I would like to output jpg files, png files and other graphic files to hardware which captures camera
output for streaming, using the hdmi port on my mini, as though the data came from a document
camera. Is this possible? If so, how?
VLC software comes close to doing this but does not quite do it.
This should be trivial but has proven impossible.
Thank you,
Mac mini 2018 or later
It's not clear which streaming hardware you're referring to.
Do you mean a video switcher (like, for example, a Blackmagic ATEM)? If yes, then you definitely can connect your Mac mini HDMI output to one of the switch's input and a camera to a second input.
Your Mac will see the connected switch as an external display. You can choose then whether to mirror your main display via HDMI or make it act as a second display. To show the graphic files, the simplest way is to show them in full screen.
It's not clear which streaming hardware you're referring to.
Do you mean a video switcher (like, for example, a Blackmagic ATEM)? If yes, then you definitely can connect your Mac mini HDMI output to one of the switch's input and a camera to a second input.
Your Mac will see the connected switch as an external display. You can choose then whether to mirror your main display via HDMI or make it act as a second display. To show the graphic files, the simplest way is to show them in full screen.
From the specs I have found on internet (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/686585-REG/Blackmagic_Design_BINTSSHU_Intensity_Shuttle.html) the Blackmagic Design Intensity Shuttle is an audio/video capture device for recording/playback.
Can the Mac see it as a webcam device? Do you use it for streaming in this way?
Camera -> Blackmagic Intensity Shuttle -> Mac (Shuttle seen as a webcam) -> Streaming
I see it has an HDMI input. Does the Mac mini recognize it as a second display if connected to the HDMI port? If yes, then it should already somehow work. I don't know if/how the device switches between inputs, though.
The mirroring is optional. You can choose to show via the HDMI output exactly what you see on your regular Mac display (mirroring) or make it a separate side display. In the latter case you can drag application's windows on it or choose via the Window menu to move the application's content to the side display. Operating blindly on the second display is difficult unless you have a preview of it.
If I understand correctly, ideally you'd want to showcase on the second display (assuming the Blackmagic Intensity Shuttle is seen as a second display) some graphic stuff neatly without showing any other element related to your Mac.
A presentation managed with Keynote or any other presentation software might be the solution as long it supports the Slideshow on a separate display. In this case the presentation is managed on the main display (which is not shown to the audience) while the real slideshow runs on the second display in full screen without any annoying element.
The ATEM is a switcher, not a capture device. It's used to switch between different inputs, making transitions, keying capabilities, basic graphic injection, etc. The final program is either provided via a video output or streamed (through an internal encoder) to a streaming platform. It can record the program too. There're different models: some are more powerful others are more basic.
Thanks for describing your wanted workflow.
Considering your needs I'd go a different path. Have you ever tried Ecamm Live? It's a service for streaming contents. It's software based, meaning every operation is done via computer – the hardware is still involved to connect the inputs to the computer of course. Basically it's a s software switcher/recorder/encoder. Speaking of costs, they have subscription plans.
Graphics and videos can be prepared in advance and triggered when wanted. The only missing thing is the remote management. I've found ELMC for Ecamm Live, though, which is supposed to control via iPhone/iPad the Ecamm instance running on a Mac.
If it works as expected you'd set the live program on your Mac and trigger the scenes/inputs/overlays with your iPhone while walking off camera.
There's a trial, so you can give it a try and check if it suits your technical needs and if it's economically feasible.
Speaking of the second screen issue: if the Shuttle is seen as a second display as you say (like the ATEM or any other attached device to a Mac's HDMI output) you can move a content (say, a picture opened in Preview app) to the second screen via the menu command Window -> Move to XYZ, where XYZ should be the name of the connected device (in your case the Shuttle). The picture should disappear from your main screen and jump to the external one.
Usually the screens are placed side-by side. It depends how the displays layout is configured in the Displays Preferences. Assuming the second display is placed on the right, if you move your mouse cursor to the extreme right of your main screen it should disappear from your main screen and end on the other screen. If you blindly move again to the left it should exit the second screen and reappear back in your main screen.
The main screen and the second one act as a seamless workplace. Your mouse cursor and the windows can be moved from one display to the other.
On second thought, if I use an ATEM, am I compelled to mirror or can I merely display individual files?
If I use an ATEM do I still use the Blackmagic Intensity Shuttle, or does the ATEM replace the Shuttle?
Thank you very much,
My system has evolved which means it is cluttered.
I started offering free talks on Youtube by using an early Panasonic DVD recorder and uploading to Youtube. It was
brutal.
Next capture and record became possible and I purchased the Intensity Shuttle and an iMac which worked fine.
Next I collected enough subscribers to obtain a Youtube channel to stream. To do that, I purchased a Blackmagic
Web Presenter. I did not want to lose data if there was a crash, so I purchased a dedicated iMac for streaming using
the Web Presenter. Thus I had one output from the Shuttle for recording and one for steaming through the Presenter.
This worked fine.
Next I purchased a new, higher resolution camera and a primitive switch with a remote, this also works fine.
Now I want to enter diagrams, charts, documents, photos and short video clips into the stream from a Mini, but not a
document camera, which option I do not want. The Mini does not recognize the switch. If I port the Mini direcctly
to the Shuttle, the Mini preferences sees it as a second screen but there is no software available to send files to it. I
have tried many ways to do this. I assume the same would be true with the ATEM.
You tell me that the Mini will recognize the ATEM switcher as something like a second screen. I do not want to mirror the
screen from the mini so I don't know how to ship to the ATEM. It would be nice if VLC could port to the ATEM but I don't
know that it will, it doesn't port directly to the Shuttle.
There is another problem with the ATEM switcher in that it does not have a remote. I can click a remote during a lecture
but walking off camera to push a button on the switcher is a no go.
Do you have any other ideas on how to solve this problem which would seem to be trivial but isn't?
Thank you, you have no idea how much of a help you are to a low tech man. Thank you again.
Thank you, this is helpful. I will check, but my guess is that Ecamm Live is probably too expensive for me.
I will try the "move" command but it probably wants to move the entire screen. It also involves more than a click or two
to accomplish, and that would be disruptive to the flow of a talk.
After trying everything I can think of, I have concluded that what I would like to do is not possible with current
technology. It should be simple but the financial incentive to do this in a hardware-software world does not exist.
The Smartboard technology does this but it does not have a feature to output the board to a stream, and there is no reason
to do that for their market.
For the time being, I am going to try a poor man's kluge. I will mount a second screen in a position optimally visible to
the high res camera, and have a preset to view the screen. With that I can use LVC which is perfectly handy for my needs.
Thank you very much. You have been a great help. Perhaps someday be easily doable.
No, I mean a simple switch that chooses between two cameras. I am using a Blackmagic Intensity Shuttle. I suppose this means
that I must purchase new hardware, right? Thank you.
You're welcome.
outputting images through hdmi to streaming hardware
