Atomos Ninja Stream to Be Rental Product First

If you happened to miss out on the Atomos livestream that detailed the new Atomos Ninja V+ and Ninja Stream, we've got your back.

When it comes to the Ninja V+, not much was revealed that we didn't already know. It's the next-gen Ninja V capable of supporting 8K RAW HDR and 4K 120p RAW along with H2.65 10-bit 4:2:2. It's a beast with a beefier price tag of $1,499, which we're sure will drop over time.

---

However, during the initial announcement, the Ninja Stream wasn't as forthcoming with information. The Atomos livestream cleared some of that up. 

The biggest takeaway from the event (starts at 11 min mark) is that the Ninja Stream will first be sold to the rental market for $300-$500 a day.

Credit: Atomos

Atomos says on a product page that "the technology underpinning it will be cut down and incorporated in future Ninja Platform products for the pro video and consumer markets." Assuming it's either going too pricey out of the gate to buy outright, or Atomos may not be making as many from the start. 

That aside, the Ninja Stream is a 5" 1000nit monitor-recorder that supports 4K 60p 10-bit 4:2:2. It has built-in Wi-Fi, Ethernet, and USB-C to allow it to connect to several devices remotely. Ninja Stream can simultaneously record in both 4K ProRes and H.264/5 proxy while sharing the video feed to others on set over Wi-Fi to other Ninja Devices or to smart devices like iPhones and tablets and web-based platforms to livestream content. To be clear, Ninja Stream does not support RAW recording. 

Ninja Stream can connect up to eight HD streams at once through its 5.8Ghz Wi-Fi with a Dual MIMO 802.11a/c/g connection. This allows local streaming to produce high-quality images with low latency. The reach streaming HD 30p is 300m with an open line of sight and no wireless interference. When bumping up to 4K 60p HDR, you can connect four separate devices up to 100m away with only 1 frame delay. 

Atomos has made the setup process as simple as possible. The user interface is very straightforward with six different screens of settings: In/Out, Record, Stream, Audio, Timecode, and System. The Stream menu allows you to quickly set up the device to stream to your devices and to different platforms. 

The first sub-menu in the Stream menu is to select if the Ninja Stream will be sending or receiving the video. The Ninja Stream can send HDR video locally over WiFi or Ethernet while sending a video feed to the internet via Ethernet and 5G/4G. This is in addition to recording video at the same time.

Essentially, Ninja Stream can do multiple things at once: it's a monitor, it's sending the video feed to different devices (smartphones, tablets, etc), it's sending a video feed to web-based platforms (YouTube, Facebook), and it is recording the video feed all at the same time. 

After selecting if the device will send or receive what type of environment you're sending it to, it asks how you will be sending the video. For instance, one device, multiple devices, or through a router.

To set up devices that will receive video (smartphones, tablets, etc) Atomos will be releasing an app to download and connect each device. 

After selecting the proper routing, the setup asks you to choose between different resolutions, either 10-bit and 8-bit as well as HDR and SDR. From there, the next screen controls all the streaming tools. 

The next screen is the heart of the setup, as it allows you to choose where you're streaming, what resolution you want to record at, and what connection is doing what. The Ninja Stream has the ability to stream to different platforms without the need for a computer via 5G/4G. You can use an iPhone or Android device as a hotspot or an optional 5G dongle via USB-C to connect to the internet and stream 8-bit H.264 or 10-bit H.265.

If quality is important, Ethernet outputs up to 200mBits/sec or max of 1G via a router into high speed, low latency, long-range networks, or simply direct to a Mac/PC.

Besides its streaming capabilities, Ninja Stream carries over many of the Ninja V features we've grown to know, including monitor assist tools, SSD media support, and more. 

What do you think of Ninja Stream? Let us know in the comments below.