Getting started

CastPad turns any tablet or phone into a remote control surface for Blackmagic ATEM switchers. You build your own layout from cards and operate the switcher over your local network — no cloud and no account.

Try it without hardware

🚀 Open the live demo — add cards, hide buttons, organize, and edit the layout with no switcher connected (ATEM Mini Extreme). Nothing is saved; refresh to reset.

Requirements

• A Blackmagic ATEM switcher powered on and connected to your network.
• The device running CastPad on the same network as the ATEM.

Connect to your switcher

1. Open CastPad. The connection status button on the left of the top bar opens device selection — before your first connection it reads ATEM disconnected.
2. Press it to open Select device. CastPad scans your network and groups what it finds into Available devices, Other devices, and No devices found, with a Rescan button to search again.
3. Tap an ATEM under Available devices to connect. If nothing is found, type the switcher’s address into the manual Enter IP manually field (e.g. 192.168.10.240) and press Connect (or just hit Enter).
4. When connected, the status turns green and the switcher state syncs automatically.

See the device guide for more on finding and connecting switchers.

Note

CastPad follows the switcher — it never changes your setup when it connects. The program output only changes when you press a button.

The status dot tells you the state at a glance:

Color	Meaning
🟢 Green	Connected to a real switcher
⚪ Grey	Demo / offline (no device)
🟡 Yellow	Connecting
🔴 Red	Disconnected

Note

No switcher handy? Pick a model and press Enter to step into an offline / demo session, where you can lay out cards and set up buttons ahead of time. Those settings are saved per model and applied when you later connect that model.

The Pad and the top bar

Your whole screen is the Pad — a control surface you assemble from cards.

You move between CastPad’s main pages from the navigation — the left sidebar on wide screens, the bottom bar on phones. The pages are Switcher, Audio, Media, SuperSource, Palettes, and Settings. The Switcher page is the Pad you build from cards; the Palettes page holds the deep switcher controls.

The top bar is always visible and shows:

• Model name and connection status (left).
• Clock — tap it to switch between 24-hour and 12-hour time.
• ON / REC indicators — light up red (live) and amber (recording) when you are streaming or recording.
• + Card menu — add cards, edit the layout, or edit buttons.

First steps

1. Add the cards you need with + Card (top bar).
2. Use Layout edit to drag cards into the arrangement you like.
3. Use Button edit to hide buttons you never use.
4. Tap a source in Program or Preview and try CUT / AUTO.

Next: learn what each card does.