All right, I know all you're really here to find out was how the Feelworld L1 compares to
the ATEM Mini, so let's just get right to it.
This is not going to be a detailed overview of the ATEM Mini or the Livepro L1.
Instead, I'm going to focus on just the differences between the two.
I want to better help you make a decision about which one is the best for you.
I do also need to say that Feelworld sent this to me to review.
However, they're not paying me for the review and they don't get any input into what I
say in this video.
So everything in this video is my honest opinion, and I'm really just here to help you
make an informed decision about what you are thinking about buying.
So we're going to focus on in this video is specifically the differences between the
Livepro L1 and the ATEM Mini.
And I do want to clarify that I'm only going to be comparing this to the base model of
the ATEM Mini, not the Pro or the ISO.
And that's because the original ATEM Mini is about the same price as the L1.
The L1 retails for $299 and the Mini is $295.
Now the Pro is $595 and the ISO is $895, which are both significantly more expensive than
$300. And they are in a totally different category because of that.
So if you need a device with a features of the Pro, mainly the ability to live stream
directly from that device and record to USB drive, then you should absolutely get the Pro
or the ISO because there is still nothing even remotely close at that price point.
So back to the original ATEM Mini, because this is where things get interesting.
When the ATEM Mini launched, it shook up the world of video switchers by packing a four
input HDMI switcher that's also a USB capture device into a package costing only $300.
Before that launched, the options available were at least twice the cost, and often were
missing one or more features of the ATEM Mini.
There was the Roland V1-HD, which is 2 inputs for $600, the SlingStudio at $1000, which
is actually more comparable to the YoloBox.
And the cheapest ATEM switcher was the $1000 ATEM Television Studio HD.
So launching an extremely featureful 4-input switcher are at $300 was unheard of.
And it's been fascinating watching companies adapt to this and catch up.
And that takes us to the Feelworld L1.
Let's first take a look at the features that both the L1 and the ATEM Mini have in
common. Both devices have 4 HDMI inputs and 1 HDMI output.
Both have a USB port and can act as a USB capture device when plugged into a computer.
That means you can use the switcher to change between four different cameras or a camera
and a game console.
And it all appears to the computer as a single webcam.
Both devices can be plugged into a network and controlled from apps on a computer or a
smartphone. If you would like to learn more about other ways you can use these kinds of
devices, I'll leave a link to some of my other videos up there and down there that talk
about ways you can use the ATEM.
Both devices can handle a variety of inputs at different resolutions and frame rates and
it scales it all to the same resolution in the output.
And this is actually one of the features that was first added in the Mini line.
Even the larger ATEMs don't have this feature.
So it's really great to see that in the L1.
Also, they both have some simple transition effects like wipes and slides.
So you can get a little bit fancier than just straight cuts.
They both have an audio input and they're both about the same size.
Neither of them can stream from the device itself.
You're going to need to connect a computer via USB-C and stream with something like OBS,
or you can use it in Zoom or other video conferencing apps, or you can use a dedicated
separate HDMI streaming encoder externally.
Now, this is about where the similarities end.
So let's focus now on the differences.
Let's start by talking about how you can control the two devices.
The control surface on the top is very different between the two.
The ATEM has a whole bunch of buttons, honestly, probably too many buttons and most of
them actually control the audio.
The L1 has just a few buttons on the top for controlling video and notably has this large
T-bar for fading between shots, Instead of the cut and auto buttons on the ATEM Mini.
The L1 also has these knobs at the top which pull up the menu that is shown on the little
screen. That menu is how you can change all the settings, like choosing your audio
settings and configuring the network.
The L1 is really meant to be completely controlled from the device itself, with all the
menu options available in the screen.
The ATEM, on the other hand, really requires connecting it to a computer to take full
advantage of all the features.
Despite there being a bunch of buttons on the top, they're actually pretty limited in
what they can do and you will very likely want to connect it to a computer pretty quick
after getting it. Let's move on to the inputs.
So both have 4 HDMI inputs and both can handle a variety of resolutions and frame rates,
although neither can do 4K.
