Cerevo LiveWedge iPad-controlled Broadcast Station: Hands-On

Video content is hard to produce, but “live” video content is arguably even more difficult, especially if you are on a tight budget. Typically, you would need the ability to mix several cameras/video-sources and output the end result to an HD stream or to a flash storage device. Either way, the setup can get complicated pretty quickly, especially if there is real-time transcoding involved at some point in the workflow.

That’s where Cerevo’s LiveWedge comes in: it’s a live broadcast station that can mix up to four HD video inputs, and will output the result back to an HDMI-out (up to 1080p/60) or save the result to an SD card. There’s also an HDMI port dedicated to a preview function.

The box itself is dedicated to mixing the video, and you will need an iPad to serve as a user interface that will send commands to the LiveWedge. It’s really smart for a couple of reasons: first, the Cerevo team does not need to build a rather expensive physical interface. Secondly, the app can be improved over time and even adapted to different needs.

In the back, there’s also an Ethernet port, and you have guessed it: the box can be connected directly to the net and to an account from YouTube, LiveStream or Ustream at 720p. Live streaming just got a lot easier and cheaper.

At $999, the LiveWedge is quite affordable if you compare it building a setup that would provide the same functionality with a PC, or with specialized video hardware. This is quite innovative and very much workflow-oriented, like most Cerevo products that I have seen before.

Despite having been shown in February and launched at NAB, the LiveWedge still has a “pre-order” status, and there’s no clear-cut release date. Cerevo has promised to give a 2-weeks notice before the final release.

Hubert Nguyen
Categories: Photo-Video
Tags: cerevo, Inter Bee, Inter Bee 2014