Do you want an affordable tally light for your camera, without having to solder yourself? The M5Stick-C by M5Stack comes to the rescue!

For the last week I've been working on this, it is not completely finished yet, but I will not stop until it is really user friendly. Once the project is done, I will upload a comprehensive video tutorial on how to set it up if you've never worked with microcontrollers before. (Including a first time install of the Arduino IDE, since you will have to flash the code to the stick yourself)

You can find my project here: https://github.com/guido-visser/vMix-M5Stick-Tally-Light

An example in GIF form:


Please feel free to submit feature requests (please do so on the GitHub page (as an issue), so that everything is in one place). If I think the feature will be a valuable to the project, I will consider implementing it.

If you're having problems, please submit an issue on the GitHub page.

I've made an in-depth tutorial on how to flash the firmware onto the M5Stick-C


A huge thank you (Dankjewel! :D) goes out to Thomas Mout for creating his project a year ago, the core of my code is based on his!

Looking for a solution for M5Stack over M5Stick-C? User lpv has forked my repo and optimized it for the M5Stack. Check his fork on GitLab

Hi dark_ata,

I haven't tested that out. It's a 2.4Ghz signal, so my assumption is that you can go as far as your phone for example. Could you post your findings here on the forum for people in the future?

Thanks in advance!

Guido, great stuff! I had problems getting it to run on vMix 23.0.0.58, downgraded to 23.0.0.57, and it works great. Can you confirm that it doesn't work with .58?

I will run some tests, including a long-term test. As I don't have any experience with the M5Stick – do you know how long the battery lasts? (Maybe a feature request: If it is possible to query the battery status, you could include it on the status screen.)

Thank you!

I just got it, both the vmix .38 and the .58 perfect.

Great job.

A battery indicator would be a nice feature! Can you report this as an issue on the Github page? I think that I'll look at updating the code somewhere next week.

I tested the battery on a full charge and the stick can be on the "Live" screen (incl. LED on) for about 40 minutes. I use it at my church with a very small powerbank (powerbank was 2,50). That keeps the board going for at least 2 hours (enough for me)

About the version issue. No clue. I haven't tested it out with the newest version yet. But unless the devs of vMix changed the TCP API for tally lights, it should work just fine. I am going to church tonight, so I could test it out for you, since we updated to .58 last Sunday (after the service). I'll let you know :)

Update 17:53 - Checked it with vMix version .58 and it works. No problems here

i made 4 sticks accoring the guide in guthub, works perfect, even with version vmix 23.58
great work GUIDOGAST ! thanks.
mine will run only 2-8 minutes on the internal battery :-)

vmix tally.gif (1,682kb) downloaded 13 time(s).

only via usb, each device gets probabely another comport in the arduino program.

Thanks for all the amazing responses! I'm glad that it works so well for you guys! I've been pretty busy lately, but I'm still committed to make this the easiest and cheapest Tally solution for vMix. I hope to continue the work shortly. I'll try to implement all points on the todo list at the GitHub page.

Short version:
It's working now!

Long version:
I updated to .59 on the first PC and ran into the same problem again. (Stick said: "Connected to vMix!" but stayed on the status screen. Pressing the M5 button showed "Safe" screen, and after a few seconds it switched to "Connecting".) Tested .59 on the backup PC and it worked without problems. I tried to find the differences in the configurations. On the first machine, I had password protected some of the web controller entries. After erasing password protection everything worked. I am not able to reproduce the problem and say what exactly caused it in the first place. Anyways, it is working very well now.

This project is awesome, I just flashed it and works flawlessly. I'm just worried about how long it runs off battery. I may look at getting a couple powerbanks like others have done. You are using a 2,500mah powerbank? I'm looking at Amazon and they have a 5,000mah for $7. I'm thinking of just ordering a couple of those to give me 4 hours of run time (which would be more than enough for my needs). I usually setup a couple hours before service so they would be on safe, and then the preaching is about 30 to 40 mins where one would be on "LIVE". I have a 2nd one for a deacon that leads a couple prayers but that is maybe less than 7 mins of LIVE", but I do keep him on pre for maybe 10 to 15 mins.