them all over a background. It is a similar
feature to picture in picture but more powerful as you can add more sources.

Setting up SuperSource
To set up SuperSource, first you need to be able to view it on your monitor. Do this by either
assigning SuperSource from the tab in ATEM Software control to a multiview window or by
switching to the S/SRC option on ATEM Mini Extreme while a monitor is connected.

Additional Features on ATEM Mini Extreme 31

Positioning Sources
In ATEM Software Control open the SuperSource palette
and choose from one of the four preset layouts. Click the
one that is closest to the look you want, this will
automatically arrange the boxes into the preset positions
indicated in the software. Make sure the box is enabled.
You can then change the position and size via the
X Position, Y Position and Size fields. Ticking the Enable
Crop check box allows you to crop the image. The crop
parameters are Top, Bottom, Left and Right. You may then
wish to alter the parameters of boxes 2 to 4 by doing
similar steps.
If you make a mistake, click on the menu icon on the right
hand side of the Box Control tab and you can easily reset
the parameters.

Background and Foreground Art

To use background art, clicking on the ‘art’ tab in the
software to reveal the art settings. To use art as a
background source, select the place in background option.
Then choose your art fill source via the menu. Assign the
source and your choice will be placed behind the on
screen boxes.
If you wish to make the art foreground, then select source
in foreground and choose whether your graphic is pre
multiplied or not. If it is pre multiplied then tick the check
box, assign the Art Fill Source and the Art Key Source. This
will now allow the art to be placed over the enabled box or
boxes. If your art is not pre multiplied then you can use the
clip and gain controls as discussed in the Keying section of
this manual to achieve the desired result.

Additional Features on ATEM Mini Extreme 32

 Copying Settings
To perform the copy function using ATEM Software
Control, simply click on the Copy tab and the Copy Box
The settings dialogue will appear. You can quickly & easily
copy the settings of the currently selected box to any of
the other boxes, making an exact clone in just one click!
The copied boxes will appear directly behind the master
box and will also share the same source as the master.

Putting SuperSource On Air

The entire SuperSource processor appears on your ATEM Switcher as a video input. Simply
select the SuperSource button on ATEM Mini Extreme or in ATEM Software Control to use the
composite you have just made!

Using the Multiview

ATEM Mini Pro and Extreme model switchers have a powerful multiview feature that lets you
monitor all HDMI inputs, together with the program and preview outputs as a group of views on
one screen. The multiview also displays the media player, streaming status, disk recording disk
status, audio levels, plus Fairlight EQ and dynamics indicators.
This feature provides a comprehensive overview so you will always know exactly what is
happening with your broadcast!

The multiview is a powerful feature that lets you monitor all sources and outputs simultaneously

Using the Multiview 33

Below is a description of each view.

Preview
The preview view lets you monitor the source currently switched to the preview output. This view
is helpful to practice switching between sources, previewing transitions or setting up a keyer so
you can see what it will look like before switching to the program output. You need to change the
switcher operation to program/preview style switching to make use of the preview view. There is
more information about this in later sections of this manual.

Program View
The program view displays what is currently switched to the program output. This view will always
show exactly what you are broadcasting.

Input Views
The input views display all the sources connected to the HDMI inputs. Having all inputs on the
multiview lets you see the image from every camera so you can make quick decisions. However
they don’t always have to be cameras as you could also have a computer’s video output or a
HyperDeck disk recorder connected to the switcher’s inputs and you can monitor them in the
input views.
When an input is switched to the preview or program output, a green or red tally border will appear
around the input’s respective view. Green represents the preview output and red represents the
program output, or ‘on air’.

Media Player View

This view displays the graphic currently loaded in the media player. To load a graphic, simply go
to the media pool in ATEM Software Control and drag a still into the media player. You can read
more about how to use the media player and the media pool in the section ‘using ATEM Software
Control/’using the media page’.

Using the Multiview 34

Streaming View
This view displays the streaming on air status, including the broadcast data rate and the
cache status. You can also see what streaming platform you are currently broadcasting to as it is
displayed at the bottom of the view.
‚ On Air Indicator  Prior to recording, the on air status indicator will display ‘off’ to let you
know the switcher is standing by and ready to broadcast. When streaming begins, the
indicator will display a bright red ‘on air’ status until streaming is stopped.
If there is an interruption during the stream, for example the internet connection speed becomes
too slow and the cache is depleted, the on air indicator will begin flashing.

‚ Broadcast Data Rate  The data rate is measured in megabits per second. For ATEM Mini
Pro and Extreme switchers to broadcast 1080p60 video without losing frames, the data rate
needs to be approximately 5 to 7 Mb per second.

‚ Cache Status  The cache status displays the capacity of the switcher’s built in memory
buffer. The cache is a small amount of internal memory that continuously records and plays
the program output. It acts as a safety measure if the broadcast data rate decreases below
a level able to sustain video. The variable nature of the internet is mostly due to network
activity or wireless signal strength, so if the broadcast data rate decreases, the buffer data
will increase accordingly. If the connection speed becomes slow enough that it cannot
support the video stream, the cache will fill with video frames to compensate. However, once
the cache is 100% full, the video stream will be compromised, so you will want to avoid a full
cache where possible. You can do this by testing the connection speed when you set up
your stream. During a broadcast test, watch the cache display in the multiview. If the cache
frequently approaches 100%, choose a lower quality in the live stream settings.
‚ Tethering status  The smartphone icon is displayed when ATEM Mini Pro or ATEM Mini
Extreme is connected to the internet using mobile tethering. The icon will become red
when on air.

Recording View
If you are recording to external drives via USB-C, this view will display the current recording status.

Using the Multiview 35

‚ Recording Indicator  Prior to recording, or if there are no disks connected, the indicator
will display ‘stop’. When disks are connected, you will see them appear as icons
below the indicator.
When a disk is recording, the indicator displays ‘rec’ and will illuminate bright red.

‚ Duration Counter  Underneath the recording indicator is the duration counter. When you
press the record button on the switcher, the duration counter will start running.
‚ Record Status Indicators  These indicators provide details on each drive and its recording
status. For example, if you are using two drives, their drive names will be displayed along
with available space and record time remaining. While a disk is recording, the indicator will
illuminate red and shows how much disk space is left.
The disks are ordered by capacity. For example, if you have 4 SSDs connected via a Blackmagic
MultiDock 10G, the drive with the largest remaining space will be labeled 1. Drive 2 will be the
SSD with the next largest available space. When drives 1 and 2 are full, drive 3 will then assume
the disk 1 indicator and disk 2 will become drive 4. You can always see what drives are assigned
to the disk numbers by looking at the disk names underneath their icons.

Audio View
During your broadcast you can monitor the audio levels for each source and the levels of the
program output using the audio view.
‚ Audio Meters  Each input and the program output has its own audio meter and you can
monitor them all simultaneously. If the audio level rises above -10dB the meter will illuminate
red to warn you that it is close to the maximum strength of 0dB. Once the level reaches 0dB
the audio will clip. Clipping means the audio will distort and you will need to decrease the
level using the switcher’s audio level buttons or the audio mixer in ATEM Software Control.
You can read more about ATEM Software Control in the next section of this manual.
The audio meter is an important tool to monitor your levels so you can make sure your audio
always sounds great!
‚ Fairlight Icons  These icons let you know if EQ and dynamics controls are enabled in
ATEM Software Control’s audio page.

If the Fairlight icons are colored and illuminated, the EQ or dynamics tool is
active and the input is on air.

If the icons are colored but dim, it means the tools are active, but the input
is not on air.

If the icons are dim and colorless, the tools are inactive or bypassed on the
audio page.

Using the Multiview 36

ATEM Mini Extreme Enhanced Multiview
ATEM Mini Extreme switcher models have a customizable multi view layout for 4, 7, 10, 13 or 16
views so you can display a combination of all the inputs available. Click the menus to select
what you want on each view. If you don’t have enough cameras on your job to fill all input views,
you can select other sources such as media players, color generators and streaming and
recording status views. It’s extremely flexible and you can also change the multi view layout to
suit your preference.
Audio meters can be turned on or off within each source view, or all at once, by clicking on the
respective icons in each view or the ‘all on’ button, respectively. Use the view control button to
select your preferred layout.

Customize the multi view for ATEM Mini Extreme

The multiview is an excellent tool that will let you spot every detail and put you in the moment.
For example, it can help you previsualize ideas in the preview window before switching them to
the program output. You can monitor each HDMI source and test switching between them, set
up a chroma key, or even preview a transition to see what it will look like before switching it to
the program output!

Using the Multiview 37

ATEM Software Control
ATEM Software Control is a powerful software control panel that gives you a lot more control
over your ATEM Mini. Once you start using ATEM Software Control you will quickly see just how
much your ATEM Mini can actually do.
For example, you can manually perform transitions using the fader bar, select internal sources
on the program and preview buttons, mix audio using a mixer with channel faders, set up
keyers, load graphics in the media pool and much, much more.

ATEM Software Control is included in the ATEM software installer and can be downloaded from
the Blackmagic Design website. It’s free and allows you to control your switcher in a similar way
to a full hardware control panel. A range of palettes on the right side shows you all processing
features of your ATEM Mini and allows settings to be easily made.
You can also use ATEM Software Control to configure your switcher settings. For more
information on how to use ATEM Software Control, refer to ‘using ATEM Software Control’ in the
following sections of the manual.

Switching Modes
‘Cut bus’ is the default switching mode which lets you change sources as soon as you press an
input button. Setting ATEM Mini to ‘program preview’ mode lets you preview the source before
switching it to air.

Cut Bus
In cut bus mode, as soon as you press an input button, it will immediately switch to air. This is a
fast and easy way of switching.

ATEM Software Control 38

In cut bus mode, pressing an input button will instantly switch it to air

Program Preview
In program preview mode, switching a source is a two step process. This is because pressing
an input button puts the source in a preview state so you can decide whether you want to
switch it, or perhaps select a different input source. This powerful switching mode is used by
professional broadcast switchers across the world.

TIP  If you connect an HDMI monitor, for example Blackmagic Video Assist, to ATEM
Mini’s HDMI output you can output the preview signal and monitor the selected input
before switching it to air. For more information, refer to the ‘setting the HDMI output
source’ section later in this manual.

ATEM Software Control 39

In program preview switching mode, press an input button and then
press the ‘auto’ or ‘cut’ button to switch the source to air

Using ATEM Software Control

ATEM Software Control has four main control windows: Switcher, Media, Audio and Camera.
You can open these windows by clicking the three main buttons at the bottom of the interface
or by pressing the Shift and left/right arrow hot keys. A general settings window can be opened
by selecting the gear icon at the lower left of the interface.

Switcher Panel
When first launched, the switcher screen is selected, which is the main control interface for the
switcher. ATEM Mini must be connected to your computer via USB for the software control
panel to run.

Mouse or Trackpad Operation

The virtual buttons, sliders and fader bar on the software control panel are operated using your
computer mouse or a trackpad if you’re using a laptop.

ATEM Software Control 40

To activate a button, click once with the left mouse button. To activate a slider, click and hold
down the left mouse button while dragging. Similarly, to control the fader bar, click and hold
down the left mouse button on the fader bar handle and drag up or down.

Media Manager
The media manager allows you to upload graphics to the media pool in ATEM Mini. Your ATEM
Mini has memory for graphics that’s called the media pool and holds up to 20 still graphics with
alpha channel that can be assigned to a media player for use in your production.
So, for example, you could have the maximum 20 still graphics loaded that will be used on your
live production and then assign various stills to the media player as you work. As you take a
graphic off air, you can change the media player graphic to the next graphic you want, and then
you can put that media player back on air with the new graphic.
When a still is loaded into the media pool, the alpha channel is loaded automatically if one is
included in the image. When a still is loaded into a media player, the output of the media player
will include both key and fill outputs. If you select the media player as a key source, for example
Media Player 1, both the fill and the key are automatically selected so you don’t have to select
them separately. However the key can still be routed separately so you can use a different key
source if you wish. To learn more about keying, refer to the ‘keying using ATEM Mini’ section of
this manual.

Audio Mixer
The audio tab in ATEM Software Control contains a powerful audio mixer interface which
becomes active when controlling your ATEM switcher.
ATEM Mini includes a built in audio mixer that lets you use the embedded HDMI audio from your
cameras, media servers and other inputs without the need for an external audio mixer. This is
perfect when using your ATEM Mini on location or in small spaces within modern OB vehicles as
you don’t have to find room for an external audio mixer. The audio is mixed in the audio tab of
ATEM Software Control and output via the USB webcam and Ethernet outputs. You can also
route the program output via HDMI if you want to record your broadcast.

ATEM Software Control 41

Your ATEM Mini also features built in mic inputs for mixing external audio.
If you prefer to use an external audio mixer, it’s easy to disable the audio for all inputs and you
only need to leave the external audio active in the audio mixer interface. More information on
how to use the audio mixer is included in the next sections.

Camera Control
ATEM Mini can control Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K and 6K models when updated to
the latest software and plugged in via the HDMI inputs. Click on the ‘camera’ tab to open the
camera control page. This is where you can control your HDMI camera settings such as iris,
gain, focus, detail and zoom control on compatible lenses. Plus you can color balance cameras
and create unique looks using the DaVinci Resolve primary color corrector that is built into
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K and 6K.
For detailed information on how to use the powerful camera control features, refer to ‘Using
Camera Control’ later in this section.

Camera control lets you control Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K and 6K with ATEM Mini

Using the Software Control Panel

The switcher window is the main control interface for the switcher. During live production,
the switcher window can be used to select sources and take them to air.
You can select the transition style, manage upstream/downstream keyers and turn on/off the
fade to black. The palettes on the right hand side of the interface are where you adjust
transition settings including transition rates, adjust color generators, control the media player,
and adjust the upstream and downstream keyer as well as control fade to black rate.

ATEM Software Control 42

Mix Effects
The Mix Effects block of the switcher tab contains all the source select buttons for the program
and preview buses, allowing external inputs or internal sources to be selected for next
transition previewing or switching to air.

ATEM mix effects

Program Bus Source Select Buttons

The program bus source select buttons are used to hot switch background sources to the
program output. The source currently on air is indicated by a button that is illuminated red.

Preview Bus Source Select Buttons

In program preview switching mode, the preview bus source select buttons are used to select a
background source on the preview output, this source is sent to the program bus when the next
transition occurs. The currently selected preview source is indicated by a button that is
illuminated green.
The source select buttons for the program bus match the preview bus.

INPUTS Input buttons match the number of external switcher inputs.

BLACK Black color source internally generated by the switcher.

BARS Color bars source internally generated by the switcher.

COLOR 1 and 2 Color sources internally generated by the switcher.

MEDIA 1 Internal media player that display stills stored in the switcher.

Transition Control and Upstream Keyer

CUT
The CUT button performs an immediate transition of the program and preview outputs,
overriding the selected transition style.

ATEM Software Control 43

Transition control

AUTO/RATE
The AUTO button will perform the selected transition at the rate specified in the ‘rate’ display.
The transition rate for each transition style is set in the transition palette for that style and is
displayed in the ‘rate’ window of the transition control block when the corresponding transition
style button is selected.
The AUTO button illuminates red for the duration of the transition and the ‘rate’ display updates
to indicate the number of frames remaining as the transition progresses. When you perform a
transition using the fader bar on an external ATEM hardware panel, the fader bar indicator on
the software panel updates to provide visual feedback on the progress of the transition.

Fader Bar
The fader bar is used as an alternative to the AUTO button and allows the operator to manually
control the transition with a mouse. The AUTO button illuminates red for the duration of the
transition and the ‘rate’ display updates to indicate the number of frames remaining as the
transition progresses.

Transition Style
The transition style buttons allow the operator to select one of four types of transitions; mix, dip,
wipe and DVE. The selected transition style is indicated by a yellow illuminated button.
Selection of these buttons will be reflected by the corresponding tab in the ‘transitions’
processing palette. For example, when you have the transitions processing palette open and
click on a transition style button, the transitions palette will match your selection so you can
quickly adjust the settings.

PREV TRANS
The PREV TRANS button enables the preview transition mode, allowing the operator to verify a
mix, dip, wipe or DVE transition by performing it on the preview output using the fader bar.
When the PREV TRANS is selected you will see the preview output match the program output,
and then it’s simple to practice your selected transition with the fader bar to confirm you are
going to get what you want. This is a very helpful feature to avoid mistakes on air!

Next Transition
The BKGD and KEY 1 buttons are used to select the elements which will transition on air or off
air with the next transition. More upstream keyers are available on ATEM Mini Extreme model
switchers and that is why other upstream keyers appear grayed out. The key can be faded on
and off when the main transition occurs, or you can select just the key to transition individually,
so the main transition control can be used to fade the key on and off.

ATEM Software Control 44

When selecting the elements of the next transition, the switcher operator should look at the
preview video output because it provides an accurate representation of what the program
output will look like after the transition is completed. When only the BKGD button is selected, a
transition from the current source on the program bus to the source selected on the preview
bus will occur without the keyer. You can also select only keyer to transition, leaving the current
background live throughout the transition.

ON AIR
The ON AIR indicator button indicates when the key is currently on air and can also be used to
immediately cut the key on or off air.

Downstream Keyer
TIE
The TIE button will enable the downstream keyer, or DSK, on the preview output, along with the
next transition effects and tie it to the main transition control so that the DSK can be taken to air
with the next transition.
The DSK will transition at the rate specified in the ‘rate’ display of the transition control block. If
the DSK is tied, the signal routing to the clean feed 1 is unaffected.

ON AIR
The ON AIR button is used to cut the DSK on or off air and indicates whether the DSK is
currently on or off air. The button is illuminated if the DSK is currently on air.

AUTO
The AUTO button will mix the DSK on or off air at the rate specified in the DSK ‘rate’ window.
This is similar to the main AUTO rate on the transition control block, however it’s limited only to
the downstream keyer. This can be used to fade up and down bugs and logos, such as live or
replay bugs during production, without interfering with the main program production transitions.

Fade to Black

Downstream key and fade to black

ATEM Software Control 45

The FTB button will fade the whole program video output to black at the rate specified in the
fade to black RATE window. Once the program output has been faded to black, the FTB button
will flash red until it is pressed again. Doing so will fade up from black at the same rate, or you
can enter a new rate in the fade to black palette in the ‘switcher’ window. Fade to black is
mostly used at the start and end of your production, or when cutting to commercial breaks. It
ensures all layers in ATEM Mini are faded down together. A fade to black cannot be previewed.
You can also set the audio mixer to fade the audio with your fade to black by selecting the
‘audio follow video’ checkbox in the fade to black palette, or by enabling the AFV button on the
master audio output fader.

Processing Palettes
The software control panel features tabs for the processing palette, media player, and
output options.

TIP  The palettes also show the order of the processing in the switcher. You can
expand and minimize palettes to save space and scroll them up and down to get the
adjustments you need to set.

The following processing palettes are available.

Palettes Tab
The ‘palettes’ tab contains the following processing controls.

Color Generators Your ATEM switcher has two color matte generators which can be configured
from the color generators palette using a color picker or by setting hue,
saturation, and luminance levels.

SuperSource ATEM Mini Extreme model switchers include a feature referred to as

SuperSource that will allow you to arrange multiple sources on the monitor at
one time. For more information refer to the section ‘Using SuperSource’ later
in this manual.

Upstream Key The switcher’s upstream keyer can be configured from the upstream key
palette. Within the keyer palette, the keyer can be configured as a luma key,
chroma key, pattern key or DVE. The type of key available will also depend on
if the DVE is available. The upstream key palette will display all the parameters
that are available to configure the keyer. More information on how to use
upstream keyer is included later in this manual.

ATEM Software Control 46

 Transitions The transitions palette is where you can configure the parameters of each
transition style. For example, for the dip transition the palette has a menu
where you can select the dip source and for the wipe transition the palette
displays all the available wipe patterns. There are lots of variations of
transitions and a large number of transitions can be created by combining
settings and features in the transitions palette.

NOTE  It’s worth noting that selecting a specific style of transition in this palette will
only adjust the settings for these transitions, and you still need to select the style of
transition you want to perform in the transition control section on the software or ATEM
Mini’s control panel. The software and ATEM Mini’s control panel work together and
mirror all settings, so you can use any combination you like!

Downstream Key ATEM Mini has a downstream keyer which can be configured from the
downstream key palette. The palette has menu boxes for selecting the fill and
key signals to the keyer, plus sliders to set the pre multiplied key clip and gain
values, and mask settings.

Fade to Black The fade to black palette is where you can set the fade to black transition rate.
An ‘Audio Follow Video’ checkbox is also provided as a shortcut for the audio
mixer’s master fader AFV button. Selecting this feature lets you fade your
audio with your fade to black.

Media Player Tab

The ‘media player’ tab contains controls for your ATEM Mini’s media player and connected
HyperDecks.

Media Player Your ATEM Mini has a media player that plays back the stills that are stored in
the media pool memory built into the switcher. The menu list is used to select
the still that will be played or made available on the media player input to the
switcher.

Hyperdecks You can connect up to 4 Blackmagic HyperDeck Studio model disk recorders
and control them using ATEM Software Control’s HyperDecks palette.
For more information refer to the ‘HyperDeck Control’ section of this manual.

ATEM Software Control 47

Output Tab
The output tab lets you capture a still image from the program output. When using ATEM Mini
Pro or Extreme switchers, this tab also contains additional options for you to live stream, record
your stream and set the timecode generator. The capture video option supports the original
ATEM production switchers that feature legacy USB output recording.

Live Stream
When using ATEM Mini Pro or Extreme switchers, this important output option lets you set up
your live stream by entering the streaming details from your streaming platform. After assigning
all the settings, you can start your broadcast by clicking the ‘on air’ button, then stop the
broadcast by clicking ‘off’.
The live stream status will clearly show you are on air by displaying a large red ‘on air’ indicator
together with the timecode generator, which you can set using the timecode generator options.

Platform Click in the ‘platform’ menu and select the streaming platform for your broadcast.
Options include Facebook Live, YouTube Live and Twitch.

Server Select the server that is closest to your location by clicking in the settings window
and using the menu.

Key Enter the stream key that has been assigned to your broadcast from the
streaming platform. For information on how to obtain a stream key, refer to
‘getting a stream key’ in the ‘connecting to a network’ section.

Quality Select the streaming quality and stream recording quality you want.
This setting contains the following options:
‚ HyperDeck High 45 to 70 Mb/s
‚ HyperDeck Medium 25 to 45 Mb/s
‚ HyperDeck Low 12 to 20 Mb/s
‚ Streaming High 6 to 9 Mb/s
‚ Streaming Medium 4.5 to 7 Mb/s
‚ Streaming Low 3 to 4.5 Mb/s

More information about the quality settings is included in this

section of the manual.

ATEM Software Control 48

For more information on how to use these options when setting up a live stream directly via
Ethernet, including getting a stream key, refer to ‘connecting to an internet router.’
Even though the settings are nice and simple and you only need to select the service and a few
other options, there is an XML file that has additional settings that knowledgeable users could
take advantage of to add other streaming services and customize the streaming menu with low
level settings. Refer to the ‘changing switcher settings/saving and restoring switcher settings’
section for more information on how to save and restore using an XML file.

Streaming and HyperDeck Quality Settings

The data rate used by the quality setting will change depending on the video standard your
switcher is running at. For example, if you select Streaming High quality and are running at
1080p24 then it would use the 6 Mb/s data rate.
The data rates used on HyperDeck High are 45 to 70 Mb/s, the rates for HyperDeck Medium
are 25 to 45 Mb/s and the data rates used for HyperDeck Low are 12 to 20 Mb/s. The streaming
data rates are lower to allow for transmitting the data over the internet, so the data rate for
Streaming High is 6 to 9 Mb/s, the data rate for Streaming Medium is 4.5 to 7 Mb/s and the data
rate for Streaming Low is 3 to 4.5 Mb/s.
You will notice that each setting has 2 data rates mentioned. The lower number is used for the
lower frame rates of 24p, 25p and 30p, while the higher data rates are used when you are
running higher frame rates of 50p and 60p. It’s also worth noting that the default setting for the
streaming quality is Streaming High 6 to 9 Mb/s, as this gives a very high quality streaming
channel, and the fairly good recording quality.
If you are not streaming, then you could just pick one of the HyperDeck quality settings. These
are the same quality as the settings in HyperDeck Studio Mini and are a good quality data rate
when you need broadcast quality recordings. However, with the latest software released for
HyperDeck Studio Mini, it will also play the lower quality streaming data rates.

Record Stream
If you are recording your stream via USB-C on ATEM Mini Pro or Extreme, this palette is where
you can control your disks and start and stop recording. You can also set a file name and trigger
record in all cameras when connected to Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K and 6K.

NOTE  When your ATEM Mini Pro’s USB-C output is connected to an external disk for
recording and you want to keep using ATEM Software Control, you will need to
connect your ATEM Mini Pro to your computer via Ethernet.
Refer to the ‘connecting to a network’ section for more information.

ATEM Software Control 49

File Name Prior to recording, set a file name by typing it into the file name window.
Click anywhere outside the window to confirm. If you stop and start recording,
the file name will assign version numbers incrementally.

Drives Formatted drives connected to your switcher will appear as a list in the record
window. You can assign drives by selecting them from the menu. The drive
window displays the disk capacity and record time remaining.
Recording will always begin with the disk containing the largest available space,
then proceed to the next disk with the largest available space. However, you can
manually switch the drive you are recording to by clicking the ‘switch’ button. This
is helpful if there is less than 5 minutes remaining on the current disk and you
want to switch it over to the next disk at a determined moment in your broadcast.

Switch Click the ‘switch’ button to change the drive you are currently recording to the
next drive with the largest available space.

TIP  You can also switch drives by holding down the record button on ATEM Mini Pro.

Record button Click the record button marked ‘rec’ to start recording.

Stop button Click ‘stop’ to stop recording.

Display status Enable this feature by clicking the display status checkbox in the record options.
The display status will appear in ATEM Software Control at the bottom right side
of the user interface and shows the recording status. When recording, the record
indicator will illuminate red and displays the current drive and record time
remaining.

Record in This feature lets you set all Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Cameras to record when
all cameras you press the record button. This is helpful if you want isolated recordings from
each camera for editing later. Cameras will be automatically set to record using
Blackmagic RAW at the quality setting the camera was last set to.

ATEM Software Control 50

Recording ISO Files
ATEM Mini ISO models can record video files from each of its video inputs, and these are called
isolated input files or “ISO” files.
By default, ATEM Mini ISO models will record a program file in exactly the same way as the
ATEM Mini Pro model. However if you select to record the ISO files, it will change to recording a
whole folder of content that includes the input video files as well as audio files, and a DaVinci
Resolve project file.

How to Record ISO Files

To record a folder of ISO files and other items, simply go to the record palette in ATEM Software
Control and select the setting “ISO record all inputs”. Now ISO switcher will record the folder of
contents when you press record in the palette or on the front panel.

To enable ISO recordings, check the ‘ISO record all inputs’

checkbox in the record stream palette.

It’s important to use a disk that’s fast enough. A good flash disk is recommended as often
mechanical disks cannot work fast enough to record the 5 streams of H.264 HD video that you
will record with this setting.

What’s in the ISO Folder?

