Blackmagic ATEM Television Studio HD User Manual Audio Mixer
ATEM Television Studio HD8 switchers have advanced audio controls that let you enhance and refine the quality of sound on each input and master output, including input level controls, a 6 band parametric equalizer and powerful dynamics settings. This section of the manual shows the different audio controls you can use to shape and optimize the audio mix in your live production. In addition to adjusting audio, you can use the same knobs and buttons for camera control and to adjust the switcher audio outputs.
The audio mixer comes loaded with an assortment of physical controls that you can use to monitor and mix your live production. Some buttons serve a single purpose, while others serve multiple functions, therefore it’s a good idea to understand the different types of controls before moving on to the specific button and knob details.
Channel Strips
The most prominent real estate on the audio mixer is dedicated to the channel strips. The default operational mode of the console provides 10 channel strips, each with an on, SOLO and SEL button, a rotary control knob for adjustments and a LCD screen that displays channel information. Any changes applied to the channel strip controls are mirrored in the audio page of ATEM Software Control.
LCD
When you first start your ATEM Television Studio HD8 switcher, the LCD at the top of each channel strip displays the input name and a levels meter. The LCD screens display different information based on the current mode selected using the buttons to the right of the channel strip. For example, when PAN is selected, audio meters for 10 inputs are displayed. If any of the inputs are set to split mono, each mono input will have it’s own channel strip.
The LCD display will dynamically update when other modes are selected using the buttons to the right of the LCD. For example, when the EQ button is pressed the LCD will change to display the low mid and high filters and the buttons and knobs will control specific EQ parameters that mirror the EQ controls using the audio.
Rotary Knobs
When you want to make fast changes to specific parameters, these versatile knobs give you precision rotary control and are also referred to as encoders. To increase the level of an input, press LEVEL and rotate the knob to the right.
On Button
This soft control button can be used to select the button displayed on the LCD. For example, when LEVEL is selected, this button toggles the audio behavior between audio follows video, on and off. When LEVEL or PAN is selected, the button will illuminate red to indicate when the input is on air.
Solo Button
Press SOLO to hear only this channel. This can help to refine adjustments to the audio. When selected, a headset icon will appear on the LCD for the selected channel.
Select Button
Use the SEL button to select or de-select a channel.
Mode Buttons
Use the control buttons to assign the corresponding settings to the channel strips.
Press EQ a second time to display the high and low pass controls
Some settings contain more than one page of controls indicated on the first channel strip. To display the additional controls, press the mode button a second time. For example, to access the high and low pass filters, press EQ twice.
Modes
The audio modes available using the audio mixer on the front of the switcher mirror the settings available in ATEM Software Control. You can also use the camera control setting to control Blackmagic cameras including Blackmagic Studio Camera 6K Pro and URSA Broadcast G2 from your ATEM switcher.
Level | Adjust the audio level output for each channel using the corresponding knobs. The soft button in each channel strip can toggle the audio behavior between audio follows video, on and off. When alt is selected you can adjust the gain for each channel. Adjusting the gain up or down lowers or raises the volume of the selected input. |
Equalizer | The EQ control set includes two pages of controls. Press the EQ button to load the Page 1 control set, mapped left to right across the encoders and SEL switches. Press EQ again to switch to Page 2. This EQ control set focuses on the High Pass and Low Pass filters on Bands 1 and 6, and the corresponding soft buttons toggle the filters ON/OFF or select shape. Press EQ again to return to Page 1 and repeat as needed to toggle between Page 1 and Page 2. The EQ control set mirrors all of the parameter controls available in the audio page of ATEM Software Control. |
Compressor | The Compressor control set includes all of the Compressor parameters as available in the Dynamics window. As with all of the other control sets, the Channel 1 position is where you’ll find the On/Off switch assigned to the soft button. |
Gate | The GATE control set includes all of the gate parameter controls available in the audio page in ATEM Software Control. Use the select button to select which track is in focus. Gating is like an exaggerated expander, reducing the level or even silencing parts of a signal that fall below a certain level in order to reduce or eliminate noise in quiet parts of a recording. |
Pan | Each audio channel has a simple stereo Pan control that lets you pan that input. Pan channel left or right by turning the corresponding channel knob. When adjusting each knob the channel will be selected as indicated by the illuminated SEL button. |
Expander | The EXP control set includes all of the Expander parameter controls available in the audio page in ATEM Software Control. Use the select button to select which track is in focus.The subsequent seven channel strips include knob control for the Expander parameter in the order they appear on the Dynamics window. |
Limiter | Like the other dynamics control sets, the Limiter control set includes all Limiter parameter controls assigned to the encoder knobs in the order they appear in the Dynamics window. |
Camera Control | The audio mixer also has a camera control feature so you can control Blackmagic Cameras via the same knobs and buttons on your ATEM switcher. Press the CAM button to display the settings. Camera control settings are divided into three menu pages you can navigate between pages by pressing CAM again. For more information on camera control, refer to ‘using camera control’ later in this manual. |
Channel and Modifier Buttons
Beneath the mode buttons are the channel and modifier buttons.
Master
The MSTR button reveals the controls relating to the audio outputs via the rear panel of the switcher including the headset, control and studio outputs. In addition you can adjust the level for the master output.
Alt
Use the ALT button to reveal alternative parameters or functions. For example, when adjusting the level controls, pressing alt will reveal the gain controls.
Press the ALT button to reveal the gain controls
Bank
Use the BNK buttons to display the next group of inputs on the LCD. BNK> banks the channel strips to the right in groups of 10. <BNK banks to the previous set of 10 channels.
Audio Controls Workflow Guide
This section describes a basic workflow to help you get started using the audio mixer to refine and enhance your audio mix.
Generally, the first step to optimizing your mix is to normalize all the inputs so they are all at their maximum strength without clipping. This is normally done by increasing or decreasing the input gain level for each input so their signal peaks just below 0dB on the channel strip’s level indicator.
If you want to split any mono inputs into two separate channels for stereo output, go to the general switcher settings and navigate to the audio tab. Enable the checkboxes for the mono inputs you want to change to stereo. Click ‘done’.
📘TIP If you want to split mono inputs into two separate channels, it’s best to do this before normalizing the input as described in step 1, so that you can normalize both channels after they have been split.
Now, press the EQ button and make equalization changes to each input.
After setting EQ, open the dynamics controls using the EXP and GATE buttons. Make the required dynamics changes to generally improve and refine the input audio.
With EQ and dynamics set for each input, you can now open the EQ controls for the master output in ATEM Software Control and sweeten the final audio mix.
Now open the master output’s dynamics controls and make any required changes to improve the final output.
Once all the audio mixer controls are set, you can then increase or decrease the levels on the audio mixer to set them at their best levels for the live mix and make adjustments where necessary during the production. You can also go back to any of the settings and make further adjustments if needed, but it’s best to follow the same order as described above to get the best results from each function. For example, it’s important to set EQ controls before making dynamics changes as the processing chain in your switcher applies dynamics to the audio after equalization.
Most important of all is to apply the effects carefully so your audio still sounds natural but exciting too!
For more information on adjusting Fairlight controls, refer to ‘Advanced Fairlight Controls’ later in this manual.
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