EIGHT PRODUCTS.
Well, SEVEN products and a free tool.
EIGHT RELEASES.
Elgato announced so many things today in what is the most packed product announcement spree
the company has ever done.
From webcams to mic arms to a new Stream Deck, let's talk about it all.
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Elgato had their big annual product announcement today announcing *eight* new releases for
streamers and yet... not a single one was a capture card company.
The budget and gaming-focused capture card company has come a long way towards providing
full solutions for kitting out your stream setups these days.
Starting with the big one that I think the most people are going to ask about: Elgato
Facecam.
Elgato has made a 1080p 60FPS webcam that supplies uncompressed video over USB 3.0 with
a type-c connector and a pretty badass app to manage settings and save them to the webcam
itself so settings persist past reboot and even across PCs.
The webcam has a fixed-focus lens but is tuned to actually work when you're close up to the
lens - as long as you're not closer than a foot away - so it can look a bit better than
other fixed focus webcams we've looked at.
They won't share which sensor they're using, just that it's a Sony STARVIS CMOS sensor,
but it seems to be similar to what you'd find in other webcams like the Kiyo Pro, for example.
I've snuck some Facecam usage in videos and streams already, AND I have a full, in-depth
review on the Facecam already ready to rock and will be releasing in a couple hours.
Stay tuned.
Next up is probably an unexpected release, but one I am beyond stoked for: Wave XLR.
This takes the KILLER features of Elgato's Wave:1 and Wave:3
microphones - the virtual audio cable "Wave Link" software and the 20db safety track "Clipguard"
feature and crams them into a *very* high quality audio interface.
The interface can provide full 48V phantom power for condenser mics and has plenty of
gain for dynamic mics, too.
Wave XLR provides up to 75dB total of gain, 52dB of that being analog gain, 23 being digital.
This is PLENTY for gain-hungry mics like the Shure SM7b or ElectroVoice RE20, with me getting
a signal hot enough for the RE20 at around 40dB.
Plus you have the 20dB of headroom to not peak, clip, or distort with their "Clipguard"
feature.
Wave XLR is one of two products today that feature swappable faceplates with the ability
to customize your own or order custom ones.
No word on pricing for that yet, however.
I still have some quirks with Wave Link and I find the physical I/O on board to be embarassingly
limited, but this is a pretty neat release.
Full review of the Elgato Wave XLR will release on Saturday July 17, with early access already
available on my own streaming platform along with all reviews of these new products.
My videos are higher quality there, ad-free, and often extended from the YouTube versions.
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Next up, we have a pair of microphone arms: The Wave Mic Arm and Wave Mic Arm LP.
These are pretty beefy and capable mic arms with integrated cable channels.
The normal Wave Mic Arm is designed to be extra tall to go over your monitors if you
want.
The normal vertical reach is 29.5" with an included riser arm getting you another 5.9"
in height.
The Wave Mic Arm LP is designed to stay close to the desk and possibly go under your monitors.
This was inspired by some teasers they had with the release of the Wave microphones and
people regularly asking what mic arms they use.
Both mic arms are compatible with the Multi-Mount accessories.
Instead of a review in a vacuum, I actually have a full "microphone arm buyer's guide"
comparing a ton of notable mic arms together coming tomorrow, Friday July 16 - again should
already be up on Nebula.
As much as the Elgato Stream Deck is one of my favorite product releases related to streaming...
ever... the Stream Deck Mk. 2 falls under the "less interesting" announcements today.
This is mainly because it's just a quality of life refresh rather than a radical new
product.
There are important differences here, though - with a new, more rugged stand locked to
a fixed angle, and a detachable USB C cable.
At long last!
Of all the Stream Decks Elgato have released, the O.G. always had the worst cable management.
Detachable USB C makes it much easier to use and you can bring your own for better lengths.
This is also the second product to offer a detachable faceplate for you to customize.
You know I'm getting some sick ones made - though I was unable to make it happen prior to these
videos coming out.
There will be a "growing range of epic designs" to choose a faceplate from, according to Elgato,
or you can paint your own, of course.
Combine that with custom icons, GIF icons, and the new screensavers and you've basically
got full control over how this looks.
Now they just need to release a translucent case design.
Also, if you take off the stand and the faceplate, you're basically left with the "brain" of
the Stream Deck, allowing it to be more easily integrated into other custom projects or solutions,
which is awesome.
Otherwise, it's the same 15-key setup in front of a LCD screen, lots of hotkeys, visual feedback,
animated GIF icons, and new integrations and plugins regularly added in the software.
In fact, the Stream Deck software just got a pretty big update last month.
Video on that linked below.
The last two product announcements Elgato talked about today are the Light Strip Extension
Kit, which allows you to add an additional 2 meters to the end of your Elgato Light Strip
with a DIY parts kit - and a Wall mount.
This is basically a shorter version of the Arkon wall mount I've recommended for a long
time, it even uses the same ball head style, which the Multi-mount also uses.
I don't currently use this in my studio here, but at my past 2 previous apartments I used
the Arkon wall mount for my main desktop "webcam" camera - usually a Panasonic G7 - and it worked
wonderfully, so I can certainly recommend this for those who want to anchor it into
their wall.
No more desk shake!
Lastly, Elgato announced a free resource: Studio Configurator.
This is a browser-based studio modeling app built on Unity.
This is designed to help you visualize, design, and plan your home studio using 3D modeling
so you can get things right the first time and see what will really work with your space.
The main drawback being that they're only really going to support Elgato products, so
if you have just about anything else involved, you won't get specifics.
I think they might be leaving potential on the table, though - a I could see this being
used to generate an awesome streaming setup backdrop for those who green screen, too.
WHOO!
That was a lot of announcements.
I love times like these where we get a ton of stuff being thrown into the streaming space.
Notably missing was the custom color Wave Panels that we were told were coming, or any
capture card reviews - though ongoing shortages certainly play a role there.
I've been told by every capture card company to not expect HDMI 2.1 capture cards until
2022, basically (and that was pre-shortages) but I can still hold out hope.
What was your favorite announcement today?
Let us know over on Discord at [Discord.gg/EposVox](http://discord.gg/EposVox).
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I'm EposVox and remember, Be Kind, Rewind.