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Kim_Theill
Active Contributor

Re: Play video embedded in PowerPoint and mix multiple computers and cameras to a GoToWebinar -

Hi
Does anyone know if it will be possible to use the Atem mini pro with gtw/ gtm instead of Atem mini
Chris Droessler
Respected Contributor

Re: Play video embedded in PowerPoint and mix multiple computers and cameras to a GoToWebinar -

Back to the original point in this discussion.

 

We have found that the ATEM Mini works with Macintosh computers and GoToMeeting and GoToWebinar, but does not work with GoTo programs if you have a Windows computer. 

 

When using with a Mac, the image coming into the GoTo is cropped (the edges are cut off).  I played around with this by running PowerPoint on computer 1 and sending that image through the ATEM Mini to a second computer that was running/presenting the GoToWebinar. 

 

I was using the standard 4:3 ratio in PowerPoint, which gives you a 10" wide by 7.5" tall slide.  I found that if I embed a video in the PowerPoint slide, I had to size it to be 9" wide.  This meant 1/2 inch unused space to the right and left of the video image.  Despite the slide being 10" wide, GoTo crops the image and broadcasts only 9" wide. The GoTo Attendees see this 9" wide as full width of the GoTo viewer.

 

Thus if you do set up a GoTo where PowerPoint and video from the first computer goes through the ATEM Mini to the second/Presentation computer, fooling GoTo to think this is a webcam, you have to include a half-inch border around the material on the slides.

 

This is not as apparent when you are really showing your webcam rather than using this trick to use an external source as your GoTo webcam.  When showing your webcam, most folks would not notice that that the entire webcam image is not really shown.

 

This is only true for GoTo.  For some reason they crop the edges of the webcam input.  Other programs that use a webcam don't seem to do this.  The ATEM community has tried the  ATEM Mini with other computer programs, and have found that only GoTo crops the image.

 

Rather than redoing all of my slides on the first computer to allow an unused 1/2" border, I still run my regular PowerPoint on my main computer that is Presenting the GoToWebinar.  I am also showing the "webcam," which is really showing a black slide from the first computer.

 

When I get to the point in my slide show when I need to show the video, I press the Stop Sharing Screen button, change my audio input to Blackmagic (the name that GoTo sees for the ATEM Mini) and I advance to the next slide on the other computer.  At this point, the output from the ATEM Mini is now full screen on the Attendee's computer.  I have already set up that PowerPoint file to be a black slide, then the next slide is also black but with a 9" wide video that plays automatically when I get to that slide.

 

When the video is over, on the Presenter computer I click to share my screen and change the audio back to my microphone.  I find I can do this faster than I can get one of the cloud videos to play.  This also eliminates the limit of five videos per webinar.

 

I could make this even easier and connect my microphone to the ATEM Mini ,and then I would only have to Stop Sharing my Screen when I want to show the video.  I could then use the Mute button on the ATEM Mini to control my microphone rather than the Mute button in GoTo.

 

Hopefully GoTo will look into this and figure out why the ATEM Mini works with all other programs but does strange things with GoTo.  Cropping the webcam input is something that needs a defeat button.

gerardso
New Contributor

Re: Play video embedded in PowerPoint and mix multiple computers and cameras to a GoToWebinar -

Thanks for sharing

gmacnv
Active Contributor

Re: Play video embedded in PowerPoint and mix multiple computers and cameras to a GoToWebinar -

Chris

A lot of us don't have 'video production company-like' knowledge and skills like you do or the financial resources to go down the route you took. Guess I'm forced to wait and see if LogMeIn will ever respond to my PPT embedded video fix request. Still no word from LogMeIn....not looking good. Stay healthy.

gmacnv

Kim_Theill
Active Contributor

Re: Play video embedded in PowerPoint and mix multiple computers and cameras to a GoToWebinar -

Hi

 

We have an account manage in logmein, and I contacted them about this issue

 

This is their reply

 

"I asked to our technicians and they told me:

 

 - Seems the Atem Mini Pro from Balckmagic is looking for a video  1080p signal from the webcam, but G2M/W is only providing a 640x480 signal, at best. The issue of having a higher resolution for G2M/W/T is not a new issue, and there's been road map slides about up'ing the resolution."

Chris Droessler
Respected Contributor

Re: Play video embedded in PowerPoint and mix multiple computers and cameras to a GoToWebinar -

The ATEM Mini works well for me, so I don't understand them saying it is a resolution issue.

 

The only two issues I have are the cropping on the visual image, and the downward expander on the audio.

 

To get around these I can size the video in a PowerPoint slide to place the video within the cropping mask that GoTo uses.  But that takes time.

 

Second - You can't play music, and any speaking must be "mastered," since the downward expander employed by GoTo  reduces the volume of sounds below a certain level.  GoTo should give us a switch to turn off the background noise reducer, which would make music possible. 

 

Without music, life would be a mistake. -- Nietzsche

Kim_Theill
Active Contributor

Re: Play video embedded in PowerPoint and mix multiple computers and cameras to a GoToWebinar -

For a work around the issue that gotowebinar/ gotomeeting can't recognie the atem mini as a webcam, will it be possible to to have the final output signal from the atem mini shown on the computer screen (is there a viewer in the software for the device), and then show this by sharing the application in gotowebinar/ meeting? This way you will not need to show it as a webcam. 

Chris Droessler
Respected Contributor

Re: Play video embedded in PowerPoint and mix multiple computers and cameras to a GoToWebinar -

On the Macintosh if I open QuickTime Player and select New Movie Recording, it will show the webcam in a window.  You can broadcast this window through GoToWebinar.

 

I am sure there is a similar program on Windows that allows you to record your webcam.

SUTraining
New Contributor

ATEM mini - GoToWebinar will not allow me to switch to this device

Hi all, need help. I have an ATEM mini and when connected to my computer and running GoToWebinar, it is listed as a webcam. When I select it, I get 2 messages. 1) Fail to initalize webcam and 2) Unable to share webcam, your webcam is already in use please close all other applications using your webcam and try again. 

 

There are no other applications open that are using the webcam. I have tried on multiple computers and received the same message.

 

Finally, I also have a second media switcher which is a Roland VR-4 HD and I am getting the same error messages. 

 

Has anyone experienced similar issues and resolved? Thanks.

SUTraining
New Contributor

Re: ATEM mini - GoToWebinar will not allow me to switch to this device

To make our large webinars more engaging instead of using a single webcam, we utilize a streaming switcher/encoder like the ATEM Mini to switch between 3 video cameras and a Windows Laptop running videos/PowerPoints.

The switchers like the ATEM Mini work on every other business-based web meeting service (Zoom, RingCentral, BlueJeans, WebEX, etc) but not GoToMeeing.

Since I have several web encoding switchers, I tested all of tem

  • BlackMagic ATEM Mini/ ATEM Mini Pro – Not Compatible
  • Roland VR-4HD- Not Compatible
  • BlackMagic Web Presenter -COMPATIBLE

I believe the Web Presenter is compatible because it’s resolution is limited to 720P while the other devices output 1080P. The Web Presenter only has less resolution and video inputs it cost $200 more. While I would have preferred to use the ATEM Mini, I will make due with the other device.

GoToWebinar has known that there was an issue for months and haven’t corrected it. It is obvious the any business conducting webinars for groups up to 500 and webcast for up to 3000 employees would want to utilize more than a single webcam.

While I like many of the features available in GoToWebinar (host waiting room, detail analytics, video library, etc), the multi-camera capability is critical.  We are exploring other web meeting services to host the dozens of large webinars we conduct monthly and plan on switching as soon as we complete the already scheduled events.