ATEM Mini Recording & WebCAM in parallel

Dear Forum users, Dear BM Specialists & Developers,

I have a feature request and the BM support send me to this forum (if there is enough interest this might be implemented).

On the Pro and ProISO models it is possible to record video/audio and use it as USB Webcam but not at the same time if you want to keep the preview funktionality (and this is one of the features I bought the ProISO). But there are definitely some usecases where this is needed and I already saw some request on this forum. As long as a streaming service like youtube is used the signal is sent directly from the Ethernetport and works fine, as soon as you want to use a Videoconferenzing solution (Teams, Webex, Zoom, ...) you loose one feature. Therefore I have the request to implement one of the following options:
a) Find a way to use the USB Port for recording and for webcam (I heard that there are technical limitations but did not see a confirmation from a BM developer)
b) Provide a pice of Software to install on a PC/Mac which can receive the network stream from the ATEM Ethernet port and present it as a webcam (this can't be so hard since all the elements exist ready in other products like streaming bride, pc cards, BM Desktop Video,...)
c) Provide a solution to record over the network port to a network share on the PC/MAC/NAS, so the USB Port is free for the webcam (this might technically maybe the easiest solution since the encoded stream must just be redirected to a network recource instead of a HDD
d) Make one of the 4 HDMI ports able to send the program or preview signal, this would degrade the ATEM to 3 channel mixer but may be acceptable (I don't know if this is physically possible since the 4 HDMI channels are Input channels)
e) Maybe there are more options?

My favorit priority list would be:
a) since it has the best usability, no hassle with network issues
c) since I can access the files directly from the computer (no need to switch the HDD between PC and ATEM), even if you do not stream or do videoconferencing this could be very handy if recording multiple small clips.
b)

What are your thoughts on this? Who else would like to see the option to use the ATEM to record and have it as web cam at the same time?

Thx,
Andreas

I came here looking for information on the same thing. I use Zoom for presenting live shows and I'd really like to record a clean and quality feed of what's being broadcast.

I don't have the cables to test this but would it be possible to do this?
- Use a splitter that goes from USB-C > 2 xUSB
- One cable plugged into the computer to act as a webcam, and the other connected to an external device for recording. As long as the feed is fine to be mirrored (you don't want to spotlight to another speaker who's in a different location as part of the event).

Is this too simple a solution to work? Any ideas for a workaround will be gratefully received.

Cheers,
Carrie.

Hi, a splitter seems not to work, this was discussed in other posts, reason seems to be that traffic to a webcam and HDD are not compatible and can't be done on the same USB channel.

I found this solution "ManyCam.com" which has an RTMP server as input for the webcam. For me it is exactly the pice of SW I would like to see from BMD. It receives an RTMP stream and outputs it as webcam. But so far I did not find a configuration to get it work.
Anyone tried this?

Have you considered a CamLink to take HDMI-out and convert to a USB webcam signal? What you'd lose is the Multiview/preview function but if you're talking on a Zoom call you can probably live without preview if you carefully preposition your cameras.

yes, camlink and loosing the preview would be plan B, if nothing else works.

Another idea would be to stream to a local RTMP server that would then record it (I don't have any particular solutions in mind). It appears that the latency of the network streaming path is a bit higher than the USB path. Of course you only get the master feed, not Iso recordings.

I'm using OBS for that - you can Stream from OBS to Zoom with an Virtual Camera Plugin.

I purchased an additional Mini to go with my Pro. Very small money to solve this. The Pro is first and controls the Cameras and I use the USB port for Recording. The HDMI to the Mini where I use the USB port as Camera Input. It is a great 'idea' but prone to odd scrambling of video output, such as 'picture feedback'.

I purchased an additional Mini to go with my Pro. Very small money to solve this. The Pro is first and controls the Cameras and I use the USB port for Recording. The HDMI to the Mini where I use the USB port as Camera Input.

But you loose the preview on a screen, correct? This scenario can be solved with a Elgato Camlink adapter for around 1/3 of the cost of a mini. But the original goal was to have all 3 functions: sending preview to a screen, sending program out to an application like zoom, skype, Teams, webex and record all 5 channels.

The best solution would be to add another USB port to the unit but obviously that doesn't help existing users, much less adding cost and design challenges. If it's truly a USB 3.1 port, it seems like it should have the bandwidth to use a hub to connect a recording drive and output a webcam signal. That might be a bit much to expect of ISO though.

Whatever the possible solution (if there is one), add me to the list of folks who are requesting webcam and recording functionality. I have a need for it currently and that will only grow over time, especially in these COVID times when my clients want full conference presentations over Zoom.

I purchased an additional Mini to go with my Pro. Very small money to solve this. The Pro is first and controls the Cameras and I use the USB port for Recording. The HDMI to the Mini where I use the USB port as Camera Input.

But you loose the preview on a screen, correct? This scenario can be solved with a Elgato Camlink adapter for around 1/3 of the cost of a mini. But the original goal was to have all 3 functions: sending preview to a screen, sending program out to an application like zoom, skype, Teams, webex and record all 5 channels.

Yeah that seems like either a really expensive way to do what a $20 HDMI capture dongle could do or a lower quality, larger, and more complicated way to do what a high-quality capture device like a Magewell could do.

