I was asked by RGBLink if I would like to try their compact all-in-one vision mixer and streaming device. It looked really interesting so I decided to give it a go. To really put it through its paces I took it to Glastonbury to use in the Circus Big Top where I used it to mix between a Sony FR7, AM7 and FX30.

The Mini ISO has 4 inputs and both HDMI and SDI so you can choose between HDMI and SDI, so no need for any SDI to HDMI converters etc. There is a 5th input which can be from a UVC or NDI source or it can be configured to use the internal media player.

It has HDMI outputs for both the Multiview and Program outputs,  appears as a UVC Webcam when connected to a computer via USB. It can the mixed output or the multiview output to an external drive or USB memory stick and it can stream to 4 RTMP locations at once.

It also has the ability to control any VISCA PTZ camera connected to the network it is on as it supports VISCA control of pan, tilt and zoom. However the joystick and zoom rocker only operate at a single preset speed, they is no variable control. I used this with the Sony FR7 and AM7 at Glastonbury alongside a Sony IP500 controller.

And all of this can be controlled and monitored via the built in screen, This makes for an extremely compact and portable setup. The screen is a touch screen and although it’s too small to spot small focus errors, you can use the unit without having to add an external monitor or a computer.

As a 4(5) input switcher it works well until you try to use the Picture in Picture functions or use the downstream keyer. These do work, but the user interface isn’t very intuitive and the keyer is either on or off.

RGBLink are continuing to provide firmware updates for the unit and I hope these will improve the weak areas as these are all software rather than hardware issues because the compact and self contained nature of the device is very appealing for portable setups.

Another interesting feature is that the HDMI inputs support DHCP. This means you can connect a blueray player or satellite/streaming device to the unit and as it supports DHCP these units will output copyright protected content to it and you can then record that video. Now – I don’t condone copyright theft etc, but this does open up some interesting possibilities! Watch the video above for more information on the RGBLink ISO mini.