Avermedia is a Taiwanese company, founded in 1990. In the beginning they focussed on Research and Development for Digital Video Technology. After becoming a leading company in the computer market, they broadened their scope and are now devoted to improving entertainment experiences. Can the Live Gamer Portable do this as well?
Ever since I was an early teen, playing Halo 2 multiplayer with a few friends, I have dreamt of directly capturing my screen footage. Although there were options available, I didn't have the money to buy them. So all I had was my dad's camera pointed at the screen, which at least helped me analyze my game. So now about 10 years later, I decided to get one to make game video's for Majestic Entertainment. Has my dream come true?
When taking it out of the box for the first time, the first thing you'll probably notice is the abundance of cables. You won't need all of it, unless you have all consoles (except Wii) or PC. The HDMI cable might not be sufficient for everybody, since it's really short, but I think it's really nice that everything you need is included.
The instruction booklet gives you easy instructions on how to set it all up and within 10 minutes it's good to go. It's possible to record directly to a harddrive or (to make it portable) to an SD-card. There's even a small pouch included which is great for people who are always on the move, or just a nice way to store it when not using it for a while.
When everything is connected properly, the device will show you by displaying a blue light, if not it will flash. By pressing the big button it will start recording and display a pulsing red light. The included software allows you to setup some configurations for recording like the definition and size (mbps). The output captured by the device is exactly as expected. It does however seem to miss a frame every once in a while, but this doesn't happen very often and is hardly noticeable.
All in all, I couldn't have wished for a better device to fulfill my long-term dream of capturing game content. For the same price, there devices that are more or less the same quality. However, some don't include all the necessary cables, which can mean you're spending more in the end. There are less expensive capture cards, but they don't have the same quality. It's up to you to decide which one will be most suitable for your needs.
Propellerhead is a Swedish company founded in 1994 by three people. The first product they released was called ReCycle, which allowed users to change the tempo of a loop without affecting the pitch. In the years following that, they released several products which were marketed to be used together with Cubase. But in the year 2000 they released their own DAW called Reason, which had many pro's when compared to the competition. In 2009 they released Record, which has won several awards. So most people would agree that they make quality software, but can the same be said about their shot at hardware?
In comes the Balance, equipped with a crazy amount of inputs and outputs. With the standard outputs for headphones and speakers, two mic inputs, two guitar inputs and two keyboard inputs (I think that should do it). Both volumes are adjustable by the two big knobs on the bottom of the device, and turning them feels very smooth.
If there are any devices connected, the ones that are currently active are indicated by a small light. The knobs to the left decide the volume and feel sturdy and lock in place. Even better is that everything can be recorded with a 96kHz sound quality.
In terms of looks, it's definitely not an ugly duckling. The black finish feels almost like rubber and is soothingly soft to the touch. In my opinion the angle of the device makes it look good on any desk and a quick glance at the device provides an overview of everything you need to know. When all the inputs and outputs are taken, it can be a bit of a cable clutter at the back, but I guess that's unavoidable in any studio.
Good news and bad news for everyone who has become interested in Propellerheads after this review. It seemed that they thought that hardware was out of their league and is therefore offering major discounts off bundles with Reason Essentials. Mine even came with a free upgrade to Reason 7 and free Rack Extensions, so I advice you to look around for the best possible deal!
Pro's
- High quality sampling up to 96kHZ
- Many different inputs and outputs
- Good design
Con's
- They don't make them anymore
