Blackmagic ATEM Television Studio HD User Manual Transition Control and Upstream Keyers

Cut

The CUT button performs an immediate transition of the Program and Preview outputs, regardless of the selected transition type.

Auto

The AUTO button will perform the selected transition at the rate specified in the auto rate setting located in the LCD ‘home’ menu. The transition rate for each transition type is set in the LCD menu and is displayed when the corresponding transition style button is selected.

The AUTO button illuminates red for the duration of the transition and the fader bar indicator illuminates with sequential LEDs to indicate the progress of the transition. If the software control panel is active, the virtual fader bar also updates to provide visual feedback on the progress of the transition.

Fader Bar and Fader Bar Indicator

The fader bar is used as an alternative to the AUTO button and allows the operator to manually control the transition. The fader bar Indicator next to the fader bar provides visual feedback on the progress of the transition.

The AUTO button illuminates red for the duration of the transition and the fader bar indicator updates to indicate the progress of the transition. If the software control panel is active, the virtual fader bar updates simultaneously.

Transition Type Buttons

The transition type buttons allow the operator to select one of five types of transitions; mix, wipe, dip, DVE and stinger, labeled STING. Transition types are selected by pressing the appropriately labeled transition type button. The button will illuminate when selected.

When a transition type is selected, the LCD menu shows the transition rate and provides instant access to all the corresponding settings for that transition type. Use the soft buttons and knobs to navigate through the settings and make changes.

The button marked ARM is currently disabled and will be enabled in a future update.

Preview Transition

The PREV TRANS button enables the preview transition mode allowing the operator to verify a transition by performing it on the preview output using the fader bar. Once you press this button the preview transition feature is enabled and you can preview your transition as many times as you like. This lets you test the transition before going to air and make changes and corrections as needed. You can even preview stinger transitions! Once adjusted, press the button again to disable the feature and you are ready to send your transition on air.

Next Transition

The BKGD, KEY 1, KEY 2, KEY 3, KEY 4 buttons are used to select the elements which will transition on air or off air with the next transition. Any combination of background and keys can be selected by pressing multiple buttons simultaneously. Double pressing the BKGD button selects all of the next transition upstream keyers that are currently on air and copies them to the Next Transition buttons.

Pressing any of the next transition buttons will clear selection of all others. When selecting the elements of the next transition, the switcher operator should look at the preview output because it provides an accurate representation of what the program output will look like after the transition is completed. When only the BKGD button is selected, a transition from the current source on the program bus to the source selected on the preview bus will occur.

On Air

The ON AIR indicator buttons above each keyer are labeled ON and indicate which of the upstream keys are currently on air. These can also be used to immediately cut a key on or off air.

Macro

The MACRO button is used to enable the macro feature which changes the source select row of buttons to macro buttons corresponding to macro slots.

There are ten macro buttons in the source select row, so if you have macros recorded to slots greater than ten, you can access these by opening the macro settings in the LCD menu and changing the macro group using the control knob.

For more information on how to record and run macros using the ATEM Television Studio HD8, refer to ‘using macros’ later in this manual.