Magewell Ultra Stream HDMI Single-Channel HD Streaming Encoder

I'm writing this review after receiving the product, testing it for a night, and learning about all the things this listing got wrong. Before you purchase this item, please take note of the following:- Main stream encoding is capped at 4000Kbps- Sub-stream encoding is capped at 1000Kbps- Sub-stream resolution and frame rate is capped at 720p30- Recording is bound by encoding settings. If you want to record at 1080p60, but stream at 720p60, you cannot. The max capability is main stream - 1080p60 @4000Kbps, and sub-stream - 720p30 @1000Kbps.Given that, why is this product 5 stars? Even though I discovered I'm not the target demographic for this product, this is still a quality product. The slogan on the box says "Making streaming flawlessly easy" and they do deliver on that promise.For a compromise, you can know basically nothing about streaming and still have a quality stream. If you want to stream interviews, static content, face to face content, or anything not action related, the sub-stream will probably work for you. If you're not interested in investing time in learning how to tweak advanced encoding parameters, this product works for you.If you're planning on streaming games or action based content, this isn't the product for you. The bitrates are too low and the sub stream is useless for you. The recording feature is convenient, but will also be useless for you with this use case.I would have known that had the seller disclosed this information in the description. Since they didn't, I'm packing it back up and requesting a refund. I'll spend less money on a different encoder, but I'll have to compromise by buying a 12v portable charger (the magewell operates on 5v, of which I already had several portable chargers), a WiFi bridge to use it wirelessly (the magewell has WiFi built in), I'll have to use the other encoder's basic web ui (the magewell has a very nice app in comparison to the web ui's of these other companies), and I'll have to run some ffmpeg commands to record the feed (the magewell does this at the click of a button).I'll make those compromises though because I cannot stream my content at lesser than 720p60 @4000Kbps or 1080p60 @6000Kbps. The former is possible, but the bitrate is the max it will ever go. The latter isn't possible with this device and 1080p60 @4000Kbps isn't worth $358 to me when there are other products on the market that can process 4 streams at 12-32000Kbps for HALF the cost of this.Hopefully this review helps you make the best informed choice of your funds.

It was not quite what I was looking for. Seemed kind of cheaply made for the price. Although you plug it into an Ethernet port, you have to control it from your phone through wi-do on the same network. DoIng anything on wi-if, when there are a bunch of people on the same network is always sketchy. I returned it and got a prompt refund

The original release of this with the base firmware had some limitations but Magewell listened and corrected the majority of them. You now geta nice 1080p60 at 8Mbps or you can do a dual 4Mbps stream. The ability for multiple connections as well as pairing with your phone makes this a great tool for on the go or if you have a computer that can run your switcher software but might struggle to encode you can offload it using this guy. It's also only 5v so USB battery pack is perfect. I do wish it had a higher recording bit rate but having internal storage built-in and the option of external storage si great for that backup if your main ISO storage fails. I currently use it as a backup since I use my LiveU as my main due to its bonding capabilities. again I wish it had a better native recording method instead of just the stream bit rate. I also wish it had NDI built int o at least feed it but overall a great product. I will say based of my experience with magewell we might not see much firmware additions to this product since they crossed off everything important in their last and released a new encoder. But definitely worth the money due to its flexibility and ease of use.

Easy to use and implement...subsplash

I had hoped to use this for work as I am a professional videographer and streaming producer. This this is really only good as a backup. Low bit-depth recordings, and has a terrible file system for the USB stick. It's almost good, but we can't use it at my office due to the poor indicators, file issues and lower quality. Wish I had returned it.

Wow what can I say what an awesome product it must have for people who stream live and record at the same time The quality is awesome the price is fantastic illuminates having a computer this little box does it everything I will highly recommend to everybody especially for church services must have

I cannot get the encoder to work and Magewell's support team is absolutely unresponsive. It takes them 48 hours to respond to a service ticket and when they do respond, they only ask more questions and give no solutions. The primary complaint is that you cannot talk to a tech support person.

Simple push button livestreaming device. I am a professional IT/AV tech and have been helping house of worships with media setup. Before the COVID-19 pandemic started, I was using Epiphan Webcaster X2 for my clients- because of the easy bush button to start/stop livestream. Unfortunately the manufacturer stopped making it. When Covid-19 pandemic started, the encoder became very hard to find.I switched to this Magewell Ultra Stream HDMI Streaming Encoder- instead of the standard encoder that requires the user to manually copy stream keys. Though it said Single-Channel, I configure it to stream to Facebook and YouTube at same time for clients. The price is a little high, but I and my clients are happy with quality of device, ease of use and most of all, the quick response from tech support.

Product broke after six uses. Manufacturer wouldn't send me a replacement until I shipped them the defective unit. Tracking and shipping for this unit was $75. When they finally sent the replacement, it was a used unit. Unbelievable.