Another alternative is to get a multiview monitor with 4 HDMI inputs and outputs which goes between the cameras and the ATEM Mini: https://www.dvestore.com/feelworld-atem156-15-6-full-hd-ips-broadcast-monitor

The best solution would be to add another USB port to the unit but obviously that doesn't help existing users, much less adding cost and design challenges. If it's truly a USB 3.1 port, it seems like it should have the bandwidth to use a hub to connect a recording drive and output a webcam signal. That might be a bit much to expect of ISO though.

Whatever the possible solution (if there is one), add me to the list of folks who are requesting webcam and recording functionality. I have a need for it currently and that will only grow over time, especially in these COVID times when my clients want full conference presentations over Zoom.

As I wrote already there are a few options:
a) Install an RTMP server and some tools, discribed here https://github.com/musicalbuehne/AtemMiniProRtmpWebcam , for me a bit too complex, since every component can fail, so I like it more easy
b) use a streaming bridge (receives RTMP and output HDMI and a camlink adapter (hdmi to usb webcam) but this is quite expensive
c) use manycam (which has an RTMP server as input and register it as webcam), seems for me the best solution but I could not get it working and the support could so far not help

But my biggest hope is that BMD just create a small piece of software which receives RTMP and offers it as webcam on the computer. This can't be so hard to do since all the pieces are available in their portfolio, just not in that little combination.
So hopefully someone from BMD listen to this conversation and is checking this option and gives us a feedback.

The best solution would be to add another USB port to the unit

IMHO the best solution is to add a second HDMI output so that you could configure one as a Multiview and another as Program output and use that with a webcam dongle or however you like while keeping the USB-C port available for recording. That's more in line with how the higher-end ATEMs work where they have multiple configurable outputs and you can connect different monitors or recorders or whatever you like to those outputs.

If it's truly a USB 3.1 port, it seems like it should have the bandwidth to use a hub to connect a recording drive and output a webcam signal.

It's not an issue of bandwidth. With USB there can only be one host that is the master over all the other devices. When you plug a drive into the ATEM the ATEM is acting as the host in order to record to the drive. When you plug the ATEM into your computer the computer is the host and the ATEM is acting as a standard webcam device. The ATEM can't act as both the USB host and a slave device at the same time.

Another cool solution would be if the ATEM appeared as a USB hub to your computer with two attached USB devices. One would be a standard webcam device to preserve the existing webcam functionality and maintain compatibility with all the various apps out there (Zoom, Skype, etc.). The other would look something like an UltraStudio and let you capture to files on your computer rather than writing directly to a USB-C drive. I would prefer to be able to capture directly to my computer rather than a separate disk anyway. That way I could capture to a large NAS drive or whatever I like and I don't have to physically plug a drive into the ATEM, then unplug it from the ATEM when I'm done recording, plug it into my computer, transfer the files, unplug it from the computer, plug it back into the ATEM, etc.

Another cool solution would be if the ATEM appeared as a USB hub to your computer with two attached USB devices. One would be a standard webcam device to preserve the existing webcam functionality and maintain compatibility with all the various apps out there (Zoom, Skype, etc.). The other would look something like an UltraStudio and let you capture to files on your computer rather than writing directly to a USB-C drive. I would prefer to be able to capture directly to my computer rather than a separate disk anyway. That way I could capture to a large NAS drive or whatever I like and I don't have to physically plug a drive into the ATEM, then unplug it from the ATEM when I'm done recording, plug it into my computer, transfer the files, unplug it from the computer, plug it back into the ATEM, etc.

agree, skipping the external hdd and send the iso files and webcam data directly to your computer would also be a great way and you have direct access to the files without the plugin/plugout ping-pong.

I've been contemplating getting a ATEM Streaming Bridge for other purposes and this need may add to the justification but of course, I'd still need a dongle to convert the HDMI out to USB, so that's more $ and points of failure... BUT, I'd get to keep the recording capability and multi-view (which I use extensively.)

Agreed on several points from above in the thread:

But my biggest hope is that BMD just create a small piece of software which receives RTMP and offers it as webcam on the computer.

This probably would be the most graceful solution and likely the most direct. Hey BMD - how about it?

Another cool solution would be if the ATEM appeared as a USB hub to your computer with two attached USB devices.

Indeed. I would prefer this as well. I purchased a dedicated SSD to plug into the ATEM at the same time I purchased the ATEM itself but haven't used it yet as I've needed the USB port to send output to Zoom, etc. I've been fortunate thus far that events using the ATEM have been all live and recorded remotely but I know the day is coming when a client calls me and asks for a copy of the recording because they lost, deleted or corrupted theirs.
Anyway, doing the unhook, carry, hookup, transfer, unhook, carry, rehook is a PITA workflow for sure, especially if we could just record directly to a production PC. That is probably the best solution for pros but perhaps a bit too complex for hobbyests(?).

However, based on that tear-down video you posted (THANK YOU!) over in the fan noise thread (

), there's not really any space on the PCBs to add a second USB or HDMI port without a redesign; sadly. They also didn't add audio controls/switches for input 3 even though the pads are already printed on the PCB, so the likelihood of moving/adding connectors to make room for additional USB or HDMI ports is probably pretty slim.

Oh, and thanks for the reminder on USB host restriction, Steve. I wasn't thinking about that at all. duh...