Magewell USB Fusion

About this product

On many video calls the remote audience sees either the presenter or the slides, and adding a second camera means fiddling with software mid-meeting. The USB Fusion fixes that for teachers, trainers and meeting rooms. It is a small presentation switcher: it takes several live sources, such as a camera, a laptop showing slides and a webcam, and turns them into one picture. That picture goes to a computer over USB, where video-call or streaming software sees it as an ordinary webcam. It combines live video sources for a more engaging presentation.

What goes in

• Two HDMI inputs. HDMI 1.4a, full-size Type-A sockets, up to 1080p at 60 frames per second. Connect a camera and a laptop and leave both plugged in.
• One USB webcam. A USB 3.0 Type-A socket, also up to 1080p at 60 frames per second, so the webcam you already own becomes another source.
• Wireless screencast. Phones, tablets and laptops can send their screens over AirPlay, Google Cast or Miracast, with up to four devices casting at once. Guests can share without hunting for an adapter.
• Files. Video (MOV, MP4, MKV), images (JPEG, PNG, BMP) and PDF files can be imported and used as sources, which lets you show a handout or clip without a laptop.
• Audio. HDMI embedded audio, a 3.5 mm line input, and a 3.5 mm headset jack.

What comes out

• USB to the computer. A USB 3.0 Type-C output at 1920×1080, 1280×720 or 640×480, at up to 60 frames per second. The computer sees a standard UVC/UAC device with automatic, driver-free installation, ready for software such as Skype, Zoom and Microsoft Teams. You choose it as the camera and the call software needs nothing else.
• HDMI output. One HDMI 1.4a output, for example for a display in the room.
• Recording. Sessions can be recorded to the 128 GB of built-in storage, so you keep a copy without recording software on the computer. The default format is 1080p60, H.264, MP4, and recordings can be backed up to Google Drive.
• Streaming. RTMP streaming at 1920×1080 or 1280×720, up to 20 Mbps.

How it combines sources

You can switch between sources, or combine two of them at once as picture-in-picture or side-by-side. That suits the classic presenter-and-slides layout, with the other sources ready to switch to. Annotation tools let the presenter mark up material or draw on the video, so a point can be explained on the picture itself instead of described.

Where it earns its place

• Mains powered. It runs from the supplied 12 V power adapter, using about 10 W idle and 17.5 W at full load. Plan for a power socket as well as the USB connection to the computer.
• Three ways to control it. Buttons on the unit, the USB Fusion app (iOS 12 or later, Android 7.0 or later) or a web interface in a browser. A presenter can switch sources from the lectern, or a colleague can do it from a phone at the back of the room.
• Which USB socket is which. The webcam plugs into the USB Type-A input. The Type-C socket is the output to the computer.
• A desktop unit. It measures 186 × 101.2 × 30 mm, sized to sit on a lectern or desk.

Setting it up

• Connect the sources, the power adapter and the USB cable to the computer. Select the USB Fusion as the camera in your call or streaming software.
• For screencast, the app and the web interface, the unit joins the network by Gigabit Ethernet or 5 GHz Wi-Fi.
• The host computer can run Windows 7 and later, Linux with kernel 2.6.35 or later, and OS X 10.9 or macOS 10.12 and later.

Where it sits in the range

The USB Fusion sits with our USB Capture products because it also delivers video over USB, and it goes a step further. A capture device brings one source into the computer unchanged. The Fusion chooses and combines sources first. If you only need one HDMI source in a computer, see the USB Capture range.