Blackmagic ATEM Mini Series

The ATEM Mini Series is Blackmagic Design’s compact HDMI switcher range. Blackmagic currently lists two four-input models in it: the ATEM Mini Pro and the ATEM Mini Pro ISO. Both have four HDMI inputs, each with its own standards converter. Each has one upstream and one downstream keyer, and a DVE for picture in picture. Both also have a built-in streaming engine and USB-C recording. Showcaller AI connects to the switcher’s Ethernet port through the Bridge App. Then it runs the switcher by voice or chat. So the presenter or director can switch without reaching for the buttons. The Blackmagic ATEM integration page lists every function.

Switching an ATEM Mini Pro by voice

On a four-input switcher the requests are short. Put the laptop on Preview, or take camera 2 with a mix. Cut back to the wide, then fade to black at the end. First, Showcaller reads what the switcher has and the input names set in ATEM Software Control. So “Laptop” or “Camera 2” work as well as input numbers. Before the take, it can set the transition style (Mix, Dip, Wipe or DVE) and its duration in frames. These functions are in every plan.

Keyers, streaming and recording

From the Pro plan, Showcaller puts the upstream and downstream keyers on or off air. It also sets their fill and key sources. The upstream keyer can be a chroma key or a picture-in-picture box. Meanwhile, the downstream keyer can carry a lower third from the media pool. Showcaller routes a source to the HDMI output, which Blackmagic counts as the switcher’s one aux output. In addition, it runs or stops macros recorded on the switcher. It starts and stops the stream (RTMP or SRT) and the recorder, too. Then it reports whether recording or streaming is running, and any disk or encoder error. On the ATEM Mini Pro ISO, the same recorder can write each HDMI input as a separate H.264 file. These files sit next to the program recording, with a DaVinci Resolve project file.

Fairlight audio

Audio on these models runs through Blackmagic’s mixer. It has a Fairlight compressor, gate, limiter and 6-band parametric EQ. So Showcaller’s Fairlight Audio functions (Enterprise) apply. They set EQ bands, dynamics and makeup gain per input. They also set the master EQ and compressor. However, the classic Audio Mixer and Super Source functions are not available on ATEM Mini Series. For eight HDMI inputs, Super Source and more aux outputs, see the ATEM Mini Extreme Series page. For full specs, see Blackmagic’s ATEM Mini page.