Let me start out by saying that I had very high expectations for the ATEM Television Studio by BlackMagicDesign that I saw demonstrated at NAB. I was sucked in hook line and sinker about what this new Video switcher was supposed to be able to do, sadly they did not deliver critical features that were advertised at NAB.
Let me start with the basics the ATEM Television Studio is a low priced, high powered 6 channel switcher were you have a combination of HDMI & SDI for a max of 4 inputs of a single type.. It has 2 Program SDI outs, 1 Multiview SDI out, 1 HDMI Multiview out, and 1 HDMI Program out. Note: The HDMI inputs allow you to start with inexpensive consumer grade cameras versus more expensive cameras with SDI Outputs. Review the entire spec sheet over at BlackMagicDesign.
You control the switcher via the ATEM Software control panel software (Mac/PC) that communicates to the switcher via Ethernet. The unit has a USB 3.0 connection that can be used to set the IP of the device or provide program video out to a secondary laptop, (more on that in a moment) Audio is injected through a BNC AES/EBU connection.
Let me add a disclaimer here that I am a Tricaster TCXD 850 owner, and am used to spending big money on broadcast quality gear. The ATEM Television Studio is priced just at $995.00 which is 25x less than my Tricaster. So dollar for dollar the ATEM Television Studio does amazing things for the price!
At NAB I got excited about this product for really two additional features that were promised as part of the shipped set. I was very specific in my questioning of the company rep, as I had a specific need and this was the first device that was going to meet those needs.
1. The ability to record H.264 high quality video/audio from within the ATEM Control Panel without the need for secondary software.
2. The ability to view the camera inputs and switch the from the ATEM Control Panel from the computer with the need for a external monitor.
Considering companies like Wirecast/Vidblaster are already doing some impressive things with video software only solutions, I assumed this would be a no brainer for BlackMagicDesign because they were offloading the heavy lifting of video switching /processing to this external device.
Unlike most folks who would mount this in a rack, my plan was to incorporate the ATEM Television Studio into my travel system. My shows Video quality recording has always suffered when I travel With this new gear, I would have had a lot more flexibility in my video production while on travel. Sadly they did not deliver the 2 key features that would have made this an exceptional value.
1. Instead of having integrated recording within the ATEM Control Panel Software, you have to off board the video via the USB 3.0 port and use BlackMagic Express to do the h.264 recording. But even this has issues as the BlackMagic Express seems to attenuate the audio a considerable amount and getting good audio recordings is not pain free!
Plus the BlackMagic Express H.264 recorder software records a pure .mp4 which is good if you are uploading to YouTube for processing but you cannot use this file if you plan on making it available for watching on a website as the file has to completely download before it will play on a HTML5 browser or flash based player that is designed to progressively play back the video. You will have to load the file In Adobe Premier for editing and re-encoding. The files I have recorded so far are not compatible with Final Cut.
2. The ATEM Television Studio as delivered requires a monitor if you plan on using this as a professional switch to be able to see what you have queued for live. Unlike what they promised at NAB, you cannot view the actual multiview screen on the controlling computer. This is another feature that they did not deliver on what was promised at NAB.
I am hoping that they will deliver the missing features as promised in a future update, they could sweeten the pot and add a streaming component as well so we would not need Wirecast / Vidblaster. If Wirecast and Vidblaster can do it they can. This would make this a true mobile television studio.
While the ATEM Television Studio has other great features I am very disappointed in not getting the features that I really wanted. Having waited 4 months for delivery makes it suck even more. That being said it still is a remarkable piece of gear for the price.
Canon was recently at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to show off a new line of camcorders. There are six new cameras in the Vixia line and the cool new feature is built-in WiFi. With the WiFi users can now not only transfer their video to computers and other devices, but even upload and post it to places like Facebook and YouTube. With this new ability comes a new app called “Movie Uploader” that will allow users to seemlessly handle all of their high-def video.
Each year, 
Many people are likely familiar with the radio/television on-air personality Glenn Beck. His television career included both CNN and the Fox News Channel. On Fox News, Glenn Beck had the most-watched nightly show of any of the cable TV news networks.
Lots of great commentary tonight. Times are a changing and it is going to be an amazing time to watch it all go down. I will be on the road for the next two weeks, will likely have guest hosts for the next two shows enjoy.
