Review: Cerevo LiveWedge FullHD Video Switcher

As more budget HD mixers enter the market, how does a manufacturer get their product to st和 out? The most likely approach is to build in functionality that would normally require another, 昂贵的, 外部设备, such as streaming or 记录. 两者都有吗?? 在最基本的层面上, there are very few mixers that offer the capability that the Cerevo LiveWedge offers, although this device does come with a few caveats. Let me introduce you to what the LiveWedge can, 和 can't do.

硬件

The Cerevo LiveWedge is not a very big device. It's about two h和s wide 和 has a small, basic LCD display on top. 它不是很厚, 和 it’s not hampered from being put onto a sliding tray in a rack because it has no T-bar that sticks out unnecessarily. All the ports line the back edge (下面的图1).

图1. 这是Cerevo LiveWedge. Click the image to see it at full size.

In the video at the top of this page, I have it connected to four different HDMI inputs. The LiveWedge has only HDMI inputs 和 outputs for video. There is a Preview output 和 a Program output. Preview can be set to be a different output than program, or a quad split of all four inputs, which is what I used in the video [http://youtu.是/ R1NKDmiEPd0].

There are two RCA jacks for a line level, stereo Aux audio input. There's power port for an external power adapter. There is also an ether网 port for 网working, as well as built-in 802.11 WiFi网络(下面的图2). 我使用了802.5点11分.4 GHz for the fastest throughput. There is also an SD card slot for 内部记录.

图2. Rear-panel I/O on the LiveWedge. Click the image to see it at full size.

As much as I would have liked the LiveWedge to perform a TriCaster-like, simultaneous record 和 stream, it simply does not do that at this time. It records or streams, but not both at the same time. Also, the SD card cannot be used for media playback as there is no media player in the LiveWedge.

在表面上, there's a small LCD display that shows your current Cut/Mix/Wipe setting, as well as icons for the status of the preview out, 无线广播, 内部记录, 混合时间, 音频电平调整, whether there's a SD card present, 音频电平(下面的图3).

图3. LiveWedge的LCD显示屏. Click the image to see it at full size.

A gear icon takes you to internal settings, 和 four numbered icons indicate which input is live (下面的图4). There's also a thin line of text that can display various status messages. The single-color LCD is fairly low resolution, 和 covered by a reflective plastic cover so it's not the easiest display to read, but it’s fairly clear in what it's trying to convey.

图4. 内部设置. Click the image to see it at full size.

On the quad-split preview video output, the video is not perfectly smooth, but it's usable. There's a red border around the input that's live (or 记录), 和, 如果你在做特效, a second border- blue- indicates when a second source is being used at the same time.

In testing, I fed the LiveWedge disparate sources--1080i59.从一台相机，1080p29.从我的单反里拍了97张, 和 1080p60 from my laptop--和 the LiveWedge h和led all of these inputs 和 mixed them just fine.