In this blog post, we’ll cover how to stream from a Blackmagic Design camera to an ATEM Television Studio HD8 ISO switcher. The HD8 ISO model has a unique feature that allows you to stream video from a Blackmagic device across the local or worldwide internet into the ATEM and treat it like a physical source connected to the switcher.
The setup
To begin, you’ll need an ATEM Television Studio HD8 ISO and a Blackmagic Studio Camera 6K Pro camera or Blackmagic encoder. Connect the HD8 ISO to your local network via Ethernet, and pair the studio camera with the network cable to the local network.
The ATEM software control lets you add new remote sources. In the settings menu, under sources, select the remote source setup option, and add a new source. Give it a name to identify it, and note the red warning at the bottom regarding internet status and port forwarding error, along with the worldwide IP and worldwide port. As we’re streaming over the local network, we don’t need access to the worldwide internet.
To make things easier, change the worldwide IP to the IP address of the ATEM switcher which can be found on the panel itself. Then enter the IP address in the ATEM software control. After exporting the XML file, save it to a USB drive and connect it to the camera.
Camera settings
In the camera’s setup menu, find the streaming settings and select import settings to import the XML file. After it’s successfully imported, select the ATEM Television Studio HD8 ISO as the destination and hit the stream button. Now, you’ll be live on the ATEM.
Keep in mind that the XML file will work with Blackmagic encoders and other streaming-capable equipment from Blackmagic, such as the ATEM Mini Pro, ATEM SDI, ATEM Mini Extreme, and Web Presenters. It won’t work on other RTMP devices at this time.
ATEM Software Control settings
To see the streaming source on the ATEM, you’ll need to make one more change in the ATEM software control. In the sources tab, change it from an SDI source to the streaming source. This will pop up on the multi-view, and you’ll see a camera has appeared, and it’s working as a streaming source.
To compare the latency between a direct connection and a streaming connection over the network, connect another Blackmagic camera directly to the ATEM switcher. On the multi-view, you’ll be able to see the difference between a direct connection and a streaming connection over the network. There is a little difference but we can expect that to be the case.
Final thoughts
Overall, the ATEM Television Studio HD8 ISO model with its remote streaming feature is a powerful tool for anyone looking to expand their video production capabilities. It allows you to stream from a Blackmagic device across your local or worldwide internet into the ATEM, and pick it up just like a physical source that’s connected directly to the box. The setup process is relatively straightforward, and once everything is configured, you have the ability to remotely control and adjust the settings on the camera, as well as seamlessly switch between multiple sources.
While it is important to note that the remote streaming feature only works with Blackmagic encoders, it is a small drawback given the capabilities and ease of use that the ATEM Television Studio HD8 ISO model provides. If you’re looking to take your video production to the next level, this is definitely a tool worth considering.