The record folder will take the name of the record palette. Even though this folder will
have multiple ISO files, it also has the main program recording. But when ISO recording,
it will be placed inside this folder with the other items.
The ISO video files are recorded from each input and placed into a sub folder called
Video ISO Files. Each video file is recorded from each input and is an exact recording
of the video connected to that specific HDMI input. The ISO files also have synced
timecode and camera number metadata, so you can use any edit software’s multi-cam
feature. To make editing simpler, all ISO files have program audio, the same as the
master video file.
Because the ISO files include camera number metadata and synced timecode, you can
also use the DaVinci Resolve Sync Bin to quickly select between views and
build an edit.
It’s worth noting that if you use any graphic from the media pool, these will be
automatically saved into a sub folder called Media Files that’s located inside the Video

ATEM Software Control 51

 ISO Files folder. This allows you to rebuild the titles in your edit that were used during
your live program.
Audio input files from each input as well as the microphone inputs are also recorded.
These are placed into a sub folder called Audio Source Files. These files are in
broadcast WAV format and are professional stereo audio files that exclude any
processing or EQ from the built in ATEM Mini audio mixer.
So this means the files are clean and you can use them to create a whole new audio
mix using professional audio software. The audio tiles also include timecode so they
are synchronized to the video files.
The most exciting item to be saved into the project folder is the DaVinci Resolve project
file. This file will have been built based on the switcher actions that occurred since you
started recording. It currently allows several switcher functions to be recorded and then
when you double click this file, it will open up DaVinci Resolve with a full timeline of all
these edits.
ATEM switcher functions that are currently supported include cut and mix edits
between all video inputs and the media player, downstream titles and fade to black.
These are the most used functions and these will be restored as the video edit in
DaVinci Resolve. Further functions will be added in future updates.

Append Recording
If you don’t change the project name, when you record, it will append the edit to the DaVinci
Resolve project file you have previously recorded on disk. This is very useful as it means you
can stop for mistakes, or lunch, and then start recording again. Both recordings will then open
into the same timeline and you can knit the recordings together so they appear seamless to the
viewer. If you don’t want to append record, be sure to change the project name, or use a new
blank USB disk.

Benefits of Editing a Live Project

There are multiple benefits of editing a live event. Some of the edits you might need to do can
be completed very quickly and then you can render out a new master file before uploading.

ATEM Software Control 52

It means you don’t have to accept the live edit you did while streaming, as now you can make
changes to it before uploading it.
You can also use the ISO recording features and editing to create programs faster, because you
can just use ATEM Mini ISO switchers as a multi track recorder to feed edit stations with multiple
camera views!
If you are importing the DaVinci Resolve project, then you are going to see your live production
rebuilt as an edit almost instantly. Now you can make some fast creative adjustments to your
event before uploading.

What’s on the Layers?

The processing in a switcher normally progresses from the switcher inputs on the left of
the control panel to the right where the output features are. That’s because a switcher
is a live processing pipeline from the video inputs, through all the switcher features and
then out to the video output.
Editing works very differently. You get a stack of layers in editing software. The lowest
layer is covered by layers above. So this means any clip on layer 2 will cover any clip on
layer 1. Normally people edit with cuts and dissolves on layer 1, however then other
items are placed on layers above. Any clip placed on layer 3 would cover any clips on
layers 1 and 2. You can have dozens of layers in complex edits.
So to understand what DaVinci Resolve does when it imports your project file, just look
at the project after it’s been imported. You can see the various types of processing that
have been placed on different edit layers.

Layer 1 Layer 1 has all the main editing between your sources. You will see the clips end to
end and sometimes the edit points are cuts and sometimes you can see dissolves.
This layer was created from your main input switching. All the edits with the video
inputs and the still frame source will be placed on layer 1.

Layer 2 Layer 2 is for the downstream keyer. In the ATEM switcher, the downstream keyer is
located after the transition block. In editing this means it’s on layer 2 so it can override
the main switching that’s been placed on layer 1. If you place a graphic with an alpha
channel in the downstream keyer and put it on air, it will have added this title to the
video output. Now this layer is on layer 2 and it overlays the same graphic with alpha
channel over layer 1.

Layer 3 Layer 3 is for fade to black. Fade to black is the last processing in the switcher and
it fades all layers in the switcher to black. This is commonly used at the end of the
program, or to lead into commercial breaks. Fade to black is on layer 3 because it will
override all the layers below it, just like it does in the switcher. Fade to black is a black
video generator with a dissolve applied to the front and end.

ATEM Software Control 53

Shifting Edit Points
An advantage of editing is you can shift your edit points around. When you do a live production,
the action can get very fast and it can be difficult to keep up. Imagine an interview program
where multiple people are rapidly talking and interrupting each other. The live switch may have
struggled to keep up as the conversation moves from person to person.
So rolling the edit points will allow you to move the edits to before a person starts talking. In a
live switch you need to keep up so your edits lag behind the person starting to talk. However
now you can shift them back in time and the edit will cut to the person just before they start
talking. This will transform the feel of the program.
To roll the edit forward, scroll to the edit point in the timeline and then move your mouse to the
edit point in the lower timeline. You will see a double bar tool appear. If you click and drag to
the left, the edit point will move to earlier in time. If you click and drag to the right, your edit
point will move later in time.
Be sure not to click the half bar tools with the little arrows. These are the trim in and trim out
tools. As you move the mouse around the edit point the tools automatically change. So if you
use the trim in and trim out tools, you will increase or reduce the duration of your whole video
track and the audio will become out of sync with the green audio track below.

Replacing Shots
The sync bin will let you find shots that sync to the point on the timeline where you are currently
positioned. This means you can fix situations where you cut to the wrong camera, or you can
search for better shots because you have more time to see what alternatives you had.
To use the sync bin, just select it from the top left of the cut page. Once selected, you will see
your media pool at the top left and your viewer will change. The media pool will now show a
timeline of available clips and the viewer will show a multi view of the shots you have. These are
only the shots that sync to the point in the timeline you are positioned on. If you move the
timeline, these shots will also track in sync.
Think of the sync bin as an assistant editor that looks for shots for you and displays them in a
multiview, so you can use them for editing.
Because ATEM Mini Pro ISO and Extreme ISO knows what input you have connected, plus it’s
recording those inputs into video files, it will have placed the camera number metadata into the
files for you. This means camera 1 in the sync bin is really the video input you had connected to
input 1 on the switcher. Camera 2 is input 2 and so on.
To select an alternative edit, you need to follow 2 steps. First you need to select the shot you
want and set its in and out point. The next step is to edit it into your timeline, over the shot you
currently have.
So scroll to the position in the timeline that has the start of the shot you want to replace. You are
going to edit over the top of this clip. You should see the alternative shots displayed in the
multiview. These are the other options you have and you see all the input video files that were
recorded from the ISO switcher’s inputs.
Now click the shot you want. You will see it display full screen. It will also have an in point set for
you, and it will be located at the current timeline position. There is an out point also placed at a
clip duration of 4 seconds. It’s unlikely you want this exact out point, so now all you need to do
is scroll along the timeline to find the point you want the new shot to end and press O. The out
point will move to this position.

ATEM Software Control 54

If you did not select the correct shot, just press escape and it will return you to the multi view
and you can select another shot.
Now you have your shot selected, you want to place it in the timeline. This is where you need to
use the source overwrite edit mode. The edit modes are centered below the media pool, and
the right most one is called source overwrite. You can see which edit mode is which, by
hovering your mouse over the buttons to display the tool tips with the edit label.
The source overwrite is intelligent, and it will look at the clip you have selected, then look at the
timeline and it will edit that clip into the timeline at the exact timecode match. This means all the
shots you are editing into the timeline with source overwrite will stay in sync. Not only that, you
don’t need to set any in and out points in the timeline, as you can just scroll along, look for
shots, and add them into the timeline as cutaways.
The source overwrite edit mode will always place the clip on the layer above the current clip in
the timeline. If there is no layer, it will add the layer and then place it. This means it’s easy to find
your cutaways as they will be on the layers above your original edit.
Simply scroll along your timeline, select your cutaways from the sync bin multi view and replace
as many shots as you need.

Adding Dissolves
Another great feature for editing is you can add extra dissolves to your timeline. Often when
streaming at low bandwidth, dissolves can look blocky. So this means you might not use them
for the live stream. But when you upload your program you might want to add more dissolves to
make the feel of the program gentler and more elegant.
You can now add the dissolves to smooth out the flow. DaVinci lets you drag transitions from
the transition palette onto each edit point, however there is a faster way to add dissolves. At the
bottom right of the media pool on the cut page are 3 transition buttons. One will remove any
transition and make the edit point a cut, but the middle button will add a dissolve. You can just
scroll along and press the middle button and add dissolves.
If you watch the timeline ruler you will see a little triangle marker bouncing up and down. This
will show you the edit point that DaVinci thinks you want to add the dissolve to. This means you
don’t even need to add in points to the timeline as when you press the dissolve button, it will
add it to the marked edit for you. It’s very fast and you can just scroll along and add dissolves
where you need them.

Cutting Out Boring Bits or Mistakes

Sometimes you might have parts of your show that are a bit slow, or you could have stopped
because of a mistake. You can cut out these sections by using the split tool. Below the media
pool there is a tool on the left side that looks like a pair of scissors. Click this tool and you will
split all the layers in your timeline. Now if you click the clips between the cuts, you can just
press delete to remove those clips and the gap in the timeline will close up automatically.
You can see how easy it is to do common fixes to your live event. Now select quick export on
the top right of the cut page window and you can get a new master file with all these
changes applied.

ATEM Software Control 55

Editing in DaVinci Resolve
To understand how to use DaVinci Resolve, it’s best to watch some tutorial videos online and
download the free version to use for training. DaVinci Resolve is very sophisticated and is used
by high end Hollywood studios on feature films, however the cut page is a lot simpler and is
easy to learn. Check online for more information.

Recording in Camera
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K and Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K models can
be controlled by the ATEM Mini switchers via the HDMI cable that connects from the camera to
the ATEM Mini. It does this using some communication wires in the cable.
This means you can do color correction and adjust lens settings via the camera control panel in
the ATEM Software Control app. Please check the section in this manual that describes how
this works.
Another advantage of this control is you can select the record in camera setting in the record
stream palette so you can record in the cameras while recording to a USB disk.
The advantage of recording in camera is that the cameras will record in Blackmagic RAW, which
is a film gamma file that’s perfect for applying advanced color correction. However even more
exciting is that the files in camera are 4K, so by using these files you can master your live
production in Ultra HD. Even though these are HD switchers, you can still deliver Ultra HD
masters for upload or broadcast.
The connections to the camera will upload timecode as well as camera number and filename
information. This means the Blackmagic RAW files will be in sync with the switcher timecode.
This makes using them easy.
To use Blackmagic RAW files from the cameras, be sure to select the record in camera setting
in the record stream palette. Then once you have completed recording, be sure to copy the
camera files into the Video ISO files folder from the switcher. It’s important you do this as
DaVinci Resolve needs to see these files when you first open the DaVinci Resolve project file.
However one problem with using both ISO files from the switcher and the Blackmagic RAW files
from the camera is they will clash. Both files have the same timecode and the same camera
number. This is not an issue because DaVinci Resolve, by default will use the ISO files.
To change to use the higher resolution Blackmagic RAW files in your project, just select the
camera originals button on the top right of the cut page window. The icon that looks like a little
camera. Once you select this icon, you should see your timeline change as it’s now selected
the Blackmagic RAW files, which are film gamma.
You might need to add color correction to these files to make your cut look good. Blackmagic
RAW files are clean without color correction, so you can use the powerful color correction tools
in DaVinci Resolve to create an amazingly graded master.
If you want to deliver in Ultra HD, just select the resolution menu next to the camera originals
icon and it allows you to select various resolutions and aspect ratios. The top setting is for Ultra
HD. Once you select this, your whole project will be changed over to Ultra HD and you should
see your images become sharper.
Any non camera inputs such as slide shows from a computer will be upscaled automatically. HD
images from the media pool will also be upscaled automatically. You can replace these images
in the media folder if you want them to be replaced by higher resolution versions of your media
pool graphics.
Now when you do quick export, you will be exporting an Ultra HD master, all from a
HD switcher!

ATEM Software Control 56

Preparing Media for Recording
External disks can be formatted via a Mac or Windows computer. HFS+ is also known as Mac
OS X Extended and is the recommended format as it supports ‘journaling’. Data on journaled
media is more likely to be recovered in the rare event that your storage media becomes
corrupted. HFS+ is natively supported by macOS. exFAT is supported natively by Mac and
Windows without needing any additional software, but does not support journaling. This can be
a good choice if you need to read or write to the disk using both Mac and Windows computers.

Preparing Media on a Computer

Formatting Media on a Mac Computer
The Disk Utility application included with your Mac can format a drive in the HFS+ or exFAT
formats. Make sure you back up anything important from your disk as you will lose everything
on it when it is formatted.
1 Connect your disk to your computer with an external dock, USB hub, or cable adapter
and dismiss any message offering to use your drive for Time Machine backups.
2 On your computer, go to applications/utilities and launch Disk Utility.
3 Click on the disk icon of your drive and then click the erase tab.
4 Set the format to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) or exFAT.
5 Type a name for the new volume and then click erase. Your media will quickly be
formatted and made ready for recording.

Formatting Media on a Windows computer

The format dialog box can format a drive in the exFAT format on a Windows PC. Make sure you
back up anything important from your drive as you will lose everything on it when it is
formatted.
1 Connect the drive to your computer with an external dock, USB hub, or cable adapter.
2 Open the start menu or start screen and choose computer. Right-click on your drive.
3 From the contextual menu, choose format.
4 Set the file system to exFAT and the allocation unit size to 128 kilobytes.
5 Type a volume label, select quick format and click ‘start’.
6 Your drive will quickly be formatted and made ready for recording.

ATEM Software Control 57

 Use the Format dialog box feature
in Windows to format your external
disk in the exFAT format

Capture Video
The capture video option supports legacy model ATEM switchers with USB capture features.

Capture Still
If you need to capture a still image from your broadcast simply click on the ‘capture still’ button.
This acts like a still store which lets you add capture files to the media pool. You can then
immediately load a still into the media player and use it in your broadcast, or save the media
pool to your computer.
To save the media pool:
1 Go to the menu bar at the top of your screen and click on ‘file/save as’.
2 Choose the location you want to save to.
3 Click ‘save’.

Now that your media pool is saved on your computer, you can access the captured stills and
use them in your graphics software.

ATEM Software Control 58

Timecode Generator
The timecode generator automatically runs time of day timecode from the moment you launch
ATEM Software Control. However, you can reset the counter to zero, or manually enter a new
timecode value to start from.

When using ATEM Mini Pro or Extreme,

the timecode generator can be set to time
of day, or free run timecode where you
can set a manual preset timecode

To manually set a preset timecode value:

1 Click in the ‘run mode’ menu and select ‘free run’.
2 In the smaller timecode counter, type in a defined timecode value. As you type, the
new values will appear green.

To confirm the change and set the timecode running, click ‘set’.

Time of Day
When ATEM Mini Pro or Extreme switcher is connected to your computer, the unit will sync time
of day timecode with your computer. The unit has a built in clock that can continue running for
approximately 6 days, so once you disconnect the switcher from your computer, the time of day
timecode will continue until the battery is depleted. The battery will charge while connected to
your computer via USB.

NOTE  The timecode generator is also crucial when recording isolated files on
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Cameras 4K and 6K. When these cameras are connected
to ATEM Mini’s HDMI inputs, they will automatically conform to the ATEM timecode
generator. That means when all cameras are recording the same timecode, you can
edit your broadcast in post production and have all cameras easily synchronized on a
multicamera timeline. For example, you can import your isolated camera recordings in
DaVinci Resolve and setup a multicamera edit with all cameras synced to the same
timecode.

ATEM Software Control 59

Using the Audio Mixer
The audio tab is used to mix audio sources connected to ATEM Mini via HDMI and mic audio.
Cameras and external mic audio sources are listed along the top of the audio mixer along with
the master audio output for the USB webcam program output to your computer.

The audio mixer displays tally lights for any audio sources that are currently on air or when AFV is
selected, as well as audio level, audio balance and buttons for selecting which audio should be used

Below each audio source is an audio level meter, a fader for setting the maximum audio level,
and a knob for setting the left/right audio channel balance. The master fader on the right side of
the audio mixer is used to set the gain on the audio level on the USB webcam program output
and has its own audio level meter. Next to the master fader are mic faders which let you control
the audio level for microphones connected to the mic inputs.
The buttons below each audio level meter determine whether audio is always available for
mixing or only when the source is on air.
The solo monitoring feature for each input is grayed out as it supports ATEM Production Studio
and Broadcast Studio model switchers.

Tally
Any source whose audio is on air is lit with a red tally light in the software. In the example on
this page, camera 3 and camera 4 are lit because their audio is set to be always on. The tally
light will be illuminated dull yellow when AFV is selected and the channel’s associated camera
is off air. This also applies to the master fader tally light when the master fader AFV button is
selected. When FTB is activated, the master fader tally light will blink red.

Audio Level
Drag the audio level fader to set the gain on the audio level for each camera and audio source.
The numbers under each audio level meter show the maximum audio level set by the fader.
The numbers above the audio meter show the peak audio level reached by the audio source.
A green number represents low to medium audio levels.

ATEM Software Control 60

If the audio meter is regularly showing red, and the red number above it is not changing, then
you should reduce the audio level to avoid audio distortion. After adjusting the audio level, you
may wish to reset the red number by clicking on it once. Observe the new number to make sure
it changes for a while and does not immediately shoot up and become stuck on a red number. If
it does, you may need to reduce the audio level even further.

Audio Balance
The audio mixer supports stereo audio from each audio source. If you wish to change the left
and right audio channel balance for a camera or other audio source, adjust the knob to the
desired balance point.

The audio meter for Cam1 is shown in

gray to indicate that its audio will not
be used as neither of its ON or AFV
buttons are enabled. Cam2 has AFV
selected but its audio is not currently
being used as the camera is not on air
as is indicated by its dull yellow tally
light. Cam3 and Cam4 have their direct
mix set to ON so their mixed audio
is always used and their tally lights
remain lit, even if another camera is
currently on air. The audio level meters
for mics 1 and 2 are also set to ‘on’ and
therefore always present in the mix.

Audio Source Selection

Below each audio level meter, you will find the ON and AFV buttons that select which audio
sources are sent to the program output of the switcher.

ON Selecting the direct mix to ON allows an audio input to be permanently mixed

into the program output, even when the associated video source is not on
air. The red tally light will always be lit because the audio is always on air.
Selecting this option automatically disables AFV.

Audio Follow Video Audio follow video allows audio to crossfade when inputs change. The audio
will only be sent to the program output when the input is on air, lighting the
red tally light above. When off air, the tally light is lit dull yellow. Selecting this
option automatically disables the direct mix ON setting.

SOLO The solo feature appears as a headphones icon below each input and is
available for ATEM Production Studio and Broadcast Studio model switchers.

Master Audio Level Output

The master fader on the right side of the audio mixer is used to set the gain on the audio level
for the USB webcam program output and has its own audio level meter. Select the AFV button
on the master audio output fader to enable the AFV fade to black feature. This lets you fade
your master audio when you click on the fade to black button.

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Audio Mixer Monitor
The monitor volume knob and buttons appear below the master fader and control the
monitoring audio output behavior. You can use these settings to set independent audio levels
for monitoring the audio mix without affecting the program output audio. If you’ve selected a
solo input that you want to monitor, these settings let you control the audio monitor levels for
the single input without affecting the program output audio. You can enable these settings by
going to the settings window and selecting the audio out setting to “monitor audio”.

AFV Select ON to enable audio monitoring via the monitor XLR output. Deselect
ON to disable all audio via the monitor XLR output.

DIM Select DIM to temporarily reduce the monitor audio level without having to
adjust the fader.

Shaping your Audio Mix using Advanced Fairlight Controls

ATEM Mini has advanced Fairlight audio controls that let you enhance and refine the quality of
sound on each input and master output, including input level controls, a 6 band parametric
equalizer and powerful dynamics settings.

This section of the manual shows the different Fairlight audio controls you can use to shape and
optimize the audio mix in your live production.

Input Level
Generally, when setting up your audio mix, the first step is to normalize all your inputs. This
means adjusting the input level knob on each input so you can optimize all the levels to their
highest strength without clipping.
This control is at the top of each track under the tally light. Change the level by clicking on the
knob and dragging left to decrease the level, or right to increase. By setting the input control,
it brings all the inputs up to a common signal strength so they are all at their strongest without
clipping.

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After you have normalized all your input levels, you can now begin optimizing and shaping the
qualities in each audio input using the 6 band parametric equalizer and dynamics controls.

Delay Control
Sometimes when using analog audio via your ATEM Mini’s mic inputs, there may be a slight
difference in the sync between analog audio and video. For example, the analog audio may
sound slightly ahead of the video. This is because analog audio is independent of the video
inputs and is coming directly from an external source, while the HDMI inputs might have some
delay depending on upstream equipment, such as some cameras and video processors.
Setting the audio delay will ensure the analog audio input is perfectly AV synced to the video
inputs from cameras.

To adjust the amount of delay on the selected input:

1 Click on the delay indicator beneath the input audio level control knob on the
channel strip.

Click on the delay indicator below the level

input knob to open the delay control.

A small popup window will open containing the delay adjustment knob.
2 Click on the delay knob and drag left to decrease the amount of delay, or drag right to
increase. The amount of delay is measured in frames. Close the window by clicking on
the small ‘x’ in the top corner, or move the window to a safe place on your desktop if
you need to make further adjustments later.

Click on the delay control and drag left or

right to decrease or increase the amount
of delay required for an analog input

Using the 6 Band Parametric Equalizer

Each input and the master output has a 6 band parametric equalizer which can be used to
control specific frequencies. This could include reducing low frequency hum or noise on a
microphone input, or boosting the low frequencies on a thin sounding track, or even to add
uniqueness to each input so they are more distinct in the final mix. You have many
creative options.

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Parametric Equalizer
To open the parametric equalizer for an input or the master output, click on the corresponding
equalizer indicator.

Click on an input’s equalizer indicator to

open a 6 band parametric equalizer

The first item you will notice is the graph along the top of the window with numbered indicators
from 1 to 6. These numbered indicators are adjustable handles that correspond to bands 1 to 6.
Each band of the 6 band parametric equalizer has a column of settings. These settings will
differ based on which band you are controlling, and what filter type you are using.

Each audio input has its own 6 band parametric equalizer

TIP  You can learn more about band filters later in this section.

If you want to make changes to a setting, you will first need to make sure the band is enabled.
Click on a band label to enable it. When enabled, the button label is illuminated blue. Now you
can change the settings for that band, or click and drag the handles to make fast adjustments.

Handles
Each band handle is positioned along the line curve displayed in the graph. You can click and
drag each handle to choose the frequency you wish to adjust for that band, and the gain you
want to set. When moving a handle with your mouse, both the frequency and gain settings are
affected simultaneously, which gives you a fast way to make quick adjustments to each band
across the entire range of frequencies.

NOTE  To make changes using a handle, ensure the band is enabled. Simply click on
the band you want to adjust. The band label will illuminate blue when enabled.

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As you drag a handle left or right, you will notice the frequency and decibels update in the band
settings. This will also be reflected by the frequency range preset buttons for low, medium low,
medium high, and high.

Frequency Knobs
Alternatively, you can use the frequency knobs for each band to select a specific frequency
to adjust.

Range Presets
The frequency range for each band is defined by the range preset buttons. For example, low is
labeled ‘L’ and covers the frequency range from 30 to 395 Hz.
As a quick example of how the range presets define the frequency range, select a notch filter
from the band filter menu and then click on each range preset. You will see the filter effect
move to a position along the graph curve that corresponds to the range preset you choose.
This lets you quickly define a specific range of frequencies you want the filter to affect.
Below is a table showing the range of frequencies for each range preset setting.

Range Preset Frequency Range

Low 30 Hz to 395 Hz

Mid Low 100 Hz to 1.48 kHz

Mid High 450 Hz to 7.91 kHz

High 1.4 kHz to 21.7 kHz

Gain Knobs
Click and drag the gain knob left or right to decrease or increase the volume level for the
selected frequency.

Q Factor
The Q factor control is available when the bell filter is applied to bands 2, 3, 4 and 5. This sets
the range of frequencies the filter will affect. For example, setting the minimum will allow the
filter to affect a wide range of surrounding frequencies and the maximum setting will narrow
the effect down to a tiny point. This is important if you have sound qualities in surrounding
frequencies that you want to either include or exclude from the change you are making.
As you adjust the Q factor, watch the shape of the effect on the line curve change from a broad,
rounded edge to a sharp point. This is a visual representation showing how the regions of
frequencies surrounding the target frequency are affected.

TIP  Compare the audio with changes against the original unaltered audio by clicking
on the bypass button at the very top of the equalizer window. This lets you turn the
equalizer on or off.

Band Filters
There are six different types of band filters you can choose from. These filters include bell, high
shelf, low shelf, notch, high pass, and low pass. These filters let you control specific zones
within the frequency range. For example, a low shelf filter lets you increase or decrease the
level of volume for lower frequencies on the graph, and a high shelf filter controls the higher
frequencies.

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Try setting a low shelf filter to band 3 and make changes to the gain setting. You will see the
changes are weighted towards the low end frequencies on the graph.
A description for each filter type is provided below.

Bell High Shelf Low Shelf

This filter is used to increase Lets you increase or decrease Lets you increase or decrease
or decrease a range of the level of volume for higher the level of volume for lower
frequencies surrounding frequencies along the graph. frequencies along the graph.
a defined frequency.

Notch High Pass Low Pass

This filter lets you remove, Smoothly removes extreme Smoothly removes extreme
or cut, a defined frequency. low end frequencies, allowing high end frequencies, allowing
the high end frequencies to the low end frequencies to
pass unaffected. pass unaffected.

TIP  It’s not uncommon to have filters on each band overlapping on the graph curve
with adjustments working together. For example, you may have a low shelf filter
applied to band 4, and a notch filter on band 5 reducing a frequency within the same
range.

Dynamics Controls
In addition to the 6 band parametric equalizer, you can also enhance and finesse the input
and master output audio using dynamics controls. Where the equalizer lets you control the
frequencies within a signal, dynamics controls let you set how various levels behave. Levels
within the signal can be adjusted including expanding the dynamic range between low levels
and high levels, gating an input so you can choose what is stronger or softer within a signal,
or you can even use the compressor and limiter so that audio can be generally lifted and made
stronger without clipping.
Combined with equalizer controls, these features are extremely powerful, giving you the ability
to precisely shape and define the audio and generally optimize the sound of the master output.
This section describes the expander, gate, compressor and limiter controls.

The dynamics controls can be opened for

each input and the master output by clicking
on its corresponding dynamics indicator

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 Common Dynamics Settings
The expander/gate, compressor and limiter share common settings that let you shape
how each function affects the audio. For example the level at which the function
initiates, how long the function is applied, the strength of the function, etc. The settings
available differ depending on the dynamics control you are using.

Threshold Sets the sound level at which the function activates. For example, setting
the threshold for the compressor to -20dB tells your switcher to activate
compression when the signal rises above -20dB. Alternatively, setting
the expander to -40dB means the switcher will only initiate the expander
once the signal level drops below -40dB.

Range This setting defines the range of decibels affected by the function.

Ratio Defines the maximum strength of the function once initiated.

Attack Sets the smoothness of the function when it initiates. For example,
a long attack will allow the function to fade into the signal, blending in
better without drawing too much attention, whereas a short attack may
be better for complex sound activity with many quick variations where a
longer attack may cause artifacts.

Hold Sustains the dynamics function over an adjustable period of time.

Release Similar to attack but occurs at the end of the function activity.
For example, lets the dynamics function ease out gradually, or fall away
rapidly, once the level moves out of the threshold.

Expander/Gate
The first set of dynamics parameters can be switched between expansion and gating.
Expansion emphasizes differences in volume by lowering the level of soft parts of the signal
relative to the level of louder parts. You can use an expander to emphasize the differences
between quiet and loud parts of a track, or to increase the dynamic range of a signal and
minimize unwanted noise.
Gating is like an exaggerated expander, reducing the level or even silencing parts of a signal
that fall below a certain level in order to reduce or eliminate noise in quiet parts of a recording.
For example, a range of 15 to 20 dB can reduce breathing in a vocal track but leaves just
enough to sound natural.
Gating is extremely effective, but it’s also very powerful so requires careful attention. If the gate
threshold is set too high it can cause artifacts, such as cutting off the start of a syllable or the
quiet end of a word. You can compensate by reducing the threshold slightly, or by increasing
the attack or release time.

