All-in-One Streaming Tools Let You Do It All—But Should You?

科技可以让事情变得更简单. One device becomes capable of doing all the things that used to require separate devices, 技术, 或系统. 史蒂夫·乔布斯在2007年推出了iPhone, touting it as the integration of the iPod (personal media playback), a cell phone (communication) and the internet (getting information). It wasn't the first device to do this, but it has been one of the most successful.

今天, we are seeing a similar conglomeration of features and abilities in today's production hardware, 让一个人“包揽一切”!”

这就引出了一个问题:你应该做所有的事情吗?

I have worked large productions where the lead video engineer switching between cameras (V1) will work with a V2 to assist, 还需要有人提供视频回放, 其他人来运行图形, 第三个监督ppt的人, 第四是管理“记录”.“这些其他角色可能都需要多个设备. Graphics may have two laptops with either redundant graphics or two different sets of graphics. 播放有两层. 两个用于ppt. 2, 3, 4，或更多的记录.

这是音频工程师A1, who will have an assistant A2 as well as other helpers to run mics to those who need them, 运行电缆, 进行故障排除, 在长时间的事件中管理电池, 和更多的. There are one or more people standing at the stage to make sure mics are on and in place, while A1 is at the “Front of House” (which is actually the back of the auditorium) mixing the show.

There may be a social team to manage comments on social 流s, 阻止垃圾邮件发送者, 并突出好的评论带入节目. Not to mention the “Technical Assistants” who provide technical assistance to those in the audience who are having problems.

There’s many more, like camera shaders, producers, director, camera operators... 但关键是，大型现场演出需要很多人手.

今年，我们看到了 Magewell enter the “All-in-One” (AIO) production solution 市场. These AIO solutions promise to enable one person to switch cameras, 运行图形, 管理视频播放, 调整音频, 启动流, 监视查看器评论, 管理记录, 而更多的是来自他们手中的一个设备. 在IBC，我看到了 贺利得, RGBlink和Spirolink也把他们的帽子扔进了戒指. 但这并不是一个新市场. 第一个这样的平板电脑是由 YoloLiv 回到2017年.

有些人可能还想包括最新的 黑魔设计ATEM视频切换器这一类中的S, 他们会画画，会切换摄像头, 做multiviews方法, 混合音频, 记录, 流, 并在单个设备中管理媒体. However, I’d argue that it’s a challenge to do all of this using only the buttons on the ATEM. 此外, BMD recognizes this and has software that lets you distribute each of these tasks to different operators, 使用不同的电脑, 都连接到AIO设备. 如果它需要额外的6台笔记本电脑，它仍然是AIO吗? 我说不.

然而，我认为BMD是对的.

当你 可以 把所有这些任务交给一个人, what that really means is the percentage of the time their mind is focused on each task is divided by the number of tasks they are trying to manage. 如果你是导演的话, 切换摄像头, 混合音频, 运行标题和屏幕图形, 更新体育记分牌, 并回顾观众的评论，包括, 已经有6个任务了, so you’re only devoting one sixth of your attention to any one of those tasks. 如果你在看观众的评论, 或者调整音频, 你没有看到摄像机捕捉到的东西.

If it’s a simple talking head with minimal everything else, 单操作AIO就可以了, as there’s very little to adjust or track during the show. But the more complex a show is, the more beneficial it is to distribute tasks to other people. 如果ppt有问题, the crew member assigned to the presentation 可以 work on fixing it while everyone else continues forward with the live show. If you’re running a one-person show, you have to stop everything to fix the problem.

So, 而一个人可以做到这一切, 而技术的发展也使之成为可能, keep in mind that there are times when it’s best to distribute the work among many people. Consider these AIO production solutions as one of the tools in the Producer’s Toolbox, 用正确的工具完成正确的任务.