ATEM Mini over Cell Phone

Is there a way to stream ATEM Mini signal over a smartphone rather than a, say, notebook?

I ask that because many modern smartphones are more capable than many laptops, dont restart randomly, are a lot more reliable, extremely small footprint and very capable, and other things you can imagine.

I'm guessing a majority of all live streaming on the Internet today is done via cellphone so obviously the general idea of streaming from your cellphone over a cell network is almost the rule rather than the exception.

The first question is whether you're talking about Zoom/Skype "webcam" style web conferencing or one-way YouTube Live type streaming using RTMP. In the second case you could simply setup your phone as a wifi hotspot and connect the ATEM's ethernet port to a wifi client device so that the phone is merely routing the data from the ATEM to the Internet.

In the first case you're essentially trying to use the ATEM as an external webcam for the phone and the phone is running the streaming app. Physically you can connect the ATEM using a USB OTG adapter but you'll also need a streaming app which supports external cameras connected via an OTG adapter. Since cellphones generally have at least two cameras already built in, most app developers aren't going to provide any support for connecting external cameras (unless the OS itself abstracts the cameras so that the app doesn't have to do anything special) but after a quick search it seems like there are some (including Zoom) which might provide some degree of support. I wouldn't bet the farm that it will work, whereas using RTMP with the phone as a hotspot should be pretty straightforward and I would probably bet at least a few acres of the farm on that

In fact, Im not worried about internet connection. Im thinking about using the phone to do the streaming replacing a notebook/computer. Todays phones are more capable than many notrbooks and a lot more reliable in terms of not crashing in the middle of a streaming. All the bells and whistles setup as usual but in the tip of the chain, a smartphone instead of a computer to handle the streaming via RTMP or whatever (Teams, Zoom, Skype, Youtube...). Just like we do with OBS but in cell phone. A computer would be used ONLY to control ATEM Mini. Phone would do the streaming via USB C signal.
There isnt an OBS for smartphones.

The ATEM Mini Pro and ISO have RTMP streaming built in so if that type of streaming works for you then you don't need either a phone or a laptop except for initial configuration.

Yes, I know that. I can read the papers and watch YT review videos. Thats not applicable in many situations: if you have the ATEM Mini and not the Pro/Iso and/or if you have to stream via an app that doesnt support RTMP, so you would use the app in your phone and get the USB C signal as an input source/webcam just like the computer.
Not to mention its a lot convenient: you can use wifi and dont mess with ethernet, more cables and all added benefits you can figure out.

I cannot see a majority of livestreams being streamed from phones, people maybe record with phones but upload them when done.

Lots of people are using a phone to live stream. This guy does it with an iPhone a few times a week from New York, and has also done it from Taiwan. This is his livestream from yesterday. He's gone from a few thousand subscribers to 182,000 in a year, and the live streams have a lot to do with that. If you have good tower coverage and unlimited data it's pretty easy.

This guy is live streaming from Toronto by phone as I write this:

As of 2018 there were 3.5 billion Facebook Live broadcasts (and doubling every year). I'd wager a lot more of those are from cellphones than ATEMs . They actually supported live streaming from cellphones before they even added support for Macs and PCs.

There are some horrific examples like the gunman who live streamed his mass shooting at a mosque in New Zealand or the woman who live streamed her boyfriend being shot and killed by a policeman at a routine traffic stop in Minnesota.

people maybe record with phones but upload them when done.

There are a few reasons why people are streaming live from a phone rather than just recording and then uploading.

First, if you stream live you can interact with your subscribers and they can interact with one-another. It creates a conversation, or in the jargon "community".

Secondly, you can make money while streaming live because your subscribers can donate to you during the stream. On YouTube, this feature is called SuperChat.

Finally, streaming live is extremely efficient from a labour/time perspective. For one thing, you don't have to bother with the whole post-production process.

You can buy professional/industrial 'hot spots' that can take the Ethernet from the ATEM and stream over a cell network. You'll need to add a SIM card and pay the monthly cell subscription, but it's a pretty nice portable solution when hardwired Internet is not an option.

That said, in 20 years of doing Live work with Laptops, I've never once had one go down during a show.

I recently used my ATEM Mini Pro to live stream an all-day dance show on an Asian Pear farm (they setup a stage).

We streamed the first 2 (of 4) mini-shows connecting the ATEM Mini Pro to my laptop which accessed their WiFi, and shared its WiFi Internet connection its wired port (which was plugged into the ATEM Mini Pro). It worked OK but we kept getting drops and stutters.. was not very good.

