Blackmagic Studio Camera User Manual Connecting Tally using the Blackmagic 3G-SDI Shield for Arduino

If you are using an SDI switcher with a tally output connector, you can connect the tally outputs to a Blackmagic 3G-SDI shield for Arduino to send tally signals to your Blackmagic Studio Cameras. This means you can still get tally on your Blackmagic cameras via the SDI program return feed even if you aren’t using an ATEM switcher.

For example, the switcher’s parallel tally port connects to pins D2 - D9 of the Blackmagic shield and the shield’s SDI output is connected to all Blackmagic cameras via a distribution amplifier, such as a Blackmagic Mini Converter SDI Distribution. This way you can send tally to 8 separate Blackmagic cameras.

The Blackmagic camera number must match the switcher’s tally outputs, which means you may need to wire a custom connector to make sure the pins correspond to each camera number. The common GND from the switcher’s tally connector must be connected to the GND pin of the Blackmagic 3G-SDI Shield.

Below is a configuration example showing how the Blackmagic camera numbers match the tally outputs from the switcher, which are then connected to the pins on the Blackmagic 3G-SDI Shield for Arduino.

The example sketch in this section shows how the Blackmagic 3G-SDI Shield for Arduino is programmed to send a tally signal to the camera that has been switched to the program output. All SDI switchers that have open collector outputs are configurable for tally using the Blackmagic 3G-SDI Shield for Arduino. Instruction manual from the Blackmagic Design support center at www.blackmagicdesign.com/support.

The example sketch above shows how the Blackmagic 3G-SDI Shield for Arduino is programmed to detect a tally signal for input 1 or 2 via the switcher’s tally output, and then embed that tally signal into the shield’s SDI output. The tally light on the corresponding camera will then illuminate.