Compressor
Compression lets you reduce peaks in an audio signal, reducing the dynamic range of a signal,
so you can boost the overall level without clipping. This is helpful when you want to make sure
the loud elements in a signal don’t diminish the strength of quieter sounds, or to smoothen
changes in audio levels within the signal.

TIP  It’s a good idea to apply the compressor after you have set the EQ controls.

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Make Up
The make up setting lets you increase the overall signal in combination with compression
settings. With loud parts of the audio reduced using compression, you can now use the make
up control to boost the overall sound without clipping.

Limiter
The limiter prevents peaks of the signal from exceeding a set maximum level. A limiter is helpful
to prevent hard clipping. For example, if you set the limiter to -8 dB, the input signal will never
exceed that level. Adjusting the attack, hold and release settings will set how gentle the limiter
affects the signal.

Dynamics Controls Characteristics

Control Minimum Default Maximum

Expander/Gate
Expander Controls*

Threshold -50dB -45dB** 0dB

Range 0dB 18dB 60dB

Ratio 1.0:1 1.1:1 10:1

Attack 0.5ms 1.4ms 30ms

Hold 0.0ms 0.0ms 4s

Release 50ms 93ms 4s

Expander/Gate
Gate Controls*

Threshold -50dB -45dB** 0dB

Range 0dB 18dB 60dB

Attack 0.5ms 1.4ms 30ms

Hold 0.0ms 0.0ms 4s

Release 50ms 93ms 4s

Compressor
Compressor Controls

Threshold -50dB -35dB 0dB

Ratio 1.0:1 2.0:1 10:1

Attack 0.7ms 1.4ms 30ms

Hold 0.0ms 0.0ms 4s

Release 50ms 93ms 4s

Limiter
Limiter Controls

Threshold -50dB -12dB 0dB

Attack 0.7ms 0.7ms 30ms

Hold 0.0ms 0.0ms 4s

Release 50ms 93ms 4s

* Master Dynamics expander/gate controls are unused in Master Dynamics.

** Master Dynamics expander/gate threshold default is -35dB. Mic
Dynamics expander/gate threshold default is -45dB.

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Fairlight Controls Workflow Guide
This section describes a basic workflow to help you get started using the Fairlight controls to
refine and enhance your audio mix.
1 Generally, the first step to optimizing your mix is to normalize all the inputs so they are
all at their maximum strength without clipping. This is normally done by increasing or
decreasing the input gain level for each input so their signal peaks just below 0dB on
the channel strip’s level indicator.
2 If you want to split any mono inputs into two separate channels for stereo output, go to
the general switcher settings and navigate to the audio tab. Enable the checkboxes for
the mono inputs you want to change to stereo. Click ‘done’.

TIP  If you want to split mono inputs into two separate channels, it’s best to do
this before normalizing the input as described in step 1, so that you can
normalize both channels after they have been split.

3 Now, click on the EQ indicators below input level controls and make equalization
changes to each input. You can move the windows into a better position, or close them
if needed.
4 After setting EQ, open the dynamics controls for each input by clicking on their
respective dynamics indicator. Make the required dynamics changes to generally
improve and refine the input audio.
5 With EQ and dynamics set for each input, you can now open the EQ controls for the
master output and sweeten the final audio mix.
6 Now open the master output’s dynamics controls and make any required changes to
improve the final output.

Once all the Fairlight controls are set, you can then increase or decrease the faders on the
audio mixer to set them at their best levels for the live mix and make adjustments where
necessary during the production. You can also go back to any of the settings and make further
adjustments if needed, but it’s best to follow the same order as described above to get the best
results from each function. For example, it’s important to set EQ controls before making
dynamics changes as the processing chain in your switcher applies dynamics to the audio after
equalization.
Most important of all is to apply the effects carefully so your audio still sounds natural but
exciting too!

Using the Media Page

The media page is where all your graphics or stills are stored and is very easy to use. Simply
find the still you want to use with the browse window, then drag and drop the file into a slot in
the media pool. From there, you can load any one of those stills into the media player and
switch it to air using the media player 1 source button on the software control panel. You can
also use stills in the media player with the upstream and downstream keyer.

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Keep reading this section for information on how to use the media page in ATEM
Software Control.

Navigating the Browse Window

The browse window is a simplified file browser that lets you navigate your computer to look for
graphics files. All attached drives on your computer are displayed, and you can select folders
from them. View sub folders by clicking on the arrows next to each folder.
The ‘preview’ window will show any selected graphics files.

Browse window

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Browsing and loading files
Loading a still is as easy as dragging it from the browse window and dropping it into an empty
slot in the media pool.
When dropping a still into a slot, a progress indicator will show the loading status. You can drop
multiple files into the media pool, even if the first images have not yet completed loading, as
they will continue to load one after the other. If a still is dropped into a window which already
has content loaded, the existing content will be replaced.
The ATEM media pool supports PNG, TGA, BMP, GIF, JPEG and TIFF still image formats.

ATEM Media Pool

When files have been loaded into the media pool, the slots will show a thumbnail image. Stills
are marked with a slot number so you can identify them when assigning a still image to the
media player when using an external ATEM hardware panel.
The file name for each loaded file is displayed underneath the slot so you can easily keep track
of files you have loaded. This is very useful as you will see a list of media pool still and clip
numbers and their file names in the media player palette on the switcher page.
Numbers are displayed on slots in the media pool to clearly show which slot is assigned to the
media player. When a media player slot is switched to the program output, the media player
number on the slot changes to red to indicate the slot is on air. When a slot is on the preview
output, the media player number changes to green.

ATEM Media Pool

On the switcher page, you can change the media player assignment from the media tab by
selecting your desired still from the ‘media’ menu. Simply click on the arrow in the player ‘media’
list to select from a list of media pool slots.

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Image File Types
The ATEM media page can use many different file formats including TGA, PNG, BMP, GIF,
JPEG and TIFF.
Formats such as TGA include a separate ‘alpha’ channel together with the RGB color channels.
This lets you embed a matte, or key image, inside that alpha channel. When a TGA image is
loaded in the media player, ATEM Software Control will automatically detect the key image in
the alpha channel and load it as the linear key source. This means your TGA graphic will key
beautifully straight away with perfect transparency.

Creating a TGA File with an Alpha Channel

Below is a demonstration showing how to create a title in Photoshop with an alpha channel.
1 Launch Adobe Photoshop and start a new project. Set the project to use the same
horizontal and vertical dimensions used in your broadcast video format. For example, if
you are broadcasting 1080p50, set the resolution to 1920 x 1080 pixels.
2 In the layers panel, create a new layer and build the graphic you want to use. In this
demonstration, we are using a ‘wedding’ lower thirds graphic.
3 Hold down the ‘command’ key on a Mac, or ‘control’ key for Windows, and click on the
layer thumbnail for your graphic. This will generate a selection of the color channels’
opacity values in your image. Their opacity determines the transparency of the graphic.

4 Go to the adjoining ‘channels’ panel and click on the ‘save selection as channel’ tool.

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 You will now see an alpha channel appear underneath the RGB color channels. The
alpha channel contains a grayscale version of the combined color channels in your
graphic. Don’t forget to click on the alpha channel’s ‘eye’ icon to make sure it is
selected so it will be included when the TGA file is saved.

5 Your selection has now been used to create the grayscale matte in the alpha channel. If
you want to, you can now go to the ’menu’ bar and click ‘select/deselect’ to remove the
selection marquee.
6 Now it’s time to save your TGA file.
Go to the file menu and click on ‘save as’. Type the file name and select the location for
your file. In the format box, select ‘targa’, which is the full name for a TGA file and make
sure the ‘alpha channels’ checkbox is selected.

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7 Click ‘save’. A targa options box will appear asking which resolution you want to save.
Select ’32 bits/pixel’. This provides enough data for four 8 bit channels which includes
the red, green and blue color channels, plus the alpha channel. Click ‘OK’.

Your TGA file is saved.

Now you can open ATEM Software Control and load the file into the media pool. From
there, drop the graphic into the media player and the alpha channel you saved will
automatically be loaded into the media player key source. The key source uses the
grayscale image in the alpha channel to tell the linear keyer transparency values for
the graphic.
If you switch the linear key to air, you will now see the graphic keyed over the
background with perfect transparency.

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Using Camera Control
Clicking on the ‘camera’ button in ATEM Software Control opens the camera control feature that
lets you control Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K and 6K from your ATEM Mini. Camera
settings such as iris, gain, focus, detail and zoom control are easily adjusted using compatible
lenses, plus you can color balance cameras and create unique looks using the DaVinci Resolve
primary color corrector that’s built into the camera.

ATEM Camera Control.

When controlling cameras, the ATEM switcher control works by broadcasting camera control
packets via all the HDMI inputs of your ATEM Mini. So this means you can connect an HDMI
input of your ATEM Mini to the camera’s HDMI connector and the camera will detect the control
packets in the HDMI signal and allow you to control features in the camera.
ATEM Software Control automatically knows which camera is connected to each input, so the
tally signals will always trigger the appropriate cameras. However, if you want to change the
button mapping so camera inputs appear on different buttons, you can do that in the button
mapping settings in ATEM Software Control’s preferences.

Camera Control Panel

Launch ATEM Software Control and click on the ‘camera’ button located at the bottom of the
software window. You’ll see a row of labeled Blackmagic camera controllers containing tools to
adjust and refine each camera’s image. The controllers are easy to use. Simply click the buttons
using your mouse, or click and drag features to adjust.

Camera Control Selection

The button row at the top of the camera control page lets you select the camera number you
would like to control.

Channel Status
The channel status at the top of each camera controller displays the camera label, On Air
indicator and lock button. Press the lock button to lock all the controls for a specific camera.
When on air, the channel status illuminates red and displays the On Air alert.

Using Camera Control 75

Camera Settings
The camera settings button near the bottom left of the master wheel lets you adjust detail
settings for each camera’s picture signal.

Each camera controller displays the

channel status so you know which
camera is on air. Use the color
wheels to adjust each YRGB channel’s
lift, gamma and gain settings.

Detail
Use this setting to sharpen the image from your cameras live. Decrease or increase the
level of sharpening by selecting: Detail off, detail default for low sharpening, medium
detail and high detail.

Color Wheel
The color wheel is a powerful feature of the DaVinci Resolve color corrector and used
to make color adjustments to each YRGB channel’s lift, gamma and gain settings.
You can select which setting to adjust by clicking on the three selection buttons above
the color wheel.

Master Wheel
Use the master wheel below the color wheel to make contrast adjustments to all
YRGB channels at once, or luminance only for each lift, gamma or gain setting.

Reset Buttons
The reset button near the bottom right of each camera controller lets you easily choose
color correction settings to reset, copy or paste. Each color wheel also has its own
reset button. Press to restore a setting to its default state, or copy/paste a setting.
Locked controllers are not affected by the Paste feature.
The master reset button on the bottom right corner of the color corrector panel lets
you reset lift, gamma and gain color wheels plus Contrast, Hue, Saturation and Lum Mix
settings. You can paste color correction settings to camera controllers individually,
or all cameras at once for a unified look. Iris, focus, coarse and pedestal settings are
not affected by the Paste feature. When applying Paste to all, a warning message will
appear asking you to confirm your action. This is so you don’t accidentally paste new
settings to any unlocked cameras that are currently on air.

When applying ‘paste to all’, a warning message will appear asking

you to confirm your action. This is so you don’t accidentally paste
new settings to any unlocked cameras that are currently on air.

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Iris/Pedestal Control
The iris/pedestal control is located within the cross hairs of each camera controller.
The control illuminates red when its camera is on air.
To open or close the iris, drag the control up or down. Holding the shift key allows only
iris adjustments.
To darken or lift the pedestal, drag the control left or right. Holding the command key
on a Mac, or the Control key on Windows, allows only pedestal adjustments.

The iris/pedestal control illuminates red

when its respective camera is on air.

Zoom Control
When using compatible lenses with an electronic zoom feature, you can zoom your lens
in and out using the Zoom control. The controller works just like the zoom rocker on a
lens, with telephoto on one end and wide angle on the other. Click on the zoom control,
located above the coarse slider and drag up to zoom in, or drag down to zoom out.

Coarse Setting
The coarse setting is located to the right of the iris/pedestal control and is used to limit
the iris range. This feature helps you prevent over exposed images from going to air.
To set your coarse threshold, completely open the iris using the iris control, then drag
the coarse setting up or down to set optimum exposure. Now when you adjust the iris,
the coarse threshold will prevent it from going above optimum exposure.

Iris Indicator
The iris indicator is located to the left of the iris/pedestal control and displays a visual
reference so you can easily see how open or closed the lens aperture is. The iris
indicator is affected by the coarse setting.

Auto Focus Button

The auto focus button is located at the bottom right corner of each camera controller.
Press to automatically set the focus when you have an active lens that supports
electronic focus adjustments. It’s important to know that while most lenses support
electronic focus, some lenses can be set to manual or auto focus modes and so you
need to ensure your lens is set to auto focus mode. Sometimes this is set by sliding the
focus ring on the lens forward or backward.

Using Camera Control 77

Click on the auto focus button or drag the manual focus
adjustment left or right to focus a compatible lens.

Manual Focus Adjustment

When you want to adjust the focus on your camera manually, you can use the focus
adjustment located at the bottom of each camera controller. Drag the wheel control
left or right to manually adjust focus while viewing the video feed from the camera to
ensure your image is nice and sharp.

Camera Gain
The camera gain setting allows you to turn on additional gain in the camera. On
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Cameras, this setting relates to ISO. This is important when
you are operating in low light conditions and need extra gain, or ISO, in the front end of
the camera to avoid your images being under exposed. You can decrease or increase
gain by clicking on the left or right arrows on the dB gain setting.
You can turn on some gain when you need it, such as outdoor shoots when the light
fades at sunset and you need to increase your image brightness. It’s worth noting that
adding gain will increase noise in your images.

Shutter Speed Control

The shutter speed control is located in the section between the color wheel and the
iris/pedestal control. Decrease or increase the shutter speed by hovering your mouse
pointer over the shutter speed indicator and then clicking on the left or right arrows.
On Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Cameras, this setting relates to shutter angle.
If you see flicker in lights you can decrease your shutter speed to eliminate it.
Decreasing shutter speed is a good way to brighten your images without using camera
gain because you are increasing the exposure time of the image sensor. Increasing
shutter speed will reduce motion blur so can be used when you want action shots to
be sharp and clean with minimal motion blur.

White Balance
The white balance setting next to the shutter speed control can be adjusted by clicking
on the left or right arrows on each side of the color temperature indicator. Different light
sources emit warm or cool colors, so you can compensate by adjusting the white
balance. This ensures the whites in your image stay white.

Hovering your mouse pointer over the gain, shutter

speed and white balance indicators reveal arrows you
can click on to adjust their respective settings.

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DaVinci Resolve Primary Color Corrector
If you have a color correction background, then you can change your camera control from a
switcher style CCU interface to a user interface that’s more like a primary color corrector on a
post production color grading system.
Blackmagic cameras feature a DaVinci Resolve primary color corrector built in. If you have used
DaVinci Resolve, then creatively, grading in the Blackmagic camera will be identical so you can
use your color grading experience for live production. The color corrector panel can be
expanded out of any camera controller and provides expanded color correction control with
extra settings and a full primary color corrector interface.

Click on the DaVinci Resolve primary color corrector button to expand

the color correction window and adjust settings.

You have color wheels and settings such as saturation available and you can see shadows,
mid tones and highlight settings all at the same time. Simply switch between cameras using the
camera selection controls at the top of the window as you need.

Lift, gamma and gain color wheels in the color corrector panel.

Using Camera Control 79

Color Wheels

Click and drag anywhere within the color ring

Note that you don’t need to drag the color balance indicator itself. As the color balance
indicator moves, the RGB parameters underneath change to reflect the adjustments being made to
each channel.

Shift-Click and drag within the color ring

Jumps the color balance indicator to the absolute position of the pointer, letting you make faster and
more extreme adjustments.

Double-click within the color ring

Resets the color adjustment without resetting the master wheel adjustment for that control.

Click the reset control at the upper-right of a color ring

Resets both the color balance control and its corresponding master wheel.

Master Wheels
Use the master wheels below the color wheels to adjust each YRGB channels’ lift, gamma and
gain controls.

Adjust the master wheels by dragging

the wheel control left or right.

To make adjustments using the master wheel:

Drag the master wheel left or right

Dragging to the left darkens the selected parameter of the image, dragging to the right lightens that
parameter. As you make an adjustment, the YRGB parameters underneath change to reflect the
adjustment you’re making. To make a Y-only adjustment, hold down the ALT or Command key and drag
left or right. Because the color corrector uses YRGB processing, you can get quite creative and create
unique affects by adjusting the Y channel only. Y channel adjustments work best when the Lum Mix
setting is set to the right side to use YRGB processing vs the left side to use regular RGB processing.
Normally, most DaVinci Resolve colorists use the YRGB color corrector as you get a lot more control of
color balance without affecting overall gain, so you spend less time getting the look you want.

Using Camera Control 80

Contrast Setting
The Contrast setting gives you control over the distance between the darkest and lightest
values of an image. The effect is similar to making opposing adjustments using the lift and gain
master wheels. The default setting is 50%.

Saturation Setting
The Saturation setting increases or decreases the amount of color in the image. The default
setting is 50%.

Hue Setting
The Hue setting rotates all hues of the image around the full perimeter of the color wheel.
The default setting of 180 degrees shows the original distribution of hues. Raising or lowering
this value rotates all hues forward or backward along the hue distribution as seen on a
color wheel.

Lum Mix Setting

The color corrector built into Blackmagic cameras is based on the DaVinci Resolve primary
color corrector. DaVinci has been building color correctors since the early 1980’s and most
Hollywood films are color graded on DaVinci Resolve than any other method.
This means that your color corrector built into the camera has some unique and creatively
powerful features. The YRGB processing is one of those features.
When color grading, you can choose to use RGB processing, or YRGB processing. High end
colorists use YRGB processing because you have more precise control over color and you can
independently adjust the channels with better separation and more creative options.
When the Lum Mix control is set to the right side, you have the 100% output of the YRGB color
corrector. When you have the Lum Mix control set to the left side, you get 100% output of the
RGB corrector. You can set the Lum Mix to any position between the left and right to get a blend
of output from both the RGB and YRGB correctors.

Drag the sliders left or right to adjust Contrast,

Saturation, Hue and Lum Mix settings.

Which is the correct setting to use? That’s up to you, as color correction is a pure creative
process and there is no right and wrong. The best setting is what you like the most and what
you think looks good!

Synchronizing Settings
When connected, camera control signals are sent from your ATEM switcher to the Blackmagic
camera. If a setting is accidentally adjusted from your camera, camera control will automatically
reset that setting to maintain synchronization.

Using Camera Control 81

Using Macros
What is a Macro?
A macro is an easy way to automate a sequence of switcher actions so you can repeat the
sequence at the press, or click, of a button. For example, you can record a sequence of
transitions between several video sources, including key effects, audio mixer adjustments,
camera control settings and more. Record all your actions to a macro button, then when you
press that button all your recorded actions will be instantly performed. Macros are recorded
using the macros window in ATEM Software Control, and are stored inside your ATEM Mini.
You can run all your recorded macros using the software control panel.

The Macros Window in ATEM Software Control

To open the macros window in ATEM Software Control, click on macros in the title bar, or you
can also press shift/command/M for Mac, or shift/control/M for Windows. The macros window
is a floating window you can move freely about your desktop. This is so you can always access
the window when moving between the switcher, media, audio and camera pages. While
recording a macro, you can even reduce the size of the window by clicking on the minimize icon
at the top right corner.

The macros window in

ATEM Software Control lets
you record and run macros
so you can easily repeat a
sequence of complex switcher
actions at the click of a button.

Macros can be recorded to any of the 100 macro slots. Up to 20 macro slots are visible on
each page. Move forwards and backwards through pages by clicking on the arrows on the
bottom sides of the window. Clicking on the create and run buttons lets you swap between
the create and run pages so you can record your macros, and then run them during your
live production.

Using Macros 82
Recording Macros
Macros need to be recorded comprehensively, in clearly defined sequences from start to finish
without error. This is because your macro will record every setting, press of a button, and
switcher action you perform. When you run a macro, all the switcher actions you recorded in
that macro will be repeated precisely.
It’s worth highlighting that a macro will only record the settings you change. For example, if you
want a 3:00 second transition, and your switcher’s transition rate is already set to 3:00 seconds,
you’ll need to change the duration, then set it back to 3:00 seconds to record the setting. If not,
your desired transition rate will not be recorded and when the macro is run it will simply use the
transition rate your switcher was last set to. So you can see why precision is important!
If settings are changed while recording a macro and you want them restored to a particular
state, simply restore those settings while recording the final steps of the macro. You can even
record macros to restore settings for various projects. You have lots of choices. The important
thing to remember when recording a macro is that you change all the settings you need to so
you can create the specific effects you want.

Recording a Macro using ATEM Software Control

In the example below, we’re going to create a macro that will set your ATEM switcher to perform
a 3 second mix transition from color bars to color 1, pause for 2 seconds, then perform a
3 second mix transition to black. Try building this macro on your ATEM switcher so you can
learn the steps in creating macros.
1 Launch ATEM Software Control and open the macros window.
2 Click on the create button in the macros window to select the create page.
3 Click on a macro slot you want to record your macro to. In this example, click on
macro slot 1. An orange border will appear around the slot you have selected.
4 Click on the create macro button, which is labeled with a ‘plus’ icon, to open the create
macro popup window.
If you want to, you can enter the name of your macro and type a description. This lets
you easily keep track of your macros and quickly see what each macro does. When you
click on a macro, your notes will appear in the status window.

To start recording a macro, select a macro

slot, then click on the create macro button.
Type in your notes and click ‘record’.

5 Click the ‘record’ button.

The popup window will close and a red border will appear around your ATEM Software
Control panel indicating your macro is now recording. Notice the red ‘add pause’ button
at the top of the border.

Using Macros 83
 Now that your macro is recording, you can start performing your switcher actions.

While recording, the create macro button

will change to a ‘record’ button. When you
have completed your switcher actions, click
on the ‘record’ button to stop recording.

6 Click on the bars button in the program panel on the switcher page. This sets bars to
your switcher’s program output.
7 Select color 1 on the preview output.
8 Open the transitions palette and set it to mix.
If mix is already selected, make sure your macro records the setting by selecting a
different transition type, for example the wipe transition, then clicking on mix again.
9 Now change the transition Rate to 3:00. This sets the mix transition duration to
3 seconds.
10 Click on the auto button in the transition style panel. Your switcher will perform a mix
transition from color bars to color 1.
11 To set the switcher to wait for 2 seconds before applying another transition, click on
the add pause button at the top of the red border. The ‘insert pause’ window will open.
Set the pause to 5 seconds and 00 frames and click ‘confirm’.
Why set a 5 second pause when you only want a 2 second pause? That’s because
when the mix transition occurs, it takes 3 seconds to complete. So if you want to add a
pause, you need to consider the transition duration, plus the pause you want to happen
before the next transition occurs.
In this example, it takes 3 seconds for the transition to complete, then 2 seconds for
your 2 second pause, so you should enter a pause of 5 seconds. Another way is to add
two separate pauses, one for the duration of the transition, and then another for the
pause you want. It’s up to you.
12 Now select black on the preview panel, and click the auto button in the transition style
panel. Your ATEM switcher will perform a mix transition to black.
13 Click the record icon in the macros window to stop recording your macro.
The macro you just recorded will now appear as a button in your selected macro slot.
To preview your macro, click the run button in the macros window to enter the run
page. Select recall and run, which sets the macros window to run a macro as soon as
you click on a macro button. Now click on your new macro button, named ‘Transitions’.
14 If you want your macro to instantly run as soon as you select it, click on the ‘recall and
run’ button. By enabling this feature you can load and play your macros with only one
click of a button.

Using Macros 84
If your macro was successful, you should see your ATEM switcher perform a mix from color bars
to color 1 using a 3 second transition, pause for 2 seconds, then perform another 3 second mix
transition to black, all by clicking one button in the macros window! Your ATEM switcher will also
display an orange border around your software control panel to indicate a macro is playing.
If your macro doesn’t perform the way you expect it to, simply rerecord the macro you just
created following the previous steps.

ATEM Software Control displays a red border to indicate when you are
recording a macro. The ‘add pause’ button located at the top of the red
border lets you enter durations for pauses between switcher actions.

Enter a name for your macro and a description so you can keep
track of the switcher actions recorded in the macro.

Using Macros 85
 The image shows how a macro
button appears in the macros
window after it has been
recorded. To run a macro,
click on the ‘run’ button to enter
the run page. Now you can
load and/or run the macro by
clicking on the macro button.

Building Large Macros

Macros can even include triggering other macros as part of recording a macro. This lets you
easily build larger macros from multiple smaller macros, i.e., recording macros with limited
actions, then compiling them into a large macro. This is because if there are any mistakes while
recording a large macro in one complete sequence, you’ll need to go back to the start of your
sequence and rerecord it. It’s a lot easier to work with segments containing a small number
of actions.
By recording a large macro using small macros, you can also edit your large macro by
rerecording only the small macros you want to change, then compiling your small macros back
into your large macro.

To compile small macros into a large macro:

1 Start recording a new macro, then while the macro is recording, click on the ‘run’
button to enter the run page.
2 Select ‘recall and run’ to automatically run macros at the push or click of a button,
or deselect to load a macro and play it manually.
3 Run your sequence of small macros, with pauses between each one to cover the
duration of each small macro, until you’ve completed the large macro.
4 Stop recording. You now have a complex, powerful large macro built from small macros
you can easily change later if you need to.

There is no limit to the amount of actions you can perform. You can easily build complex
transitions, create unique repeatable effects using keyers, or set up frequently used Blackmagic
Studio Camera settings, graphic overlays and DVEs so you don’t have to reconstruct them
every time you start a new program. Macros are fun and will save you a lot of time!

Using Macros 86
Macros Window Create Page
Edit macro button:
First select the macro you want to edit,
Create macro button: then click on the edit macro button to edit
Click this button to open the name and description of the macro.
the create macro popup
window. From here you can
name a new macro to be Delete macro button: Select the macro
recorded, write a description you want to delete, then click on the delete
of your macro in the notes macro button to delete the selected macro.
section, and click record to
start recording your macro.

Macro buttons:
After recording a macro to a selected
macro slot, your macro will appear as
a macro button. 20 macro buttons can
Arrow buttons and be displayed on one page. If a macro is
page Icons: unnamed when recording, the number of
To access or record more the selected macro slot will be used.
than 20 macros, simply click
on the right arrow at the
bottom corner of the macros
window to open a new page
of macros. To move to the
previous page of macros,
click on the left arrow. You
can see which page of Status window:
macros you are viewing by This window provides helpful prompts
observing the page icons and status messages to help you
between the arrows. get started recording and running your
macros. When a macro is selected, it also
displays any notes you have included.

Macros Window Run Page

Play:
When Recall and Run is deselected
and you have loaded a macro by
clicking on a macro button, click the
Recall and Run: play icon to start playing the macro.
Selecting the Recall and Run
feature lets you instantly run
a macro by clicking a macro
button. Deselecting the Recall Stop:
and Run feature lets you load Clicking the stop button will stop
a macro by clicking on your the playback of a macro, but will
macro button. Run the macro complete the current action first. For
by clicking the play button. example, if you press stop half way
into a transition, the switcher will
finish the transition and then stop.

Loop:
When the loop button is selected and
you run a macro, your macro will run
continuously until you click the stop
button. When loop is deselected, your
macro will run until it is completed.

Using Macros 87
Changing Switcher Settings
Clicking on the switcher settings ‘gear’ icon will open the settings window where you can
change general switcher settings, audio, label, HyperDeck and remote settings. These settings
are divided into tabs. If you are using ATEM Mini Pro or Extreme switchers, you will also have a
multiview settings tab.

