Blackmagic - ATEM 1 M/E Production Studio 4K

Great Flawed Product

This device has amazing potential as a cost effective, high quality switcher. The quality of the output and functionality are very good. However, it does not support all ATSC standards, specifically the 30 and 60 per second frame rate 1080P. This is a show stopper because many HD prosumer cameras (such as Canon) have only 1080P 60 output on their hdmi connection. Even if you convert the output to SDI, it is not recognized by the ATEM. Black Magic tech support agrees and says the only solution is to use their HDMI->SDI 4K converter at $295 per input. With 10 inputs, this would cost $2950, more than the price of the switcher and more than doubling the cost. Their tech support said they realize this is a serious problem, but they will not say when or if the 60 frame ... MoreThis device has amazing potential as a cost effective, high quality switcher. The quality of the output and functionality are very good. However, it does not support all ATSC standards, specifically the 30 and 60 per second frame rate 1080P. This is a show stopper because many HD prosumer cameras (such as Canon) have only 1080P 60 output on their hdmi connection. Even if you convert the output to SDI, it is not recognized by the ATEM. Black Magic tech support agrees and says the only solution is to use their HDMI->SDI 4K converter at $295 per input. With 10 inputs, this would cost $2950, more than the price of the switcher and more than doubling the cost. Their tech support said they realize this is a serious problem, but they will not say when or if the 60 frame part of the standard would be implemented. Bottom line we have put in many hours on this, have a product which will only work if we buy new cameras or expensive adapters from BMD and only because they didn't implement the complete standard. And we're in a quandary because they won't give any guidance to customers as to when or if this problem will be fixed.