Standards conversion

When we bought the Item 1 M/E we had read on the BMD website "The advanced ATEM 1 M/E Production Studio 4K model switches between SD, HD or Ultra HD video standards so you can connect a wide range of video sources such as cameras, disk recorders and computers. " We assumed this meant that we could hook up SD sources as well as HD sources and they would all work. However, this is not the case. Every input has to be matched exactly to the same standard or it does not work. We have a 1080P 60Hz camera that we have to connect at 1080i 59.95Hz since that's the highest our computer will connect at. We also have an SD 540p camera that won't connect with everything else, even though we've converted the RCA A/V to SDI (which works fine on all our other systems, just not the BMD Atem). Anyone have any ideas? Am I just missing a setting somewhere? (I am running software version 7.3)

Welcome to the world of BMD marketing, where every statement has a double meaning.. in this case meaning you can chose to set up the switcher for an SD workflow a hd workflow or a uhd workflow.

Yeah, everything has to be converted to the same format, and that format has to be an industry standard format.

It must be that BMD converts all of their website language from Chinese into English or something. What they have written makes it pretty clear that the box handles the different inputs simultaneously. But according to BMD, this is the "broadcast standard" for units like the Atem, which it may be, but the language is not Broadcast Standard, it's flagrantly deceptive.

For those of us in smaller venues where this isn't everything we eat and breath, this is confusing. It's expensive enough to get the unit, but now to have to get a pile of expensive standards converters is even more frustrating and prohibitive. Oh well, time to move on.

It's expensive enough to get the unit, but now to have to get a pile of expensive standards converters is even more frustrating and prohibitive.

I would spend the money on HD-SDI cameras, rather than converters.

Yes, get a set of matching cameras, like the BM Micro Studios, if you want small cameras, or the new Ursa Broadcast, that can quickly use B4 Zoom lenses. Then you can march the video output of the cameras. What you are trying to use now is such a wide miss match, you are not going to get a matched signal IQ wise or consistent color balance look.
Cheers

For those of us in smaller venues where this isn't everything we eat and breath, this is confusing. It's expensive enough to get the unit, but now to have to get a pile of expensive standards converters is even more frustrating and prohibitive. Oh well, time to move on.

The manual is very clear on this matter. If i'm buying a piece of equipment and the manual is freely online available i first check the manual to check if a device can do what i intend to do with it,

Also most other HD video mixers all require you to input the same framerate and resolution for it to work..

As Daniel says above plus... There's a shite ton of posts here that echo urs. So it's well known throughout the forum.. which agn is somewhere I visit, if a manufacturer has one to research any new equipment I'm interested in buying to seewhatitsusersare saying abt it or any failings it might have.

BTW since today you can.. All scaling inputs between 720P and 2160P..
https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/atemtelevisionstudio/techspecs/W-APS-11



But you could also use the Mini Converter UpDownCross HD

For $155 the problem is solved..

Or get the new 4K switcher for $2995 and get 8 SDI scalable inputs
Cheers

Let's hope the new scaling inputs is something that will echo through all their new and upcoming Atem product range as they become available.. it's great and about time they did this.

Or get the new 4K switcher for $2995 and get 8 SDI scalable inputs
Cheers

denny did you read my post. That was the first suggestion..

Well Im not Sure you want this feature to Go in all atems. Sure it is handy. And can solve a lot of issues. But don’t forget scaling introducés delay. Delay you don’t want into a proffesional broadcast enviroment.
So only if they make a control on that So you can disable that function for Some ports. So your camera’s for iMag has the least delay possible. Yes that would Be Great. Or even the posibility to just have 4 sdi inputs that can scale and the others just run the resolution and framerate.

We already have atems with build in framebuffer But since start of the Atem 7 years back. We still can not tell if the framebuffer is used per Channel (So tour sync is right) or is walking a frame behind due too the frame buffer. This is quite anoying in the broadcast world. And there is no way to turn a framebuffer off partully.