What is the Blackmagic ATEM?
Blackmagic ATEM is a production switcher. ATEM switches between SD, HD or Ultra HD video standards so you can form live production with a wide range of video sources such as cameras, disk recorders and slide shows or animation from computers. The features include chroma key, creative transitions, media pool, downstream keyers, audio mixer, multi view and more. The more advanced models include features such as up to 20 SDI inputs, SuperSource multi-layer engine, full motion DVE, stinger transitions, larger media pool with full motion clips and a total of 6 auxiliary outputs.
Find more information about Blackmagic ATEM on their website.
Adding a Blackmagic ATEM 'device' to the Automator
In the top right corner of the Automator, we see 'Devices' - this can be either in red or green depending on the status of the configured devices. Click it and select 'Add device'.
Next, select 'Blackmagic Atem' from the 'Device type' dropdown list, then give it a name.
Once the ATEM device is selected and given a name, we will see all fields needed to configure it so it can be used with the Automator.
Basic device configuration
You can enable or disable the Blackmagic ATEM, you can enter the hostname, as well as the port. Once these settings have been entered, the device should show as 'online' (green) in the top right corner.
The settings that are entered by default by the Cuez Automator represent the default settings needed for Blackmagic ATEM if the Automator is installed on the same computer as the Blackmagic ATEM itself. You can change these settings (host name and port) as needed, depending on your exact configuration.
Media handling configuration
Next, check the box to indicate that this Blackmagic ATEM will be handling media. More settings will appear, allowing you to configure where media needs to be downloaded and which media we want our Blackmagic ATEM to download.
Download folders
The 'Download folder' is the folder where Blackmagic ATEM will download all media to, with its location seen as from the Automator. If ATEM and the Automator are installed on the same computer, then this will be a local folder. If ATEM and the Automator are on separate devices, this will be with an IP address on the local network.
The 'Device media folder' is the folder where Blackmagic ATEM will download all media to, with its location seen as from ATEM itself. This is most likely just a local folder on the same computer.
Automatically delete files
We can also set files to be automatically deleted after 24 hours or a week. This way you don’t keep all downloaded media in case it is not needed anymore.
Define Blocks with media
Finally we can configure which Blocks will need their media downloaded for our Blackmagic ATEM. For this, click 'Add media field' at the bottom, select your Block configuration (for example 'Clip') and then the field name of the media (usually 'Media'). Repeat this step for all Block configurations that need their media downloaded by the ATEM you are configuring.
As soon as these final settings have been configured, the media from the Episode will start downloading to the folders that were defined. A green checkmark next to a thumbnail (in the Script) indicates the media was successfully downloaded.
Configuring actions
The next step is then to configure each Item and Block configuration with the (set of) functions you want to perform on the Blackmagic ATEM when triggering the Item or Block — more on that in this article.
💡 The expanded ATEM function set and one-based numbering are available from Automator Stable v1.24.0 (8 June 2026) onwards.
⚠️ Breaking change for existing ATEM configurations — review all control indexes after upgrading.
We support 112 functions from Blackmagic ATEM, across the following categories:
Transitions & cuts — Cut, Auto Transition, Fade to Black, Transition Rate, Style, Position and Preview
Program & preview — Change Program/Preview Input
Downstream keyers — On Air, Off Air, Cut/Fill Source, Rate, Tie, Parameters, Mask
Upstream keyers — On Air, Cut/Fill Source, Luma, Chroma, Pattern, DVE, Mask Parameters, Fly-Key, Keyer Type
SuperSource — Box Source, Position, Size, Crop, Border, Art Fill/Cut Source, Art Placement and Parameters
Media — Media Player Source (Still and Clip), Media Player Status, Capture Still
Recording & streaming — Start/Stop Recording, Recording Settings, Disk Switch, ISO, Streaming Service, Start/Stop Streaming, Audio Bitrates
Macros — Run, Record, Stop, Continue, Delete, Rename, Add Pause, Set Loop
Classic audio — Enable AFV, Enable Input, Input Gain, Input Mix, Master Gain, Fade Audio
Fairlight audio — Fader Gain, Master Fader Gain, Monitor Gain/Mute, Talkback Gain, Source Compressor/Limiter/EQ/Dynamics, Master Compressor, Reset Peak Levels
Camera control — Iris, Focus, Auto Focus, Zoom, Gain, White Balance, Exposure, Lift/Gamma/Gain (Colour Correction), Saturation, Reset Colour Correction
Output & display — Set Output, Colour Generator, Multiviewer Source, Video Mode, Audio Routing
Display clock — Start, Stop, Reset, Visibility, Time, Identity
Timecode — Timecode Output