Blackmagic Forum

I promise I don't want to offend anyone that is a BM fan...... We just sold our Tricaster mini HDMI model due to bad audio issues on live feed, but I could drop any any any media in a media pool and play videos / stills etc with ease / had PTZ control over all cameras etc.
So we have a local specialist recommend the ATEM BM switcher due to XLR audio inputs. But are you serious we get this thing in and does little of nothing. Still images only in a MEDIA player..... Call it a still image player or sequence image player or something.

So I'm sorry I had to vent as we are totally disappointed but have already sold the tricaster so any advice to easily get videos through the atem as I have tried the desktop computer via hdmi to input into hdmi input 4 on switcher but ATEM wont recognize signal.
Really guys.... Sorry if offended anyone It just seam like BM could have the software allow for the mov / mp4 codec and use it in the media pool as a source...

Any advice is greatly appreciated !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HEY BUT AUDIO IS NOW DECENT

You are suffering from Tricaster syndrome. Their gear gives you false expectations about what to expect from a switcher, which leads to a lot of pain trying to move on to proper broadcast gear.

i'd be looking for a new "specialist" as this one clearly just wanted a sale and didn't care what your application involved. there are a lot of diffs between ATEM and tri-caster all of which are WELL documented. they both work well in the right application.

your computer, or any video source, must be in the ONE format you have the ATEM set to output. once this is achieved you will have video from your computer. again, a WELL documented requirement with lots of fixes posted right here in this forum, the easiest fix being the Decimator MD-HX.

if the ATEM is that bad for your workflow, then i suggest you sell/return it and get another tri-caster. your original audio problem was probably easily solved. seems a bit drastic to me to change out your whole system for this minor issue.

Thanks everyone. Yeah the reason we didn't move up in class for tricaster was the price jump was humongous. Your talking $9500 for sdi mini. I didn't have to key anything, just throw a png etc.

Can someone tell me if I can use studio mini and go from MBP thunderbolt to sdi input. Our worship leader has one

2menelo wrote:Thanks everyone. Yeah the reason we didn't move up in class for tricaster was the price jump was humongous. Your talking $9500 for sdi mini. I didn't have to key anything, just throw a png etc.

Can someone tell me if I can use studio mini and go from MBP thunderbolt to sdi input. Our worship leader has one

MBP thunderbolt -> hdmi -> sdi is easily doable.
then it's just a matter of properly setting the video on the 2nd screen (hint: use Resolution: scaled)

2menelo wrote:Thanks everyone. Yeah the reason we didn't move up in class for tricaster was the price jump was humongous. Your talking $9500 for sdi mini.

Yep...features cost money, don't they? All of the things the Tricaster can do can be done externally in an ATEM setup. And after lots of purchasing of quality gear, might climb up to a similar price point. The main difference being that you would have more flexibility and lack of a single point of failure for everything, vs the benefit of a compact all in one solution. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. But if you want everything - eventually you have to pay for it.

I've had tricasters fail, I've had ATEM's fail, but with the ATEM I could afford to have another in the rack and in 15 seconds was back on the air. I also drive a small sports car that was pretty cheap but I can't haul a ton of lumber in it. A full size pickup cost to much for me but I'm still disappointed with Mazda.

Check out CasparCG... If you have a computer laying around that doesn't suck too much, just drop a Blackmagic Decklink card in to it and that can act as your media playback solution. You can also use a Hyperdeck Mini, but all media must be in the same format (ProRes 1080p for example) so it sounds like based on your needs that may not work. CasparCG can churn through just about anything.

If you use Rundown Creator for your shows, we also created a nifty little RC to Caspar export tool that will auto-build your CasparCG playlist for you. Pretty sweet if that is how your shows are structured. Check the Caspar forums, we have it for free over there somewhere.

Thanks,

B