When RØDE announced the launch of the RØDECaster Video, it was obvious that it would be immediately compared to the Blackmagic Design ATEM Mini Pro series, which unlike the RØDECaster Video, does come in different configurations so a direct model to model comparison is not quite possible.
So what I am initially in the process of doing is doing a side-by-side of the RØDECaster Video with my Blackmagic Design ATEM Mini Pro base unit, and where there are differences available on higher Blackmagic Design ATEM Mini Pro models, I’ll point this out.
I only received the RØDECaster Video on Friday last week, and so have not yet had any serious play with it apart from plugging it in.
Weight and Size
The obvious major differences on unpacking are in the size and weight. The RØDECaster is around a 1/3rd wider but about the same depth, but is definitely a more solid piece of equipment, and the fact it is around twice the weight tells you that.
The RØDE unit does need a little more thinking of how you want the device integrated into your workflow. With the Blackmagic Design ATEM Mini Pro, basically you plug it all together with the cameras, external monitor and network connection and away you go, but the RØDE has a definitive setup procedure you need to go through.
There is no supplied documentation In the box. You have to go online and use the step-by-step guide to run through the basics. I admit I am not a fan of this approach, much preferring a meaty manual I can hold, write notes in and mark relevant pages.
Hands up all those that agree. I thought so…
Initial Comparisons
The elephant in the room is of course the price; the basic Blackmagic Design ATEM Mini Pro with 4 HDMI in ports and a single HDMI out port you can buy new for $449, and at that price, for mine, it is a huge bargain.
By comparison, if you just go head-to-head on HDMI in ports, the RØDECaster Video at around $1199 seems much higher. But there is a lot more to it than that of course.
Video
The same as the Blackmagic Design ATEM Mini Pro, the RØDECaster Video has 4 HDMI ports for connecting cameras and other devices. The RØDECaster Video accepts any video source that is able to output a 1920×1080 video stream – this resolution will be automatically requested if your video device is capable of producing it.
The RØDECaster Video has one more HJDMI output port than the basic Blackmagic Design ATEM Mini Pro, giving a total of 2, and these are used for video monitoring. Each monitor can receive a different feed by changing its source.
If you need more HDMI out ports than the Mini Pro supplies, you need to move up to at least the Mini Extreme ATEM model.
Audio
A major limitation of the Blackmagic Design ATEM Mini Pro is the mic input situation, with ports for only a pair of 3.5mm based mics, whereas the RØDE has 2 combo ports to suite either ¼” or XLR connectors which are of course superior.
Additionally, there are a 4 USB-C ports to cater for USB based mics, web cams, capture cards, and any USB device that supports UVC (USB Video Class) standards.
A further USB port allows for adding storage devices such us Samsung T5 drives or thumb drives.
USB 1 and 2 have special functionality; USB 1 can be used to send a video stream from the RØDECaster Video to your computer, as well as a multitrack audio interface. It can also be used as an extra USB Chat audio channel.
USB 2 is used to control and configure the RØDECaster Video when connected to a computer running the RØDECaster App. USB-C 2 also functions as a secondary audio interface and is MFi-certified, that is, it’s ideal for connecting to secondary computers or iOS and Android phones.
One drawback I find of the Blackmagic Design ATEM Mini Pro is any form of headphone output. Indeed, it could be said the audio side of the base Blackmagic Design ATEM Mini Pro is its weakest link, but this is not quite a fair truism because if you add the ATEM Control Software into the mix, then it more than holds its own with the computer being be used as the audio monitoring device.
And the ATEM Control software contains the mighty Fairlight audio system built in to boot.
But having said that, the RØDECaster Video has a pair of headphone ports as well as balanced speaker ports.
SD Card Slot
Finally, a Micro SD card slot is bult in. This is similar in its use to the ATEM Media Player in terms of storage, but the similarity ends there. The ATEM Media Player can store up to 20 graphics images but is limited to stills – no video or audio – whereas on the RØDECaster Video SD card, videos, images, graphics and sounds to be used in productions can be stored and recalled at will.
Scenes
Taking the concept one step further, RØDE has included what it calls Scenes into the RØDECaster Video. There are seven buttons, and these can store individual “scenes” made up of different configurations of input sources, images, videos, graphic overlays and keying layouts, allowing you to quickly switch between pre-configured setups on the fly.
Now this is a magic idea in my book.
Scenes can be assembled on the unit itself, or for more flexibility, put together using the Scene Builder section of the RØDECaster App on a computer.
Controls
The main LCD panel on the RØDECaster Video has a multi control functionality. Depending on combinations pressed, buttons can access commands and functions for encoding, media, overlays, keying, inspections, multisource, cut/auto/transitions and more.
I’ll cover this more in Part 2 of this review.
Conclusion
As you can see, the RØDECaster Video and basic Blackmagic Design ATEM Mini Pro can’t really be assessed side-by-side. About the only thing in common is the 4 HDMI input ports!
Anty lack of audio functionality is addressed by Blackmagic using the ATEM Control software, but certainly, so far in many other aspects, so far, the RØDE is superior – ignoring any price factors.
To have an Blackmagic Design ATEM Mini Pro at the same approximate hardware level would need the ATEM Mini Extreme at around $1600, and for that you get 8 HDMI ports, a pair of HDMI outputs and a couple of USB ports.
A big advantage here is that if you are a Blackmagic based studio and use their cameras – which by the way are excellent and all agree are world class – then the control panel can be used to control individual cameras.
But if on-the-fly configuration is necessary such as may be required for live streaming, then the RØDECaster certainly has the edge.
I’ll be delving more into this side of things over the next few days to see just how easy and functional that is.
Stay tuned!
Postscript: I hear whispers that Blackmagic has an ATEM series update on the cards. I’ll keep you posted as I find more.