Blackmagic Design ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Broadcast Panel

Perfect addition to my constellation eco system

Everything works as it should. Great item!

I got this as an upgrade to my ATEM 1M/E Production Studio 4k switcher. The unit has met my expectations and is certainly going to make my life much simpler for running live event production, but it isn't without faults, most of which should be fixable via firmware updates.The good, the unit is very well built.Displays worked well in direct sunlight, though button lights are barely bright enough making it possible to tell which is lit, but only just barely. It feels solid, and honestly much heavier than it seems like it needs to be, but it feels quite durable in it's construction.The POE+ power option isn't well advertised but is super nice for being able to power the unit with a single cable for both data and power, giving it a very professional look on the desk as well as being one less cable to worry about in setup and tear down.Macro support, while it has some minor limitations, allows covering pretty much any limitations this board might have in terms of not otherwise being able to bind a few things (more on that later). It looks modern and professional, in addition to being easy to operate, giving a much higher quality look to running professional jobs than using the software control panel.Multi user or multi-panel control, the panel is fully compatible with being used in tandem with the software control panel or other hardware panels. This means you can have multiple operators simultaneously or have different screens up on different systems, for example having the audio controls up on a laptop while running the main switcher functionality from the panel or having a camera operator switching live cameras while a media operator handles keying and graphics.The bad: The unit has a few key faults.The biggest is that the Audio button does not currently function. Audio management still has to be done via the software control panel, though it can now be setup as a dedicated audio panel instead of having to annoyingly swap between audio and switching all the time. There is a button for it and it may be implemented in the future, but it wasn't clear that it is currently unsupported and was the most frustrating and misleading thing about the product.Additionally, Macro support is limited, while the programming is quite nice on the panel, you can not name macros without going back to the software control panel and while you can get at all 100 macros from the upper panel on the Macro screen, only the first 30 macros are available directly via button presses. This isn't a big deal for the kind of events I do where 30 macros is still more than enough, but the inability to bind pages to the bars means I'll end up having to do a lot of macro reprogramming when switching between types of events.There is no direct control on panel of hitting flying key keyframes (without going in to one of the pages of the key settings on the main display), however this is easily overcome by setting macro keys to this purpose.The T-bar has a minor bug currently with not displaying that it has locked in to place after an auto-transition where the bar was partway actuated when you move it in one direction, again, this is really minor and a software fix they can make, but it's a minor glitch.Documentation is not great for this board, so if you aren't already familiar with many of the conventions around video switchers, you might have a hard time learning this board. There also is pretty limited resources online to get more information, though the black magic forums seem to be pretty responsive. Things like operation of the button shift and protected shift are described in limited detail and how they apply to macros isn't explained at all. Expect to figure out a lot for yourself by messing with the board.Lastly, and this one is more personal preference, I don't particularly like the way they prime the next transition. In the software control panel, you turn on and off the upstream keys and background independently, with each button independently toggling. With the advanced panel, this is not the case. Selecting a transition target replaces all other transition targets every time. If you currently have background set for a transition and want to have background and key 2 involved in the next transition, you can not simply press key 2, but rather have to press key 2 and background buttons simultaneously. This should be less error prone, but requires more button presses for the style of mixing I most frequently do. It's not a big deal, but a preference to adjust it would have been nice.The neutral: The board is both larger and heavier than it needs to be. The thing weighs in at around 30 pounds and extends much further down than it needs to, even to provide a wrist rest. This isn't a big deal and certainly helps the panel not move around, but it still seems excessive and makes me wonder if they put weights in it.Price, it's obviously a very expensive device. It's very well built and the components seem high quality, but I do question if it had to cost as much as it does. Certainly the total cost of ownership of a Black Magic ATEM system (even the 8k Constellation and a 4 M/E advanced panel) is significantly cheaper than any other major video switching option out there, but comparing how affordable they make the switchers themselves to how expensive the hardware panels are, you are clearly paying a profit premium for the ease of use and more professional look. I put this as neutral as I do think the price is still worth it for those reasons, but it would nice if it was less marked up (and I certainly would have purchased it much earlier. I've had my ATEM for 3 or 4 years at this point prior to getting the advanced panel.)

We recently purchased this with along with an ATEM Production Studio Switcher to replace our out-dated Sony BRS-200 camera control and switcher. We were really disappointed to find out how limited the PTZ capabilities actually are. You get directional control and zoom, that's about it. No camera position presets and absolutely no color,gain control. The control software for ATEM makes up for this slightly with some color correction and brightness control but that's all done on the software side and not on the actual camera. If you are looking for a stand-alone switcher control, this works great. If you are looking for something that is also able to control your PTZ cameras I think you are better off with another solution.