FREMONT, Calif.—Blackmagic Design has introduced a new family of portable ATEM SDI live production switchers with professional 3G-SDI connections.
Fast and easy to set up, the new ATEM SDI family of portable production switchers is powerful, offering standards converters on all inputs, a built-in Fairlight audio mixer with 6-band parametric EQ compressor and limiter on all inputs, internal DVEs, chromakeyers and professional transitions, the company said.
Priced starting at $345 and available from Blackmagic Design resellers worldwide, the new switcher family includes the ATEM SDI and ATEM SDI Pro ISO models with four SDI inputs and the eight-SDI-input ATEM SDI Extreme ISO model. Each offers re-sync on every SDI input, it said.
A USB port works as a webcam to connect video to computers. The Pro and Extreme models feature built-in streaming, the company said.
The switchers’ all-in-one design includes control panel and connections. The front panel offers easy-to-use buttons to select video sources, video effects and transitions. Source buttons are large so it is possible to use the new switchers by feel, enabling a presenter to do the switching. The new switchers also include buttons for audio mixing, it said.
The ATEM SDI Pro and Extreme models have buttons for recording and streaming control as well as output selection buttons to change video output between program, direct camera feeds and the multiviewer. The rear panel is where SDI sources are connected. Extra microphone inputs are available as are USB for webcam use and multiple SDI aux outputs for program video, it said.
The ATEM SDI Pro and Extreme also support direct recording of streaming output to USB flash disks, making long recordings in the same H.264 video files with AAC audio possible to upload to any online video site. Recording to multiple disks is supported via a USB hub to ensure recording continues even when a disk reaches its maximum storage capacity, it said.
These models also allow users to edit live events because they can record multiple video streams, including clean feeds of all inputs and program at the same time. Video files include metadata tags, such as synced timecode and camera numbers. The ISO models also save a DaVinci Resolve project file, making it possible to open a live production as a video edit, Blackmagic Design said.
“The new ATEM SDI live production switcher is perfect for broadcasters who want advanced, professional features while also looking for extreme portability,” said Blackmagic Design CEO Grant Petty. “There are three great models with 3G-SDI video connections and some really great feature like DVEs for picture-in-picture effects, graphics, transitions, advanced chromakey and Fairlight audio mixer. It’s really exciting, and we cannot wait to see what customers do with these new models.”
More information is available on the Blackmagic Design website.
