Page 1 of 1

Talkback on ATS HD8

PostPosted: Mon Mar 06, 2023 9:56 pm
by Andy Williams
I’ve looked it up, how does talkback work on this thing? In the manual the ATS HD8 has a talk button to activate the headset mic but how do you talk specifically to ENG OR PRD? Do you have to talk to both simultaneously? Other models have specific ENG and PRD talk buttons which makes sense, am I missing something? Having no way to talk to a specific channel easily seriously hamstrings the use of this feature on the switcher if it is only an E-blast button.

Re: Talkback on ATS HD8

PostPosted: Sat Mar 18, 2023 3:59 am
by franzfudd
Anybody?

Re: Talkback on ATS HD8

PostPosted: Sat Mar 18, 2023 12:38 pm
by Andy Williams
I ended up calling BMD tech support and to my surprise they weren’t sure how it worked. I also asked them about the REF connections to see if the switcher was a reference generator in the absence of a reference input, which they weren’t sure about either. I was told that they would get back to me in an email soon. Its been a day or two and haven’t heard back yet, hopefully soon.

Re: Talkback on ATS HD8

PostPosted: Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:52 pm
by Gary Adams
With any of our new products it may be a challenge for many of us to know some of inner workings that are not clearly documented without having a unit to play with. Fortunately, I now have one so can offer some help. The Television Studio HD8 does not have separate two channel talkback. The microphone will talk to both Production and Engineering. The headset will listen to both channels. The ATEM Constellation models do support separate talkback channels.

With regards to Reference. The HD8 (like all ATEMs) does have an internal generator which most of our cameras can lock to using Program Video without the need for separate sync generators. The ATEM will lock to an external reference as long as it matches the frame rate of the ATEM. The Reference Output connection will be a loop of the reference input when the ATEM is locked. It does not have any output when no reference is connected. Personally because the Reference Out is delayed a short bit after reference is connected, I would rather use a direct feed to other devices, but the loop out is there if you need it. As always, I cannot comment on what, if anything, might happen in the future.

I hope this helps. Regards, Gary

Re: Talkback on ATS HD8

PostPosted: Sun Mar 19, 2023 8:41 pm
by Andy Williams
Gary,

Thank you for your reply on this, it was very informative. I am curious as to why the talkback section doesn’t include buttons to select which com channel (prd/eng) like all the other ATEM switchers do with this functionality. It’s not as though it is a real estate issue on the panel, so it must have been some sort of cost or other intentional reason.

As the HD8 is now I can’t use it for comms since both channels are permanently on for talkback more or less making it a single channel when every show I’ve been on has a separate channel for production and cameras. I imagine i’m not alone in this, and would now need a two channel beltpack fed into the 4 wire input to get that functionality that already exists in other ATEMs. There is certainly a possibility to add this feature now with soft buttons in the talkback menu, even if it isn’t as convenient as buttons on the talkback section itself.

In regards to reference, i’m not entirely surprised since no other ATEMs have a ref generator with an output to my knowledge. However, it would certainly be a welcome addition to reduce the outboard gear needed for other equipment to be genlocked.

One last question about the LTC connections if I may as I wasn’t able to find it in the manual either. Are the LTC connections just a loop like the reference connections, or does the switcher output timecode from its internal generator on the output with nothing connected to the input?

Finally, if nothing else, some clarification in the manual about the aforementioned questions would be fantastic for those like myself looking into designing systems around this otherwise well thought out piece of kit and need specifics on what it’s capabilities are. Thanks!

Re: Talkback on ATS HD8

PostPosted: Mon Mar 20, 2023 4:23 pm
by Gary Adams
Hello Andy. Feature requests noted. The Timecode output (unlike the Reference) does output the current ATEM LTC based on frame rate when there is no Timecode input. I hope that helps.

Regards, Gary

Re: Talkback on ATS HD8

PostPosted: Tue Mar 21, 2023 11:44 am
by Andy Williams
Thank you Gary, that is what I was hoping to hear.