SwitcherHero

Cut your live show with a plastic guitar.

Switcher Hero turns a toy guitar controller into a control surface for Blackmagic ATEM switchers. Press a fret to line up the next camera. Strum to put it on air.

Mac app coming soon. It will be free.

Try the demo Get the guitar

Try it here

Tap a fret to choose a camera, then tap the strum bar to cut. On a keyboard, click the demo, then use 1 to 5 and Space.

This demo runs in your browser. The app does the same to a real switcher.

What each control does

Frets
Put a camera on preview. Green is input 1, orange is input 5, and you can point any fret at any source.
Strum bar
Cut preview to program. A second strum right after the first is ignored, so a bouncing strum bar can't cut you back.
Whammy bar
Works as the T-bar. Push it to run the transition by hand. All the way completes it, and letting go partway backs out. For now this needs a guitar in an Xbox 360 mode.
Start
Run an auto transition with whatever style is set on the switcher.
Select
Does nothing by default. Strum, Start and Select can each be set to cut, run auto, or fire a macro in the settings file.

Three steps from couch to control room

  1. Plug in the guitar

    Its USB dongle goes into your Mac. There are no drivers to install. macOS may ask you to allow Input Monitoring.

  2. Point it at your ATEM

    Open Switcher Hero and type in the switcher's IP address. It remembers.

  3. Play the show

    A control panel in your browser shows program, preview and which fret is which.

The app talks straight to the ATEM over your network, so the switcher needs an Ethernet connection. Control over USB isn't supported. It should work with any ATEM that accepts network control, including the Mini and Constellation ranges. On a switcher with four inputs, the fifth fret has nothing to select.

Which guitar to get

DOYO wireless guitar for PC and PS3

Switcher Hero was built from this guitar's USB data, so it is the one to buy. It comes with its own USB dongle. Set its mode switch to the position labelled PC_GuitarHero.

Buy the DOYO guitar

Sold by DOYO. Switcher Hero has no connection to DOYO and earns nothing from this link.

Illustration of a five-fret guitar controller with a strum bar and whammy bar

Other guitars the app recognizes

GuitarFrets
Guitar controllers made for Guitar Hero (PS3)5
Guitar controllers made for Guitar Hero World Tour (PC)5
Guitar controllers made for Guitar Hero Live (PS3, Wii U)6
Xbox 360 guitars, and guitars with an Xbox or PC mode5

These are recognized by their USB IDs. None has been confirmed on real hardware yet. Rock Band and Clone Hero modes aren't supported.

Rehearse before you trust it

Switcher Hero is early software and hasn't run a full show on a real ATEM yet. Take it through a rehearsal before it goes anywhere near a show that matters, and keep your normal panel within reach. The control panel only answers to the Mac it runs on, so nobody else on the network can use it to switch your show. Your ATEM still accepts other controllers as usual.