Simulator

The RouteEffect Simulator provides a fully virtual Blackmagic Design Videohub environment for testing and experimentation — no physical hardware required! Emulate Videohubs as small as the Videohub Mini 4x2 12G with four inputs and two outputs up to a Videohub 120x120 12G with a massive 120 inputs and outputs!

Most newer ATEM switchers can act as Videohubs, so you can configure the routing on those devices using RouteEffect.

A simulated Blackmagic Design Videohub 120x120 12G featuring 120 inputs and outputs!

When enabled, the simulator creates a mock Videohub with customizable inputs and outputs. You can:

• Switch sources and destinations

• Change labels

• Preview UI behavior and routing logic

The simulated router behaves like a real device, making it ideal for evaluating RouteEffect’s features, building presets in advance, or demoing workflows when hardware isn’t available. From there, you can extend the capabilities of a standard Videohub by layering in RouteEffect-exclusive features like custom icons, port colors, reusable presets, virtual outputs, and more — all designed to make complex routing faster, clearer, and easier to manage.

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Initializing the Simulator with a Real Router

You can configure the simulator to match the state of a real Videohub by importing its Protocol Preamble — the initial text output sent when connecting to a physical router via the Videohub protocol.

1. Connect to a real Blackmagic Design Videohub using a terminal or logging tool on port 9990. On macOS, you would open the Terminal application and type: nc IP_ADDRESS_OF_VIDEOHUB 9990where IP_ADDRESS_OF_VIDEOHUBis the address of the Videohub on your network

2. Copy the full protocol preamble (everything from PROTOCOL PREAMBLE: through to END PRELUDE:)

3. Create a new simulator in RouteEffect

4. Paste the text into the Initial State field

5. Tap Add to save the simulator

When you create a new Simulator, RouteEffect also creates a hidden Video Router entry that's tied to the Simulated video router.

Entering the protocol preamble for an ATEM Contellation 8K.

RouteEffect will parse the preamble to set up inputs, outputs, labels, routing state, and more — giving you a faithful replica of your real-world Videohub inside the Simulator.

Create a Simulator Using a Sample Protocol Preamble

RouteEffect also comes with sample Protocol Preambles for the latest Videohub products from Blackmagic Design. To create a simulated Videohub from one of these samples, perform the following.

1. Tap + and choose New Simulator in RouteEffect

2. Tap Choose next to the Sample Videohub field

3. Select a Videohub

4. Optionally change the name of your simulated Videohub

5. Tap Add

6. Tap Start Simulator

7. Tap Launch Client

8. Enjoy interacting with your virtual Videohub!

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Running the Simulator

• Tap Start Simulator

• Tap Launch Client

• Enjoy playing with your virtual Videohub!

Running the Simulator

Accessing the Simulator from Other Devices

The simulator will show addresses that are available for others to interact with the simulated video router. In the screenshot above, someone using RouteEffect could create an video router entry and enter the IP address of 192.168.87.39and port 9990. When they tap the Connect button, it will connect to the simulated router running on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

You can also access the simulator running on the same device by creating a video router entry with the IP address of 127.0.0.1.

127.0.0.1 is a special IP address that just means “this device”—your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. It’s like telling RouteEffect, “Hey, connect to a router that’s running right here on this same device.

You might also hear it called “localhost.” It’s super common in tech when apps want to talk to themselves or run a simulation without needing a real network.

So if you see 127.0.0.1, don’t worry—it just means the simulator is running locally, not on another device.

Adding Icons

You can add a custom icon, backed by SF Symbols, to represent your simulated video router. Download the SF Symbols app for macOS to see what you can assign to your simulator.

Choosing an icon to represent your server.

State

When you use a simulated Videohub device, any changes that you or others make to the server will be saved. When you relaunch the simulator, it will restore from the last saved state. This allows you to work and configure the Videohub as if it was a real device.

You can choose to restore the state to the initial preamble that you used when creating the simulator by following these directions.

1. Go to the simulator entry

2. Tap Edit in the upper-right corner

3. Scroll to the State Information section

4. Tap Revert to Original

5. Tap Save to save changes back to the simulator entry

When you launch the client again, it will look like the day you cloned the simulated device from the real one.

Port in use

You may receive an error message while trying to start the simulator that the address is already in use. This can mean a couple of things.

1. A simulator is already running on that port. Two devices cannot use the same port.

2. Another application is using that port. Find the application and force quit it.

3. An unknown error. If you are sure that there are no simulators running or other devices on the network, you can force quit RouteEffect and relaunch it. If you are able to run the selected similar, it was probably a problem with RouteEffect that needed to be reset.

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Blackmagic Design and Videohub are trademarks of Blackmagic Design Pty. Ltd. All product names, logos, and brands are property of their respective owners.