Changing switcher settings

General Settings
Setting the Switcher Video Standard
The video setting is used to select the operating video standard of your ATEM Mini. The video
standard is set automatically when you plug in the first HDMI source, however if you ever need
to change the video standard you can use this setting to do that. All video sources will then be
converted to match the set video standard.
If you want to return ATEM Mini to automatically detect the first connected video format, select
‘auto mode’.

Set video standard

To set the video standard, select the format you want to use from the ‘set video standard to’
menu and then click on the set button. Any time the video standard is changed, the switcher
will remove any stills you have loaded into the media pool, so it’s best to set the video standard
before loading any media.

Changing Switcher Settings 88

Supported Video Input Standards

1080p60 1080i60

1080p59.94 1080i59.94

1080p50 1080i50

1080p30

1080p29.97

1080p25

1080p24

1080p23.98

720p60

720p59.94

720p50

Setting Audio Input and Output Behavior

The ‘audio’ tab lets you control the nature of the audio follow video feature plus set the mic
inputs to mic or line level audio. Microphones typically have weaker signals compared to line
outputs from other audio devices. This means when mic is selected, the input is boosted
slightly to compensate. This also means that if mic is accidentally selected when a line level
input is plugged in, the audio will sound unusually loud. If the audio sounds much louder than it
should be, check that line is selected instead of mic.

Audio Follow Video Behavior

You can change the nature of the audio follow video feature for when switching sources.
For example, select ‘hard cut audio when switching’ to allow the audio from an input to switch
immediately to another. If you want to the audio to smoothly transition over a brief period of
time, select ‘add a transition to audio when switching’.

Split Audio
Split a mono input signal into two separate mono channels. This is helpful for mixing a mono
input into both channels on the stereo master output. You can also add a stereo simulation
effect using the advanced Fairlight controls on the audio page.
Click on the desired input checkbox to split the channels for that input.

Changing Switcher Settings 89

Multiview Settings
If you are using ATEM Mini Pro or Extreme switchers, the multiview settings allow you to set the
multiview orientation. You can swap the position of the multiview preview and program views
by clicking on the toggle button located between them.
The multiview settings also include the option to turn the safe area indicators inside the views
on or off. Simply click on the safe area icon in the preview window.
Audio meters can be turned on or off for all the switcher sources and program view by enabling
the ‘all on’ button in the multiview settings, or you can turn them on or off individually by clicking
the audio meter icon in each view. The opacity of the audio meters can be adjusted by
dragging the opacity slider left or right.
The multiview also includes a tally feature, so if any of the sources in the multi view are used in
a layer on the program or preview outputs, they will be highlighted red or green. A white border
means your source is not currently on the preview output, or on air on the program output.
A red border indicates the source is used on the program output and a green border indicates
a source is selected on the preview output.
The preview window on the multi view output features safe area markers so you can make
sure your program will look great on any monitor. The outer border represents the 16:9 graphics
safe area and the inner border represents the 4:3 graphics safe area.

Customizing the multiview

Changing Switcher Settings 90

Labels Settings

Label settings

The input labels settings let you customize the name of each input using a long and short name.
The short name will appear on the switcher input buttons on the software panel. The short
4 character name is used to identify the video input on the source names display. The longer
input names support up to 20 characters and are displayed in various menu selection boxes on
the software control panel and on the ATEM advanced panel displays.
To change an input name, click in the text field, enter the text and click ‘save’. The input name
will be updated on the software control panel and external hardware panel if one is connected.
It’s a very good idea to change both the short and long labels at the same time, so they match.
For example Camera 1 would be entered in as a long label, and CAM1 as the short label.

HyperDeck Settings

HyperDeck settings

You can connect up to 4 Blackmagic HyperDeck Studio disk recorders to a network via
Ethernet and control them using ATEM Software Control. When connecting HyperDecks, use
these settings to configure the IP Address, select the inputs your HyperDecks are connected
to, turn the auto roll feature for each deck on or off, and set their frame offset settings so they
can switch cleanly.

Changing Switcher Settings 91

Status indicators appear above and below each deck so you can easily see if they are
successfully connected and if their remote buttons are active.
For detailed information on setting up Blackmagic HyperDecks with your ATEM switcher and
setting the ‘HyperDeck’ configuration settings, refer to the ‘HyperDeck control’ section of
this manual.

Setting the HDMI Output Source

The HDMI output can have various sources routed to it. For example all video inputs, program,
preview, plus camera 1 direct for a low latency loop output when gaming.
ATEM Mini Pro and Extreme switchers also have a powerful multiview feature which you monitor
all your input sources and outputs on one single screen. This multiview is the default HDMI
output source on ATEM Mini, and HDMI 2 on ATEM Mini Extreme. You can read more about the
multiview in the ‘additional features on ATEM Mini Pro and ATEM Mini Extreme’ section.

HDMI output control menu on Mac OS

To set the HDMI output, simply click on the ‘output’ option in the menu bar, then scroll the list
for the source you want to output. When selected, the HDMI output will change immediately.
You can see the current source with a tick in the menu item.

Program/Preview and A/B Direct Transition Control

When you first receive your ATEM switcher, it will be set to program/preview switching which is
the current standard for mix/effects switchers. You can change this preference to A/B Direct if
you wish to use legacy A/B switching. You’ll find the ‘transition control’ options in the
preferences window of ATEM Software Control.

Saving and Restoring Switcher Settings

ATEM Software Control lets you save and restore specific settings, or all of the switcher settings
you have created. This powerful feature is incredibly time saving on live productions where
regular settings are used. For example, you can immediately restore saved picture in picture
settings, lower third graphics and detailed key setups from a laptop or USB drive.

Saving settings menu.

Changing Switcher Settings 92

Saving your Settings
1 Go to the menu bar in ATEM Software Control and select File>Save As.
2 A window will open asking for a file name and destination folder. After you have made
your selection, click Save.
3 You’ll now see the Save Switcher State panel containing checkboxes for all the
available settings on each block of your ATEM switcher. The Select All checkbox is
enabled by default. If you save with Select All enabled, ATEM Software Control saves
your entire switcher settings. If you want to choose specific settings to save, you can
deselect settings individually, or to remove all settings click Select All once to deselect
them. Now you can select specific settings you want to save.
4 Click Save.

ATEM Software Control saves your settings as an XML file together with a folder for
ATEM media pool contents.

With ATEM Software Control you can save and restore all your switcher settings for your
live production, including key settings, transition styles, media pool contents and more

After you have saved your settings you can quick save at any time by selecting File>Save, or by
pressing Command S for Mac, or Ctrl S for Windows. Doing so will not overwrite your previous
save, but will add a new XML file to your destination folder which is clearly identified with a time
and date stamp. This means you can always restore a previous save if necessary.

Restoring your Settings

1 Go to the menu bar in ATEM Software Control and select File>Restore.
2 A window will ask for the file you want to open. Select your save file and click ‘restore’.
3 You’ll now see a window containing active checkboxes for your saved settings on
each block of your ATEM switcher. Leave Select All enabled to restore all your saved
settings, or select only the checkboxes for the settings you want to restore.
4 Click Restore.

If your switcher settings are saved on a laptop, it’s easy to take all your settings with you on
location. Connect your laptop to any ATEM switcher and quickly restore your switcher settings.

Changing Switcher Settings 93

Live production can be a busy and exciting time and you’re always working in the moment,
which means you can easily forget to back up your saved files when the production is over.
If you have settings you want to keep, save them to your computer and an external drive,
such as a USB drive. This means you can carry your settings with you and have a back up in
case your settings are accidentally deleted on your computer.

Saving your Startup State

If you have your switcher set up the way you want it, you can easily save your entire switcher
state as your default startup state. Go to the ‘file’ menu in ATEM Software Control and select
‘save startup state’. Now whenever you restart your switcher, it will start up with your saved
settings by default. If you want to clear the startup state and revert to the factory settings on
restart, go to the ‘file’ menu and select ‘clear startup state’.

Saving your switcher settings on a laptop gives you the portability

to restore your settings on any ATEM switcher. Saving to a
USB drive means you can even carry your settings in your pocket.

Preference Settings
The preferences settings are arranged as ‘general’ preferences and ‘mapping’ preferences.
The general preferences contain network settings, transition control and language
selection options.

General Preferences
ATEM Software Control can be set to display in English, German, Spanish, French, Italian,
Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Turkish and simplified Chinese languages.
When running ATEM Software Control for the first time after installation, a setup dialog box will
prompt you to set the language for the software, but you can change the language of the
software at any time.

To change the language:

1 Go to the menu bar at the top of your screen, select ‘ATEM Software Control’ and open
the ‘preferences’.
2 Select your desired language from the menu in the ‘Software Control Language’ in
general settings.

Changing Switcher Settings 94

A warning will appear asking you to confirm the action. Click ‘change’.
ATEM Software control will now close and restart in your selected language.

You can change the language for ATEM Software

Control in the ATEM Software Control preferences.

Button Mapping
In the mapping preferences, you can assign inputs to specific buttons on the preview and
program rows.
ATEM Software Control and external ATEM hardware panels support button mapping so you
can assign sources to different buttons. For example, occasional sources can be assigned to
less prominent buttons. Button mapping is set independently for each control panel so button
mapping set on a software control panel will not affect the button mapping set on a hardware
control panel.

You can assign important cameras to more prominent buttons

Changing Switcher Settings 95

Using Keyboard Hot Keys
Hot keys can be used allowing convenient control of some switcher functions using a standard
QWERTY keyboard as shown in the following table:

Hot Keys Function

<1> - <0> Previews source on switcher Inputs 1 - 10. 0 = input 10.

<Shift> <1> - <0> Previews source on switcher Inputs 11 - 20. Shift 0 = input 20.

<Control> <1> - <0> Hot switches source on switcher Inputs 1 - 10 to Program output

Press and release <Control>, Hot switches source on switcher Inputs 1 - 10 to Program output.
then <1> - <0> Hot switching remains on and the CUT button is lit red.

<Control> <Shift> <1> - <0> Hot switches source on switcher Inputs 11 - 20 to Program output

Press and release <Control>, Hot switches source on switcher Inputs 11 - 20 to Program output.
then <Shift> <1> - <0> Hot switching remains on and the CUT button is lit red.

<Control> Turns off hot switching if currently on. The CUT button is lit white.

<Space> CUT

<Return> or <Enter> AUTO

ATEM Mini Setup Settings

When ATEM Software Control is installed on your computer, a setup utility called ATEM Setup
will also be installed. This setup utility lets you update your ATEM Mini, name the unit, change
network settings and provides panel settings including program preview and cut bus switching
modes, plus keyer related switching settings.

TIP  For information on how to change network settings, refer to the

‘connecting to a network’ section.

ATEM Mini Setup Settings 96

Updating your ATEM Mini
To update your ATEM Mini, simply connect the unit to your computer via USB or Ethernet.
Launch ATEM Setup. If the software version installed on your computer is newer than the
version installed on your ATEM Mini, a dialogue box will appear notifying you of an update.
Simply click on the ‘update’ button and follow the prompts to update the unit.
A progress bar will appear with a notification to let you know when the update is complete.

Configure Page
Panel Settings

Switching Mode
This setting lets you set ATEM Mini to use program preview or cut bus switching modes. Refer
to the ‘Switching Modes’ section for more information.

Picture in Picture Keyer

This setting lets you choose to keep the picture in picture on screen indefinitely so you can
switch content underneath it, or tie it to the next transition so when you perform the transition,
picture in picture will transition off screen with it.

Drop with Transition Ties picture in picture to the next transition and will transition off
screen when the next transition is performed.

Stay on with transition Holds picture in picture on air so you can switch sources without
affecting picture in picture.

TIP  Drop with transition lets you smoothly turn off picture in picture by linking it
with the transition, however you can always turn picture in picture off at any time
by pressing the respective off button on the control panel.

ATEM Mini Setup Settings 97

Chroma Keyer
These settings are similar to the picture in picture keyer setting, however it applies to the
upstream keyer.

Drop with Transition Ties the upstream chroma keyer to the next transition and will
transition off screen when the next transition is performed.

Stay on with transition Holds the upstream chroma keyer on air so you can switch sources
without affecting the chroma key.

About Page
The about page tells you which version of ATEM software is installed on your computer.
To change the name of your ATEM Mini, click in the ‘label’ edit box, type in a new name and
click ‘save’

Setting up Open Broadcaster

Even though the ATEM Mini Pro and Extreme switcher models can stream directly using its
Ethernet connection, if you want to stream using an external computer then you can connect
the USB-C and it will appear as a webcam on your computer. This then lets you use streaming
software such as Open Broadcaster for streaming.
This section shows how to use Open Broadcaster to stream via the USB-C webcam output.
Open Broadcaster is an open source application that works as a streaming platform between
your ATEM Mini and your favorite streaming software like YouTube, Twitch, Facebook Live,
Vimeo Live and others. Open Broadcaster compresses your video to a bit rate that is easily
managed by your streaming app.
Below is a demonstration of how to set up Open Broadcaster to stream the webcam output
from your ATEM Mini using YouTube as the streaming application.

1 2

Launch Open Broadcaster and click on the plus Select ‘Video Capture Device’.
symbol in the ‘sources’ box.

3 4

Name the new source and click ‘OK’. In the device menu, select Blackmagic Design
and click ‘OK’.

Setting up Open Broadcaster 98

 5 6

Now go to your YouTube account. Navigate to In the YouTube ‘stream’ options, enter your
the ‘video/live’ option and click ‘get started’. broadcast details and click ‘create stream’.

7 8

YouTube will now generate a stream name/ Return to Open Broadcaster and open the
key that will direct Open Broadcaster to your preferences by clicking on ‘OBS/preferences’ in the
YouTube account. menu bar. Select ‘stream’. Now paste in the stream
Click the ‘copy’ button next to the stream key. key you copied from YouTube and click ‘OK’.
Copy the stream key that you will now paste into You will now see the video from your ATEM Mini in
Open Broadcaster. the Open Broadcaster streaming preview window.

9 10

To connect Open Broadcaster’s broadcast link to Go back to YouTube Live and you will see the
YouTube, click ‘start streaming’ in the bottom right webcam program output from your ATEM Mini in
corner of the screen. This establishes the link to the background. Click ‘done’.
YouTube from Open Broadcaster and from here
everything will now be set using YouTube Live.

11 12

With Open Broadcaster now communicating If you are all set, you can now begin your
with YouTube Live, you are ready to begin your broadcast by clicking ‘go live’.
broadcast. Now it’s time to perform your final
checks and make sure everything is good.

Setting up Open Broadcaster 99

You are now broadcasting live on YouTube with Open Broadcaster. When your broadcast is
finished and you have pressed the fade to black button on ATEM Mini, you can end the stream
by clicking ‘end stream’.

NOTE  Due to the nature of internet streaming there can often be a delay, so it’s
important to watch the stream on YouTube and confirm your program has finished
before clicking ‘end stream’ to make sure you don’t accidentally cut the end of your
broadcast short.

Using Adobe Photoshop with ATEM

Installing the ATEM software on your computer also installs a Photoshop plug-in that lets you
upload Photoshop graphics direct to the ATEM Mini’s media pool.
The plug-in connects to your computer via Ethernet the same way as any other computer
running ATEM Software Control on your network. For example, another operator can be
updating graphics live in Photoshop during your production and uploading them straight to
ATEM’s media player using the plug-in.
This means you can accept graphics from designers in the application that 100% of the world’s
designers use, Adobe Photoshop! You can even use the layers in a Photoshop image to keep
variations of graphics, such as different titles in a graphic, and then select the layers in
Photoshop you want, and then simply upload them at the press of a button. When uploading the
layers are automatically flattened in real time before upload. This happens in the background
and your document in Photoshop is unchanged by the export.
The ATEM export plug-in requires Adobe Photoshop CS5 or later. Install or reinstall the
ATEM software after Photoshop is installed, to ensure the ATEM export plug-in is installed.

TIP  If you are not streaming via ATEM Mini’s USB webcam output, but switching
content over the HDMI output instead, you can upload graphics from the Photoshop
plug-in via USB. However, due to the way USB establishes a connection to a single
client only, you will need to close ATEM Software Control so the Photoshop plugin can
access the USB connection, upload your graphics, then relaunch ATEM Software
Control to access the media pool.

ATEM export plug-in

Using Adobe Photoshop with ATEM 100

Setting up Plug-in Switcher Location
The first time the Photoshop export plug-in is run, it will ask you to select your switcher location.
This is the IP address of the switcher so the plug-in can find the switcher to communicate with.
By default, the IP is set to 192.168.10.240, which is what the switcher IP address is originally set
to when first sold. If you want to export several versions of the same Photoshop file, you can
use the export plug-in window to name each exported file and also choose whether to set the
files to a media player after export.

Preparing Graphics for Upload

For best results, you will want to use a Photoshop document resolution that matches the video
standard you’re using with your ATEM switcher. For 1080 HD you should use 1920 x 1080 pixels
in resolution. For 720p HD formats you should use 1280 x 720 pixels.
When working with Photoshop documents for ATEM, you should not put any content on the
background layer, but add all content to the layers above. The background layer should always
be plain full frame black, and you should use a pre multiplied key setting in the ATEM keyer for
keying graphics from Photoshop.

Using Multiple Control Panels

All ATEM Mini switchers have multiple ways they can be controlled and you can use this
software control panel as well as a range of hardware control panels. In fact, if you connect your
ATEM Mini to a network that has other computers connected, you can run multiple copies of this
software control panel. This means you could have someone operating the switcher, while
someone else could be controlling cameras, managing media or mixing audio. It’s quite flexible
and this means many people can be operating your ATEM Mini all at the same time!
A good example is the relationship between the software control panel, external
ATEM hardware control panel and the control panel of ATEM Mini. The software control panel
has been designed to be the same as the external ATEM hardware control panel. This is a
convention and well understood ME style of layout where you have a program row and preview
row of input controls and then a transition block that lets you command the transition.
If you plug in both control panels, you can see them mirror each other and any button pressed
on one control panel will be reflected on the other control panels instantly.
However, due to space limitations the control panel of ATEM Mini is a little bit different and it’s
interesting to see the relationship between how this control panel works and how the software
control panel works. A good way to understand this is to watch ATEM Mini’s panel control while
controlling the switcher via the software control panel.
Because of the limited space on ATEM Mini’s control panel, both the program and preview rows
have been combined together into a single row of buttons. When running ATEM Mini in program
preview switching mode, you can see the source selected on the program row because it’s
illuminated red and the source selected on the preview row because it’s selected green.
These are the same colors as the software control panel, but they are just on the same row of
physical buttons.

Using Multiple Control Panels 101

The following section describes how to connect your ATEM equipment to a network so you can
operate your switcher using an ATEM hardware panel and multiple computers running
ATEM Software Control.

TIP  If you are using 4 Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4Ks or 6Ks with ATEM Mini,
you can even connect an ATEM Camera Control Panel and control all 4 cameras via
HDMI using an external hardware control panel.

When connected to a network via Ethernet, multiple computers can run ATEM Software Control
simultaneously, which means multiple operators can be dedicated to separate controls on your ATEM Mini.
For example, multiple operators can control media management, camera control and audio mixing.

TIP  For detailed information about how to control your ATEM Mini using ATEM 1 M/E
Advanced Panel refer to the ‘using the ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel’ section.

Using Multiple Control Panels 102

Connecting to a Network
Most people simply plug their computer and control panel direct to the switcher, however in
some situations it can be very powerful to connect via your network!
Your ATEM Mini ships from the factory with settings to allow hardware control panels to simply
be connected directly with an Ethernet cable. However your ATEM supports full Ethernet
IP protocols so you can place your ATEM Mini and external ATEM control panel on your network
or anywhere on the planet using the internet. Connecting to a network means you have
enormous flexibility with how you control your switcher. For example, you can connect an
ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel on the same network to ATEM Mini and have two operators
switching content. In addition, you also have the software panel on your computer so you can
even have a third operator handling audio, or managing media from the software panel.
However, it’s worth noting that if you use your ATEM Mini on a network, then you’re also
increasing the complexity of the connection between your control panel and the switcher,
so there is possibly a greater chance of something going wrong. ATEM Mini can also be used
when plugged into a switch, and even via most VPNs and over the internet.

Connect ATEM Mini to a network and then you can operate your switcher using
ATEM Software Control on any computer connected to the same network

Using DHCP and Fixed IP Addresses

ATEM Mini connects to ATEM hardware panels and your network using a fixed IP address which
is set to a default address during manufacture. ATEM Mini Pro, ATEM Mini Extreme and ATEM
hardware panels can use a fixed IP address or DHCP.

DHCP
The dynamic host configuration protocol, or DHCP, is a service on network servers that
automatically finds your ATEM Mini Pro or Extreme switcher and assigns an IP address. The
DHCP is a great service that makes it easy to connect equipment via Ethernet and ensure their
IP addresses do not conflict with each other. Most computers and network switchers
support DHCP.

Fixed IP Address
All ATEM hardware panels and ATEM switchers except ATEM Mini Pro and Extreme switchers
have a default fixed IP address. This is a determined IP address that is set in the unit when
manufactured. When connecting an ATEM Mini directly to an ATEM hardware panel, for
example ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel, the fixed IP addresses let the two units communicate
with each other straight away.

Connecting to a Network 103

 NOTE  ATEM Mini Pro and Extreme switchers are slightly different as they don’t have a
set IP address. That is because these switchers are is designed to use the dynamic
host configuration protocol and has DHCP set as the default IP setting. Once the
DHCP has assigned the unit an IP address, you can see this address in Blackmagic
ATEM Setup’s network settings. This is helpful when you are connecting an ATEM
hardware panel to an ATEM Mini Pro or Extreme switcher so you can tell the hardware
panel the switcher’s assigned IP address.

If your network doesn’t support DHCP, you can change the network settings manually.

Manually Setting a Fixed IP Address

When setting IP addresses manually so all units can communicate, they must share the same
subnet mask and gateway settings. In addition, the first three fields of numbers in the panel’s IP
address also need to match. For example, ATEM Mini’s default IP address is 192.168.10.240 and
an external ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel’s default IP address is factory set to 192.168.10.60. This
means both units share the first three fields of numbers, but have their own identifying number
in the last field so they won’t conflict with each other.
This is generally the most important principle to know when working via Ethernet.
Below is an example of fixed IP address settings when ATEM Mini is connected directly to
ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel.

ATEM Mini IP Settings

IP Address - 192.168.10.240
Subnet Mask - 255.255.255.0
Gateway - 192.168.10.1

ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel IP Settings

IP Address - 192.168.10.60
Subnet Mask - 255.255.255.0
Gateway - 192.168.10.1
Notice that all the numbers are the same except for the last field of each IP address. This means
they are set correctly and the units will communicate with each other without conflicts.
When connecting to a network, the network will have its own subnet mask, gateway, and IP
address settings which every connected device will conform to. You will need to make sure
both your ATEM Mini and the ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel share those numbers and similarly
with regards to the IP address, have their own identifying number in the last field so they won’t
conflict with each other.
Below is an example showing ATEM Mini and an ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel set to conform to
a network using a fixed IP address.

Network IP Settings
IP Address - 192.168.26.30
Subnet Mask - 255.255.255.0
Gateway - 192.168.26.250

ATEM Mini IP Settings

IP Address - 192.168.26.35
Subnet Mask - 255.255.255.0
Gateway - 192.168.26.250

Connecting to a Network 104

ATEM External Hardware Panel IP Settings
IP Address - 192.168.26.40
Subnet Mask - 255.255.255.0
Gateway - 192.168.26.250
If there are other devices on the network that have the same identifying number in their
IP address, there will be a conflict and the units won’t connect. If you encounter a conflict,
simply change the identifying number in the unit’s IP address. Refer to the next sections for
information on how to change network settings.

NOTE  If ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel is not connecting to your ATEM Mini and
displays a message saying it is looking for the switcher, you will need to tell the panel
where your switcher is on the network. This is simply typing your ATEM Mini’s
IP address into the panel’s switcher IP settings. Refer to the next sections for
information on how to set the switcher IP location on ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel.

Changing ATEM Mini Network Settings

ATEM Mini’s network settings are changed using Blackmagic ATEM Setup via USB.
Please follow the steps below:

Change network settings using the

‘configure’ tab in Blackmagic ATEM Setup.

To change the network settings via Blackmagic ATEM Setup:

1 Connect ATEM Mini via USB to the computer running the setup utility software.
2 Launch Blackmagic ATEM Setup and select your ATEM Mini.
3 ATEM Mini’s current IP address, subnet mask and gateway settings will be displayed in
‘configure’ window. If you only want to check the IP address and not change it, you can
simply quit the setup utility by clicking ‘cancel’.
4 To change the IP address or any other settings, edit the numbers and then click ‘save’.

Connecting to a Network 105

Changing the Hardware Panel Network Settings
Because ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel is also on the network and communicating with the
switcher, it also has network settings so it can connect to the network. These settings are
different to the switcher IP address, which is just where the panel is looking to find the switcher.
The panel network settings can be changed by following the steps below:

Changing Network Settings on ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel

Change network settings using the system

control buttons and LCD soft controls

1 Press the ‘home’ button in the system control buttons to open the LCD home menu.
2 In the home menu, press the ‘network’ soft button to open the network settings.
3 The next step is to decide if you want the panel to use a fixed IP address or to be
automatically assigned an IP address from a DHCP server. Set DHCP on or off by
pressing the corresponding DHCP ON/OFF soft button.

NOTE  If you’re connecting direct to a switcher without a network, then you

won’t have a DHCP server to assign an IP address automatically, so you will
want to select ‘DHCP off’. ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel is delivered with a
fixed IP address set to 192.168.10.60 for a direct connection.
However, if your network has lots of computers that automatically assign
IP addresses via DHCP, then you can also select ‘DHCP on’ so the panel can
get its network information automatically. This is possible on the panel, and it’s
only ATEM Mini that always requires a fixed IP, as the switcher needs to be
found by the control panels at a known fixed address on your network.
ATEM Mini Pro and Extreme switchers are set to use DHCP by default, so if
you are connecting an ATEM hardware panel and the switcher to a network
that supports DHCP, you can set the panel to ‘DHCP on’ and your network
settings will be complete because the panel network settings will be obtained
from the network automatically.

Connecting to a Network 106

 4 If you have elected to use a fixed IP address, you now need to set this IP address by
adjusting the corresponding soft control knobs for each field of the IP address.
You can also use the numeric keypad. Changing this IP address may cause the panel
to lose communication.
5 If the subnet mask and gateway address need to be set, then press the right arrow
button in the system control buttons to progress through each setting menu, and use
the knobs or the numeric keypad to edit. If at any time you want to cancel the changes,
press ‘undo’.
6 When you are happy with your settings, press the ‘save changes’ soft button to confirm.

When you are happy with your network settings,

press the ‘save changes’ button to confirm them

Setting the Switcher’s IP Location on the Panel

To set ATEM Mini’s IP location on ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel so the panel can find ATEM Mini
and communicate, simply follow these steps:

Changing the Switcher’s IP location on ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel

1 When there is no communication with ATEM Mini, the LCD will say ‘connecting’
and notify you of the IP address it is searching for. If the panel can’t find the switcher,
the connection will time out and a notification will ask you to check the IP address.
Press the ‘network’ soft button above the LCD to open the network settings.
2 In the network settings, press the right arrow in the system control buttons next to the
LCD to move to the ‘switcher IP address’ setting.
3 Now use the corresponding LCD soft control knobs to set the correct IP address for
your switcher.
4 Press the ‘save changes’ soft button to confirm the setting.
Your panel will now connect with your switcher.

Connecting to a Network 107

 On the ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel,
press the ‘network’ LCD soft button
to open the network settings on the
LCD, then use the system control
arrow buttons to navigate to the
switcher IP address setting. Use
the soft controls to set the network
IP address for your switcher, and
don’t forget to save the changes.

NOTE  Changing the switcher IP address on your panel does not change the
IP address of ATEM Mini itself. It just changes where the control panel is looking to find
the switcher.

