Lately it seems there is a huge movement in the technology market to make products that combine solutions that, in the past, have required end users to employ multiple products for. Streaming devices are recording locally, audio consoles have band monitors available via iDevice, and switchers are now coming equipped for streaming. A recent addition to the all-in-one product market is the Roland VR-50HD A/V mixer, which combines a small video switcher and small audio console.
Typically, this is the type of product I would steer very clear of—my thinking being that anything with that small of a form factor boasting that much functionality has to be too good to be true. However, the VR-50HD does a good job of giving you enough options on both the audio and video fronts to be very usable, but not so many that you need an advanced degree to [operate] it. Many of the features on the VR-50HD make it a good option for small churches, multi-sites, and student venues.
Big switcher features
The Roland VR-50HD is a multi-format, 12-input, four-channel video mixer, making it a good option for churches that have a mixture of legacy gear and newer formatted gear. The input list includes four HDMI, four 3G/HD/SD-SDI/SDI, two RGB/COMPONENT, and two composite. Since it's only a four-channel mixer, most of these inputs are shared. Inputs one and two can be any of the four available choices, inputs three and four can only be SDI or HDMI. That said, there is nothing stopping really industrious users from plugging in 12 inputs and reassigning them as needed, live. In fact, the input assignments are so easy to do, it's a very real option. Typically, having HDMI on a switcher is mostly useless because of High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP). HDCP will prevent content being passed from a source like a Blu-ray player to anything but a TV, preventing commercial content from being edited or copied. However, the VR-50HD has an HDCP mode that allows the device to input and switch HDCP-protected content; a unique feature at a time when HDMI inputs are becoming standard on switchers and HDCP prevents them from being utilized. This option does come at a cost, however. If the HDCP mode is engaged, the only output that can be used is the HDMI out. If it is off, all outputs are available.
Once the inputs are connected, the VR-50HD can handle all the appropriate scaling needed to take almost any format. On the HDMI inputs, it can handle 480i up to 1080p and pretty much everything in between, including computer resolutions. On the SDI and Component inputs it can take 480i, 720p, 1080i and 1080p; the component input can also accept 480p. Composite will accept 480i only, and the RGB connector will handle all standard computer resolutions. All of these inputs can be viewed on the 7-inch touch screen that is built in to the console, or via HDMI to a TV for larger viewing.
The VR-50HD does a good job of giving you enough options on both the audio and video fronts to be very usable, but not so many that you need an advanced degree to operate it.
One of the most powerful features on many switchers is the ability to composite multiple inputs together, and the VR-50HD does this, as well. It can composite up to four layers, utilizing a background, a picture-in-picture (PinP), a picture-in-picture/key (PinP/KEY), and a still key. The PinP and PinP/KEY can be assigned from any of the inputs and the PinP/KEY features chroma and luminance keying, making it a good option to get lyrics from ProPresenter composited on your camera feeds. However, content that it utilized often, like a lower third with the pastor's name, can be stored in the internal memory and recalled as a still. Stills can be stored in the VR-50HD via USB flash drive that connects to the front of the control surface, and up to four 24-bit 1920 x 1280 Bitmap files can be stored and accessed internally. These stills can be keyed but cannot be scaled so content has to be built accordingly.
Audiophile considerations
On the audio side, the VR-50HD has a 12-channel audio mixer. The available audio inputs are XLR, TRS, RCA, along with the embedded audio from the SDI and HDMI inputs. Channels one through four are XLR/TRS combo jacks; it also has line in on channels nine through 12, and RCA on channels five through eight. Channel pairs 5/6, 7/8, 9/10, and 11/12 can also select from the available SDI or HDMI inputs to utilize embed audio.
While 12 channels of audio isn't a lot by most church standards, because it has line levels in, it would be possible to take a feed from another larger audio console. The audio portion of the VR-50HD has many of the standard settings and options available, such as mute, solo, gain, high pass filter, three-band EQ, compressor and gate. The VR-50HD also has an “audio follow” features that allows the audio channels to be switched with the corresponding video channels. All of these features are accessed and modified through the touchscreen.
The most unique feature of the VR-50HD is the USB3 port. This allows the user to plug directly into the computer, bypassing standard capture devices, and use a tool like Adobe Flash Media Live Encoder to stream right to the web. This makes the VR-50HD a great option as a dedicated broadcast mix switcher. The USB3 port could also be used to captured directly into your NLE, again bypassing standard capture devices. Roland also offers its own capture software. Video Capture for VR is an application that will capture the USB3 output to Mac or PC.
There are a number of really practical applications for the VR-50HD in the house of worship market. The first application is the small church that does not have a large enough budget to do a live image magnification (IMAG) feed and a discrete broadcast feed. I can see this switcher being installed as the first step in a multi- year, multi-phase expansion where this switcher is being put in and utilized for broadcast only or possibly a mix of broadcast and IMAG. Then expanding to eventually have one of the inputs being the IMAG feed from an entirely different setup, being used live in the auditorium. The other inputs would be dedicated broadcast-only cameras for crowd response and other broadcast appropriate footage and graphics.
Secondly, this switcher would be great in small auxiliary venues, overflow, or any other room that needs more than a dedicated computer signal to a projector. In fact, with the proper distribution, this would be a great option for a small venue that has two cameras, a computer, and a feed from the main auditorium.
Lastly, the ease of use of this product allows it be a great option for a dedicated student ministry space. The touch screen ensures that students will quickly figure out how this switcher works, and because most of them have been using touchscreens for all of their lives, the VR-50HD will not have the intimidation factor many switchers do. One other factor that should lower intimidation is the price: $7,495 makes it a really viable option—[one that's] possible for all these applications.
