Magewell Director Plus

About this product

A multi-camera 4K production normally fills a flight case: switcher, encoder, recorders, a monitor and a computer for graphics. The Director Plus does the job from a unit you can carry in one hand. It is the largest of Magewell’s three Director models, aimed at production companies, event teams and venues that want 4K without the rack. It is a portable live production system in one box: it takes in cameras and other sources, lets you switch between them on its own touchscreen, adds graphics and replay, and streams and records the result, in up to 4K. Switching, graphics, replay and streaming all live in one portable device, so you can leave the computer behind.

The screen is part of the unit

It has a 7-inch AMOLED capacitive touchscreen with 1920×1080 resolution, 800 nit brightness and a 100000:1 contrast ratio. The screen is built into the unit, so everything you need to run the show is in one piece and there is one item fewer to rig. A sunhood and a screen cover are in the box.

What goes in

• HDMI. Four HDMI 2.0 inputs, enough for a four-camera shoot. HDMI 1 and HDMI 2 accept the 4096×2160 and 3840×2160 formats at up to 60 frames per second. Plan for two 4K HDMI cameras there and two more at lower resolution on the other inputs.
• USB. One USB 3.0 Type-A and two USB 3.0 Type-C ports, giving two USB audio/video inputs at up to 4K 60 fps.
• IP sources. Up to 10 network streams and phone cameras per show: SRT, RTMP, RTSP and NDI (High Bandwidth, HX2 or HX3). That lets you bring in remote contributors and network cameras alongside the HDMI feeds.
• Other sources. Video files, pictures, web pages, up to three documents, and up to three third-party apps from Magewell’s approved list, so slides and playback come from the same box.
• 4K capacity. A show can use up to six 4Kp60 inputs across all source types.
• Audio. HDMI and USB audio, two 3.5 mm inputs, and Bluetooth.

What comes out

• Streaming. H.264 or H.265 at up to 2160p and 60 frames per second, at up to 120 Mbps, to four destinations at once using SRT, RTMP, RTMPS or RTSP. It can also output NDI HX3.
• Recording. MP4 or MOV. ISO recording saves four different video sources at the same time, so the show can be re-edited afterwards with every HDMI camera angle available. Files go to the 128 GB of internal storage, a microSD card or a USB SSD.
• Monitors. Two HDMI outputs at up to 3840×2160, and one USB-C output that works as a display output or a webcam-style UVC output. Output choices are programme, preview, multi-view and duplicate-screen, so you can send programme to the room and keep a multi-view for yourself.

Why choose it

• Connectivity. A built-in 5G modem with a Nano SIM slot for your own SIM, Wi-Fi 6E and 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet, which lets you stream from sites with no fixed line. Network bonding combines connections for a steadier stream.
• Power. The supplied 12 V / 5 A screw-locking adapter, or two NP-F batteries that can be swapped one at a time while it runs, so the show carries on through a battery change. Add your own batteries. Consumption is about 29 W at full load.
• Size. 185.2 × 117.2 × 38.5 mm and approximately 882 g without antennas.

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 size of screen with two HDMI inputs, 1080p production, 4G, 64 GB of storage and two-source ISO recording. The Director Mini is the smallest, with a 5.44-inch screen. All three are on the Director range page.