ATEM Software Control via the Network

Lastly, if you want to use ATEM Software Control as well as an ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel,
you need to ensure your computer is connected and working on your network. Once launched,
if ATEM Software Control cannot communicate with ATEM Mini, you will be prompted
automatically to select your ATEM Mini from the connected ATEMs list, or enter the unit’s
IP address manually. Once you have confirmed the switcher from the list or set the IP address,
ATEM Software Control can find your switcher and communicate.

Multiple computers can run ATEM Software Control simultaneously, which means multiple operators can
be dedicated to separate controls on your switcher, for example media management and audio mixing.

Connecting to a Network 108

Connecting to an Internet Router
On ATEM Mini Pro or Extreme model switchers, connecting to an internet router via Ethernet
lets you stream your broadcast over Ethernet while using the USB-C connector to record to an
external drive.
To set up direct streaming via Ethernet, first enter the stream details in ATEM Software Control.
This will store the streaming information in the switcher.
1 In ATEM Software Control’s processing palettes go to the ‘output’ settings and select
your streaming platform from the platform menu.
2 Enter the server closest to your location in the ‘server’ menu, then enter your stream
key in the ‘key’ setting. Refer to ‘getting a stream key’ in the next section for more
information.
3 With the details entered into ATEM Software Control, now plug your switcher into
the internet router using a CAT 5 network cable. This is usually a wireless router that
connects all your home or office devices to the internet. The unit will normally have
additional Ethernet inputs and you can plug your switcher directly into one of those.

TIP  If your computer is connected to the internet router and has an Ethernet
port, you can also connect ATEM Mini Pro or Extreme switcher to your
computer via Ethernet and connect to the internet via your computer.

4 It’s worth streaming a test to make sure everything is set correctly. You can do this by
switching color bars, or a standby graphic in the media player to the program output
and checking you can see it on your streaming platform.
Now if you are happy and ready to start, all you need to do is press ‘on air’ and you are
broadcasting live!

NOTE  Most internet routers support DHCP, but if yours does not, you can
still connect by setting the network settings manually using Blackmagic
ATEM Setup.

Connecting to an Internet Router 109

Getting a Stream Key
When setting up your stream, you will need a stream key. This is assigned to your broadcast by
your streaming platform, for example YouTube Live, Facebook Live or Twitch.
In the following example you can see how to generate a stream key using Facebook Live,
YouTube Live and Twitch.

Facebook Live
1 Go to your Facebook page and click on ‘create post’.
2 Select ‘live video’ from your create post options.
3 Click on the ‘connect’ tab.
4 Now click on ‘use a persistent stream key’.

Facebook will now supply you with a stream key that will be assigned to your Facebook page.
All you need to do is copy the stream key and paste it into the ‘key’ setting in ATEM Software
Control’s live stream options.

YouTube Live
1 Log into your YouTube account.
2 Click on the camera icon in the top right corner to create a video or post.
3 Select ‘go live’ from the menu.
4 In the dialogue box, type in a title and add a description.
5 Click on ‘create stream’.
6 Copy the stream key.

Now you can paste the stream key into ATEM Software Control’s ‘live stream’ options which
saves the key in your ATEM Mini Pro or Extreme switcher.

Twitch
1 Log into your Twitch account.
2 Click on your account avatar in the top right corner.
3 Click on ‘creator dashboard’.
4 In the left hand menu, click ‘preferences’, then select ’channel’.
5 Click on the ‘copy’ button to copy the stream key.
6 Now paste the stream key into ATEM Software Control’s ‘live stream’ options which
saves the key in your ATEM Mini Pro or Extreme switcher.

For more detailed information about setting up streaming on a computer, refer to the ‘direct
streaming and switcher control via Ethernet’ section earlier in the manual.

TIP  Once streaming settings are applied, ATEM Mini Pro switchers can stream directly
to the internet via smartphone tethering. For more information, refer to the ‘smartphone
tethering’ section in this manual.

Connecting to an Internet Router 110

Keying using ATEM Mini
Keyers are a powerful production tool that allow the arrangement of visual elements from
different sources on the same video image.
To do this, multiple layers of video or graphics are stacked on top of the background video.
Altering the transparency of various parts of these layers allows the background layer to be
visible. This process is called keying. Various techniques are used to create this selective
transparency and these correspond to the different types of keyers available on your switcher.
The following section explains luma and linear keyers, which are available either upstream or
downstream, and chroma, pattern and DVE keys, which are upstream keyers.

Understanding Keying
A key requires two video sources; the fill signal and the key or cut signal. The fill signal contains
a video image which is to be stacked on top of the background, while the cut signal is used to
select regions of the fill signal to be made transparent. The fill and cut signals can be selected
from any of the switcher’s external inputs or internal sources, allowing both still and moving
images to be used as fill or cut sources.
Fill and cut signals are selected on the software control panel from menus in the upstream and
downstream key palettes. In your switcher’s LCD menu, you can select fill and cut signals in the
upstream or downstream key menus.
There are two types of keyers used in your switcher; upstream keyers and downstream keyers.
One upstream keyer, also known as an effects keyer, plus two downstream keyers are available
via the switcher’s control panel and LCD menu, or via ATEM Software Control. The upstream
keyer can be set up as a luma, linear, pre-multiplied, chroma, pattern or DVE key. Two
downstream keyers are available in the dedicated DSK block. Each downstream keyer can be
set up as a luma or linear key.

Luma Key
A luma key or self key consists of one video source containing the video image that will be
stacked on top of the background. All of the black areas defined by the luminance in the video
signal will be made transparent so that the background can be revealed underneath. Since only
one image is used to define the areas to be cut out, a luma key uses the same signal for the fill
and key. The following images are an example of what background, luma key signals and the
resulting combined image might look like.

Combining a background and fill/key in a luma key

Background
A full screen image, often a camera source.

Keying using ATEM Mini 111

Fill
The graphic you plan to display on top of your background video. Notice that the final
composition does not retain any black from the graphic because all of the black parts have
been cut out of the image.

Linear Key
A linear key consists of two video sources, which are the fill signal and the key or cut signal.
The fill signal contains a video image which is to be stacked on top of the background, while
the key signal contains a grayscale mask that is used to define regions of the fill signal to be
made transparent. Since both the fill and key signals are video inputs, both signals can be in
motion while on screen. The following images are examples of what background, fill and key
signals, and the resulting combined image might look like.

Combining a background, fill and key in a linear key

Background
A full screen image, often a camera source.

Fill
The graphic you plan to display on top of your background video. Notice that the black parts of
the graphic remain intact because the key signal is used to determine the transparency of the
fill signal. The fill signal is often provided by a graphics system.

Key
A grayscale image that defines the region in the image that will be removed so that the fill
signal can be correctly stacked on top of the background. The key signal is often provided by a
graphics system.

Pre multiplied Key

A modern graphics system or character generator that offers fill and key outputs will most likely
provide what is known as a pre multiplied or shaped key. A pre multiplied key is a special
combination of the fill and key signal where the fill signal has been pre multiplied with the key
signal over a black background. Photoshop generated images that contain an alpha channel are
pre multiplied.
ATEM switchers have an auto key adjustment for pre multiplied keys so that when the pre
multiplied key setting is enabled, the clip and gain parameters are automatically set by
the system.
When using a Photoshop generated image, generate graphics over a black background layer
and place all content on the upper layers. Add an alpha channel in your Photoshop document
that the ATEM can use for blending the graphic over the live video. Then, when saved as a
Targa image file, or downloaded direct to the media pool, you can select pre multiplied in the
keyer and you should have a great key!
Photoshop documents are pre multiplied by nature, so you should always use the pre multiplied
settings on the ATEM switcher when keying them.

Keying using ATEM Mini 112

Performing an Upstream Luma/Linear Key
Since luma and linear keys use the same parameters, they are set up on the software control
panel and advanced panel using a common menu, called the luma key menu. What defines the
key as being either luma or linear is in the selection of fill and key sources. In a luma key, fill and
key sources are the same. For a linear key, fill and key sources are different.

To set up a luma key on the upstream keyer in ATEM Mini Extreme:

1 Select the K1LUM button in the select bus.
2 Select the fill and key source from the select bus.

When performing a luma key, the same source is used for both fill and key.
You can now refine your key using ATEM Software Control.

To set up a luma/linear key on the upstream keyer in ATEM Software Control:

1 Expand the upstream key 1 palette and select luma tab.
2 Select the fill source and key source.

If performing a luma key, select the same source for both fill and key.
Adjust the key parameters to refine the key. For a description of luma key parameters, refer to
the table below.

Select sections of the Palette you wish

to reset from the reset menu

Upstream key luma/linear key parameters:

Mask Enables a rectangular mask that can then be adjusted using the top,
bottom, left and right parameters.

Pre-Mult Identifies the key signal as a pre-multiplied key.

Clip The clip level adjusts the threshold at which the key cuts its hole.
Decreasing the clip level reveals more of the background. If the
background video is completely black then the clip value is too low.

Keying using ATEM Mini 113

 Gain The gain adjustment electronically modifies the angle between on and
off thereby softening the edges of the key. Adjust the gain value until
the edge softness is desirable but the background video luminance or
brightness is not affected.

Invert Key Inverts the key signal.

Flying Key Enables/disables DVE effects.

Setting up a Luma/Linear Key on the Upstream Keyer using

ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel
1 Press the ‘key 1’ button to enable the keyer on the preview output. This
automatically selects the keyers menu on the system control LCD, but you can
also press the ‘keyers’ button to enter the menu directly.
2 Select the desired M/E keyer by pressing the corresponding soft button along the
top edge of the LCD menu.
3 Use the control knob underneath the ‘key type’ indicator to choose the ‘luma’ key.
4 Rotate the ‘fill source’ and ‘key source’ control knobs to choose a fill and key
source. You can also press the corresponding buttons on the source select bus to
select the fill and key source.
5 Once you have chosen a key type, fill and source, press the ‘right’ arrow button
to scroll through to the next menu item and use the control knobs to adjust key
parameters such as mask, gain, clip, enable or disable pre multiplied key, etc.

To set up a luma key on downstream keyer 1 on ATEM Mini Extreme:

1 Select the DSK1 button in the select bus.
2 Select the fill and key source from the select bus
3 Adjust the key parameters to refine the key in ATEM Software Control.

To set up a luma/linear key on downstream keyer in ATEM Software Control:

1 Select the downstream key 1 palette.
2 Use the menu controls labeled fill source and key source to specify the fill and key
sources. If performing a luma key, select the same source for both fill and key.
3 Adjust the key parameters to refine the key.

Keying using ATEM Mini 114

 Downstream Keyer Settings

Setting up a Luma/Linear Key on the Downstream Keyer using

ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel
1 Press the ‘DSK 1 tie’ button to enable the downstream keyer on the preview
output. This automatically selects the downstream key menu on the system control
LCD, but you can also press the ‘keyers’ button and press the right arrow to enter
the menu directly.
2 Press the ‘DSK 1’ or ‘DSK 2’ soft button to select which downstream keyer you wish
to use. You don’t have to select the key type as the downstream keyer is always
a luma key.
3 Use the control knobs under the LCD menu to select the fill source and key
source. You can also use the corresponding source select buttons to select the fill
and key source.
4 Once you have chosen the fill source and key source, use the ‘left’ and ‘right’
control buttons to scroll through additional menu screens containing key
parameters such as mask, gain, clip, pre multiplied key settings, and more.

Chroma Key
Chroma key is commonly used for weather broadcasts, where the meteorologist appears to be
standing in front of a large map. In the studio the presenter is actually standing in front of a blue
or green background. In a chroma key two images are combined using a special technique and
a color from one image is removed, revealing another image behind it. This technique is also
referred to as color keying, color-separation overlay, green screen, or blue screen.

Keying using ATEM Mini 115

A very common use for chroma keys for backgrounds is computer generated graphics.
It’s simple to connect an external computer to your ATEM switcher using the HDMI output of the
computer or a video card such as the Blackmagic Design DeckLink or Intensity range and then
play back video clips to your ATEM switcher. If you render a green background on your
animations, you can then key this green to create fast and clean animations of any length.
Keying is easy as the green is computer generated so it’s a very flat color that’s easy to key.

Combining a background with a fill and chroma key mask

Background
A full screen image; in the case of a chroma key it is often a weather map.

Fill
The image you plan to display on top of your background video. In the case of a chroma key,
this is video of the meteorologist in front of the green screen.

Key/Cut
In the case of a chroma key the key/cut signal is generated from the fill signal.

Performing a Chroma Key

ATEM Mini features an advanced chroma keyer with detailed chroma sampling and adjustment
options. These controls help you achieve the best key, improving the blend of foreground and
background so you can create a more convincing visual effect.

To set up a chroma key on the upstream keyer in ATEM Mini Extreme:

1 Select the K1CHR button in the select bus.
2 Select the fill source from the select bus.

You can now refine your chroma key using ATEM Software Control.

To set up a convincing chroma key using the advanced keyer:

1 In ATEM Software Control, expand the upstream key palette and select ‘chroma’ from
the key types bar.
2 Select the fill source. Typically, this source would be from a camera facing a presenter
in front of a green screen, or a graphic loaded in a media player.
3 Click the ‘chroma sample’ button. With the chroma sample selected, you’ll see a new
panel appear with a box cursor. This cursor is also visible on the preview output.
4 Click and drag on the box cursor to move it to the position you want to sample.

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 The chroma sample setting lets you position a cursor over the screen area you want to sample

Choose a representative area of your green screen that covers as much of the luminance range
of the screen as possible. The default size of the box cursor is well suited to most green
screens that are relatively evenly lit, however if there is a lot of variance in your green screen,
you can adjust the size of the box by clicking on the slider to the right of the sample window
and dragging it up or down.

TIP  When sampling uneven green screens, we recommend sampling the darkest
area first before increasing the size of the sample box. This can give you a more
accurate key.

NOTE  You can preview your key on the preview output via HDMI at any time by
clicking the ‘preview’ button above the chroma sample panel. This shows you the final
composited version of your chroma key effect on the preview.

Click the preview button to check the final composite on the preview output

Fine Tuning your Key using Key Adjustments

Once you have achieved a good chroma sample that removes most of your green screen
while generally retaining foreground elements, its time fine tune your key with the
‘key adjustments’ controls.

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Foreground
Use the ‘foreground’ slider to adjust how opaque the foreground mask is. This determines the
strength of the foreground against the background. By increasing the slider, you can fill in any
small areas of transparency inside your foreground image. We recommend moving this slider
and stopping as soon as the foreground becomes solid.

Background
The ‘background’ slider adjusts the opacity of the keyed area. Use this slider to fill in any small
foreground artifacts left over in the area of the image you want to remove. We recommend
moving the slider until your keyed area is consistently opaque.

Key Edge
The “key edge” slider moves the edge of your keyed area in or out, helping to remove
background elements from the very edge of your foreground or extending the foreground out
a little if your key is too aggressive. This can be especially useful with fine details like hair.
We recommend moving this slider until the edge of your key is generally clean, without any
background artifacts visible.
Using the key adjustment controls, your foreground elements should be cleanly separated from
the background.

Chroma Correction using Color Spill and Flare Suppression

Light bouncing off a green screen can create a green edge to foreground elements as well as
a general tint to the foreground, or fill image. This is called color spill and flare. The ‘chroma
correction’ settings let you improve the areas of the foreground that are affected by color spill
and flare.

Spill
Adjust the spill slider to remove colored tint from the edges of foreground elements.
For example, green reflections bouncing off a green screen.

Flare Suppression
Flare suppression removes overall green tint evenly across all foreground elements.

Matching your foreground and background

Once your foreground is properly separated from your green screen, and you have adjusted
spill and flare suppression, use the ‘color adjustments’ controls to match your foreground with
the background. Adjusting the brightness, contrast, saturation, and color balance of your
foreground image will help blend it with the background so the effect is more convincing.

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Use the color adjustments controls to match your foreground with the background

TIP  When your key is on air, chroma sampling and preview are locked. While most
controls are adjustable while on air, we recommend avoiding changes unless
absolutely required. For example making defined color adjustments if conditions
change unexpectedly.

Pattern Key
A pattern key is used to display a geometric cut out of one image on top of another image.
In a pattern key the key or cut signal is generated using the switcher’s internal pattern
generator. The internal pattern generator can create 18 shapes that can be sized and positioned
to produce the desired key signal.

Combining a background with a fill and pattern key

Background
A full screen image.

Fill
Another full screen image you wish to overlay on top of the background.

Key/Cut
In the case of a pattern key the key/cut signal is generated by the switcher’s internal
pattern generator.

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Pattern Key Settings

To set up a pattern key on the upstream keyer in ATEM Mini Extreme:

1 Select the K1PTN button in the select bus.
2 Select the fill source from the select bus.

You can now adjust your pattern settings including selecting the key pattern using ATEM
Software Control.

To set up a pattern key on the upstream keyer in ATEM Software Control:

1 Expand the upstream key palette and select pattern from the key types bar.
2 Select the fill source.
3 Select the key pattern.
4 Adjust the key parameters to refine the key. For a description of pattern key
parameters, refer to the table below.

Pattern key parameters:

Invert Pattern This button inverts which the region is filled with the fill source.
For example, fill a region outside of a circle by positioning the circle wipe as
desired and then setting invert pattern to ‘on’.

Size Increases and decreases the size of the selected pattern.

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 Symmetry Some patterns may have their symmetry or aspect ratio adjusted.
Circle patterns may be adjusted to become horizontal or vertical ellipses.

Softness Changes the softness of the edge of the key signal.

Position X and Y These settings let you change the position of the pattern on the screen.

Mask Allows you to mask out sections of the key. For example, if the green screen
does not fill the edges of the screen, you can use the mask setting to select
only the area of the screen you want to use.
To return the mask to its default symmetrical settings, select ‘reset mask’
and press the set button.

Setting up a Pattern Key on the Upstream Keyer using

ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel
1 Press the KEY 1 next transition button to enable the key on the preview output.
This automatically selects the keyers menu on the system control LCD. Pressing
the KEY 1 next transition button ties the key to the next transition so it will transition
to air when the next transition is performed.
2 In the keyers LCD menu, select the ‘pattern’ key type using the corresponding
‘key type’ control knob.
3 Select the fill source using the corresponding soft control knob or by pressing
a source button on the source select bus.
4 Turn the corresponding soft control knobs to choose the ‘pattern’ you want for
the pattern key and set the ‘size’ of the pattern.
5 Press the system control left and right arrow buttons to navigate through the
pattern key parameters, and adjust settings using the control knobs. Watch the
preview output as you refine the key.

TIP  Some patterns can have their center point repositioned. Use the joystick to move
the position of the pattern. If you need to reset the position, navigate to the ‘pattern
type’ setting, change it to another pattern, and then return to your chosen pattern to
rest the position to its default.

DVE Key
DVEs, or digital video effects, are used to create picture-in-picture boxes with borders.
ATEM Mini has 1 channel of 2D DVE that allows scaling, rotation, borders and offers a
drop shadow.

Combining a background, DVE fill and DVE key/cut

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Background
A full screen image.

Fill
Another full screen that has been scaled, rotated or has added borders and will be overlaid on
top of the background.

Key/Cut
In the case of a DVE key, the key/cut signal is generated by the switcher’s internal
DVE processor.

To set up a DVE key on upstream keyer 2 on ATEM Mini Extreme:

1 Select the DVE2 button from the select bus.
2 Select the fill source from the select bus.
3 To adjust the key parameters to refine the key, select upstream keyer 2 in ATEM
Software Control and select the DVE tab.

To set up a DVE key on the upstream keyer in ATEM Software Control:

1 Expand the upstream key palette and select the DVE tab.
2 Select the fill source.
3 Adjust the key parameters to refine the key. For a description of DVE key parameters,
refer to the information below.

Adjusting the x/y position of the DVE

You can independently adjust the x and y positions of the DVE using the position X and Y
settings, or you can tie X and Y parameters together so adjusting one will automatically adjust
the other. To achieve this, simply enable the ‘tie X and Y’ setting.
This also applies to the size parameters.

DVE parameters
Size X Adjusts the horizontal size of the DVE.

Size Y Adjusts the vertical size of the DVE.

Reset DVE Resets the DVE to screen. Useful if you lose track of the DVE
during adjustment.

Adding DVE Borders

DVE border parameters
The upstream key LCD menu is used to adjust the border parameters for the DVE and picture
in picture.

Border Enables or disables the border.

Color This item appears grayed out because it is not a setting, but rather
an indicator to show you the selected border color. You can use this
indicator to quickly verify the color of the DVE border.

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 Hue Changes the border color. The hue value is a location on the
color wheel.

Saturation Changes the intensity of the border color.

Luminance Change the brightness of the border color.

Style Sets the bevel style for the DVE border.

Outer Width Adjusts the outside width of the border.

Inner Width Adjusts the inside width of the border.

Outer Soften Outside softness adjusts the outside edge of the border, the edge that
touches the background video.

Inner Soften Adjusts inside softness. This softness parameter adjusts the inside edge
of the border, the edge that touches the video.

Border/Shadow Opacity adjusts the transparency of the border and shadow, use this
Opacity setting to create interesting colored glass borders.

Bevel Position Adjusts the position of the 3D bevel on the border.

Bevel Soften Bevel softness adjusts the overall softness of the 3D border. A high
value for this parameter will result in a rounded or beveled border.

DVE shadow light source parameters

Enable Shadow Enables or disables the drop shadow.

Angle Adjusts the direction of the light source on the DVE or picture in picture.
Both the border and drop shadow, if available, are affected by changes to
this setting.

Altitude Adjusts the distance of the light source from the DVE or picture in picture.
Both the border and drop shadow, if available, are affected by changes to
this setting.

Setting up a DVE Key on the Upstream Keyer using

ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel
1 Press the KEY 1 next transition button to enable the keyer on the preview output.
2 In the keyers LCD menu, select the DVE key type using the corresponding soft
control knob.
3 Select the fill source using the corresponding control knob or via the a source
button on the source select bus.
4 Press the system control left and right arrow buttons to navigate through the
DVE parameters, and use the soft control knobs to adjust settings, such as
rotation, position, size, mask settings, light source, border, and key frames
for movement.

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Key Masking
Both upstream and downstream keyers have an adjustable rectangular mask that can be used
to crop out harsh edges and other artifacts in the video signal. The mask consists of left, right,
top and bottom crop controls. Masking can also be used as a creative tool to build rectangular
cut outs on screen.
The mask can be adjusted using the mask settings in the switcher’s LCD menu, or via the
upstream and downstream keyer palettes in ATEM Software Control.

Flying Key
Luma, chroma and pattern upstream key types include a flying key setting. If a DVE channel is
available the flying key setting allows DVE effects to be applied to the key.

Performing Upstream Keyer Transitions

Performing an upstream keyer transition in ATEM Software Control:
The upstream keyer is taken on and off the program output using the ‘next transition’ control
buttons in ATEM Software Control.

Key 1
Take the upstream keyer on or off the program output by clicking the ‘on air’ button.
You will notice this is also reflected by the ‘key’ button on ATEM Mini’s control panel.

Changing the ‘on air’ setting in the LCD menu also changes the state
of the ‘on air’ next transition button in ATEM Software Control

Upstream Key Example

Example 1
In this example the upstream keyer is not currently on air. The next transition is set to ‘on’,
therefore the next transition will change the state of the key and turn it on so that it is visible on
the program output. On ATEM Software Control, the corresponding KEY 1 next transition button
will also illuminate.

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Example 2
In this example, the key is currently on air, indicated by the ‘key’ setting set to ‘on air’. The next
transition setting is also selected, therefore the next transition will change the state of the key
and turn it off so that it is not visible on the program output.

Example 3
In this example, the key is on air, indicated by the software control panel’s illuminated ON AIR
next transition button. The BKGD and KEY 1 next transition buttons are also illuminated,
therefore the background and the upstream key are tied to the next transition. The next
transition will transition the background and change the state of the key turning it off so that it is
not visible on the program output.

There are multiple ways to transition a key to the program output. The key can be cut on or off,
it can be mixed on or off, or it can be mixed along with a background transition. Upstream keys
are transitioned to the program output using the next transition controls. Downstream keyers
can be transitioned using their own transition buttons or by using the DSK TIE buttons to link
the transition with the main transition.

DSK parameters

Tie Switches the DSK TIE button for the respective keyer on or off.

Rate The mix rate at which the downstream keyer transitions on or off.

Key Switches the respective DSK CUT button on or off.

Auto Enables the respective DSK AUTO button to transition the keyer on air.

Fill Source Selects the source to be keyed.

Key Source Selects the cut source which masks the fill source.

Pre Multiplied Key Identifies the key signal as a pre-multiplied key.

Clip The clip level adjusts the threshold at which the key cuts its hole.
Decreasing the clip level reveals more of the background. If the
background video is completely black then the clip value is too high.

Gain The gain adjustment electronically modifies the angle between on and
off thereby softening the edges of the key. Adjust the gain value until
the edge softness is desirable but the background video luminance, or
brightness, is not affected.

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 Invert Key Inverts the key signal.

Mask Allows you to mask out sections of the key. For example, if you need to
select only a specific section of a graphic, you can use the mask setting to
select only the area of the graphic you want to use. To return the mask to
the default settings, select ‘reset mask’ and press the set button.

Creating Video Links with

ATEM Streaming Bridge
The ATEM Streaming Bridge allows you to decode the streaming video from any ATEM Mini Pro
or Extreme and convert it back to SDI or HDMI video. It allows you to send video over your local
network, or to anywhere in the world via the internet.

You can connect ATEM Streaming Bridge in 3 different ways. One is to connect it direct to your
switcher using a simple Ethernet cable, or you can connect it via your local network, or you can
use it anywhere in the world using the Internet.

Direct Connection
The simplest way to get ATEM Streaming Bridge operating is to plug it into an ATEM Mini Pro or
Extreme switcher with a simple Ethernet cable. The switcher will see it and automatically send
video to it when you press the on air button.

Setting up a direct connection

1 Plug power into ATEM Streaming Bridge
2 Connect an Ethernet cable to the ATEM Streaming Bridge.
3 Connect a television to the HDMI on ATEM Streaming Bridge.
4 Connect the other end of the Ethernet cable to the switcher.
5 Press the On Air button on the switcher.

Now you should see video appear on the HDMI television connected to
ATEM Streaming Bridge.

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Network Connection
You can also connect ATEM Streaming Bridge to your network and place it anywhere in your
building. This can be useful when you want to live stream to a conference room, or a video
projector. As there might be more than one ATEM Streaming Bridge on your network, the main
difference is you will need to select the ATEM Streaming Bridge in your ATEM Mini Pro or
Extreme switcher’s network settings. This will ensure your switcher knows what streaming
bridge it needs to send its video data to.

Setting up a network connection

1 Plug power into ATEM Streaming Bridge
2 Connect the ATEM Streaming Bridge Ethernet to your network.
3 Connect a television to the HDMI on ATEM Streaming Bridge.
4 Ensure your ATEM Mini Pro or Extreme switcher is connected to the same
Ethernet network.
5 Connect ATEM Software Control to control your switcher.
6 Open the streaming palette and click the platform menu.
7 Confirm the ATEM Streaming Bridge is listed in the menu.

8 Select the ATEM Streaming Bridge in the platform menu.

9 Press On Air button on the ATEM Mini Pro or Extreme switcher.

Creating Video Links with ATEM Streaming Bridge 127

Now you should see video appearing on the HDMI Television.

Network Status Indicators

There are 4 lights on the ATEM Streaming Bridge that provide information on the state of the
network connection. The 2 LEDs on the Ethernet connector will show the state of the
connection itself. The right orange LED indicates the network is up and connected ok.
The left green LED will show network activity.
The INTERNET OK indicator will illuminate when the ATEM Streaming Bridge can see the Internet.
It indicates your Internet connection is ok and the port forwarding has been setup correctly.
The STREAM OK indicator shows the ATEM Streaming Bridge is receiving streaming data from
an ATEM Mini Pro or Extreme switcher. If you don’t see images out of the video connections but
this LED is illuminated then you might have a problem with your video connections. Try
connecting a monitor direct to the SDI or HDMI outputs of your ATEM Streaming Bridge.

