Rodecaster Video S Review: Compact And Comprehensive Video Production

The Rodecaster bid of podcast mixers person go a champion among audio creatives. Last year, nan institution expanded nan statement pinch its first multimedia exemplary — nan Rodecaster Video. It was a much niche proposition, aimed astatine streamers, video podcasters and unrecorded producers, and, astatine $1,200, group pinch deeper pockets. Today, Rode returns pinch nan Rodecaster Video S (RCV-S), a streamlined type that offers overmuch of nan aforesaid functionality for little than half nan costs of nan original ($499).

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If you presently usage Ecamm Live, OBS, a Stream Deck, a Rodecaster Pro/Duo, a video seizure card aliases Blackmagic Atem type switcher, past there’s a bully chance nan RCV-S does something, aliases galore things, useful to you. Maybe it tin switch each those products, immoderate of them aliases heighten your workflow. It’s a small complicated, but wrong that complication is simply a batch of versatility.

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With 3 HDMI inputs, 1 USB webcam/mic input and up to 4 NDI/wireless camera inputs, video is intelligibly nan attraction here. But location are besides 2 XLR/Combo ports for workplace microphones and instruments and nan action to link up to 2 of Rode’s wireless lav mics (such arsenic nan Wireless Go) straight without nan request for a receiver. The RCV-S, for illustration Blackmagic’s celebrated Atem Mini, outputs complete HDMI astatine 1080p/60 (no 4K) aliases tin beryllium utilized complete USB arsenic a virtual camera conscionable for illustration you’d find successful Zoom aliases Teams.

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Unlike nan Rodecaster Pro aliases Duo, location are nary faders; instead, location are 2 rows of pads for switching betwixt video sources and scenes. There’s 20GB of onboard retention for media — specified arsenic overlays, graphics and audio/video clips — and you tin grounds shows straight onto USB hard-drives aliases watercourse natively to Twitch, YouTube and different platforms via RTMP/S. There’s a batch going on, and really you want to usage it each is mostly up to you. While nan RCV-S leans much toward “live” productions specified arsenic streaming aliases podcasts, you tin usage it for accepted YouTube-style video production, depending connected your workflow aliases video preferences.

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Rodecaster Video versus Rodecaster Video S

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The immense value quality betwixt nan original Rodecaster Video and nan caller S exemplary mightiness lead you to expect immoderate superior characteristic trimming this clip around, but Rode’s plot shears person been reasonably kind. Most notably, nan number of sources you tin link has been reduced from six to four. Meanwhile, nan number of “scenes” you tin create is now five, down from seven. As mentioned above, location are 3 HDMI inputs, not four, and only 1 USB webcam/mic input, down from 2 connected nan original. There are still 9 channels of audio pinch 2 headphone outputs, but nan statement outputs connected nan original are nary longer here. The SD paper slot for media has besides been removed successful favour of soul storage. In short, there’s a small spot little connectivity, but not capable for it to consciousness hobbled, particularly for nan much casual users this is intelligibly aimed at.

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In-use

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At its astir basic, nan RCV-S is an all-in-one video switcher. You don’t request to link it to a PC, conscionable plug successful your video and audio sources and you tin jump betwixt them successful existent clip pinch a prime of transitions. For a much polished accumulation you tin create “scenes” via nan paper pinch a action of layouts for aggregate cameras, picture-in-picture and truthful on. That could beryllium 2 talking heads for a podcast, overlaying your web camera connected apical of your gameplay aliases a top-down camera mixed pinch a different position for cooking tutorials aliases presentations.

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You tin create scenes straight connected nan instrumentality successful beforehand aliases unrecorded via templates, but things get a batch easier and much imaginative erstwhile you usage Rode’s companion Rodecaster app. Here, you’ll find a “scene creator” instrumentality that’s some ocular and intuitive, positive it has nan action to make civilization layouts wherever you tin freely resize and spot each your different media wherever you want, adhd borders aliases rounded corners and truthful on.

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While nan main pads are chiefly for switching betwixt sources and scenes, they tin besides trigger media — pre-made video clips, overlays and graphics, for example. You tin delegate media to them without reducing nan number of sources/scenes that are disposable to move between, conscionable pat nan Media/Overlay fastener to temporarily alteration nan functionality of nan pads. You tin besides group up chromakey/green screening straight connected nan instrumentality aliases via nan Rodecaster App, too.

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Once you person everything group up, you tin straight grounds output onto a USB SSD, again, without nan request for a PC. There’s moreover nan action to grounds only nan main output (“program”) aliases a multi-track type which will export a signaling of each input arsenic a abstracted record that you tin edit arsenic you spot fit. This is adjuvant if you’re utilizing apps for illustration Adobe Premier aliases Davinci Resolve. If you sprout multi-camera creation tutorials, for example, you tin jump betwixt your main and wide camera and past to a adjacent up without having to hunt-down nan correct portion from each record you recorded connected different representation cards.

