[Jim Brown]

Check with todocast.tv They are located in Orange County and have a network of their people around the country.

Jim Brown
M&M ProductionsUSA

[Jim Brown]

Thanks for the info. I had only connected my 7d and confirmed it would connect. Never intend to use it as a source so I did not pursue getting rid of the menu. Just assumed Canon would have pit that in. Thanks for the info.

Jim Brown
M&M ProductionsUSA

[Jim Brown]

Congratulations on the ATEM1. Great box.

This switcher works at a single resolution for all inputs. Typically 720p or 1080i. Most consumer camcorders output a 1080i signal, so I would select that.

Your Canon dslr (you did not specify which one) should work just fine at 1080i through the HDMI port. Sony HDV cameras typically do not have an HDMI or SDI port, but most have component cable support. Pickup a Black Magic converter and convert to HDMI or SDI and it will work just fine. I do this quite often with the Z1. I would select the SDI because of the longer and cheaper cable support. Also, input 1 on the ATEM can be configured for component input so you can connect directly on one input without a converter. Requires three coax cables, though.

Getting various cameras to work is just an exercise in matching resolutions and frame rates. The switcher is easy. Set it to 1080i and then work on camera settings. That may be more obscure.

Hope this helps.

Jim Brown
M&M ProductionsUSA

[Jim Brown]

Not quite sure of what you are looking for but we use Playback Pro for similar activities. It runs on a Mac and sends video to the “second” display or projection screen while allowing you to see your next que. It also allows trimming. We use it in conjunctions with ATEM switchers.

Jim Brown
M&M ProductionsUSA

[Jim Brown]

We do something very similar with high school educational clubs. Take a look at sending out of the ATEM via SDI or HDMI to a Teradek hardware encoder. It is very small (about the size of a converter box) and can be preconfigured so that it is very reliable. Also, you do not have to have another PC on the work surface.

We too use Tricasters, but the new generation (HD) is quite a bit more expensive than an ATEM and its supporting components.

Jim Brown
M&M ProductionsUSA

[Jim Brown]

I would not exchange anything until I ran some tests as I described. I hate to make blanket statements but as a general rule I have found that Panasonic switchers add more delay than the Black Magic. Again, it depends on what the switcher is doing and is there resolution conversion, or interlace to progressive scan conversion, or …

If I were betting with what I know I would point to at the LED display. They are notorious for delay and it can be several frames. Tell us what kind of display you have. A way to test is to connect your camera directly to the display (you may have to use an sdi to hdmi converter) and evaluate. If you notice latency it is in the display. (A converter is negligible in terms of latency. Typically they would be one line (1/525th of a frame). The EX3 is also very minimal (1 frame or less) coming out the SDI port.

You did not say whether you are connecting this via SDI (digital) or you are using the analog SD interfaces (composite or component). That could make a huge difference, especially in the display.

Jim Brown
M&M ProductionsUSA

[Jim Brown]

I understand your frustration as we have been there, done that many times. A couple of things from our experiences. The EX1/3 will introduce no more that 1 frame of delay. The ATEM is about a line of delay if the sources are genlocked, which you cannot do with the EX series camera so that adds another frame for the frame synch in the switcher. You now have 2 frames of delay.

The display device is normally the biggest culprit depending on manufacturer, display rate and intermediate devices. If you are using baluns to route via cat5/6 cable their delay is minimal (one line or so). If the cable device is changing the resolution then add at least a frame. Most projectors add from 2 to 6 frames of delay. You can minimize that if you are sending in the native resolution of the display device. ie it is not doing a conversion itself. If your display is 720p and you are sending 1080i the resolution is being converted. If it is 1080p and you are sending other than 1920×1080 then a conversion is occurring. The ATEM is either 720p or 1080i so if it is a 1080p display a conversion is occurring.

The delays are cumulative so if you add a frame from the camera, a frame from the switcher, and two from the display then you are at 4 frames of delay. It takes a very focused professional to see anything less than 4 or 5 frames of delay. At 7 frames everyone can see it. Each frame of delay is 33ms. You can delay the audio up to about 66ms before you have unacceptable levels of echo. The speaker or performer will notice even 33ms but most of the time they are listening through monitors which you do not delay.

We evaluate equipment based on the following test. We use a very noisy relay to power a light bulb. (incandescent). We take a camcorder and record turning on and off the light and capture the sound of the switch. Take that to your editing software and you can see the light coming on in a frame of video and look for the spike in the audio for the switch noise. Note the difference. Use your EX3 and you will get a baseline of the difference in the camera. Then introduce the switcher to a fast reacting display. We use an old analog crt for this. The ATEM outputs a composite video signal and will give you a worst case result as it must convert the HD to SD. Video record looking at the display and take that footage and do the same thing. You now have the delay of the switcher plus this display device. Then video record the same thing with your led display and evaluate.

We normally find the projector or the flat screen is the culprit. Flat screens (both LCD and LED) are notoriously slow devices. Most of them are cost reduced and that conversion processing is the cheapest manufacturers can find and it does not matter with most applications. Projectors are the same way, but we have noticed that EIKI typically has the fastest processors. EIKI are Sanyo projectors with their electronics and we use EIKI, so take this info with a grain of salt if you wish. The key is to drive the display device with its native resolution where possible.

Hope this helps. It is a real issue which no manufacturer wants to discuss, much less disclose in their technical specs.

Jim Brown
M&M ProductionsUSA

[Jim Brown]

Sounds like you have a totally different issue as mine did affect the program output.

Also, apologies for all the typos on my previous post. I should not respond using my blackberry as I just cannot type on that thing!

Jim Brown
M&M ProductionsUSA

[Jim Brown]

Are you losing the output atnthe same time. Had a similar problem that wasna gunlock issue. Are you using gunlock, specifically tri-level synch.

We were able to get everything working once we got black burst that generated both bilivel and tri level synch and routed the appropriate synch to each device. We had three cameras that we needed to gunlock thatncausednall of our problems. If you are free running and using the frame synch, there may be an issue with ATEM handling it.

Tell us more about what you have. We pulled our hair out over this issue.

Jim Brown
M&M ProductionsUSA

[Jim Brown]

Have you looked at the physical size of the ATEM? It is 3 1/2″ wide (2 rack spaces) and about 2″ deep. It is a hardware device so you do not have the PC reliability issues which I agree with you on. BlackMagic also makes hdmi to sdi converters for about $295 I believe. Match that up with a $5-600 camera from Best Buy and you can make some nice video especially in a studio setting where you do not need long throw lens.

I used to use dvd players as sources, but about 6 months ago I tried all 4 Blue ray players we had and could not use those on even non Blue Ray material because of the HDCP. You cannot use the digital interfaces and might get around it by using the analog outs (Composite or s, if you can find a player that even provides them. My Sonys do not. The component outputs would not work either.

We have used the Z700s extensively for live event production and still do. We connect to the VGA output port and convert it to 1080i SDI using a BlackMagic converter. Pictures are stunning! We normally do large corporate meetings >1500 people with a couple of those and a single manned camera. Works great, saves personnel, easy to cable and is less obtrusive than three manned cameras. We also use them at football games to shoot the scoreboard clock and another for crowd and sideline shots.

Jim Brown
M&M ProductionsUSA