Product Application: New Chroma Key Technique for SE-700

Creative possibilities are limitless, and this time we bring you a new chroma key technique for Datavideo's SE-700. How do we play with it? Well, let's start with an introduction. The SE-700 from Datavideo comes equipped with a powerful chroma key function. How powerful is it? Let me analyze it for you one by one. (This article is provided by Shanghai Yangming Beijing Branch.)

SE-700

The devices we need to use in conjunction with the SE-700 for chroma key are: iPhone 6 and GoPro Hero4. Quite challenging, isn't it? Let's go!

iphone6 GoPro Hero4

Firstly, let's prepare all the necessary items as shown in the picture:

Secure the iPhone 6 on a tripod, then use the iPhone-specific HDMI adapter to connect the iPhone 6 and SE-700's HDMI input.

In the image above, the back panel of the SE-700 is shown. The red marks indicate two sets of HDMI signal input terminals. Connect the signals from iPhone 6 and the computer's HDMI background signal to the two HDMI sets of the SE-700.

Change the system format of the SE-700 to 720p/50.

The SE-700's multi-split screen displays the shooting screen from iPhone 6 and the background screen from the computer.

The shooting screen from iPhone 6 is shown in the image above.

Next, we need to adjust the chroma key settings. When adjusting the chroma key on the SE-700, first select the PGM signal source as the HDMI background signal from the computer, as shown below:

Change the SE-700's Keyer menu to Chroma, select Self for the chroma key, then set the Key Source to Input 4, which is the signal input from iPhone 6. After that, close the menu.

Illuminate the LUMA KEY button on the SE-700 control panel in red. At this point, the overlay screen indicating the incomplete chroma key will be displayed on the screen.

Prepare the screen for chroma key.

Adjust the chroma key values for the desired effect, as shown in the image.

The final chroma key effect when using iPhone 6 with the SE-700.

After trying with iPhone 6, let's now test the highly popular GoPro Hero4 with the chroma key effect of Datavideo's SE-700. Here are the things we need to prepare.

When connecting the SE-700 to GoPro, the system format should be adjusted to 1080i/50. The other chroma key methods and adjustment procedures are consistent with those used when chroma keying with iPhone 6 and the SE-700.

When using GoPro in conjunction with the SE-700 for chroma keying, adjust the SE-700's system format to 1080i/50.

Parameters setting for GoPro:

Chroma key parameters setting for SE-700:

Live virtual screen captured by GoPro Hero4:

The final result of creating a virtual program by combining GoPro Hero4 with Datavideo SE-700.

How about that? Interesting, isn't it? Due to Datavideo's SE-700 being a highly cost-effective device, it is very suitable for creative production with small-scale shooting equipment available in the market, such as mirrorless cameras, smartphones, and action cameras. All of these can be used to create imaginative programs. We hope that Datavideo's SE-700 becomes your excellent companion for low-cost creative video production.