I then tethered my laptop to my cell phone via USB port, and using the "EasyTether" app so it appeared to be the cell phone using the data instead of a hotspot which can get throttled.. MUCH faster that way too). It worked GREAT. Flawless stream over the cell phone.

Guys, sorry to break it but my question is a bit more complex.
Im not worried about cell phone internet connection. In fact, I even dont plan on using it. I meant using the smartphone to substitute a computer with OBS to handle all the streaming side.
Its not a question about internet connection.
Like if there was an OBS version for Android (which there is not) and it takes the USB output from ATEM Mini and stream it, the same way a computer takes the USB out and stream it.

None that I'm aware of. I hope that is a direct enough answer. There probably isn't enough demand for it at this point.

I have streamed thousands of hours of content using a Macbook and Wirecast with ZERO crashes. The Macbook is only used for this purpose and has no other software installed.

Best,

David

Guys, sorry to break it but my question is a bit more complex.
Im not worried about cell phone internet connection. In fact, I even dont plan on using it. I meant using the smartphone to substitute a computer with OBS to handle all the streaming side.
Its not a question about internet connection.
Like if there was an OBS version for Android (which there is not) and it takes the USB output from ATEM Mini and stream it, the same way a computer takes the USB out and stream it.

If you're wanting a streaming device with more reliability than a laptop, the normal route is to go to dedicated hardware devices, like Vidiu's or LiveU's.

Cell phones only seem more reliable than laptops because they run very cut down operating systems with limited third-party software and device support. Once you start adding stuff to support those features you basically end up with the same set up as a PC and the same reliability concerns. Android is just Linux under the shiny covers and you can run that on any old (or new) laptop.

None that I'm aware of. I hope that is a direct enough answer. There probably isn't enough demand for it at this point.

I have streamed thousands of hours of content using a Macbook and Wirecast with ZERO crashes. The Macbook is only used for this purpose and has no other software installed.

Best,

David

Guys, sorry to break it but my question is a bit more complex.
Im not worried about cell phone internet connection. In fact, I even dont plan on using it. I meant using the smartphone to substitute a computer with OBS to handle all the streaming side.
Its not a question about internet connection.
Like if there was an OBS version for Android (which there is not) and it takes the USB output from ATEM Mini and stream it, the same way a computer takes the USB out and stream it.

Yes it is. The same with my findings. The idea was the same as yours, to use it for streaming only. ATEM control via a notebook via ethernet as usual.
I was hoping someone figured something out that I didnt. Thanks

If you're wanting a streaming device with more reliability than a laptop, the normal route is to go to dedicated hardware devices, like Vidiu's or LiveU's.

Cell phones only seem more reliable than laptops because they run very cut down operating systems with limited third-party software and device support. Once you start adding stuff to support those features you basically end up with the same set up as a PC and the same reliability concerns. Android is just Linux under the shiny covers and you can run that on any old (or new) laptop.

Well, we should agree that if there was a way (I think 1 app and 1 usb adapter would do the trick) it would be extremely convenient and desirable to use it.

I took my solarpowered tuk tuk to town and decided to test to livestream along side the country roads with my iphone and see what quality I could squeeze out of it but it looks I have to have at least 1000 subscribers to be allowed to do it. It probably should have worked in some way but there are a lot of areas round the world where people do not live as close as they do in for example new york or london stockholm etc etc.

What cannot be done here where I live is useless for me and probably for everybody living in a similar area and there are lots of us round the globe.

My understanding is that you can get around YouTube’s requirement of 1,000 subscribers by using an iOS app. If you do a search, you’ll find details.

I meant using the smartphone to substitute a computer with OBS to handle all the streaming side.

That seems pretty silly. Just use a Laptop.

I meant using the smartphone to substitute a computer with OBS to handle all the streaming side.

That seems pretty silly. Just use a Laptop.

For you.

now that it is possible with the 8.6 update, I wonder if it works for Android phones like with Apple phones.

now that it is possible with the 8.6 update, I wonder if it works for Android phones like with Apple phones.

The 8.6 update just allows you to use the internet connection of a mobile phone, rather than allowing phones to use the Atem as a webcam into its own applications. USB tethering is a standard feature of Android.

yes I meant USB tethering, which is, as you say, a standard feature in Android phones.

My question is, has anyone successfully attached an Android phone to the ATEM Mini Pro USB output and managed to do a live stream? Like with an Apple iPhone.

yes I meant USB tethering, which is, as you say, a standard feature in Android phones.

My question is, has anyone successfully attached an Android phone to the ATEM Mini Pro USB output and managed to do a live stream? Like with an Apple iPhone.

I haven't tested it personally but it's mentioned explicitly in the manual: