Blackmagic Design announces new ATEM SDI switchers

Blackmagic Design today announced a new family of extremely portable ATEM SDI live production switchers with professional 3G-SDI connections. Designed for broadcasters who need both power and portability, the new ATEM SDI family aims to be fast to set up and easy to use.

Even with their small size, ATEM SDI switchers are surprisingly powerful with standards converters on all inputs, a built-in Fairlight audio mixer with 6 band parametric EQ, compressor and limiter on all inputs, internal DVEs, chroma keyers, professional transitions and more.

“The new ATEM SDI live production switcher is perfect for broadcasters who want advanced, professional features while also looking for extreme portability,” said Grant Petty, Blackmagic Design CEO.

“There are three great models with 3G-SDI video connections and some really great features, like DVEs for picture-in-picture effects, graphics, transitions, advanced chroma key and Fairlight audio mixer.”

ATEM SDI makes it fast to create professional live production using multiple cameras and is ideal for broadcast-quality live streaming to the likes of YouTube and Facebook.

Customers get four SDI inputs on the ATEM SDI and ATEM SDI Pro ISO models, and eight SDI inputs on the ATEM SDI Extreme ISO model.

Plus, all SDI inputs feature standards converters and re-sync. Customers even get DVEs for picture-in-picture effects. The USB works as a webcam for connecting video to computers, while the Pro and Extreme models feature built in streaming.

ATEM SDI’s compact all-in-one design includes both a control panel as well as connections. The front panel includes easy-to-use buttons for selecting sources, video effects and transitions.

The source buttons are large, so it’s possible to use them by feel, letting the presenter do the switching. Customers even get buttons for audio mixing.

The ATEM SDI Pro and Extreme models have buttons for recording and streaming control, as well as output selection buttons that let customers change the video output between program, direct camera feeds and the multiview.

On the rear panel there are SDI connections for cameras, extra microphone inputs, USB for webcam plus multiple SDI “aux” outputs for program video.

With four or eight video inputs, depending on the model, ATEM SDI lets customers connect multiple cameras for different views of a performance. All video sources will re-sync to the switcher, even if they operate at different video standards.

ATEM SDI Pro and ATEM SDI Extreme models have a built-in hardware streaming engine for live streaming via their ethernet connections. This means it is possible to live stream to YouTube, Facebook and Twitch in better quality, without dropped frames and with simpler settings.

If users are doing live production on location, then the ATEM SDI Pro and Extreme models support connecting an Apple or Android phone to the USB port to use mobile data. It’s also a great backup for the main Ethernet connection.

The ATEM SDI Pro and Extreme models also support direct recording of their streaming data to USB flash disks. That means very long recordings in the same H.264 video files with AAC audio that customers streamed, so direct uploads are possible to any online video site, such as YouTube or Vimeo.

Recording to multiple disks is also supported via a USB hub, so when a disk fills, recording can continue to a second disk so customers get non-stop recording.

Each 3G-SDI video input features its own dedicated standards converter. That means ATEM SDI will automatically convert 1080p, 1080i and 720p sources to the switcher video standard. The SDI outputs are true ‘aux’ outputs, so customers can independently customise the source video routed to each SDI output.

All outputs can be connected to cameras as they include camera control and tally information. On the more powerful ATEM SDI Pro and ATEM SDI Extreme models, the SDI output can also be selected to display the built-in multiview.