IS The ATEM MINI STILL RELEVANT in 2025?
It seems like forever since the Blackmagic Design ATEM Mini was introduced. I had to do some checking but it seems like it first hit the market in 2019, with the Pro version coming shortly thereafter. The funny thing is that now, almost 6 years later I can look at the fortuitous of this device (thanks to the ‘Rona) and how I still use it in my day-to-day streaming activities (or at least a newer, larger version of it). I’ve always been an advocate for the fine balance between putting yourself out there financially for gear and finding a good deal so looking at the many for sale on my local Facebook marketplace got me all in my feelings thinking about the Mini and how it’s still a simple device that is just as good now as ever.
In the sake of full transparency, I have to admit that I am something of a Blackmagic fanboy. Its not because I’m in love with the brand, but its more of the fact that I’ve become smitten with the whole ecosystem. I love DaVinci, I own a Blackmagic camera and I own an ATEM mini that I’ve had for several years. In my professional capacities, however I have seen myself moving into ATEM Mini Extremes only because of the sheer complexities of the productions that I work on - but you always remember your first.
Before everyone locked down in 2020, I was looking into the idea of how I was going to manage my streaming for some online classes I was going to be teaching. I wanted to run two cameras - or at least 2 inputs to the stream and I didn’t exactly know how I was going to pull it off. Along comes a sleek black box with 4 big buttons (and a bunch of little ones) and the rest is essentially history. I love the ATEM Mini, and while its not perfect I believe it is still pound for pound the best way to enter the streaming arena if you ever plan on expanding past one camera.
I spend alot of time hunting for gear on Facebook marketplace. I am notoriously picky about the gear I buy though because sometimes electronics can die literally after you get them home. The one thing Facebook marketplace does for me though is give me a good idea for how much things are going for these days. I’ve been seeing ATEM Mini Pro’s - which retailed for something like $450 new - going for about $250 and that got me thinking about the number of people who never really got into the streaming arena, or people who are looking to upgrade from very basic systems. With the economy being what it is at present, its a good time to invest in pre-owned gear that has been taken care of and you don’t really need to spend a ton of money to get into this. If you’ve only got a phone, I’m not mad at you - but if you can honestly afford to move a step beyond a phone then lets keep on going.
You can watch literally hundreds of review about the Mini and learn all about what it does and does not do. The purpose of this is not to rehash what has already been said over and over again. I want to really talk about who this device is for in 2025 and why I think so. Its the things I like, and the things I don’t like all rolled into one.
Who’s this for?
The Mini is really for any streaming setup that is going to run between 1 and 3 cameras, with space for the 4th HDMI input for another computer input. You can use all 4 inputs for cameras, but then you are going to have to become an OBS wizard to include anything like PowerPoint or other static graphics. As I spend alot of time working with small to medium sized houses of worship, I often recommend this tool because its the right size for a church taking that first step beyond a phone, but not a giant setup with several cameras running NDI or some other setup. You can run two cameras via HDMI and one laptop with other information and you are good to go. You’ll send your output to an internet connected computer and you are good to go. The Mini is straight forward and while the digital interface can seem daunting, you can keep things super simple if you just want to press a few buttons.
Things I Like:
The ATEM Mini is simple to use. Setup is going to have to wait until the next section, but its sometimes as simple as pressing a button to choose which input you want next. If you are just a volunteer who is looking to help out - but is not the most tech savvy person in the world, its really easy to understand how the ATEM work in terms of which input is making it all the way to being an output. Its really that simple. The barrier to entry looks complicated, but isn’t which is nice - but you have to trust me.
What I Don’t Like:
My number one gripe with the ATME is a lack of a power switch. I don’t know why Blackmagic doesn’t include them on their switchers but it bother me. I