Over the past few years, social media and other online capabilities have become the new way of communicating and for getting content out to the world instantaneously. In the photography/videography industry, it has allowed us to stream live views of what were once all pre-recorded events. A few years ago, I introduced this capability to my Church with the ability to stream the sermons live on YouTube and Facebook. When we started, we were using 2 video cameras, and we are now up to 6 video cameras. In an effort to keep cost down, we were using a cheap manual HDMI switcher to switch between the output from our main Blackmagic Design Switcher and a laptop, to the input of our streaming box. We use the laptop for introducing “unplanned content” or other “spur of the moment” content. The cheaper HDMI switcher worked well for switching, but there was always a distinct “blackout’ period of a few seconds before the next source showed live. Of course, the issue here was that we needed seamless switching and eventually invested in a smaller but still relatively expensive Roland switcher to do the trick. Although we have a solution, I was still on a mission to find a simple seamless HDMI switcher that did not cost an “arm and a leg”.
I just came across the Revesun HDMI 2×1 Multi-Viewer with PIP. The manufacturer claims that this switcher is capable of seamless switching while avoiding any residual artifacts. It is compliant with HDMI 1.3a and HDCP 1.2. It supports resolutions up to 1080P HD, with 2 HDMI inputs and 1output. It also supports the LPCM, AC3, and DTS digital audio formats.
If you would like to try out the Revesun HDMI 2×1 Multi-Viewer with PIP seamless switcher, you can purchase one on Amazon for $76.99.