ATEM Streaming Bridge does not appear

If the ATEM Streaming Bridge does not appear in the list, then it’s important to confirm both the
ATEM Streaming Bridge and the ATEM Mini Pro or Extreme switcher are on the same
Ethernet network.
If the ATEM Streaming Bridge still does not appear, then it could be an issue with the network
settings in the ATEM Streaming Bridge itself. This can happen if the ATEM Streaming Bridge has
been used by someone before you and they could have changed its network settings.
As new from the factory the ATEM Streaming Bridge is set to DHCP so it should connect to your
network without any settings changes required, but if it’s been changed, then you will need to
check its network settings. You can change the ATEM Streaming Bridge settings using the
ATEM Setup software.

Connecting ATEM Setup software

The ATEM Setup software is found in the Blackmagic ATEM Switchers folder. It’s the same
software you can use to set up your ATEM switchers and it also handles updating software in
your ATEM switchers as well as the ATEM Streaming Bridge.
Simply plug your ATEM Streaming Bridge USB-C connection to your computer and then run the
ATEM Setup software. You should see the ATEM Streaming Bridge as one of the devices you
can connect to in the ATEM Setup. Click the ATEM Streaming Bridge icon to open the settings.

Creating Video Links with ATEM Streaming Bridge 128

Click the ATEM Streaming Bridge icon in ATEM Setup to open the settings

Now you can see information such as the ATEM Streaming Bridge name and the network
settings. If you are connecting via the local network, then most of the time you can select
DHCP. This will let your ATEM Streaming Bridge find its network address on the network
automatically and this is how most people connect their computers to a local network.
With DHCP the network itself will take care of the correct network settings for anything
connected to it. It’s the easiest way to connect.
However if you have a network administrator, it’s possible your network might have custom
IP addresses for all the equipment connected to it. It’s best to check with your network
administrator if they are managing your computers and network in your company.
Now you have the ATEM Streaming Bridge set to DHCP, try looking at the platform menu on the
ATEM Mini Pro or Extreme switcher again to see if the ATEM Streaming Bridge has appeared in
the list. The switcher should automatically see the ATEM Streaming Bridge on your network.

Changing the ATEM Streaming Bridge name

While you are using the ATEM Setup, it’s a good idea to give your ATEM Streaming Bridge a
custom name. If you are using it on a projector in a public space in your building, perhaps call it
“Main Projector” or if you are using it for a large television in a conference room, perhaps call it
“Conference Room 3” or similar. This means when you have more than one ATEM Streaming
Bridge, you can tell which one is which.

Creating Video Links with ATEM Streaming Bridge 129

Setting a streaming key
Because anyone can stream to any ATEM Streaming Bridge in the menu, it might be a good
idea to set a streaming key to stop anyone crashing into your video link! It’s so easy to select
any ATEM Streaming Bridge on your network, that it could become chaos of everyone
streaming over the top of everyone else.
This is not an issue as you can set a streaming key. This is a password that stops anyone from
accessing your ATEM Streaming Bridge. While running the ATEM Setup, you can see the
streaming key text entry field. Simply type in a password here, and then only ATEM Mini Pros
that have the same streaming key in their streaming settings will be allowed to connect to this
ATEM Streaming Bridge.
You can set a password of your choice, but there is also a password generator button in the
ATEM Setup so you can ask the computer to generate a good secure password. You can just
copy and paste this password to who you want to connect to you. Once they enter it into their
ATEM Mini Pro or Extreme switcher, only they will have permission to connect to this ATEM
Streaming Bridge.

Clicking the generate key button will automatically generate a password for your stream

Remote Administration
While we are suggesting you connect via USB to update settings in the ATEM Streaming Bridge,
you can also connect via Ethernet over your local network. However this can create a security
issue where someone could run the ATEM Setup and change the ATEM Streaming Bridge
settings. To increase security, there is a setting to disable remote administration via Ethernet so
you can only change the ATEM Streaming Bridge via a direct USB connection.

Disable remote configuration via Ethernet if you want to change settings via USB only

Internet Connection
The most exciting way to connect ATEM Streaming Bridge is via the Internet. This is a little more
tricky, because you have to make sure an ATEM Mini Pro or Extreme switcher can find the ATEM
Streaming Bridge, from anywhere in the world. It’s a big world, so there is a few more settings
you will need to update to make this work.
However because ATEM Mini Pro and Extreme switchers have a broadcast quality hardware
streaming engine built in, we can take advantage of this and get very good quality video links
worldwide. This allows you to set up a network of studios who can stream to each other.

Creating Video Links with ATEM Streaming Bridge 130

What you need
To connect to the Internet, you will need a connection to the Internet from both your
ATEM Streaming Bridge and the ATEM Mini Pro or Extreme switcher that will stream to it. You
will also need to have a public IP address for your ATEM Streaming Bridge as your switcher
needs to connect to it, and you need a fixed address that won’t change over time.
The problem is your ATEM Streaming Bridge is on your local Ethernet network, however you
need it to be visible on the internet. ATEM Streaming Bridge uses port forwarding in your
internet firewall to allow the ATEM Mini Pro or Extreme switcher on the internet to connect via
your internet connection to the ATEM Streaming Bridge. If this is not set up, then the ATEM Mini
Pro or Extreme switcher won’t be able to find the ATEM Streaming Bridge.
What this means is you need to ask an internet provider, or your network administrator to set up
port forwarding on your internet connection to “TCP port 1935”. They will know what that means!
The good news is the ATEM Streaming Bridge will also attempt to set up this port forwarding
feature for you, as most internet connections and firewalls have a protocol for setting up the
port forwarding automatically. This means it’s possible the ATEM Streaming Bridge will
communicate with your network gear and try and set this up for you as you set up using the
ATEM Setup utility.

Confirming access to the internet

You will notice lower down there is a connection status field. The ATEM Streaming Bridge will
attempt to connect to the internet and let you know if everything looks like it’s functioning
correctly. If it changes to connected, then this is a good sign, as it means the ATEM Streaming
Bridge has been able to set up your network equipment with the port forwarding settings and
connect to the internet ok.

NOTE  Opening up ports in your network for outside traffic could reduce your network
security so it is best to check with your internet provider or network administrator if you
have any security concerns.

If the connection status does not say visible worldwide you might need to configure the port
forwarding on your internet firewall manually. Not all firewalls support the protocol for
automatically setting up this kind of information, but they do all support setting it up manually.
You may need to contact your internet service provider if you cannot access the router controls
or do not know how to configure port forwarding. On larger networks it is best to speak to your
network administrator for setting up port forwarding as this will make sure there are no conflicts
on your network.

Creating Video Links with ATEM Streaming Bridge 131

Connection Status
While setting up the network connection, the connection status feature can help you sort out
any problems. Some of the information it can show and the cause of the problem are
listed below.

Visible Worldwide This is a good sign, and it means everything looks to be working correctly.
It means port forwarding is set up and working and ATEM Streaming
Bridge is ready to receive a video stream from the Internet.

No Internet Access This indicates the ATEM Streaming Bridge cannot connect to the internet.
You will need to check your network settings and internet connection.

Port Forwarding Error This indicates that you could be connected to the internet, but the port
forwarding in your internet firewall was not able to be set up via the
ATEM Streaming Bridge, so it’s not reachable from the internet. You will
need to ask your network administrator to set this up for you.

UPnP error This weird error message also means ATEM Streaming Bridge is unable
to set up port forwarding on the internet router. You will need to ask your
network administrator to set this up for you or you will need to consult the
router’s documentation to set up port forwarding.

Connecting to ATEM Mini Pro or ATEM Mini Extreme

The best way to think about the internet connection is to understand that out in the world
somewhere, an ATEM Mini Pro or Extreme switcher wants to connect to the ATEM Streaming
Bridge you are currently setting up. It could be anywhere in the world and so how do you make
sure that remote ATEM Mini Pro or Extreme switcher can connect to this ATEM
Streaming Bridge?
It can be complex to try and explain network settings to a remote studio over the phone,
or in a message, so we have made this process very easy.
In the ATEM Setup, there is an ATEM Mini Pro tab that allows you to see the settings required in
the remote studio and you can set up the remote ATEM Mini Pro right here. Once you have the
settings confirmed, you can export and email them to the remote ATEM Mini Pro.
There is not really many settings to do, because most of them are copied across from the main
ATEM Streaming Bridge settings. This assumes you have the ATEM Streaming Bridge
connected to the internet and everything is working ok with the port forwarding feature of your
firewall, as described above.

Creating remote ATEM Mini Pro settings

1 In the ATEM Setup ensure the network settings are correct.
2 Select the ATEM Mini Pro tab in the top right of the window.

Creating Video Links with ATEM Streaming Bridge 132

 3 Select a custom name for the service.
4 Select the quality you want to stream.

5 Select the export settings button to create a settings file.

6 Email this settings file to the person using the remote ATEM Mini Pro.

This settings file is what you will send to the remote ATEM Mini Pro and it has all the settings
contained in it so the remote ATEM Mini Pro knows where to find this ATEM Streaming Bridge.

It’s worth noting that this file is a very similar kind of XML file used on ATEM Mini Pro for its
streaming services. More technically qualified people can even open and make changes to this
file if you have a unique or custom setup.
The name you give the service will be the name listed in the platform menu in the remote
ATEM Mini Pro streaming settings. The quality setting will set the remote quality setting in the
ATEM Mini Pro.

Creating Video Links with ATEM Streaming Bridge 133

Remote ATEM Mini Pro
Now you have this settings file and have emailed it to the person using the remote ATEM Mini
Pro, there is a few things they need to do. These steps are quite simple, so it should be very
easy for the remote ATEM Mini Pro studio to get these settings loaded.
All the remote studio needs to do is go to the ATEM Software Control and select load streaming
settings in the stream menu at the top of their screen.

Once loaded, a new service will be added to the platform menu in the streaming settings.
They just need to select this menu and press on air to start streaming.

Select the ATEM Streaming Bridge from the platform

menu in ATEM Software Control’s live stream palette

When the ATEM Streaming Bridge has been selected in ATEM Software Control’s
live stream palette, press the On Air button on the remote ATEM Mini Pro

Creating Video Links with ATEM Streaming Bridge 134

The on air button should illuminate solid and the remote ATEM Mini Pro should start sending its
streaming video data to your ATEM Streaming Bridge. If the on air button is flashing, then it
indicates it has not found your ATEM Streaming Bridge or there is a network problem with either
the ATEM Mini Pro or ATEM Streaming Bridge end of the link.
Even though a lot of the ATEM Streaming Bridge setup has been designed to be easy and the
setups as automatically as possible, such as the port forwarding settings on your internet
firewall, the Internet equipment can be horribly complex and it’s often so complex it’s possible
the equipment used on your Internet connection might not have been designed by humans.
So don’t feel too bad if you cannot make this work! You might need a network administrator or
IT person to help if you cannot make it work by yourself.

Broadcast Video Reference

The ATEM Streaming Bridge has both an analog tri-sync and black burst video reference input
as well as an SDI input that can be used for reference. Reference is used by large broadcasters
who need all the video connections in their facility to be aligned so they can be switched
around a large system. There is referencing timing settings in the ATEM Setup.

Factory Reset
If you have become a little lost and you want to reset the ATEM Streaming Bridge back to its
default factory settings, then you can select the ‘factory reset’ button in the ATEM Setup
software. This can be useful if you have been using ATEM Streaming Bridge for an internet link
and you now want to move it to a new setup using your local network. Just factory reset it and it
will be set back to DHCP and you can just connect and find it on your local network.

Click the reset button to restore ATEM Streaming Bridge

to DHCP so it can be found on your network automatically

Creating Video Links with ATEM Streaming Bridge 135

HyperDeck Control
Introducing HyperDeck Control
When ATEM Mini is connected to a network via Ethernet, you can also connect up to
4 Blackmagic HyperDeck Studio Mini disk recorders and control them using the HyperDecks
palette in ATEM Software Control. They can also be controlled from the system control buttons
on an external ATEM hardware panel. This is a very powerful feature! With four HyperDecks
connected to your switcher, it’s like having a portable videotape department able to
record outputs from your switcher, play back graphics, or you can even set your switcher to roll
prerecorded segments at the press of a button!
Transport controls are located in the HyperDecks palette in ATEM Software Control, or in the
system control menu on an external ATEM hardware panel, which let you play back video, jog
and shuttle, skip clips, pause and more. You can also record video.
When you combine this feature with ATEM’s powerful macros feature, it opens up a world of
creative possibilities that can really enhance your live production!

Connecting HyperDecks
Connecting Blackmagic HyperDecks to your ATEM Mini is very similar to connecting cameras
and other video sources via your switcher’s HDMI inputs. The only additional connection is
Ethernet which lets your ATEM Mini communicate with the HyperDeck disk recorder.
1 Using the Ethernet connector, connect your HyperDeck disk recorder to the same
network your ATEM Mini is connected to.
2 Enable remote control on HyperDeck Studio Mini by setting the ‘remote’ setting to ‘on’
using the LCD menu.

Plug the HDMI output of a HyperDeck Studio Mini into one of your ATEM Mini’s HDMI inputs

3 Plug the HDMI output of your HyperDeck into one of the HDMI inputs of your
ATEM Mini.
4 Repeat the process for each HyperDeck you want to connect.

HyperDeck Control 136

Now all you have to do is tell ATEM Software Control or ATEM hardware panel which input and
IP address each HyperDeck is using. You can do this easily in the HyperDeck tab in
ATEM Software Control switcher settings, or using the system control soft buttons or LCD menu
on an ATEM hardware panel.

TIP  If you want to record the output from your ATEM Mini to a HyperDeck, plug your
switcher’s HDMI output into the HDMI input of the HyperDeck. Don’t forget to route the
program output to the HDMI output.
If your HyperDeck only has an SDI input, for example HyperDeck Studio Mini, you can
convert ATEM Mini’s HDMI output to SDI using a Blackmagic HDMI to SDI converter,
such as a Mini Converter HDMI to SDI, or Teranex Mini HDMI to SDI.

HyperDeck Settings
HyperDeck connection settings are located in the ‘HyperDeck’ tab of the ATEM Software
Control switcher settings. Here you’ll see setup options for up to four HyperDecks.
Type in your HyperDeck’s IP address in the ‘IP Address’ box and choosing the source it’s
plugged into from the ‘input’ menu. Click ‘connect’ and your HyperDeck is ready
to be controlled.
Status indicators appear above and below each HyperDeck icon to let you know the
connection status. A green tick means your HyperDeck is connected, in remote and
ready to go.
If your HyperDeck is connected and recognized, but does not have its remote button enabled,
you will see an indicator letting you know remote is not active.
If your HyperDeck is not recognized, you will see a ‘failed to connect’ indicator. If you see this
indicator, check the HyperDeck’s Ethernet port is connected to your network and the
IP address is entered correctly.

Auto Roll
You can set a HyperDeck disk recorder to automatically roll video when it is switched to the
program output. For example, you can cue a HyperDeck to the point you want your source to
begin, then roll the source by pressing its input button on the mix effects program row.

HyperDeck Control 137

As HyperDecks must buffer a couple of frames before commencing playback, the actual cut will
be delayed a preset number of frames to ensure a clean transition. This is just like setting a
preroll on a videotape machine. You can adjust the length of this delay by changing the number
in the ‘offset’ box. We’ve found that five frames usually ensures a clean cut.
If you want to cue to a still frame of video or manually trigger video playback on your
HyperDeck, you can also deselect the ‘auto roll’ feature.

Controlling HyperDecks with ATEM Software Control

To control the HyperDecks connected to your switcher, click the ‘media player’ tab in the
software control panel, and choose the ‘HyperDecks’ palette.
Here you can choose between each of the HyperDecks connected to your system by clicking
one of the four buttons along the top of the panel. These are named according to the labels
entered in ATEM settings. Available HyperDecks are shown with white text, while the
HyperDeck you are currently controlling is shown in orange.

Choose from up to four

HyperDecks by clicking
their selection
buttons in the
HyperDecks palette

In addition to the text color, each HyperDeck’s selection button also has a tally indicator.

Green Outline Indicates a HyperDeck that is currently switched to the preview output.

Red Outline Indicates a HyperDeck that is currently switched to the program output,
meaning it is currently live to air.
You may also see one of the following status indicators above the selection
buttons for your HyperDecks.

Ready HyperDeck is set to remote and a disk is inserted. It is ready for playback and
recording if space is available.

Record HyperDeck is currently recording.

No Disk HyperDeck has no disk inserted.

Local HyperDeck is not set to ‘remote’ and cannot currently be controlled by your
ATEM switcher.

HyperDeck Control 138

When you select a HyperDeck, you’ll see information about the currently selected clip such as
the name and length, as well as time elapsed and time remaining. Below this you’ll see the
control buttons.

Record Click on this button to start recording on your HyperDeck.

Click again to stop recording.

Previous Clip Moves to the previous clip in your HyperDeck’s media list.

Play Clicking ‘play’ once initiates playback, clicking it again stops playback. If you
have ‘auto roll’ enabled in your HyperDeck settings, playback will commence
automatically when your HyperDeck is switched to the program output.

Next Clip Moves to the next clip in your HyperDeck’s media list.

Loop Click ‘loop’ once to loop the currently selected clip, and again to loop all of the
clips in your HyperDeck’s media list.

To move through a clip use the shuttle/jog slider underneath your HyperDeck’s control buttons.
This lets you move quickly, or shuttle through a selected clip, or jog frame by frame. You can
switch between these modes with the buttons next to the shuttle/jog slider.

Choose between shuttle and jog transport controls with the

buttons to the left of the transport slider. Adjust the slider left
and right to move forward or backwards through your clip.

The clip list below the transport control shows all of the clips currently available on the selected
HyperDeck. You can expand or collapse the list by pressing the arrow to the right of the clip list.

Playback
To play media on your HyperDeck, simply switch the HyperDeck source to the preview output
and select the clip you want to show. Use the transport controls to cue to the preferred point in
your clip. When you switch your HyperDeck to program output, the ‘auto roll’ feature will
automatically start playback from this point.
If you want to manually trigger the playback, for example holding on a still frame then rolling,
simply disable the respective HyperDeck’s auto roll checkbox in the ’HyperDeck’ tab in
ATEM software’s ‘settings’ menu.

Recording
To record to a HyperDeck with a formatted disk inserted, simply press the ‘record’ button in the
HyperDeck palette transport controls. The ‘time remaining’ indicator in the HyperDeck palette
will let you know the approximate recording time remaining in the SSD.

Controlling HyperDecks with External Hardware Panels

If you are using an external ATEM hardware panel, you can control any connected HyperDecks
using the hardware panel. Once you have connected your HyperDecks to your ATEM Mini as
described in the ‘connecting HyperDecks’ section, you can use the system control buttons and
LED menu on your panel to set up and control each HyperDeck.

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HyperDeck Setup with ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel
Once you have connected your HyperDeck to your switcher, as detailed in the ‘connecting
HyperDecks’ section, use ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel’s system control and LCD soft buttons
to setup and control your HyperDecks.
To begin, press the system control ‘settings’ button.

You’ll notice that ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel displays four setup options along to top of the
LCD screen. These include ‘switcher,’ ‘panel,’ ‘HyperDecks,’ and ‘button mapping.’
Each corresponds to a setup menu. Simply press the LCD soft button above ‘HyperDecks’ to
enter the ‘HyperDeck settings’ menu.
The HyperDeck settings menu has three pages, which you can select using the ‘left’ and
‘right’ arrow buttons in the system control panel, or by pressing the ‘1,’ ‘2,’ and ‘3’ buttons on
your ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel’s numerical keypad.

Assigning an input to a HyperDeck

In the first menu page, you’ll see the ‘HyperDeck’ indicator in the bottom left corner, and an
‘input’ indicator.
Use the control knob under the ‘HyperDeck’ indicator to cycle through the available
HyperDecks.
Once you have selected a HyperDeck, simply rotate the knob under the ‘input’ indicator to
select which input that HyperDeck is connected to on your switcher. For example,
if HyperDeck 1 is connected to input 4 on your switcher, rotate the knob under the ‘input’
indicator to select ‘camera 4.’ Press the ‘input’ knob to confirm your selection.

Repeat this process for

any additional HyperDecks
you have connected to
your switcher by assigning
inputs to HyperDeck slots
1, 2, 3 and 4, if required.

Assigning an IP Address
Once you’ve assigned an input to a HyperDeck, you’ll need to enter its IP address.
This allows ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel to control the HyperDeck via Ethernet.

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To enter a HyperDeck’s IP address, navigate to the third HyperDeck settings page with the
‘left’ or ‘right’ arrow buttons, or pressing ‘3’ on the numeric keypad while in the HyperDeck
settings menu.
In this page, you’ll see an IP address for the currently selected HyperDeck. Each IP address
number corresponds to a rotary knob below it. To change these numbers, you can rotate the
corresponding knob, or press the knob once and enter a number using the numeric keypad.
Do this for each number in the IP address.
Once you’ve entered the IP address for your HyperDeck, press the soft button corresponding
to the ‘save changes’ indicator to confirm the address. To cancel, press ‘undo’.

To enter the IP address for

subsequent HyperDecks, you’ll
need to select the HyperDeck
using the first page of the
HyperDeck settings menu.

Auto Roll
You can toggle your HyperDeck’s auto roll function from the second screen of the HyperDeck
settings menu. While in the HyperDeck settings menu, use the ‘left’ or ‘right’ arrow buttons in
the system control panel to navigate to this screen.
While in this menu, press the LCD soft button above the ‘auto roll’ indicator to turn the auto roll
feature on. The indicator text will illuminate blue when auto roll is on.
The auto roll feature lets you set a HyperDeck disk recorder to automatically roll video when it
is switched to the program output. For example, you can cue a HyperDeck to the point you
want your source to begin, then roll the clip by pressing the HyperDeck’s input button on the
program row.

As HyperDecks must buffer a couple of frames before commencing playback, the actual cut will
be delayed a preset number of frames to ensure a clean transition. This is just like setting a
preroll on a videotape machine. You can adjust the length of this delay by changing the ‘offset’
frames number using the control knob under this indicator. Press the soft button above the
‘save changes’ indicator to confirm your change.

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Controlling HyperDecks with ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel
HyperDeck controls are available in the ‘media players’ menu in your ATEM 1 M/E Advanced
Panel. To access this menu, simply press the ‘media players’ control panel button and press the
soft button above the ‘HyperDecks’ indicator to access HyperDeck control. If your switcher has
more than two media players, you may need to navigate to the next menu page to access
HyperDeck controls.

You can now use the rotating

knobs below the ‘hyperdeck,’
‘clip,’ ‘jog’ and ‘shuttle’ indicators
to select HyperDecks, select clips,
and jog and shuttle these clips.

The text in the center of

the HyperDeck control menu will
change to reflect the HyperDeck
and clip that you have selected.

Use the third and fourth pages

of the ‘media players’ LCD menu
for more HyperDeck controls,
including play, stop, loop playback,
and forward and reverse skip
for moving between clips.

In the fourth menu page, press

the ‘record’ button to record the
program output of your switcher
to your HyperDeck. Use the ‘jog’
and ‘shuttle’ commands to scrub
through recorded footage.

TIP  To play all clips, hold down the shift button and press the ‘play’ soft button.

HyperDeck Control 142

Connecting ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel
ATEM Mini is designed to be controlled using its own built in control panel, but if you have a
larger production that is more complex and have many sources, graphics and intricate keys to
handle, or you need to operate your ATEM Mini from a separate location, an ATEM 1 M/E
Advanced Panel can help you.

ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel

The ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel is designed for switchers with one mix effects panel, but has
the ability to control up to 4 M/Es if you decide to expand your production. The control panel
provides high quality buttons for fast, comprehensive control over your switcher, plus
CCU control. System control is fast and convenient using a centralized LCD menu with soft
buttons and controls. When using ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel and the software panel
together, any change on one panel will be reflected on the other and you can use both panels
at the same time.
ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel connects directly to your ATEM Mini via Ethernet and is
programmed with a default fixed switcher IP address that works with your ATEM Mini. Once
plugged in, the panel will instantly recognize ATEM Mini and you can then switch sources and
control your ATEM Mini via the external panel.

NOTE  When plugged in directly to Pro or Extreme switcher, the panel works using a
fixed IP address, but you can also plug into a network and control the switcher from a
completely different location. To read more about controlling an ATEM Mini switcher
using a network, refer to the ‘connecting to a network’ section.

To connect ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel to your ATEM Mini, simply connect ATEM Mini’s
Ethernet port to your ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel’s Ethernet port using a standard CAT5
network cable.

Connecting ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel 143

Using ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel

ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel

Using the Control Panel

Mix Effects
The program bus, preview bus and source names display are used together to switch sources
on the program and preview outputs.

ATEM Mix Effects

Source Name Displays

The source name displays use labels to represent the switcher’s external inputs or internal
sources. Labels for the external inputs can be edited on the settings window of the software
control panel. Labels for the internal sources are fixed and don’t need to be changed.
The displays show the labels for each row of buttons in the source select row, program row, and
preview row.
Pressing the SHIFT button will change the source names display to show extra sources, called
shifted sources, allowing selection of up to 20 different sources.
Simultaneously pressing both SHIFT buttons next to the source select and program rows will
change the source names display to show protected sources, and these are available in the
source select row for keyers and routing to auxiliary outputs. Protected sources are program,
preview, clean feed 1 and clean feed 2.

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Program Bus
The program bus is used to hot switch background sources to the program output. The source
currently on air is indicated by a button that is illuminated red. A blinking red button indicates
that the shifted source is on air. Pressing the SHIFT button will display the shifted source.

Preview Bus
The preview bus is used to select a source on the preview output. This source is sent to
program when the next transition occurs. The selected source is indicated by a button that
is illuminated green. A blinking green button indicates that a shifted source is on preview.
Pressing the SHIFT button will display the shifted source.

SHIFT
The SHIFT button provides a global shift and is used to shift the program, preview,
and select buses along with the label. It also provides a shift for the transition type
and joystick and other menu functions.
Double-pressing buttons in the preview and select buses, as well as the transition type buttons,
is the same as shift-selecting them and can be a faster way to shift-select buttons. Double-
pressing is not implemented for the program bus as it would cause the program output to
momentarily show the wrong source.

Source Select Bus

The source select bus works in conjunction with the source names display and is used to assign
sources to auxiliary outputs and keyers. When the macro button is enabled, this row of buttons
is also used for loading and running macros recorded to the corresponding slots. The buttons
will illuminate blue when the macro button is enabled.
The destination display and select bus together show you the routing of sources to keys and
auxiliary outputs. The currently selected source is indicated by an illuminated button. A blinking
button indicates a shifted source. A green illuminated button identifies a protected source.
Protected sources are program, preview, clean feed 1 and clean feed 2.

Transition Control and Upstream Keyers

Transition Control and Upstream Keyers

CUT
The CUT button performs an immediate transition of the Program and Preview outputs,
regardless of the selected transition type.

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AUTO
The AUTO button will perform the selected transition at the rate specified in the auto rate
setting located in the LCD ‘home’ menu. The transition rate for each transition type is set in
the LCD menu, and is displayed when the corresponding transition style button is selected.
The AUTO button illuminates red for the duration of the transition and the fader bar indicator
illuminates with sequential LEDs to indicate the progress of the transition. If the software control
panel is active, the virtual fader bar also updates to provide visual feedback on the progress
of the transition.

Fader Bar and Fader Bar Indicator

The fader bar is used as an alternative to the AUTO button and allows the operator to manually
control the transition. The fader bar Indicator next to the fader bar provides visual feedback on
the progress of the transition.
The AUTO button illuminates red for the duration of the transition and the fader bar indicator
updates to indicate the progress of the transition. If the software control panel is active, the
virtual fader bar updates simultaneously.