The ATEM has two analog audio input jacks and the L1 has just a single audio input.
However, one of the big differences between the HDMI inputs of the L1 is that you can
plug in HDCP devices directly into the L1.
And as you probably know, if you watch my live streams, I use a Chromecast to share the
chat messages into the ATEM, but I have to plug it into an HDMI splitter first.
With the L1, you can plug in a Chromecast device directly and it just works.
One place where the ATEM is the clear winner here is with the audio processing option.
The L1 has very limited options here, you can basically choose between either embedded or
external audio, which means the audio will come from the active HDMI camera in embedded
mode, or only from the audio jack in external mode.
The ATEM Mini, on the other hand, is basically a full audio mixer as well.
With the ATEM Mini, you can enable audio separately from the video channels changing the
volume of each. And if you open up the software control app, you get even more features
like using a compressor and expander and you're able to really adjust the audio to be
just how you want it, including EQ adjustments.
There's even a built in audio delay feature so you can better match up your external
microphone inputs with your HDMI cameras.
It really is like having a whole audio mixer built into the ATEM.
So with the L1, you'll probably want to assume that you'll be running your audio through
an external mixer, feeding it into the analog input here.
So before I tell you about the most exciting difference between the two, if you've been
enjoying this video so far, please give it a thumbs up and subscribe if you aren't
already. It really helps out the channel and lets me know that you appreciate this kind
of content. So the most exciting difference between the HDMI and the L1 is that the L1
does in fact have multiview, so you can see all your cameras at the same time.
The major limitation of the ATEM Mini and one of the reasons to spend the extra on the
ATEM Mini Pro is to get the multiview feature on the pro that lets you see all your
cameras on the screen at the same time.
The original ATEM Mini doesn't have this feature at all.
The L1, on the other hand, has some pretty cool multiview features.
First of all, it has this little built-in screen showing each of the four inputs.
Now you might think that it's not super useful to have such a tiny little preview, but it
does give you just enough an idea about what's in each input.
You're not going to frame your shots with that or check your focus, but it is enough
double check that your camera is still on or to make sure your computer screen is plugged
in. The other huge difference between the two is the L1 can also output the multiview
over HDMI.
And it can even output multiview over the USB connection to a computer.
Now the base ATEM Mini doesn't have any sort of multiview, and the Pro and the ISO have
multiview on the HDMI output, but not on the USB-C output.
So with the L1, this means you can connect a computer over USB and use your computer
monitor as a multiview if you want to use the HDMI for streaming out to a hardware
encoder. Everyone keeps asking for this feature in the ATEM Mini line, so it's great to
see that the L1 is including it by default.
I will say the one weird thing about the multiview is that for some reason it stretches
the picture if you send it a 1920x1080 signal.
You might notice that I look a little bit stretched out in the tiny screen here as well as
the HDMI multiview out.
I don't really understand why it works that way.
It's a little bit distracting, but I guess it's not a huge deal.
It is just nice to have multiview at all, especially on this little screen here.
So if you already have the ATEM Mini, should you upgrade to this instead?
I would say probably not.
I don't think there's actually enough new features in the L1 that you get if you already
have the ATEM. The main thing the L1 has over the HDMI is the multiview, especially the
built in one. So if you've already bought the Mini and are thinking about spending
another $300, then I would actually probably sell the ATEM Mini and get the $600 ATEM
Mini Pro instead. But if you are just buying one of these for the first time, definitely
consider the major differences between the two to figure out which one makes the most
sense for you. I would say the main differences are that the L1 has really good multiview
options with the built-in screen, as well as the HDMI multiview as well as USB multiview,
while the ATEM Mini has much better audio processing.
The other differences are pretty minor and some of them are just personal preferences as
to which way you like to work.
So if you are thinking about buying either of these, I would appreciate if you would use
my affiliate links in the description below.
Purchasing from those links doesn't cost you anything extra and it really helps out this
channel. And again, thanks to Feelworld for sending this out to me to review.
Thank you so much for watching.
And I will see you in the next one.