I just got a loaner of the new Blackmagic Design ATEM Mini Extreme ISO G2. Fit and finish-wish, it’s an improvement over the ATEM Mini Extreme ISO. The fan is quieter than my first-generation ATEM, and I like the better buttons, additional outputs, Thunderbolt, MADI, and XLR audio inputs. I will be spending the next few weeks updating MixEffect to support the new features of the G2.

Cut Bus or Program/Preview?

The G2 was configured out of the box in Cut Bus mode. That’s when you press one of the 10 input source buttons and it would automatically cut to that source. I prefer Program/Preview, where you first select the source you want to transition to before pressing the Cut or Auto button to perform the actual transition.

It used to be in the ATEM Setup application on macOS or Windows, there were radio buttons for switching between Cut Bus and Program/Preview. Those are nowhere to be found now, and I was wracking my head trying to figure out how to switch between them.

Double-press is the solution

Double-press the PVW button on the ATEM Mini Extreme ISO G2, which is located between input source 10 and the Cut button. The PVW button will light up, indicating that it’s now in Program/Preview mode. Now, I can press all the other input sources and see them turn green. A single press on the lit-up PVW button will turn the G2 back into Cut Bus mode.

Cut Bus Oddities

I do find something odd about Cut Bus. It’s my understanding that press the Cut or Auto button would change how the transition would occur when pressing the input source buttons. On my ATEM Mini Pro, ATEM Mini Extreme ISO, and ATEM 2 M/E Constellation HD in Cut Bus mode, either the Cut or Auto button would be illuminated. If input source 1 was selected and I pressed input source 2, it would do either a cut or auto depending on which button was lit up.

On the G2, the Cut or Auto button never illuminates, and pressing an input source immediately performs a cut. You could press Auto, and it would perform an auto transition, but since the input source on Preview is not highlighted in green, you don’t necessarily know which input is being auto-transitioned to — unless you have a good memory or are looking at the Multiview.

I don’t know if this is a deliberate design decision on the G2 or something they missed during testing. I’ll file a support ticket with Blackmagic Design regarding this.