Blackmagic’s ATEM Update

Where are my Royalties, Blackmagic?

A few months ago, I wrote a post on the Blackmagic forums asking them to add a couple of features to the ATEM Mini Pro. It seems they listened! Unfortunately, I haven’t received any royalties for my ideas—and I’m not expecting any anytime soon—but I wouldn't mind if they sent me the new ATEM Mini Pro ISO as a thank you.

The ATEM Mini Pro ISO looks exactly the same from the outside, but don’t be deceived. The internals have been reworked to enable some really cool features. For example, the ISO version has the ability to record each input individually, giving every recording a timecode that matches across all sources. Even better, Blackmagic created a DaVinci Resolve file that has all the clips in place and lined up. You just switch into Multicam mode, and you can edit your live show with almost none of the hassle of a standard multicam edit.

This is a game-changer for producers shooting events on a shoestring budget. What makes it even better is that you can easily swap the 1080p footage recorded by the ATEM Mini Pro ISO for the 4K Blackmagic RAW recorded on a Pocket Cinema Camera 4K (or 6K). This means you can remaster your 1080p stream and re-release it in 4K using the original source footage.

Another fantastic addition is the ATEM Streaming Bridge. This little box plugs into the same network as your ATEM Mini, Mini Pro, or Mini Pro ISO and allows you to connect to TVs and projectors in various locations across a venue. It even works over the internet! This would have been brilliant for the end-of-year conferences we held at college, allowing us to send the live stream to screens throughout the building.

The Setup Cost

I’m interested in the cost of a fully functional setup utilizing these fantastic pieces of kit. Using my previous ATEM Mini Pro build-out, here is what a simple 3-camera setup with video playback would cost:

It seems a complete setup will cost around £21,000. I could reduce this by using cheaper lenses with smaller zoom ranges, ditching the Dante audio setup, and finding less expensive cables. With those changes, I might get the cost below £17,000. All in all, that’s still a very reasonable price for a 3-camera setup, especially considering the functionality you get compared to other manufacturers.

If I had £21,000 spare, I would quite happily go out and buy this setup. But what do you think? Would you spend this much on a 3-camera multicam setup with built-in recording and streaming? What would you change? Let me know in the comments below!