ATEM TV Studio: Successful HDMI cables?

[Doug Fish]

The monoprice 30′ 24 ga. HDMI cable I planned to use with the ATEM TVS would not pass the signal from the camera. Also tested a cheap 20′ I had on hand that failed. I have a 6′ and 10′ mini-HDMI to HDMI cable that have worked flawlessly.

I plan to purchase and test a 30′ Belden Series 1 from Blue Jeans Cable sometime over the coming week.

I’m surmising that the TVS is so finicky because it has to pull a strong signal in order to accurately sync the video inputs.

[Bob Zelin]

the real answer is to buy the Blackmagic HD-SDI to HDMI adaptor for $495 per channel. Then you can run a nice long 300′ HD Coax cable, and use a 3′ HDMI cable into the ATEM.

There are LOTS of HDMI extenders on the market that extend HDMI beyond 15′. Mux Labs, Gefen, SmartAVI, and countless others make HDMI extenders. This not only applies to the ATEM, but any HDMI application where you need a long HDMI run. “Thick cable” is not going to keep the digital signal nice and clean for the ATEM, or anything else.

Bob Zelin

[Bruce Colgate]

Hey Bob!

Yeah, HD-SDI is the way to go, of course, but I had hoped for native HDMI transmission a *bit* longer than 15′, particularly when other equipment don’t seem to be as limited.

That said, the ATEM TV Studio is still one heck of a deal. Will be using it Sunday for a commercial shoot, Tuesday for an investor’s meeting, and Wednesday for a webcast. Will probably have it paid off by the end of the month.

Thanks again Bob!

– Bruce Colgate

[Kip Draper]

I’ve been using Atlona flat cables w/ the 1 M/E w/ great success. I currently use two 25′ & one 50′ to connect 3 Vixias. The 25-footers are always there & have never dropped. The 50-footer requires one unplug/plug-back-in at the switcher upon cold boot, but once it’s warm, it’s perfect & has never dropped.

Before the 1 M/E, I logged too many hours troubleshooting cheaper cables (~$1/foot) w/ multiple BMI Pros & Wirecast. ~$2/foot & 50′ max seems to be the sweet spot for consistency/reliability in my case, but I have no reason to test further (yet), and I am thankful for that. A bargain for me & they are sharp-looking, slim, & easy to pull even 3 on top of one another.

[Bob Zelin]

Atlona is a wonderful manufacturer, and they define the type of company that makes HDMI extenders – and Atlona makes great ones.

Your question reminds me of people that are trying to use regular coax cable from Home Depot to run long HD-SDI runs for professional applications. You are a pro – buy the right cabling, buy the right equipment.

And for the record, you can’t extend DVI, mini Display port, firewire, or all these other “new fangled” interfaces for long distances without THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT. Spend your money – buy the right stuff. Be a professional.

Bob Zelin

[Fabio Cormack]

Hi Kip,

Please, to connect the flat cables to the Vixias, what adapter (mini HDMI – HDMI) you use?

I have a Canon HFs-100 which I tried to use with BMD devices via HDMI, but seems the ordinary cables I use does not allow the HDMI signal to pass trough – they even makes the HMDI settings on the camcorder menu blinks and seems “locked” (although it works fine for my 7D/Ipad 2 and the same devices).

So I’ll give the Atlona flat cables a try. One last question: what Vixias are you using please?

Thank you so much in advance,

Best,

Fabio Cormack
Davinci 8 – Tangent Wave – Decklink HD Extreme 3D+
Final Cut Suite
Adobe CS5.5 Suite
Rio de Janeiro – Brazil

[Kip Draper]

I use HDMI female-to-HDMI mini male adapters to go into the cams. It can be a flimsy connection, but all of my cams are wall-mounted so I tack the HDMI strategically so that it bears the weight/pressure of the connection & not the adapter/cam’s HDMI mini port.

If I were using tripods I’d use burly ones and tape or velcro the HDMI cable as described so that it’s limp going into the cam, which is coincidentally easier w/ flat cable for me.

I lost the HDMI port on one of my HFS100s and since then have given both the delicate ports and the expensive cabling the attention/treatment required for consumer equipment on the bleeding edge.

My HDMI cams:
2 HF S100
1 HV 40
1 HF M40

[Fabio Cormack]

Kip,

Thank you for your response, is great to know the HFS100 is working with ATEM TVS – I have one HSF100 (which I like very much) but I cannot make it work with BMD Decklink Extreme 3D or Intensity Pro boards – although it works with all TV and monitors HDMI inputs, so I was afraid it would not work with ATEM TVS.

But I’ll give this flat cables a try. If the HDMI works fine I can save on SDI converters, as my cameras will be fixed as well and the cable lengths will not be more than 25′.

I’ll also intend to buy 3 Sony CX130, on sale at B&H for 349.00 Please, did you have any experience with this cameras with the ATS?

Thank you once again!

Best,

Fabio Cormack
Davinci 8 – Tangent Wave – Decklink HD Extreme 3D+
Final Cut Suite
Adobe CS5.5 Suite
Rio de Janeiro – Brazil

[Kip Draper]

You must have a setting wrong; it should work on most 6′ or under cables. For BMI Pro: is HDMI cable from HFS100 plugged into the outermost/bottom HDMI INPUT? The middle HDMI female next to the breakout cable connector is OUTPUT. Did you adjust the settings in BM Control Panel? I have HDMI/Component for “output”, HDMI/HDMI for “input” and I have both input & output processing “off”.

Set HFS100 to 1080i, 60i, then go to Media Express, edit, prefs, set to 1080i 59.94, and you should have capture from the HFS100.

I have not used that Sony but I have used a $150 Toshiba X-100 full HD and it looks outstanding for $150! I use it for closeups sometimes when I need small & unobtrusive. The CX-130 should be close to the HFS100 I would guess at a glance. I might grab one…

[Fabio Cormack]

I tried both ports on the BMD boards, and with different cables, checking the menu on both OSX preferences and Media Express – I could have the Canon 7D working, but not the HFS100. I also check every item on the HSF100 menu, several times. Wen you say “Set HFS100 to 1080i, 60i,” you mean on the HFS100 menu, right?

I’ll try one more time…

I’ll definitely check the Toshiba X-100 ! Did you test it via HDMI also?

I found this link at B&H, but the price is 229.00 – is it the same camera

Thank so much for all your information, it is helping a lot on my purchase decision!
Have a great weekend!

Fabio Cormack
Davinci 8 – Tangent Wave – Decklink HD Extreme 3D+
Final Cut Suite
Adobe CS5.5 Suite
Rio de Janeiro – Brazil