Blackmagic ATEM Television Studio HD User Manual Using Tally

Sending Tally Signals via a GPI and Tally Interface

Your ATEM switcher can send tally signals to monitors and cameras to make it clear which source is on the program output, i.e. which source is on air.

Tally is commonly used to light the red light on top of a camera or monitor so the talent knows they are on air. Tally can also illuminate a border on a monitor such as a Blackmagic SmartView 4K. The border allows production staff to know which camera is on air.

The GPI and Tally Interface by Blackmagic Design, is an Ethernet device which provides eight mechanical relay contact closures to ground that can be used for tally. Tally signals are sent from the Ethernet port of your ATEM switcher to a GPI and Tally Interface on the same network as the switcher. By following the wiring guide on the back of the GPI and Tally Interface, a breakout cable can be connected to video equipment that supports contact closure tally signals, such as Blackmagic SmartView Duo and SmartView HD. Up to 8 tally receiving devices can be supported with a single GPI and Tally Interface. Only one GPI and Tally Interface unit is needed when used with ATEM Television Studio HD8.

GPI and Tally Interface

The GPI inputs are optical isolators which are triggered by connection to ground with a maximum of 5V at 14mA.

The tally outputs are mechanical relay contact closures to ground with a maximum of 30V at 1A.

Changing the Network and Tally Settings

ATEM Setup is used to configure the network settings in the GPI and Tally Interface so it will communicate with your ATEM switcher. The GPI and Tally Interface must be connected via USB in order to configure its settings with ATEM Setup.

1. Connect the GPI and Tally Interface to the same Ethernet network as your ATEM switcher.

2. Connect the GPI and Tally Interface to a USB port on your computer and also connect the included power supply.

3. Launch ATEM Setup.

4. If your ATEM switcher connects directly to your computer without an Ethernet network switch, choose to “Configure Address Using Static IP”. The GPI and Tally Interface defaults to a fixed IP address of 192.168.10.2 when shipped and we suggest you use this number for simplicity. If you want to choose a different static IP address, you can set it to anything you like that’s in the same range as the ATEM switcher, so long as it’s not already in use by another device on your network. Default IP addresses for ATEM products are best avoided for this reason, including: 192.168.10.1, 192.168.10.2, 192.168.10.3, 192.168.10.10, 192.168.10.50, 192.168.10.60 and 192.168.10.240. If your ATEM switcher connects via an existing Ethernet network switch, you may wish to choose “Configure Address Using DHCP” as this setting automatically obtains the IP Address, Subnet Mask and Gateway information from your DHCP server.

5. Type in the IP address of your ATEM switcher in the “Switcher Address” field. Your ATEM switcher defaults to a fixed IP address of 192.168.10.240 when shipped and this is the number you should type in this field unless you have changed it.

6. “Set tally outputs” should be set to “Switcher Inputs 1-8”.

7. Click “Apply”. The white LED to the right of the USB port should stop flashing and remain on to indicate it has successfully found the ATEM switcher. The GPI and Tally Interface is now ready.

8. Close ATEM Setup and disconnect your USB cable.

Network and output settings for the GPI and Tally Interface

Using a Third Party Audio Mixer Control Surface

Using an Audio Mixer Control Surface

In the fast-paced world of live TV production, using a mouse to make adjustments can sometimes feel too slow! If you need to mix more than one audio source at a time on your ATEM switcher then here’s an idea that can really help. Connecting a hardware audio mixer control surface to your ATEM switcher provides you with the ability to use both hands and adjust multiple audio levels at the same time.

An audio mixer control surface can be connected to your Mac or PC as a MIDI device using Mackie Control commands to communicate with the ATEM switcher.

Many third party MIDI control surfaces are compatible with your ATEM switcher but please check with the manufacturer of your control surface if in doubt.

ATEM Television Studio HD8

You can adjust multiple audio levels at the same time by connecting a hardware audio mixer to the computer which is running ATEM Software Control.

Connecting Your Audio Mixer Control Surface

1. Connect your compatible MIDI control surface to your Mac or PC. Most modern control surfaces use USB.

2. Verify your control surface is recognized by your computer as a MIDI device. For Mac computers, go to Applications/Utilities/Audio MIDI Setup and launch the application. Go to the Window menu and choose Show MIDI Window. Ensure your control surface appears as a MIDI device in this window. For Windows computers, go to Device Manager/Sound, Video and Game Controllers and ensure your control surface appears in the list of icons.

3. The ATEM audio mixer is designed to communicate with your control surface using Mackie Control commands so your control surface will need to support Mackie Control. You’ll also need to make sure your control surface is configured to use native Mackie Control or Mackie Control emulation. Please refer to your control surface’s user manual for configuration details. Some control surfaces offer several types of Mackie Control emulation and you should choose the one that activates the most features on your control surface. For example, with the Behringer BCF 2000, choosing “Mackie Control Mapping for Cakewalk Sonar 3 [MCSo]” enables level faders, bank selectors, balance control, AFV and ON/MUTE functions and also activates the LED screen which displays which bank of faders you have selected for your audio mix. The LED screen will not activate if you choose another Mackie Control emulation.

4. Launch ATEM Software Control and it will automatically look for your control surface using the first port on the first MIDI device that it finds. Click on the Audio tab in ATEM Software Control to display the ATEM audio mixer. Try sliding the gain faders up and down on your hardware control surface and verify that the audio mixer faders show a corresponding increase and decrease in the software on your computer screen. If so, you have successfully configured your control surface to work with the ATEM switcher.

Try sliding the gain faders up and down on your hardware control surface and verify that the audio mixer faders show a corresponding movement in the software on your computer screen

The MUTE button

In the ATEM audio mixer interface, audio is always on, or present in the mix, when the ON button is selected. When the ON button is deselected, audio is not present or is muted. To match the software interface, you’ll find the MUTE button on your audio mixer control surface will be lit when audio is always on or present in the mix. The MUTE button will be unlit when audio is not present or is muted.

Decibel Scales

All hardware mixers are made differently and the scale printed on your control surface may not match the scale in the ATEM audio mixer interface. Always refer to the ATEM audio mixer levels for the true decibel scales.

Using a DaVinci Resolve Micro Panel

The DaVinci Resolve primary color corrector in each camera controller can be controlled using a DaVinci Resolve Micro panel. This lets you make fast and precise color adjustments using a hardware control panel.

To set up the panel:

1. Connect the DaVinci Resolve Micro Panel to your computer via USB-C and launch ATEM Software Control.

2. Click on the ‘camera’ tab and select a camera by clicking anywhere in the desired camera controller.

3. On the DaVinci Resolve Micro Panel, rotate the trackballs and turn the knobs to adjust the corresponding controls in the primary color corrector.

Making Color Correction Adjustments

The DaVinci Resolve Micro panel is primarily designed for use with DaVinci Resolve software, but you can also use it to make adjustments in the color corrector panel of ATEM Software Control in the following way:

The Trackballs

The three trackballs control the lift, gamma and gain color wheels in the color corrector panel. The ring surrounding each trackball adjusts the corresponding master wheels beneath the color wheels.

DaVinci Resolve Micro Panel

Control Knobs

As you change settings with the hardware panel, you will see the corresponding settings on the software panel change as well. Use the following control knobs to make adjustments.

Control Buttons

For more information on how each control affects the image, refer to the details provided earlier in this section.