Blackmagic Web Presenter HD Setup Guide

Here's the whole setup, start to finish, so you can get streaming.

If you're still deciding whether this is the right box for you, I wrote up why we switched to a hardware encoder and how it's held up over five years.

Power on and connect your video

Power on the Web Presenter HD and run your video into the SDI In on the back.

Then get it on your network. Same network as your switcher and ATEM software control.

Why the network matters

Plug the Web Presenter and your Blackmagic switchers into a network switch. Any computer on that switch can then reach and control both of them.

That's worth doing. Controlling this from a computer screen beats clicking through menus on the front of the device, especially when somebody else is running Sunday.

Monitor Out

Run HDMI from Monitor Out to a display. You'll see everything the device is reporting and you can actually watch your stream instead of hoping.

Install the software

With your computer on the same network, grab the Web Presenter software from Blackmagic's support page. Scroll to the latest downloads section and take the most recent version.

Install it and open it. It'll probably prompt you to update the firmware on the Web Presenter. Do that.

Then connect to the device from the app. It usually finds it automatically. If it doesn't, enter the IP address manually. You'll find that in the device's menu settings.

Stream settings

Here's what we run:

• 1080p at 24fps
• Out to Restream, which pushes to Facebook and YouTube
• Stream quality set to High

Drop the quality setting if your upload can't hold High. A stable stream at medium beats a buffering one at high every single week.

The rest of the controls

You can go on and off air from the app, and stream directly from the computer if you'd rather.

The setup tab handles the device name, language, software version, and audio metering.

Leave network settings on DHCP. It works, and there's no reason to hand-assign an IP unless something on your network forces it.

One thing worth doing after

Wire the stream start into whatever already triggers your countdown. We use Companion for this, so when the countdown fires, the stream fires with it.

That's the difference between a volunteer remembering a step and the step happening on its own.

Related reading

• Best Hardware Encoder for Churches? The Blackmagic Web Presenter HD, Five Years Later
• Companion Satellite and Stream Decks: What You Need to Know
• Blackmagic ATEM Television Studio HD: Everything You Need to Know

We put out free templates, checklists, and training for church media teams. Grab the free resources here.