Transition Type Buttons

The transition type buttons allow the operator to select one of five types of transitions;
mix, wipe, dip, DVE, and stinger, labeled STING. Transition types are selected by pressing the
appropriately labeled transition type button. The button will illuminate when selected.
When a transition type is selected, the LCD menu shows the transition rate and provides instant
access to all the corresponding settings for that transition type. Use the soft buttons and knobs
to navigate through the settings and make changes.
The button marked ARM is currently disabled and will be enabled in a future update.

PREV TRANS
The PREV TRANS button enables the preview transition mode allowing the operator to verify a
transition by performing it on the preview output using the fader bar. Once you press this button
the preview transition feature is enabled and you can preview your transition as many times as
you like. This lets you test the transition before going to air and make changes and corrections
as needed. You can even preview stinger transitions! Once adjusted, press the button again to
disable the feature and you are ready to send your transition on air.

Next Transition
The BKGD, KEY 1, KEY 2, KEY 3, KEY 4 buttons are used to select the elements which will
transition on air or off air with the next transition. Any combination of background and keys can
be selected by pressing multiple buttons simultaneously. Double pressing the BKGD button
selects all of the next transition upstream keyers that are currently on air and copies them to
the Next Transition buttons.
Pressing any of the next transition buttons will clear selection of all others. When selecting
the elements of the next transition, the switcher operator should look at the preview output
because it provides an accurate representation of what the program output will look like after
the transition is completed. When only the BKGD button is selected, a transition from the
current source on the program bus to the source selected on the preview bus will occur.

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Transition Control and Upstream Keyers

ON AIR
The ON AIR indicator buttons above each keyer are labeled ON and indicate which of the
upstream keys are currently on air. These can also be used to immediately cut a key on
or off air.

MACRO
The macro button is used to enable the macro feature which changes the source select row
of buttons to macro buttons corresponding to macro slots.

TIP  There are ten macro buttons in the source select row, so if you have macros
recorded to slots greater than ten, you can access these by opening the macro
settings in the LCD menu and changing the macro group using the control knob.

For more information on how to record and run macros using the advanced panel, refer to
‘recording Macros using ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel’ later in this section.

Downstream Keyers
DSK TIE
The DSK TIE button will enable the DSK on the preview output, along with the next transition
effects, and tie it to the main transition control so that the DSK can be taken to air with the
next transition.
Because the tied downstream keyer is now tied to the main transition, the transition will happen
at the rate specified in the auto rate setting in the LCD ‘home’ menu. When the DSK is tied,
the signal routing to the clean feed 1 is unaffected.

DSK CUT
The DSK CUT button is used to cut the DSK on or off air and indicates whether the DSK is
currently on or off air. The button is illuminated if the DSK is currently on air.

DSK AUTO
The DSK AUTO button will mix the DSK on or off air at the rate specified in the DSK rate
LCD menu setting.

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M/E Buttons
As some ATEM switchers have multiple M/Es you can select which one you want to control
using the M/E buttons. When an M/E is selected, the LCD menu will change to show the settings
that correspond to that M/E panel.

Press the M/E buttons numbered 1 to 4 to select an M/E panel to control

Fade to Black
The FTB button will fade the program output to black at the rate specified in the FTB rate
LCD menu setting. Once the program output has been faded to black, the FTB button will flash
red until it is pressed again, fading the program output up from black at the same rate. A fade to
black cannot be previewed.

Downstream Keyers and Fade to Black

You can also set your switcher to fade audio together with the fade to black by navigating to the
FTB LCD menu and setting AFV to ‘on’. This sets the switcher to fade the audio to silence at the
rate set for the fade to black. If you want audio to remain on during and after the fade to black,
set AFV to ‘off’.

System Control Menu Buttons

The buttons on the top left side of your panel, combined with the LCD and its four soft buttons
are called the system control. When you press a system control button, for example the ‘home’
button, the LCD will change accordingly to show the relevant controls and settings. Use the soft
buttons and knobs above and below the LCD to make changes.
If there are small dot icons on the LCD menu, this means there is more than one page of
settings and you can move through the pages by pressing the left and right arrow buttons.

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For example, to change the border softness on a wipe transition
1 Press the ‘wipe’ button.
2 Press the right arrow button next to the LCD to move to the third page of settings.
3 Rotate the control knob under the ‘softness’ setting to change the softness of the wipe
transition border.

If you want to change the direction of the wipe transition

1 Press the arrow buttons to navigate back to the first page of wipe transition settings,
or simply press the ‘wipe’ button to return to the first page.
2 Press the ‘reverse direction’ soft button at the top of the LCD to change the direction.
3 Once you are satisfied with the setting, press the ‘home’ button to return to the
home page.

TIP  When changing the border softness, you can visually monitor your adjustments in
real time. Simply press the PREV TRANS button and move the fader bar while
watching the preview output on the multi view to visually monitor your settings.
Remember to press PREV TRANS again to disable the transition preview when you’re
happy with the settings.

The system control buttons and LCD menu are used to access all the settings for your panel,
and you can even set general switcher settings directly from the panel. For example, if you
need to change the switcher’s video format.

System Control

Joystick and Numeric Keypad

The number pad is used to enter numerical data. For example, the number pad can be used
to enter a numerical value for transition duration. When entering data using the number pad,
the soft buttons below each parameter are used to apply the entered data to that parameter.
The Joystick is a 3-axis joystick that is used to size and position keys, DVEs and other elements.
On larger ATEM switchers with an RS-422 ‘remote’ port, the joystick can also be used to control
VISCA PTZ cameras.

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Joystick Control

Button Mapping
ATEM software and hardware control panels support button mapping so you can assign your
most important sources, especially cameras, to the most accessible buttons in the program and
preview rows. Occasional sources can be assigned to less prominent buttons. Button mapping
is set independently for each control panel so button mapping set on a software control panel
will not affect the button mapping set on a hardware control panel.

ATEM Advanced Panel Button Mapping and Button Brightness Level

To access the button mapping settings, press the ‘settings’ button to open the general switcher
settings LCD menu, then press the ‘button mapping’ soft button.
Use the control knobs under each LCD setting to select the button you want to map and the
input you want to change it to. You can also change the button color and label color that is
displayed on the panel if you want to highlight specific sources. For example, you may want to
highlight your playback sources a different color so you can instantly identify them on the panel.
The button will illuminate on both the preview and program rows until the source is switched to
the preview or program output, where it will change to green or red respectively.
Once you have changed the setting, the change is made instantly and you don’t have to worry
about saving. Simply press the ‘home’ button to return to the home menu.
If you want to change the brightness of the buttons, press the ‘settings’ button to open the
general switcher settings LCD menu, then press the ‘panel’ soft button to reveal the
panel settings.
Rotate the settings knob under each setting until you see the desired brightness level.
Once you have configured all the button settings, press the ‘home’ button to return to the
home menu.

Performing Transitions using ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel

ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel shares the same control panel layout as the software control
panel, plus a large LCD with soft control knobs and buttons which lets you adjust settings
dynamically as you control your switcher. This is a fast and convenient way of working with
your panel.
This section describes how to perform the various transition types on your switcher using an
external ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel.

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Cut Transitions
The cut is the most basic transition that can be performed on the switcher. In a cut transition the
program output is immediately changed from one source to another.

Program output for a cut transition.

A cut transition can be performed directly from the program bus, or using the CUT button in the
transition control block.

Program Bus
When a cut transition is performed from the program bus, only the background will be changed,
and all upstream and downstream keys will maintain their current state.

To perform a cut transition from the program bus

On the program bus, select the video source that you want on the program output.
The program output will immediately change to the new source.

Press any of the source buttons on the program row

to perform a cut transition from the program bus

CUT Button
When a cut transition is performed using the CUT button, any upstream keys that were selected
in the next transition and any downstream keys that were tied to the transition control will also
change state. For example, a downstream key tied to the transition control will cut ON if off air,
or cut OFF if on air. Similarly, any upstream keys selected in the next transition will be cut on if
they were off air, or cut off if they were on air.

Press the button marked CUT in the transition

control block to perform a cut transition

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To perform a cut transition using the CUT button
1 On the preview bus, select the video source that you want on the program output.
The program output will remain unchanged.
2 In the transition control block, press the CUT button. The sources selected on the
program and preview buses are exchanged to indicate that the video source that was
on preview is now on program and vice versa.

TIP  We recommend using the transition control block to perform transitions because it
provides the opportunity to verify the video content on the preview output before
sending it to the program output, for example to verify that a camera is in focus.

Auto Transitions
An auto transition allows you to automatically transition between program and preview sources
at a predetermined rate. Any upstream keys that were selected in the next transition and any
downstream keys that were tied to the transition control will also change state. Auto transitions
are performed using the auto button in the transition control block. Mix, dip, wipe, DVE and
stinger transitions can all be performed as an AUTO transition.

The auto transition button is part

of the transition control block

To perform an auto transition

1 On the preview bus, select the video source that you want on the program output.
2 Select the transition type using the transition type buttons in the transition
control block.
3 In the system control, set the transition rate and adjust any other parameter for the
transition as needed.

TIP  On the ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel, all transition settings are accessed
via the LCD menu.

4 Press the AUTO button in the transition control block to initiate the transition.
5 During the transition, the red and green buttons on the program and preview
buses both turn red to indicate that you are in the middle of a transition. The
fader bar indicator displays the position and progress of the transition and the
transition rate display updates to indicate the number of frames remaining as the
transition progresses.

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 6 At the end of the transition, sources selected on the program and preview buses are
exchanged to indicate that the video source that was on preview is now on program
and vice versa.

Each transition type has its own independent transition rate allowing you to perform faster
transitions by simply selecting the transition type and pressing the AUTO button. The previously
used transition rate is remembered for that transition type until it is changed.
A production switcher provides multiple methods of transitioning from one shot to another.
Generally, you use a simple cut transition to move from one background source to another.
Mix, dip, wipe and DVE transitions allow you to transition between two background sources
by gradually phasing out one and phasing in another.
Stinger and Graphic Wipe are special transitions which will be covered in a later section.
Mix, dip, wipe and DVE transitions are performed as an auto transition or manual transition
using the transition control block.

On the ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel the transition types, for example dip,
mix and wipe, have their own independent selection button.

Mix Transitions
A mix is a gradual transition from one source to another and is achieved by interpolating
gradually between two sources, effectively overlapping the sources for the duration of the
effect. The length of the transition or length of the overlap can be adjusted by changing
the mix rate.

Program output for a mix transition.

To perform a mix transition on the ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel:

1 On the preview bus, select the video source that you want on the program output.
2 Press the MIX button to select the mix transition type. The LCD menu will automatically
display the transition settings.
3 In the transition settings, use the corresponding LCD control knob to adjust the mix
rate. You can also enter a rate duration using the number pad.
4 Perform the transition as an auto transition or manual transition from the transition
control block.

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 Press the ‘mix’ button and set the transition rate using the LCD menu

Mix Transition Parameters

Rate The mix transition rate in seconds : frames.

Dip Transitions
A DIP is similar to a mix in that it is a gradual transition that transitions from one source to
another. However, a dip transition gradually mixes through a third source, the dip source.
For example, the dip transition can be used for a transition that calls for a white flash or a
transition that quickly flashes the sponsor logo. The length of the dip transition and the dip
source can both be customized.

Program output for a dip transition.

To perform a dip transition on the ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel:

1 On the preview bus, select the video source that you want on the program output.
2 Press the DIP button to select the dip transition type. The LCD menu will automatically
display the transition settings.
3 In the transition settings, use the corresponding LCD control knob to adjust the dip rate.
You can also enter a rate duration using the number pad. Select a dip source.
4 Perform the transition as an auto transition or manual transition from the transition
control block.

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 Press the ‘dip’ button in the transition control block, then set the dip
source and transition rate using the LCD menu

Dip transition parameters

Rate The dip transition rate in seconds and frames.

Dip Source The dip source is any video signal in the switcher that will be used as the
intermediate picture for the dip transition, usually a color generator or media player.

Wipe Transitions
A wipe is a transition from one source to another and is achieved by replacing the current
source by another source with a pattern that forms a shape. For example an expanding circle
or diamond.

Program output for a wipe transition.

To perform a wipe transition on the ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel:

1 On the preview bus, select the video source that you want on the program output.
2 Press the WIPE button to select the wipe transition type. The LCD menu will
automatically display the transition settings.
3 Press the desired wipe pattern button on the control panel.
4 In the transition settings, use the corresponding LCD control knobs to adjust the border
parameters, the wipe rate, and wipe direction. You can also enter a rate duration and
specific setting values using the number pad.
5 Use the select bus to select the border source.
6 Perform the transition as an auto transition or manual transition from the transition
control block.

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 Press a source button in the source select row to select a source for the wipe border. Hold the
shift button down to select a shifted source, such as a color generator or media player.

Press a source button in the source select row to select a source for
the wipe border, such as a camera or media player.

Hold the shift button down to select a shifted source, such as color bars or a color generator.

TIP  The border source used in a wipe transition can be any source in the switcher.
For example, a thick border with the media player as its source can be used for
sponsorship or branding.

Wipe transition parameters

Rate The length of the wipe transition in seconds and frames.

Symmetry Symmetry can be used to control the aspect ratio of the pattern.
For example, adjusting the symmetry will allow you to change a circle into an ellipse.
Symmetry can be adjusted using the z axis of the joystick.

Position If the wipe pattern has positioning then the joystick on the external panel or the x
position: and y position: boxes in the transition palette of the software control panel
can be used to move the center of the pattern. Moving the joystick dynamically
updates the x and y position display in the software control panel.

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 Normal The normal direction for closed patterns such as circles, diamonds and boxes is to
grow from the center of the screen and progress outward.

Reverse Reverse changes the progression of closed patterns such as circles,

diamonds and boxes so that the pattern closes in from the edges of the screen
toward the center.

FlipFlop When FlipFlop mode is toggled on, the transition changes between normal
to reverse every time the transition is executed.

Border Width of the border.

Soft The edges of the wipe pattern can be adjusted between sharp and fuzzy by
adjusting the softness parameter.

DVE Transitions
Your ATEM switcher includes a powerful digital video effects processor for DVE transitions.
A DVE transition displaces the image in various ways to transition from one picture to another.
For example, a DVE transition can be used to squeeze the current picture off screen revealing
a new video under it.

To perform a DVE transition on the ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel:

1 On the preview bus, select the video source that you want on the program output.
2 Press the DVE transition type button to select the DVE transition. The DVE settings will
appear on the LCD menu.

NOTE  If the DVE is already being used in an upstream key, the DVE transition
type will not be available for selection until the key is taken off air and off next
transition. Refer to ‘sharing DVE resources’ later in this section for
more information.

3 In the DVE LCD menu, use the soft control knobs and buttons to configure the DVE
parameters. For example, select the DVE pattern and movement direction, and adjust
the DVE transition rate.
4 Perform the transition as an auto or manual transition using the auto button or fader bar.

DVE transition parameters

DVE Rate The duration of the DVE transition in seconds and frames. Rotate the DVE rate
knob to adjust the DVE transition rate. The new rate is immediately displayed in the
transition rate window in the transition control block.

Symmetry Symmetry can be used to control the aspect ratio of the pattern.
For example, adjusting the symmetry will allow you to change a circle into an ellipse.
Symmetry can be adjusted using the z axis of the joystick.

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 Position If the wipe pattern has positioning then the joystick on the external panel or the x
position: and y position: boxes in the transition palette of the software control panel
can be used to move the center of the pattern. Moving the joystick dynamically
updates the x and y position display in the software control panel.

Normal The normal direction for closed patterns such as circles, diamonds and boxes is to
grow from the center of the screen and progress outward.

DVE key parameters

Enable key Enables/disables the DVE key. The DVE key is enabled when the
button is illuminated.

PreMult Select the DVE key as a pre-multiplied key.

Clip The clip level adjusts the threshold at which the key cuts its hole. Decreasing the
clip level reveals more of the background. If the background video is completely
black then the clip value is too low.

Gain The gain adjustment electronically modifies the angle between on and off thereby
softening the edges of the key. Adjust the gain value until the edge softness is
desirable but the background video luminance (brightness) is not affected.

Inverse When the key is not pre-multiplied, inverts the key signal.

Sharing DVE Resources

ATEM features a DVE channel which can be used to perform DVE transitions or used in an
upstream keyer. When you select a DVE transition, if the DVE is used elsewhere in the system,
the DVE transition type will not be available and a DVE unavailable message will be displayed.
In order to use the DVE transition you must free the DVE from where it is currently used. Verify
that the upstream keys currently on program or preview are not DVE keys and do not have
flying key enabled. To free DVE from the upstream keyer, change the key type to anything
other than DVE or disable flying key. The DVE will be released and therefore available for use
as a DVE transition.
The logo wipe transition is a popular transition that uses the DVE and moves a graphic across
the screen over a background transition. For example, the logo wipe moves a graphic over
a horizontal wipe, essentially replacing the wipe border. A logo mix spins the graphic across the
screen over a mix transition. Logo transitions are perfect for wiping the station logo or spinning
a football across the screen revealing a new background. Logo transitions use a special
keyer built into the transition block, leaving all of the upstream and downstream keyers
available for compositing the output.
The following section explains how to build and perform logo transitions.

The above image sequence provides an example of the program output for a graphic wipe transition.

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Performing a Graphic Transition
To perform a graphic transition on the ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel:
1 Press the DVE transition type button in the transition control block. The DVE settings
menu will appear on the LCD.
If the DVE is already being used in an upstream key, the DVE transition type will not be
available for selection until the key is taken off air and off next transition.
Refer to ‘sharing DVE resources’ later in this section for more information.
2 Press the ‘effect’ soft button in the LCD menu to open the effect settings, and set
the effect to a graphic wipe by selecting the graphic wipe icon using the ‘effect’ soft
control knob.
The default direction is left to right, but you can change the direction by selecting
‘reverse direction’. You can also enable ‘flip flop’ which will let the effect move forwards
and backwards with each performance of the transition, rather than repeating the same
movement direction.
3 Press the right arrow in the system control buttons to adjust the key settings. Enable
the key, and select the fill and key source. If you need to make adjustments to the key,
for example adjusting clip and gain settings, press the right arrow in the system control
buttons to access the key parameters.

TIP  Typically, for a graphic transition, the source would normally be a graphic
loaded in a media player. By default, when you select a media player for the fill
source, the key source will automatically select the media player key channel
and set pre multiplied key to ‘on’. This means a graphic with a key matte
embedded in the alpha channel will automatically be selected by the switcher.
You can disable pre multiplied key and change the key source if you want to
use a separate media file on a different media player, or a different
input source.

4 Press the auto button to perform the transition as an auto transition, or use the fader
bar for a manual transition.

Graphic wipe parameters

Rate Rate specifies the length of the transition in seconds and frames.
The rate can be adjusted using the rate knob or by entering a number on the
number pad and pressing the set rate button.

Normal The normal direction moves the graphic from left to right.

Reverse Reverse changes the direction so that it moves the graphic from right to left.

FlipFlop When FlipFlop mode is toggled on, the transition changes between normal
and reverse every time the transition is executed. The ‘Normal’ or ‘Reverse’ light
indicates the direction of the next transition.

Fill Source The fill signal is the graphic used to move across the top of the transition.

Key Source The key signal is a grayscale image that defines the region in the graphic that will be
removed so that the fill signal can be correctly stacked on top of the wipe.

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Graphic wipe images
The graphic wipe feature requires a static graphic that is used as a moving border for a
horizontal wipe. This graphic should be a vertical ‘banner’ type graphic that is no more than
25% of the total screen width.

Graphic wipe screen width requirements

If the switcher is operating at 1080p then the graphic should be no wider than
1080p
1,920 pixels.

If the switcher is operating at 720p than the graphic should be no wider than
720p
320 pixels.

Manual Transitions
Manual transitions let you manually transition between program and preview sources using the
fader bar in the transition control block. Mix, dip, wipe and DVE transitions can all be performed
as a manual transition.

To perform a manual transition

1 On the preview bus, select the video source that you want on the program output.
2 Select the transition type using the transition type buttons in the transition
control block.
3 Manually move the fader bar from one end to the other to execute the transition.
The next move on the fader bar will begin a new transition.
4 During the transition the red and green buttons on the program and preview buses
both turn red to indicate that you are in the middle of a transition. The LED indicator on
the fader bar also displays the position and progress of the transition.

TIP  You will also see ATEM Software Control mirror the move on the
software panel.

5 At the end of the transition, sources selected on the program and preview buses are
exchanged to indicate that the video source that was on preview is now on program
and vice versa.

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Recording Macros using ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel
You can record and run macros using an ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel independently of
ATEM Software Control. All actions on the ATEM Software Control switcher page can be
performed using your hardware panel. If you need to arrange graphics in the media pool, or
adjust camera settings, simply access those settings using ATEM Software Control.
The buttons used to record and run macros on the ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel are located in
the system control buttons. The names of your macro buttons are displayed in the source select
names display.
Follow the steps below to create the ‘transitions’ macro demonstrated earlier using
ATEM Software Control. This time you will create a macro in macro slot 6.
1 Press the ‘macro’ soft button to open the macros LCD menu.
2 Using the ‘macro’ knob under the LCD, select the macro slot you want to record to.
For this example, select ‘slot 6 - Empty’.
3 Press the ‘record’ soft button at the top of the LCD to start recording. The record icon
appears as a red circle. When recording, this icon becomes a red square.

Press the ‘record’ soft button to start recording your macro

While recording, a red border will appear around the LCD

4 Shift select ‘color bars’ on the program bus. The button will flash indicating it’s a
shifted source.
5 Shift select ‘color 1’ on the preview bus. If you wish, you can map buttons such as
color bars, black and color generators to any of the main 10 buttons of the program and
preview bus for easier access. See the ‘button mapping’ section of this manual
for instructions.

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 6 Press the wipe button in transition control to ensure the macro records the wipe
transition selection.
7 In the ‘wipe’ LCD menu, set the rate to 2:00 seconds.
8 Press the ‘auto’ button in transition control to perform the wipe transition from
color bars to color 1.
9 Press the ‘macro’ button to return to the macro screen.
10 To set the macro to wait for 2 seconds before applying the next transition, press the
‘add pause’ soft button in the LCD menu and set the duration to 2 seconds by rotating
the ‘seconds’ knob. Press the ‘confirm’ soft button to record the pause.
11 Now shift select ‘black’ on the preview bus , press the ‘mix’ button in transition
control and press the ‘auto’ transition button. Your ATEM switcher will perform a mix
transition to black.
12 Press the Macro button to navigate back to the Macro menu, then press the ‘stop’
soft button to stop recording.

You have just recorded a macro using an ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel. The macro will appear
as a macro button named ‘Macro 6’ because it is located in macro slot 6. You can name your
macro and add notes by clicking on the ‘edit macro’ button in ATEM Software Control.
To run the macro, press the macro button to set your panel’s source select row to macro mode.
The buttons will illuminate blue when in macro mode. Now press the macro 6 button. You can
easily see when a macro is running because the macro button will flash green and an orange
border appears around the LCD menu.
If your macro was successful, you should see your ATEM switcher mix from color bars to color 1
using a 2 second mix transition, pause for 2 seconds, then perform another 2 second mix
transition to black, all by pressing one button on your ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel. If you want
the macro to loop so it keeps running, press the ‘loop’ soft button to enable loop. Press again to
disable loop.
It’s worth frequently testing your macros using different switcher settings to make sure the
macro performs all the specific functions you intended and doesn’t miss any instructions or
produce something unexpected.

If you want to record over a previously recorded macro, or if you

made a mistake and want to start recording the macro again, press
the record button and confirm the overwrite when prompted

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Using ATEM Camera Control Panel
Traditionally, camera control units, or CCUs, have been designed for mounting inside a desk
with independent units for each camera. ATEM Camera Control Panel is a portable solution that
can be placed on a desk or solid surface with 4 CCUs built in so you can control all four
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Cameras at once.

Powering the Panel

To power your camera control panel, connect power via the IEC power input on the rear panel
using a standard IEC power cable. You can also use the 12V DC input if you want to connect
external power or redundancy via an external power supply, for example a UPS uninterrupted
power supply or external 12V battery.

Connect power via the power input on the rear panel

Connecting the Panel to your Switcher

To connect ATEM Camera Control Panel to your switcher, all you need to do is add the panel
into your ATEM Ethernet connection chain.
For example, if you are using an external ATEM hardware panel, such as the ATEM 1 M/E
Advanced Panel, remove its Ethernet cable from your computer or network and connect it to
one of the camera control panel’s Ethernet ports instead. The ATEM hardware panel will then
be the middle unit in the chain. Now connect the camera control panel’s spare Ethernet port to
your computer or network.

Using ATEM Camera Control Panel 163

If you are using the camera control panel with just your switcher and a computer on a shared
network, connect the panel to your switcher, then the spare Ethernet port to your computer.

After connecting the camera control panel to your ATEM equipment, you should see the lights
on the panel illuminate and the LCDs on each CCU will display their respectively assigned
cameras. The panel is now powered, connected to your switcher and ready to start controlling
your cameras!

Using ATEM Camera Control Panel 164

The connection process is fast because all the network settings for each ATEM unit have a
different default IP address when shipped from the factory. This means when you connect them
all to each other, their network settings are automatically configured and will work straight away.
However, if you are adding a camera control panel to an already existing system, or you need
to manually assign a different IP address to avoid potential conflicts on your network, you can
enable DHCP so your panel determines the best IP address, or disable DHCP and set the
IP address manually.

NOTE  ATEM Mini Pro and Extreme switchers don’t have a fixed IP address because it
is designed to use the DHCP. When connecting these switchers directly to ATEM
Camera Control Panel, we recommend setting a manual IP address.
When connecting to the camera control panel and a network, set the switcher to
DHCP. The network server will assign an IP address and you can then set that as the
camera control panel’s switcher IP address so it can communicate with your switcher.
You can read more about this in the following section.
For more information about setting ATEM Mini Pro and Extreme switcher’s network
settings refer to the ‘connecting to a network’ section.

Changing Network Settings

Changing network settings means manually setting the panel’s IP address so it can join your
network, then entering the switcher’s IP address on your panel so the switcher can be identified
by your panel. These settings are located in your camera control panel’s ‘settings’ LCD menu.
The home screen is the first menu item you will see on the CCU’s LCD. To access the network
settings, press the ‘settings’ soft button.

SETTINGS BANK A RECALL ALL SETTINGS BANK A RECALL ALL

CAMERA CONTROL CAMERA CONTROL

Camera 1 Camera 1

1 1
CAMERA CAMERA

Press the ‘settings’ soft button

on the LCD home screen
to access all the camera
control panel’s settings

The DHCP setting is the first setting in the sequence of menu pages. Under this setting is a row
of small dot icons. As you press the arrow soft button to navigate through the pages of settings,
the dot icons will illuminate to show which page you are on. All your camera control panel
settings are available via these pages.

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To set the camera control panel’s IP address:
1 If you want the panel to automatically set a compatible IP address, select the DHCP
setting by pressing the ‘on’ soft button.

TIP  If you know your network’s IP address, you can navigate to the next
setting page and check the panel’s IP address setting to confirm it has
selected an address compatible with your network.

2 If you want to set the IP address manually, make sure the DHCP setting is set to ‘off’,
then press the arrow soft button to navigate to the ‘panel IP address’ setting.
3 Rotate the corresponding knobs to change the IP address fields.
4 Now press the arrow button to move to the subnet mask and gateway settings and
make the necessary changes.
5 Once all the subnet mask and gateway number fields are set, press the ‘save changes’
soft button to confirm your settings.

With your camera control panel’s IP address set, the network can now communicate with
your panel.
The next step is to assign the switcher’s IP address on the camera control panel. By telling your
camera control panel your switcher’s IP address, the panel can then identify your switcher on
the network.

TIP  If your switcher is located near the camera control panel, it’s helpful to open the
network settings menu on the switcher so you can observe your switcher’s IP address
while entering the IP address number fields on the camera control panel. This is also a
good way to cross check your network settings between each unit.

