Blackmagic Design ATEM 4 M/E Constellation IP Plus Switcher

A new addition to the Constellation line, the ATEM 4 M/E Constellation IP Plus Switcher from Blackmagic Design is a 3 RU live broadcast rackmount switcher that features 64 SMPTE 2110 IP video inputs and 52 outputs (including multiview) via 100G fiber Ethernet ports. Each 100G port comes as a redundant pair with standards converters on each port, making it ideal for live broadcast applications. The switcher is controlled using the ATEM Software Control app.

Updated Design

The ATEM 4 M/E Constellation IP Plus has an updated design to accommodate high-end broadcasters. It features front-to-back cooling with four fans that are extremely quiet. All connections feature full redundancy with SMPTE-2022-7 on all video ports, plus there's additional redundancy on the control and PTP Ethernet ports.

A built-in LCD displays all standard ATEM Constellation status information and provides access to settings menus. The front panel even includes a headphone connection and a built-in speaker for local program monitoring. A USB-C connection on the front panel lets you update software or connect the ATEM Software Control app.

I/O Configuration

This standard 4 M/E model has 64 standards-converted SMPTE-2022-7 inputs using eight sets of dual, redundant 100G Ethernet connections.

There are also 48 SMPTE-2110 outputs, 16 ATEM Advanced Keys, four multiviews, and two SuperSource for a total of 12 DVEs.

Redundant 100G SMPTE 2110 Connections

ATEM 4 M/E Constellation IP Plus features multiple SMPTE-2110 connections using 100G Ethernet, supporting eight input and eight output video channels on each connection. The switcher then maps inputs and outputs across its multiple 100G Ethernet connections. Each 100G Ethernet connection has two separate connectors, supporting SMPTE-2110 redundancy, so you can connect each port to a separate network switch.

SMPTE 2022-7 Seamless Protection Switching sends two identical video and audio copies across connections, then on the receive side, it compares incoming RTP packets by sequence number and reconstructs a perfect video frame from the first arriving packet of pixels.

Broadcast-Style Mix Effects Switching

ATEM Constellation uses a professional "program/preview" style live production switcher operation. Both the free ATEM Software Control and the optional hardware ATEM Advanced Panels will allow program/preview style switching.

Full Standards Conversion on All Inputs

During live productions, you need to handle video sources that are not operating in the same video standard as your ATEM switcher is set to. ATEM 4 M/E Constellation IP Plus solves this problem because each input video channel has a dedicated standards converter, so all video sources will be standards-converted to the switcher standard automatically.

USB Webcam Output

The USB-C connection on the ATEM Constellation IP Plus rear panel can operate as a webcam source for live streaming using a laptop and streaming software. Choose any software you like, such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams, for presentations with a professional multicamera, broadcast-quality style.

Hardware or Software Control Panels

Included with ATEM Constellation is a free software-based control panel for macOS and Windows. The software connects to the switcher via Ethernet or USB, and you can control the switcher, upload media, mix audio, and control cameras. If you need more power, you can add an ATEM Advanced Panel for professional switching or an ATEM Camera Control Panel for controlling cameras. There's also an ATEM developer SDK so you can build your own custom automation control solution.

Multiview

Monitor all your sources on a single monitor with the built-in multiviews, which can be routed to any of the SMPTE-2110 100G Ethernet connectors. All multiviews are customisable and can be independently set to 4, 7, 10, 13, or 16 simultaneous views for a total of 64 views across four monitors.

You can also add a tally border, source label, and VU meters as overlays on each view. A red and green border will display the tally for each view, indicating which sources are on air.

Transitions, DVEs, and More

ATEM Constellation includes a wide range of broadcast-quality native transitions such as mix, dip, wipe, and more. All transitions can be customised in the system control menus with adjustments for border colour, border width, position, direction, and more.

It also features up to four independent DVEs that let you reposition graphics and create picture-in-picture compositions, supporting position, resize, and scale, all in real time. The DVE lets you create professional picture-in-picture effects with customisable 3D borders, shadows, and lighting, or create amazing DVE transitions with squeeze and swoosh effects. Plus, you also get two independent SuperSource processors for even more DVEs and a total of 12 DVEs.

Graphics and Keying

The built-in media pool stores broadcast-quality RGBA graphics and animations that can be played back instantly by the four media players

The built-in graphics can be used with the media players, and you get a total of 60 stills and up to 400 frames of animation

There are four ATEM Advanced Keyers per M/E row, with a total of 16 ATEM Advanced Keyers

Virtual Sets

With four upstream chroma keyers per M/E row, you can build virtual sets. You can use external image processors for virtual sets, or you can build a fixed camera virtual set by loading pre-rendered still image backgrounds from the media players and media pool. You can also set up macros to change cameras and load the correct background into the media players.

SuperSource Processing

In addition to the DVEs in the M/E rows, the powerful SuperSource multilayer processors, with 4 extra DVE layers plus a background layer, all appear to ATEM Constellation as an additional input source.

Any switcher video input can be used for each SuperSource DVE, then it's all layered together over a media pool custom background. SuperSource is like having an extra multilayer VFX switcher built in for doing PiP displays. With two completely independent SuperSource processors, you can use them together to get 8 view compositions.

Professional Broadcast Talkback

The switcher features a simple built-in talkback that uses audio channels 15 and 16 for 2-way communication with Blackmagic Design cameras. You can route the talkback bus to channels 15 and 16 of any special ATEM output and then send that output to the cameras or commentators you want on that talkback bus.

Fairlight Live Support

Fairlight Live is a powerful 2110 software audio mixer designed for broadcast and live events that can handle thousands of channels when running on modern macOS and Windows computers. It supports routing audio to and from ATEM Constellation switchers via USB.

Unlike hardware mixers, it natively supports stereo, surround, and immersive audio, as well as third-party plug-in support, AFL/PFL Solo, talkback, and advanced input controls such as remote gain and dual inputs. You also get a cue player, snapshots, an internal matrix, and more.

key Features:

64 IP Inputs, 52 Outputs with Multiview

Standards Converter per Input

Redundant 100G Fiber Ethernet Ports

SMPTE 2110 Reference Ports

Redundant Power, 4 Cooling Fans

16 Total Keyers, 12 Total DVEs

2 SuperSource Processors

What's in the Box:

Blackmagic Design ATEM 4 M/E Constellation IP Plus Switcher