Elgato Gaming announces the Stream Deck Mini

[HEXUS]

For those who need a cheaper video mixer.

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[gordon861]

Apart from the flashy OLED screens there is no reason you can't make something like this yourself with some very simple wiring and some switches, very cheaply.

32 button controller box - £30
http://www.leobodnar.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=94&products_id=205

Just add switches and a box.

[philehidiot]

Apart from the flashy OLED screens there is no reason you can't make something like this yourself with some very simple wiring and some switches, very cheaply.

32 button controller box - £30
http://www.leobodnar.com/shop/index....roducts_id=205

Just add switches and a box.

Oooh, me likes.

[Sixiepoo]

Apart from the flashy OLED screens there is no reason you can't make something like this yourself with some very simple wiring and some switches, very cheaply.

32 button controller box - £30
http://www.leobodnar.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=94&products_id=205

Just add switches and a box.

True, but then again this is still intended for ppl who can afford and too lazy to have the hassel of setting up DIY stuff.

besides, if you are thinking of doing somewhat fulltime streaming, then this is considered an investment.
if your a casual streamer, then your idea would be much better and you learn stuff as well

[gordon861]

Oooh, me likes.

I'm in the process of planning a board myself with a bunch of switches and some analogue joysticks using the more expensive board. I just need to design the layout for the front plate and get it produced, and then do the soldering bit. You can get the front panel laser cut fairly cheaply (£20 for A4 with lots of holes cut in plastic, incl delivery).

[TheAnimus]

Apart from the flashy OLED screens there is no reason you can't make something like this yourself with some very simple wiring and some switches, very cheaply.

32 button controller box - £30
http://www.leobodnar.com/shop/index....roducts_id=205

Just add switches and a box.

Fancy OLED screens on buttons are kind of expensive and I dare say a lot of the point of this project!

A 32button breakout for £30 is also terribly bad value for money.

[peterb]

There is a difference between a switch and a video switch and a mixer! A video switch needs to synchronise the two sources to give a seamless switchover without dropping any frames, or any flicker. Video mixing is another ball game altogether.

Of course, if you are just looking to select streams offline, a simple switch will do the job perfectly well, but if you are switching in real time, it may not (depends how professional you want your stream to look).

That said, OBS does a pretty good job software switching in studio mode.

[gordon861]

Fancy OLED screens on buttons are kind of expensive and I dare say a lot of the point of this project!

A 32button breakout for £30 is also terribly bad value for money.

Yes a quick search for buttons with screens seems to start at $50+ per button, but pretty sure you can get a much better price if you are ordering 10k at once though.

If you have a better value (and as easy to use) 32button breakout I would very much appreciate the heads up because I did a bit of searching before I found that one. They've also been helpful when asked questions after sales too.

As for the Elgato box, I may be wrong but in essence I thought all this thing is, is just a switch box. I assumed that it was just a flash way of producing a bunch of key presses at the flick of a single press, in the same way a macro key does on gaming keyboards. With some clever software programming, which it probably already has, could make the labels on the buttons change depending on a previous selection, so you pretty much have a 6-button MFD (Multi-Function Display).

If you want an MFD, why do Elgato use physical buttons? You can buy USB powered LCD touchscreens fairly cheaply now, Lilliput 8 inch screens are £155 retail. I don't claim to know all the back end stuff to make a final product and produce the software but I can ask the questions. I think these units are great but I think that they have a lot more potential than just a streaming control box.

[philehidiot]

If you want an MFD, why do Elgato use physical buttons? You can buy USB powered LCD touchscreens fairly cheaply now, Lilliput 8 inch screens are £155 retail. I don't claim to know all the back end stuff to make a final product and produce the software but I can ask the questions. I think these units are great but I think that they have a lot more potential than just a streaming control box.

I think if you're looking for something for video mixing then you generally want physical buttons so you can feel where you are on the console whilst watching the screen. The advantage of this box will be that you can probably press the button, it do something and then press it again and it do something different with a change in icon or colour so your perhipheral vision can detect it. There will probably also be stuff in there for low latency. When I work with ultrasound scanners the worst thing they can do is put a button that is well used on the touchscreen as you have to take your eye off the scanning screen to find it. This is why most ultrasound scanners look like they belong closer to the original star trek series than the modern day. Pacemaker programmers are basically just a touch screen PC (OSes vary from Linux to Windows NT to Windows CE) with only one or two physical buttons (usually the "I've screwed up, pace! PAACCCEEEE!" button) which allows maximal lifespan and flexibility.