Magewell Director Mini

About this product

Streaming a service, a match or a talk usually means a laptop, a switcher, an encoder, a recorder and the cables between them. The Director Mini puts all of that in one box you can hold in your hand. It is a portable live production switcher for churches, schools, clubs and solo operators: it takes in cameras and other sources, lets you switch between them on its own touchscreen, adds graphics, and streams and records the result. Switching, graphics, streaming, recording and monitoring all live in one compact device, so you can leave the computer behind.

A screen you run the show from

It has a 5.44-inch AMOLED capacitive touchscreen with 1920×1080 resolution and 350 nit brightness. You run the whole production by touch with no separate control surface or mouse to pack. A sun hood is included for outdoor use.

What goes in

• HDMI. Two HDMI 2.0 inputs, each accepting up to 4096×2160 at 60 frames per second, so you can connect a 4K camera as it is. The production itself is 1080p, so 4K sources are scaled to fit.
• USB. Two USB 3.0 Type-A ports and one USB 3.0 Type-C port, giving two USB audio/video inputs for webcams and similar devices at up to 1080p60.
• IP sources. Up to three live network sources at once, from SRT, RTMP, RTSP and NDI (High Bandwidth, HX2 or HX3). That lets you add a camera from across the building over the network instead of a long HDMI run.
• Phones and files. A phone can be used as a camera through the Director Utility App, an extra angle from kit you already carry. Video files, pictures and web pages can also be used as sources.
• Audio. HDMI and USB audio, a 3.5 mm input, and Bluetooth audio.

What comes out

• Streaming. It streams to four destinations at once: YouTube, Twitch and Facebook Live, plus SRT, RTMP, RTMPS and RTSP. It encodes H.264 or H.265 at up to 1080p60 and can also output NDI HX3. The maximum bitrate is 30 Mbps, or 62 Mbps for NDI HX3.
• Recording. MP4 or MOV, to the 64 GB of internal storage or your own SD card, so you keep a copy even without a network. ISO recording saves two different video sources at the same time, so you can re-edit afterwards.
• Monitor or computer output. One USB-C output, which works either as a display output (DisplayPort over USB-C) or as a webcam-style UVC output to a computer, ready for a video call. Need an HDMI output? See the Director One.

Production tools built in

You get scene switching with transition effects (fade, dip and DVE), chroma key, cropping, multiple graphics layers, a scoreboard and timer, replay, PTZ camera control and NDI tally lights. These are in the unit, so a sports club can show the score and replay a goal without a graphics computer.

Where it earns its place

• Network. Gigabit Ethernet and Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz). For mobile data, plug in your own USB modem. Network bonding combines connections for a steadier stream. Prefer a built-in 4G modem? That is the Director One.
• Power. The supplied 12 V adapter, or two NP-F batteries, which can be swapped one at a time while it runs, so the show carries on through a battery change. Add your own batteries. Power consumption is maximum 15 W.
• Size. 147.2 × 90 × 28.5 mm, approx. 404 g. Two mini stands are in the box.

Setting it up and controlling it

Besides the touchscreen, it can be controlled from the Director Utility App (iOS 13 or later, Android 7.0 or later), a Web UI in a browser, an Elgato Stream Deck using Magewell’s plugin, OSC, or Magewell’s APIs. It can be registered with Magewell Control Hub.

Where it sits in the range

The Director One has the same two HDMI inputs and 1080p production with a larger and brighter 7-inch screen, a built-in 4G modem and an HDMI output. The Director Plus is the 4K model with four HDMI inputs. All three are on the Director range page.