The Vestax PBS-4 allows anyone to broadcast a mixture of audio and video directly to the web. Great for DJs wanting to play live sets to a global audience, either from their clubs or their bedrooms!
Vestax PBS-4 preview: In today’s online world, there are more ways than ever to showcase your DJing and VJing talents. Podcasts, videocasts and DJ performances can all be broadcast to the world from your bedroom, giving you a chance to build a following and develop your skills “in public” that didn’t exist a decade ago.
And, of course, if you’re a clever up-and-coming DJ who’s already playing out, you can also broadcast live from your venue. It’s now perfectly possible to broadcast a DJ set on the web using cheap cameras (maybe one over your decks, and one on the crowd), a sound feed from your mixer, a second laptop, and a broadband connection. The Vestax PBS-4 is designed to help you do just that…
What is it?
It’s a compact, portable mixer for video and audio sources. It’s easy to set up and pack away both at venues and in your bedroom studio, and is designed to plug in to a laptop via USB for instant streaming to Ustream, justin.tv, Livestream and so on.
It is designed to plug in to a laptop via USB for instant streaming…
Video-wise, you can plug in four sources (all composite, or switch out two of the composites for VGA and HDMI), while on the audio side, there are two mic/instrument inputs plus five stereo inputs ( 2 RCA, 1 HDMI, 1 USB loopback). There is full preview of video and audio and the ability to switch between four master outputs.
It is only SD (ie not HD), which makes sense for something designed to stream live to the internet with the generally throttled upspeeds of ADSL lines as they are right now.
Who would use it?
Expanding on what I said in the introduction, such a device as the PBS-4 simplifies and so brings within more people’s reach the idea of broadcasting your DJ sets, with added video.
The connections and controls at the front and back of the unit.
If you want to DJ online with video, you could very easily set up a cheap camera on your decks, another one on your studio overall, and a screen feed from your DJ software, and do live mixes to the services mentioned earlier. You’d feed the audio output of your DJ controller into one of the inputs on here, and everything would be ready to go.
You and some friends could host a “mix show” weekly, for instance. This kind of stuff builds audiences, and in today’s world of over-saturation and “everyone’s a DJ”, to me it looks like a great way to get noticed.
This kind of stuff builds audiences…
Likewise, you could do the same but at your local venue. Imagine putting “streaming live online” on your flyers, or giving out cards to your audience on the night so they can watch a recording of the even online later. In the video below recorded at this year’s BPM show, Vestax was streaming live from its stand, and actually I believe they were doing it over 3G!
We’re looking forward to reviewing this, and indeed from our point of view, it may be something that we end up shelling out for ourselves, because it could make it easier to make richer training and product demo videos.
Expect a full review before the end of the year.
• No official price or availability yet, though a little birdy tells us us it should be available by the end of the year, with a UK price of £399.
Video
Does this product make you think you could do something with live broadcasting of your DJ/VJ sets? Do you already do this, and if so, would this help you? How do you do this kid of thing at present? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
Now go to:
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Tags: 4 Web, Audio And Video, Broadcast System, Computer Dj, Dj Mixers, Hdmi, ustream, vestax, Vestax PBS4, video, Video And Audio, video dj, VJing, Web Broadcast
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Hmm this might come in handy, as i would like an easy way to stream video and music on my website, and opening 5 seperate video streaming software and routing audio through obscure thiongs is sort of …. annoying.
Might have a look at this when it is released
[ link ]Depending on the price and other comparable gear I can easily see this popping up all around for DJs looking for a more stable and reliable streaming setup.
[ link ]any video transitions built in?
[ link ]so no USB webcam inputs??
[ link ]BartyKutz brings up an excellent point, most of the video switches I use have some kind of transitions and at least one static image loaded into the switch for “non-video” moments. Granted, I mainly do conference and Hotel video, but a good video switch should be able to handle projectors and “video bugs” (those on-screen titles on tv that show video music titles or up-coming shows). One thing I think Vestax overlooked is leaving space for board tape (so you can label the channels). I like that Vestax is trying to make things affordable, but I see people outgrowing this device quickly.
[ link ]Dear mates,
[ link ]all of us with a little video background know that this little deck is very limited BUT at the same time very useful in the right environment.
For the novice ones, the next step in this kind of devices cost 3,5 or 4 times the price. If vestax has a good market feedback of this product it could be the first of a whole range of switchers with more specs and pro-oriented tools, so from my side I´m going to buy one expecting that vestax really join the HD web streaming field in a near future without the inflated broadcasting prices of the competition.
Nice post Phill and excited about your coming hands-on review.
Without camera input on it I can’t see any real advantage for me. I already stream audio and video using a second laptop and a web cam. I’m looking for an affordable easy to use system that will allows multi cam broadcast and the ability to change what is being presented as the main shot
[ link ]I seen it says £399 which is like 640$ in the us. I really would like something like this but for 640$ that seems a bit steep maybe i am wrong. With alot of people just using a second laptop for cams and stuff you can buy a really nice laptop for 600$ these days. Maybe I am way off. I would love this but not enough to pay 6 to 700$.
[ link ]I use UStream myself with good results using the Microsoft LifeCam Studio HD web which is very good in low light and the audio input from my Traktor S2 controller.
I do not see any real advantage to this switch without any USB3 inputs or increased streaming performance since it is only a switch with analog inputs and no basic effects, no screen splitting, no image overlays, or PIP. It has potential and the price is too high for its limited capabilities even as an entry level unit. Have they made any improvements for 2013?
[ link ]