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Rode precocious updated nan Rodecaster Video firmware to adhd support for up to 4 “NDI” wireless cameras arsenic further sources. Typically these are distant aliases security-style cameras, but Rode’s Capture mobile app besides supports NDI streaming, meaning you tin usage your telephone wirelessly arsenic different camera that you tin move to, which is peculiarly useful. Though do note, nan Rodecaster Video will request to beryllium hard-wired to your router connected nan aforesaid web arsenic your telephone for this to work.

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Audio

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While nan RCV-S offers 9 audio tracks, it’s adjacent to opportunity it isn’t really designed for unrecorded audio mixing successful nan axenic consciousness since location are nary faders. Instead, you person to entree different channels via nan paper connected a mini show and a dial — It’s a batch of hunting and pecking. If you’re connected to a PC, nan Rodecaster app does connection a package mixer pinch faders though, which makes adjusting levels connected nan alert overmuch easier.

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The bully news is that immoderate sound enhancement tools, specified arsenic Depth, Sparkle and Punch person been carried complete from nan Rodecaster Pro/Duo, giving you a small much fine-grained power complete really you aliases your guests sound.

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There’s a flimsy drawback erstwhile utilizing nan RCV-S arsenic a standalone unit, successful that you request to physically push nan buttons to alteration nan scene, which mightiness not beryllium perfect if you’re trying to make a polished signaling aliases can’t ever beryllium adjacent nan console. Thankfully, Rode has a solution successful “auto switching.” I’m mentioning it here, successful nan audio section, arsenic nan RCV-S tin move cameras based connected which 1 has nan strongest audio aliases based connected user-defined priority. Typically, that would beryllium whoever is talking successful a podcast, but it could besides beryllium in-game sound aliases erstwhile you move to playing a philharmonic instrument.

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Auto switching useful well, but it’s not rather dependable capable to trust connected for afloat autonomy successful a master situation — opportunity while signaling a sheet astatine a convention — but it solves a problem if you’re connected your own, and it could astatine slightest prevention immoderate clip successful a casual podcast situation.

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Things to consider

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It’s clear that nan RCV-S, contempt having less inputs than nan original Rodecaster Video, is still rather a complex, open-ended tool. If you already person a streaming setup you for illustration and nan package and interfaces you need, past nan entreaty of nan RCV-S will beryllium down to whether it tin do what you request much efficiently. For unrecorded video production, it’s an easier sell, arsenic location aren’t galore all-in-one devices to compete pinch it that tin beryllium utilized standalone.

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For example, Blackmagic’s Atem bid is incredibly popular, and until now, had nan advantage connected value pinch nan Mini Pro costing conscionable $330. Even nan Mini Pro ISO ($550) that exports multi-track video was half nan value of nan original Rodecaster Video. The RCV-S now offers comparable connectivity, onboard recording, much expansive audio features and multi-track export for $50 less.

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For wide contented creators it’s a small trickier. As personification that makes YouTube videos, nan entreaty to maine is nan chance to consolidate a fewer devices into 1 and region immoderate clash successful my recordings. Right now, I person a Rodecaster Duo handling my audio, a seizure paper for my main camera and I switch retired that camera for a smaller 1 if I americium shooting top-down footage aliases request a 2nd angle. That intends I person respective different devices connected my desk, and I’m perpetually doing a creation of unplugging things and juggling media aliases different recordings earlier I get everything fresh to edit.

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With nan RCV-S I tin ditch my standalone seizure paper and permanently time off aggregate cameras connected to nan Rodecaster truthful that they are fresh to spell astatine immoderate time. I tin moreover region nan Rodecaster Duo and bring it backmost retired again connected nan occasions I request much contiguous power complete aggregate sources of audio (which is sometimes, but not often). The entreaty successful my lawsuit is less devices connected my desk, and nan expertise to grounds multi-camera video without having to group up each shot, each azygous time, which saves important clip that I tin past usage to really get much activity done.

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There are, of course, immoderate limitations. Not slightest of each is nan deficiency of 4K. I’m still inclined to grounds connected camera for my superior changeable to guarantee I still person a 4K transcript for YouTube and past usage nan Rodecaster Video S for everything else, but arsenic a mini creator, convenience and elasticity is very appealing. For streamers and unrecorded video production, nan Rodecaster Video S is simply a very tin instrumentality that offers a wide scope of functionality for an accessible value that will nary uncertainty go nan cardinal hub for galore creators.

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The existent kicker present is nan price. Let’s beryllium clear, $500 is still important money. But astatine little than half nan value of nan original Rodecaster pinch decent connectivity and fundamentally nan aforesaid functionality, it's an easy proposal to those who were holding disconnected based connected value alone. Likewise, if you’re conscionable starting retired pinch contented creation and request thing pinch coagulated video credentials and audio chops, Rode makes a bully lawsuit for itself pinch nan Rodecaster Video S.