Video Scaler/Switcher with preview

[Bazz339]

Following on from my previous thread on video distribution we will need some form of switching/mixing. Some economical suggestions would be appreciated. Maybe 4 inputs and 2 to 4 outputs although single may be acceptable.  

Ideally it would need to be able to accept input from HDMI, Camera (No camera as yet so format not known, and possibly VGA (Maybe accomplished by a VGA to HDMI converter), should we be considering other formats? 

I would also like to have preview of the inputs and maybe a frame store but it does need to be simple as ther are no other technical people at the church. 

Maybe something like this Roland ROL-V-1HD+?

Edited July 1, 2022 by Bazz339
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[J Pearce]

Are the 4 outputs needing separate switching/mixing - if so you want a video router. If not you just want a vision mixer and a video distribution amplifier.

[Stuart91]

On 7/1/2022 at 4:12 PM, Bazz339 said:

Maybe something like this Roland ROL-V-1HD+?

Very happy user of Roland switchers here. We own three different models ourselves and have installed plenty more. 

The V-1 is a very capable little unit. I would certainly take it over an ATEM Mini any day. Crucially (unlike the wretched ATEMs) it has a separate multiview and main program output, each on their own HDMI sockets. 

The V-1HD+ essentially adds more audio mixing facilities, which could be useful but it's more expense compared to the base V-1 if you know you aren't going to use them. 

For VGA and other legacy inputs, the cheapest option may well be a second-hand Kramer switcher-scaler, something like a VP-728 will give you a lot of capability for a very modest price. 

[James Remo]

The Roland XS-1HD might be worth a look for your application

https://proav.roland.com/global/products/xs-1hd/

[Bazz339]

Thank you for the input and suggestions. 

[dmxlights]

I was a Roland fan as well. I have the V-1HD and it will be up for sale. The only thing I found with Roland was that all cameras had to match as in all had to be 1080i or 1080p or 720p was a bit of a pain.

I upgraded this year to a Blackmagic ATEM mini Extreme ISO and love it as I can record all inputs to there own file and the main out as well to a SSD hard disk plugged in to the mixer. The ATEM mini has frame rate and scalers on all inputs which is great. Did a lot of looking and got one from here for €1089 inc vat/tax at the start of the year.

https://www.photospecialist.ie/blackmagic-atem-mini-extreme-iso

[Bazz339]

On 7/1/2022 at 9:25 PM, J Pearce said:

Are the 4 outputs needing separate switching/mixing - if so you want a video router. If not you just want a vision mixer and a video distribution amplifier.

Thanks for that, that was my original intention but I think it may be unecessarily complex to have 3 or 4 outputs at present and suspect it would be very rarely used. What I may consider is wiiring 3 maybe 4 separate feeds but putting front end gear in for simple mixing/switching and a distro amp for the time being. 

I also question whether we need audio mixing (At present at least) but suspect that most vision mixers come with basic audio mixing as standard.

Edited July 5, 2022 by Bazz339