I’m currently in search of a video mixer (ideally < or around $200) and I know since there are many options that maybe my best bet would be posting here and seeing what you all suggest!
I would be using the mixer for a fairly standard camcorder-projector video feedback setup but there are some things that I’d be looking for in the purchase:
Sharpness control (greater range the better)
Brightness / saturation / contrast control
Circular framing option (whether a transition or not)
Colour correction control (however simple)
Other things that might be cool but aren’t necessary (not sure if this exists)
Image rotation
Image size / zoom
Only really need 2 inputs, but more is cool.
Bonus FX are always cool too
Let me know if you have any thoughts/ideas, any and all input would be v appreciated!
Thank you in advance.
Lochlan
** Edit: Maybe this piece of equipment wouldn’t necessarily be described as a mixer so please correct me if im wrong
This might be a lame answer, but for a single standalone device, I think your best bet is probably just a used Edirol V4. There are many vintage mixers from the 90s (Panasonic, Videonics, etc) that meet the price point and probably meet a few or even most of these criteria, but I can’t think of any at the moment that could do them all that isn’t prohibitively expensive or modular. It is possible that with the right model and enough research/skills, some bending/workarounds may be enough to get one to meet all those points. Newer stuff that’s packed with these features out the box would obviously be more fancy and expensive, and more than likely fully digital, which may or may not be ideal for your sources.
With the exception of image rotation/size/zoom features, you might be happy with a Panasonic AVE-5 or similar unit. It’s got a great selection of wipes/framing out the box and a simple but effective keyer/superimpose color function that can be dialed in to various degrees in combination with its onboard fx. Any other Panasonic AVE/MX series or Videonics MX-1 would probably also be a solid choice. Pairing these older devices with something like a Waaave Pool + midi controller would enable fancier features like image rotation/mirror/zoom/saturation, and an awful bunch more. This combo would be only a bit more cumbersome than a standalone V4, but even with the current Pi/vintage gear shortages, the whole package would likely still come out to maybe half the price of a V4 at the moment.
yes, that is what I was thinking as well.
and maybe get a color corrector unit for each channel you want to use, to have more control over sharpness / color correction / brightness / contrast
like a Sony XV-C900 or something simular or a videonics VE1
zoom and rotate is harder to achieve. (and more expensive)
Thank you very much for your advice! I may go with a videonics VE1 for now to adjust bright/sat/sharp and then add something in later for the more demanding adjustments.