To set the switcher’s IP address on your camera control panel:

1 Press the arrow soft button to navigate to the ‘switcher IP address’ setting.
2 Using the knobs underneath the LCD, set the numbers for each address field.
3 Press ‘save changes’ to confirm your settings.

Now that your panel has identified the switcher, all the controls on your panel should illuminate.
This lets you know the panel is communicating with your switcher and is now able to control
your cameras via the program return SDI outputs from the switcher to each camera.
If the lights are not illuminated on your panel, check your network settings and ensure the
Ethernet cables are connected correctly.

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 Camera Control Panel Layout
Each CCU on your camera control panel is exactly the same with the same controls. The menu
settings are primarily controlled using the left CCU’s LCD and soft buttons.

Each CCU has exactly the same controls.

LCD Menu Settings

Pressing the ‘home’ soft button returns you to main home screen. From the home screen, you
can access all your camera control panel’s settings including the network settings, auxiliary for
camera control, master black enable and disable settings and the brightness settings for
adjusting the lights on the various panel controls. You can also identify the software version
installed on your camera control panel and the ATEM switcher your panel is connected to.

TTINGS BANK A RECALL ALL SETTINGS BANK A RECALL ALL

CAMERA CONTROL CAMERA CONTROL

Camera 1 Camera 1

The home screen displays

1 1
MERA CAMERA features you may need access
to at all times, for example
selecting the desired camera
bank and recalling scene
files for all cameras

Camera Banks A and B

When the LCD is set to the home screen, you will see the camera bank setting at the
top of the display. This setting displays which bank of cameras you are controlling,
which is an important feature when using larger ATEM switchers controlling up to
20 Blackmagic Design cameras.
For example, imagine you are controlling 8 cameras and you want to have a dedicated
CCU assigned to each camera. You can assign cameras 1 to 4 for each CCU on bank A,
then assign cameras 5 to 8 to each CCU on bank B.

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 Now when switching your live production, you can press the ‘bank’ soft button to swap
between banks A and B, which lets you instantly access camera control for cameras
that have been assigned to dedicated CCUs. This is a faster and more organized way of
controlling cameras compared to swapping between multiple cameras on each CCU
during production.

TTINGS BANK A RECALL ALL SETTINGS BANK A RECALL ALL

CAMERA CONTROL CAMERA CONTROL

Camera 1 Camera 1

1 1
MERA CAMERA Press the bank soft button
to cycle between camera
banks A and B, or hold the
button down to disable or
enable camera banks

You can also disable the banks by holding down the bank soft button until the ‘bank off’ setting
appears on the LCD.
Turning the banks off lets you change the CCUs to other cameras when needed, with a defined
set of cameras ready on each bank you can access at any time. To enable banks, simply press
the bank button again.

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CAMERA CONTROL CAMERA CONTROL CAMERA CONTROL CAMERA CONTROL

Camera 1
CAMERA CONTROL
Camera 2
CAMERA CONTROL
Camera 3
CAMERA CONTROL
Camera 4
CAMERA CONTROL

Camera 1 Camera 2 Camera 3 Camera 4

1 2 3 4
CAMERA CAMERA CAMERA CAMERA

1 2 3 4
CAMERA CAMERA CAMERA CAMERA

SETTINGS BANK B RECALL ALL

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CAMERA CONTROL CAMERA CONTROL CAMERA CONTROL CAMERA CONTROL

Camera 5
CAMERA CONTROL
Camera 6
CAMERA CONTROL
Camera 7
CAMERA CONTROL
Camera 8
CAMERA CONTROL

Camera 5 Camera 6 Camera 7 Camera 8

5 6 7 8
CAMERA CAMERA CAMERA CAMERA

5 6 7 8
CAMERA CAMERA CAMERA CAMERA

The bank setting lets you assign 2 banks of cameras to the four CCUs and then
instantly swap between them by pressing the ‘bank’ soft button

TIP  Any camera can be selected on each CCU in both banks. For example, imagine
you want to have constant control over camera 1, even after switching to another bank
of cameras. All you need to do is make sure one CCU in each bank always has camera
1 selected.

Using ATEM Camera Control Panel 168

Settings
Pressing the ‘settings’ button on the home screen opens all settings for your camera control
panel. Navigate through the pages of settings by pressing the arrow soft button. The network
settings, including DHCP and IP address settings, are the first pages in the sequence. These
settings are described in the section that shows how to change network settings when
connecting the camera control panel to your ATEM switcher. Keep reading this section for
information on the additional settings for your camera control panel.

Auxiliary Select
This setting is important for ATEM switchers that have an auxiliary output.

Master Black
Setting the master black setting to on or off enables or disables the master black
control, also known as the pedestal control. This is helpful if you want to lock the
pedestal so it cannot be accidentally adjusted during production. The pedestal is
controlled by turning the ring wheel on the joystick control knob clockwise or counter
clockwise. More information on the joystick control is provided in the
following sections.

Brightness
These settings let you adjust the brightness for the buttons, indicators, LEDs and LCDs
on your camera control panel. Rotate the corresponding control knobs for each setting
clockwise or counter clockwise to brighten or dim the lights.

CCU Panel Controls

The panel controls for each CCU are separated into three general sections. These include:

Scene Files and Camera Settings

Scene files are for storing all the camera parameters for each CCU. Camera settings
can be changed such as shutter speed, master gain, white balance and enabling color
bars. More information for these settings, plus the relative and absolute mode settings,
are described in detail in the following ‘controlling cameras’ section.

The upper section of each CCU is used to store and recall scene files, plus control
camera settings such as shutter speed, master gain, white balance and color bars

Color Balance Controls

The red, green and blue color balance knobs in the panel’s mid section are for
adjusting the color balance of the lift, gamma and gain levels. The white controls are for
adjusting the RGB values for the gain, or highlights and the black controls are for

Using ATEM Camera Control Panel 169

adjusting RGB values of the lift, or the shadows. The black/flare button lets you adjust
the RGB values for the gamma, or mid tones, by holding down the button and adjusting
the lift RGB knobs.

The color balance controls let you make fine adjustments to the red, green,
blue channels for the master gain/white, gamma and pedestal/black levels

There is also a custom control that will be uniquely assignable in a future update.
Currently, the custom control knob is set to Y gain control. This increases or decreases
the overall luminance, or brightness, of the image. More information about color
balance control is provided in the following ‘controlling cameras’ section.

Lens Controls
The lower section of the panel is where most of the control will occur during production.
The first item you will probably notice is the joystick control. This is used to open and
close the iris, also known as the white level or gain control and for adjusting the master
black level, also known as the pedestal control.
Gain is adjusted by leaning the joystick forwards or backwards to open or close the iris.
Increase or decrease the pedestal by rotating the ring wheel underneath the joystick’s
knob clockwise or counter clockwise. This gives you fine control over both parameters
using the same controller.

The lower section of the CCU is where most of the

camera control occurs during live production

Using ATEM Camera Control Panel 170

Other buttons and knobs in this section of the CCU are for adjusting the sensitivity of the
joystick control, setting the coarse level, locking and unlocking the CCU and more. Details on
all the features are provided in the following section.

Controlling Cameras
This section describes all the features on each CCU and a general overview on how to
approach camera control.
The first step to controlling cameras is to assign a camera for a CCU.

Assigning a Camera to a CCU

At the bottom of the LCD home screen for each CCU, you will see its camera number displayed
and a soft control knob underneath it. Simply turn the knob to change the camera number.
You will also see the camera name change on the LCD. The camera name will illuminate red
when on air.

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CAMERA CONTROL

Camera 1

1
CAMERA

The camera name and number

on the LCD home screen
shows the camera currently
selected for each CCU

TIP  The large camera number next to the CCU’s joystick control will also change
when you assign a camera. This large identifying number is easy to see and will
illuminate red when its camera is live on the program output.

Using ATEM Camera Control Panel 171

Scene Files
The numbered buttons along the top of each CCU let you quickly store and recall up to 5 scene
file presets. For example, once you have arranged all your settings for a camera and you are set
up for broadcast, you can then save all the parameters for each camera and recall them later.
It’s a very fast process!

To store a scene file:

1 Press the ‘store’ button on a CCU. The button will illuminate red to indicate the panel is
ready to store a file.
2 Press a numbered scene file button.

The scene file indicator and buttons will illuminate, indicating when a scene file is stored
or recalled.

To recall a scene file:

Press the numbered button for the scene file you want to recall.
That’s all you need to do!

The scene file buttons are

used for storing and recalling
all settings for CCU controls

Recall All
When this feature is enabled, you can recall a stored scene file on all cameras simultaneously
when you press the corresponding scene file button on a single CCU.
For example, you may have a specific setup for each camera that is optimized for a set in your
live production. This will likely be a large number of settings that you will want to recall later
when you return to that set.
The following is an example of how you can recall complex settings for multiple cameras
simultaneously.

To recall a scene file to multiple cameras:

1 Once all your cameras are set up, store a scene file for each camera on scene file 1.
2 Enable the ‘recall all’ setting by pressing the corresponding soft button in the LCD
home menu.
3 Now make any changes you want to each camera.
4 Press the scene file 1 button on any CCU. You will notice that all CCUs have recalled the
settings stored in scene file 1 for each independent CCU.

Using ATEM Camera Control Panel 172

 NOTE  While this feature is very powerful and helpful, please use with care as it affects
all cameras, including the camera switched to the program output. We recommend
enabling ‘recall all’ for specific setups prior to air and then immediately disabling the
feature until you need it again.

ND
This setting will be enabled in a future update.

CC
This setting will be enabled in a future update.

Master Gain
Blackmagic Design cameras have ISO and gain settings that can be set using the master gain
buttons on the camera control panel. To increase the master gain, press the up arrow next to
the master gain indicator. To decrease gain, press the down arrow.
Increasing or decreasing the master gain lets you allow for more light in dimly lit shooting
conditions, however it’s worth being careful with the master gain as electronic noise can appear
in the image as it reaches its highest settings.

TIP  When a negative gain value is set, the down arrow will illuminate. When positive
gain is set, the up arrow will illuminate.

Relative Control and Absolute Control

The camera control panel has two control modes that determine how the panel maintains
synchronization between the physical controls and their settings. The two control modes are
relative control and absolute control.

Pressing the ‘ON’ button repeatedly will cycle between relative and absolute control modes

Relative Control
In relative control mode, when a setting is adjusted externally and becomes out of sync with the
original controller, the next time a change is made to the original controller, its setting will
gradually return to sync as the new adjustment is performed.
For example, if the camera’s iris is set to f2.8 on the camera control panel and then set to f5.6
using ATEM Software Control, the joystick will still be physically placed at f2.8, but the setting is
now f5.6. In relative mode, when you then adjust the joystick to decrease the gain level, the
setting will continue from f5.6 and gently return to sync with the controller as you make
changes. The process is almost invisible and it’s likely you won’t even notice.

Using ATEM Camera Control Panel 173

Absolute Control
In absolute control mode, the settings are always synchronized to their corresponding controls.

NOTE  When the panel is in absolute control mode, it’s worth keeping in mind that if a
control’s setting is changed using ATEM Software Control or a different CCU, the next
adjustment on the original controller will result in an initially harsh settings change as it
snaps back to its originally set position.
For example, if the joystick has set the iris to f2.8 on the camera control panel and then
the setting is changed to f5.6 using ATEM Software Control, the next time you adjust
the gain level using the joystick, the gain level will immediately snap to f2.8 and begin
adjusting from there. That is because the joystick is still positioned at f2.8 on the
camera control panel.
For this reason, it’s important to decide before going to air which control mode you
want to use when controlling your cameras so you can be sure there is no risk of
unintended changes when live to air.

White Balance
You can adjust the white balance of each camera by holding down the white balance button,
marked ‘W/B’ and pressing the shutter up and down arrow buttons to warm or cool the image.
The shutter setting indicator displays white balance values so you can monitor the color
temperature in degrees Kelvin. Check the white balance setting at any time by holding down
the white balance button and observing the shutter setting indicator.

TIP  When changing a white balance or shutter speed setting, you can increase their
speed of change by holding down the corresponding up or down arrow buttons.

Hold down the W/B button and press the shutter up and down arrow
buttons to set a white balance in degrees Kelvin

Color Bars
Pressing the ‘bars’ button will set the camera to display color bars. Press again to turn bars off.

Shutter Speed
The arrow buttons next to the shutter display let you change the camera’s shutter speed.
Press the up arrow to increase the shutter speed and down to decrease. For general
production use, the shutter speed is typically set to 50, meaning 1/50th of a second, which
produces a pleasing motion blur. If you want crisper images with reduced motion blur, for
example when shooting sport, a faster shutter speed may be preferred.

Press the shutter up and down buttons to set the camera’s shutter speed

Using ATEM Camera Control Panel 174

White and Black Balance Controls
The two rows of color balance knobs are used to adjust the color balance of the white and
black levels, also known as gain and pedestal. Turn the red, green and blue knobs clockwise or
counter clockwise to make changes.

TIP  For achieving accurate color settings while adjusting the color balance, it’s best to
view scopes. For example, a waveform, parade or vectorscope as provided on a
Blackmagic SmartScope 4K.

Black/Flare Button
Adjust the color of the gamma or mid tones by holding down the black/flare button and
adjusting the black balance RGB controls.

D EXT/EXT
This feature will be enabled in a future update.

Camera Number
Each CCU has its own large camera number that shows you which camera is being controlled.
This large display is illuminated green when in a neutral state and red when its camera is
switched to the program output.

Gain and Pedestal Level Control

The joystick control lets you make fine adjustments to the gain/iris and pedestal/master
black levels.
Leaning the joystick forwards or backwards opens or closes the camera’s iris, also known as
the gain level. As you lean the joystick forwards and backwards, its indicator strip will illuminate,
providing an approximate display of the camera’s exposure. For a precise assessment of the
exposure f-stop, observe the iris indicator.

The joystick lets you adjust

the gain level by leaning
the controller forwards and
backwards. The master black
level can be adjusted by turning
the ring wheel clockwise or
counter clockwise. Corresponding
indicators are provided for
accurate measurement.

Using ATEM Camera Control Panel 175

Located around the collar of the joystick’s handle is a ring wheel that controls the pedestal
level. The ring wheel has small ridges built in for firm control and a position indicator is located
on the top of the knob to show the physical positioning of the wheel. Turn the wheel clockwise
to increase the master black level, or counter clockwise to decrease.

Iris and Master Black Indicators

The indicators for the iris and master black joystick control displays the gain value, shown as
the f-stop exposure level for the camera lens and the level of the master black setting.

Sensitivity
The sensitivity setting lets you define a specific range between the highest and lowest gain
levels so you can achieve finer control using the joystick. For example, when sensitivity is at its
maximum setting, you can lean the joystick all the way forwards or backwards, however it will
only affect a narrow range of gain.
You can define how narrow the range is by increasing or decreasing the sensitivity.

Coarse Control Knob

The coarse setting lets you define a limit to the maximum gain control. For example, you may
want to ensure your gain never rises higher than a determined exposure.

To do this:
1 Lean the joystick to its highest position to increase the gain setting to its maximum.
2 Now decrease the coarse setting by rotating the coarse knob counter clockwise until
the gain reaches the limit you want to set.
You can now lean the joystick all the way up and down and the gain will never rise higher than
the limit you have set.

TIP  When the coarse control is combined with the sensitivity control, you can define
an upper and lower limit to the gain control.
For example, imagine you want to limit the gain so it never rises above f4.0 because
gain above that level will clip highlights in your image. You also want to limit the gain so
its minimum setting will be f8.0 to maintain the optimum sharpness range for your lens.

To do this:
1 Increase the gain control to its maximum position by leaning the joystick all the way
to its top position.
2 Now decrease the coarse setting until it reaches the upper limit you want to set.
In this case, f4.0.
3 To set the lower limit, lean the joystick all the way to its bottom position.
4 Now increase the sensitivity setting until the gain reaches the lower limit you want
to set. In this case, f8.0.

Now you can lean the joystick all the way from top to bottom and the gain will stay
within the limits you have set. This is a powerful way to define your exposure limits,
plus gain finer control with the joystick due to allowing its maximum travel forwards
and backwards.

Using ATEM Camera Control Panel 176

Iris and Master Black Active
Once your levels are set and you want to lock them so they are not accidentally changed,
press the ‘iris/MB active’ button. This enables a lock on the gain and master black so that any
accidental movements of the joystick will not affect your settings. The ‘Iris/MB active’ button
label will illuminate red when the lock is active. To disable the lock, press the button again.

TIP  You can lock the black/pedestal level independently by disabling the ‘master
black’ option in the ‘settings’ menu. When disabling master black, the black level is
locked but the iris/gain level can still be adjusted. Don’t forget to enable the master
black setting if you want to make changes to the black/pedestal level.

Auto Iris
If your camera is using a compatible lens with electronic iris control via the camera, then you
can press the ‘auto iris’ button for a quick automatic exposure setting. The camera will set
exposure based on average brightness, providing an average exposure that is a balance
between the brightest highlights and the darkest shadows.

Call
Holding down the ‘call’ button will flash the tally light on the CCU’s selected camera when using
Blackmagic URSA Broadcast and Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 4.6K. This is a helpful way of
seeking the camera operators’ attention, or to let your operators know you are about to go live.
While holding down the call button, the large camera number next to the joystick will also flash
so you can visually confirm the call is being sent.

Panel Active
After you are happy with your camera settings, you may want to lock all the controls so they
cannot be accidentally adjusted. Pressing the ‘panel active’ button enables the CCU lock so all
controls cannot be changed. Press the button again to disable the CCU lock. This can be a
helpful feature when you are recording a locked off shot and don’t want the setting adjusted by
accident, for example a wide shot of a stadium filling as the crowd enters.
ATEM Camera Control Panel is an exciting, practical and efficient way to control
Blackmagic Design cameras in your live production. We believe you will enjoy the experience
of hands on camera control using CCUs, which lets you take control of exposure and other
camera settings, freeing up your camera operators so they can concentrate on framing
and focus.

Using ATEM Camera Control Panel 177

Using Audio
Connecting other Audio Sources
Your ATEM switcher features 3.5mm jack inputs so you can connect external microphones and
audio sources, for example music players.

3.5mm jack inputs let you connect external analog audio,

for example microphones and music players

Using Embedded HDMI Audio Sources

Your ATEM Mini includes a built-in audio mixer that lets you use the embedded HDMI audio
from your cameras, media servers and other inputs without the need for an external
audio mixer.
Once you’ve connected your HDMI cameras to the switcher for vision mixing, there are no other
connections to make as the audio mixer uses the embedded audio in the video signal. This
saves space and makes setup very fast and low cost as you don’t need separate audio
connections for every video source, and you don’t need an external audio mixer unless you
prefer to use one.
The audio is mixed using the control buttons on your ATEM Mini, or via the Audio tab of ATEM
Software Control and output over USB webcam and HDMI outputs as embedded digital audio.

Using Audio 178

Using a Third Party Audio Mixer Control Surface
Using an Audio Mixer Control Surface
Connecting a hardware audio mixer control surface to your ATEM Mini provides you with the
ability to use both hands and adjust multiple audio levels at the same time.
An audio mixer control surface can be connected to your Mac or PC as a MIDI device using
Mackie Control commands to communicate with ATEM Mini.
Many third party MIDI control surfaces are compatible with your ATEM Mini but please check
with the manufacturer of your control surface if in doubt.

You can adjust multiple audio levels at the same time by connecting a hardware
audio mixer to the computer which is running ATEM Software Control

Connecting Your Audio Mixer Control Surface

1 Connect your compatible MIDI control surface to your Mac or PC. Most modern control
surfaces use USB.
2 Verify your control surface is recognized by your computer as a MIDI device.
For Mac OS computers, go to Applications/Utilities/Audio MIDI Setup and launch the
application. Go to the Window menu and choose Show MIDI Window. Ensure your
control surface appears as a MIDI device in this window.
For Windows computers, go to Computer/Properties/Device Manager/Sound,
Video and Game Controllers and ensure your control surface appears in the
list of icons.
3 The ATEM audio mixer is designed to communicate with your control surface using
Mackie Control commands so your control surface will need to support Mackie Control.
You’ll also need to make sure your control surface is configured to use native Mackie
Control or Mackie Control emulation. Please refer to your control surface’s user manual
for configuration details.
Some control surfaces offer several types of Mackie Control emulation and you should
choose the one that activates the most features on your control surface. For example,
with the Behringer BCF 2000, choosing “Mackie Control Mapping for Cakewalk Sonar
3 [MCSo]” enables level faders, bank selectors, balance control, AFV and ON/MUTE
functions, and also activates the LED screen which displays which bank of faders you
have selected for your audio mix. The LED screen will not activate if you choose
another Mackie Control emulation.

Using Audio 179

4 Launch ATEM Software Control and it will automatically look for your control surface
using the first port on the first MIDI device that it finds. Click on the Audio tab in ATEM
Software Control to display the ATEM audio mixer. Try sliding the gain faders up and
down on your hardware control surface and verify that the audio mixer faders show a
corresponding increase and decrease in the software on your computer screen. If so,
you have successfully configured your control surface to work with the ATEM switcher.

TIP  If your midi device is not working as expected, ensure ‘enable midi
control’ is selected in ATEM Software Control’s general switcher preferences.

Try sliding the gain faders up and down on your hardware

control surface and verify that the audio mixer faders show a
corresponding movement in the software on your computer screen

The MUTE button

In the ATEM audio mixer interface, audio is always on, or present in the mix, when the
ON button is selected. When the ON button is deselected, audio is not present or is
muted. To match the software interface, you’ll find the MUTE button on your audio
mixer control surface will be lit when audio is always on or present in the mix. The
MUTE button will be unlit when audio is not present or is muted.

Decibel Scales
All hardware mixers are made differently, and the scale printed on your control surface
may not match the scale in the ATEM audio mixer interface. Always refer to the ATEM
audio mixer levels for the true decibel scales.

Using Audio 180

Help
Getting Help
The fastest way to obtain help is to go to the Blackmagic Design online support pages and
check the latest support material available for your ATEM Mini.

Blackmagic Design online support pages

The latest manual, software and support notes can be found at the Blackmagic Design support
center at www.blackmagicdesign.com/support.

Blackmagic Design Forum

The Blackmagic Design forum on our website is a helpful resource you can visit for more
information and creative ideas. This can also be a faster way of getting help as there may
already be answers you can find from other experienced users and Blackmagic Design
staff which will keep you moving forward. You can visit the forum at
https://forum.blackmagicdesign.com

Contacting Blackmagic Design support

Alternatively, click on the “Find your local support team” button on the support page and call
your nearest Blackmagic Design support office.

Checking the version currently installed

To check which version of ATEM software is installed on your computer, open the
About ATEM Software Control window.
– On Mac OS, open ATEM Software Control from the Applications folder.
Select About ATEM Software Control from the application menu to reveal the
version number.
– On Windows, open ATEM Software Control from your 'start' menu. Click on 'help' in
the menu bar and select 'about' to reveal the version number.

How to get the latest updates

After checking the version of ATEM software installed on your computer, please visit the
Blackmagic Design support center at www.blackmagicdesign.com/support to check for the
latest updates. While it is usually a good idea to run the latest updates, it is a wise practice to
avoid updating any software if you are in the middle of an important project.

Help 181
Regulatory Notices
Disposal of Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment Within the European Union.
The symbol on the product indicates that this equipment must not be disposed of with other
waste materials. In order to dispose of your waste equipment, it must be handed over to a
designated collection point for recycling. The separate collection and recycling of your waste
equipment at the time of disposal will help conserve natural resources and ensure that it is
recycled in a manner that protects human health and the environment. For more information
about where you can drop off your waste equipment for recycling, please contact your local
city recycling office or the dealer from whom you purchased the product.

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital device,
pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable
protection against harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial
environment. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and,
if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to
radio communications. Operation of this product in a residential area is likely to cause harmful
interference, in which case the user will be required to correct the interference at
personal expense.
Operation is subject to the following two conditions:
1 This device may not cause harmful interference.
2 This device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause
undesired operation.

Connection to HDMI interfaces must be made with high quality shielded HDMI cables.

R-R-BMD-20200131005
R-R-BMD-201911001

ISED Canada Statement

This device complies with Canadian standards for Class A digital apparatus.
Any modifications or use of this product outside its intended use could void compliance to
these standards.
Connection to HDMI interfaces must be made with high quality shielded HDMI cables.
This equipment has been tested for compliance with the intended use in a
commercial environment. If the equipment is used in a domestic environment,
it may cause radio interference.

Regulatory Notices 182

Safety Information
This equipment is suitable for use in tropical locations with an ambient temperature of
up to 40ºC.

Use only at altitudes not more than 2000m above sea level.

No operator serviceable parts inside. Refer servicing to your local Blackmagic Design
service centre.

State of California statement

This product can expose you to chemicals such as trace amounts of polybrominated biphenyls
within plastic parts, which is known to the state of California to cause cancer and birth defects
or other reproductive harm.
For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov.

Singapore Notice
The power adapter supplied with your Blackmagic Design equipment has interchangeable
plugs to suit the mains socket outlets in a number of countries. Each plug marked with the
model numbers APD2-UK or APD2-EU are approved and suitable for use in Singapore.

Safety Information 183

Warranty
12 Month Limited Warranty
Blackmagic Design warrants that this product will be free from defects in materials and workmanship
for a period of 12 months from the date of purchase. If a product proves to be defective during this
warranty period, Blackmagic Design, at its option, either will repair the defective product without
charge for parts and labor, or will provide a replacement in exchange for the defective product.
In order to obtain service under this warranty, you the Customer, must notify Blackmagic Design
of the defect before the expiration of the warranty period and make suitable arrangements for the
performance of service. The Customer shall be responsible for packaging and shipping the
defective product to a designated service center nominated by Blackmagic Design, with shipping
charges pre paid. Customer shall be responsible for paying all shipping charges, insurance, duties,
taxes, and any other charges for products returned to us for any reason.
This warranty shall not apply to any defect, failure or damage caused by improper use or improper
or inadequate maintenance and care. Blackmagic Design shall not be obligated to furnish service
under this warranty: a) to repair damage resulting from attempts by personnel other than
Blackmagic Design representatives to install, repair or service the product, b) to repair damage
resulting from improper use or connection to incompatible equipment, c) to repair any damage or
malfunction caused by the use of non Blackmagic Design parts or supplies, or d) to service a
product that has been modified or integrated with other products when the effect of such a
modification or integration increases the time or difficulty of servicing the product. THIS WARRANTY
IS GIVEN BY BLACKMAGIC DESIGN IN LIEU OF ANY OTHER WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED.
BLACKMAGIC DESIGN AND ITS VENDORS DISCLAIM ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. BLACKMAGIC DESIGN’S
RESPONSIBILITY TO REPAIR OR REPLACE DEFECTIVE PRODUCTS IS THE WHOLE AND EXCLUSIVE
REMEDY PROVIDED TO THE CUSTOMER FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR
CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES IRRESPECTIVE OF WHETHER BLACKMAGIC DESIGN OR THE
VENDOR HAS ADVANCE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. BLACKMAGIC
DESIGN IS NOT LIABLE FOR ANY ILLEGAL USE OF EQUIPMENT BY CUSTOMER. BLACKMAGIC
IS NOT LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES RESULTING FROM USE OF THIS PRODUCT. USER OPERATES
THIS PRODUCT AT OWN RISK.
© Copyright 2021 Blackmagic Design. All rights reserved. ‘Blackmagic Design’, ‘DeckLink’, ‘HDLink’, ‘Workgroup Videohub’,
‘Multibridge Pro’, ‘Multibridge Extreme’, ‘Intensity’ and ‘Leading the creative video revolution’ are registered trademarks in the
US and other countries. All other company and product names may be trade marks of their respective companies with which
they are associated.
Thunderbolt and the Thunderbolt logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries.

Warranty 184