Streaming with ATEM 1 M/E Switcher

My vendor explained that the H.264 file outputting from the USB port is ready to send to a computer for streaming. We are purchasing the unit strictly for live streaming. I read elsewhere that the USB output is useless for streaming.

Which is correct?

Thank you.

[Sarah Jones]

The H.264 output is only available on the ATEM Television Studio. The ATEM 1 M/E does not have the necessary chip required to do this compression. The signal coming from the USB 3.0 connection of the 1 M/E is an uncompressed signal and requires a compatible USB 3.0 capable system.

If you are looking at the ATEM Television Studio for streaming, we record this signal to a file, which can be streamed after the recording completes. However, the ability to live stream the signal from the Television Studio is going to be dependent upon the software application you are using. Not any application is going to see that signal in a live environment and know what to do with it. The application has to have the proper coding to detect the signal.

We unfortunately don't do any testing or certification with streaming applications, but there are some software companies out there that have certified our hardware for their application, such as Livestream and MX Light. We also have an SDK available on our Support page if you are interested in writing your own application. Ultimately our recommendation would be to find a streaming application that you like then contact that provider to find out if they work specifically with our hardware. Or you can use the two companies I mentioned as a jumping off point in your research.

Hope this helps.

Thank you Sarah,

So you are saying that we would have to get a USB 3 card to get this uncompressed signal into a computer? Since it will have to be compressed somehow, we won't be able to stream live.

Our other option would be to buy the ATEM Television Studio and record the show to a file before we can stream. Is that recording in real time? If there is a significant delay, we won't be able to stream because there is a live chat feedback component to this webcast my client wants to include.

Is there any Black Magic switcher that will allow us to stream live?

Thanks

[Kaspar Ko]

If you were to get a USB3 interface card, then the ATEM 1ME or 2ME for that matter would function as any one of our USB3 products and follow the same system requirements. You would open Media Express and under Devices it will show the ATEM 1ME/2ME. Then configure your Preferences to the correct video resolution format and select either uncompressed or compressed with MJPEG. There would be a file that would need to be captured locally then uploaded to your streaming service. But indeed you are correct you wouldn't be able to stream live directly from our application Media Express. And any 3rd party application that would see this stream by talking to the ATEM over USB3 would still have to compress the signal prior to streaming.

Added benefit of going this route is that you can use the UltraScope application to monitor the output to make sure that a signal is within the proper levels. The USB3 port on the ATEM 1ME/2ME is AUX1 so you can use this to check your levels on your inputs as well by mapping them to AUX1. Down shot, you need a computer that adheres to both the USB3 minimum system requirements AND a GPU that fulfills the requirement needed to run UltraScope.

An alternative would be to take the HDMI or SDI Program Output from the ATEM and feed it into a SDI/HDMI card such as the Decklink SDI or Intensity Pro and use a 3rd party application to stream it that way. There quite a few streaming applications out there that work quite well with our PCIe cards. At that point, the application doesn't even have to be aware of the ATEM, they just see one of our cards that is getting a 1080i/720p/NTSC/PAL signal to which it needs to encode and stream. This is not limited to our cards, you can use any 3rd party SDI/HDMI interface card that works with the software of your choice to do the streaming. So if you already have an encoding setup, all you would need to do is send the SDI or HDMI signal to it and off you go.

Second alternative would be get the H.264 ProRecorder and feed the Program Output from the ATEM to it and have it be controlled by a streaming application. And Livestream and the MXLight among others have been mention numerous times in other threads to do this. So if you don't have a suitable computer, this can be a viable option. The ATEM TVS can be addressed much like the H.264 ProRecorder so if you aren't committed or need the larger ATEM switchers, you can easily get the ATEM Television Studio, USB2 to a machine and use the 3rd party app to take the encoded signal off the USB2 port and stream that signal live.

Delay on this would be minimal from our side and only would be as slow or fast as your Internet connection to bring this signal live and how the application handles the signal.

So to answer your question, no, there is no Blackmagic switcher that will allow you to stream live in one step. However, by using a 3rd party application yes you can. There are a few options on what you can do depending on what your needs are and what hardware you have available to you. These are the three most common ways that people get video from their ATEM setup to stream on air.

Hope that helps.

An abbreviated answer: the usb output of the 1 M/E does work for streaming and it's quite good in my experience.

In most cases we've used a laptop with built-in USB 3.0 ports and the Livestream Procaster encoder. Livestream recognizes the 1 M/E as the input device and has no trouble streaming the signal.

Great explanations.
So the Livestream Procaster encoder will recognize this file and encode on the fly or is there a time delay, like in minutes?

Also, we don't have a USB 3 enabled computer. Will a USB 3 adapter card installed in the PC satisfy this requirement for USB 3 workflow?

Thanks!

So the Livestream Procaster encoder will recognize this file and encode on the fly or is there a time delay, like in minutes?

It recognizes the 1 M/E as an input device, yes. It will show up in the Procaster input/source list. No significant delay.

Also, we don't have a USB 3 enabled computer. Will a USB 3 adapter card installed in the PC satisfy this requirement for USB 3 workflow?

Most likely, but I can't say for certain- I've only used computers with native/onboard USB 3.0. You'll need to make sure your computer is up to proper specs and that the USB 3 card you choose is compatible with Blackmagic's devices.

Thank you Benjamin,

That is very helpful. I would just like to know from Black Magic what USB 3 cards are approved. I don't see that info on the site.

Thanks to all!!
Much appreciated