Roland Professional A/V V-1HD HD Video Switcher

I just now started playing with this switch, trying to learn all it's little features. I misunderstood the MIDI capabilities. It won't work with our old lighting MIDI technology like I thought it might. Everything else about this switch is working exactly as expected though. $995 is a great price. I'll probably swap the old Edirol switcher out with this new Roland one after the holidays are over. It should save us 6 inputs on the sound board and make for a much cleaner image up on the projectors.2017-05 Update: I loved it so much I kept it for myself. I ended up ordering a second one for the church. I hooked the second one up at church tonight. I was unable to convert the Main output from HDMI to VGA due to the projectors complaining about a source video format error. I had to settle with a HDMI to RCA converter to hook to the two front of auditorium projectors + cafe tv. Surprisingly, it was a better image then the old Edirol switch provided even though it was still using the RCA video cable. Everything was working perfectly until I connected the back of auditorium projector to a second HDMI to RCA adapter and then to the Preview out port of the Roland switch. All video on the Master out and Preview out stopped working. I messed around with it for 30 - 40 minutes with no luck. No matter what I did I couldn't get a stable video signal on Master out or Preview out unless I disconnected the hdmi cable coming out of the Preview port. I then took an active 2 way hdmi splitter and connected up a spare pc monitor so I could see what I was doing without breaking my neck trying to see the preview video on the back wall and low and behold, all video magically started working perfectly. For some reason, the whole system needed that extra 5 volts injected into the hdmi circuit. I suspect the 2 HDMI to RCA adapters needed that little extra juice. I ended up disconnecting the spare monitor and left the 2 way hdmi splitter in place to provide the extra 5 volts and all seems to be good. Hopefully everything works well this coming weekend. I'd hate to have to give up all this extra space we just gained by having to reconnect that old Edirol switcher back up again.

This unit was the perfect solution we needed for filming a talk show with four cameras. Because it is so easy to use we were able to run one HDMI feed to wirecast for live recording/streaming, thereby eliminating the hassle of trying to figure out how to get four discreet camera feeds into the MacBookPro, add titling and audio, and not completely drain the processing power of the computer and end up with dropped frames. It has a lot of features, but honestly, the fact that it works so simply is it's greatest draw for us. The HDMI out and HDMI preview feed is perfect for a small production, and we'll use this same set up to film conferences, seminars, and workshops, virtually eliminating post production editing for us. I've used Roland products for many years and have always found them to be sturdy and reliable, this is no exception.

For a long time I wanted a full HD mixer, but they were all too expensive. Finally, Roland put together this gem at a great price - and it does everything I need it to do. I get crystal clear video out of it and it has a very nice set of features and effects. I previously owned a V-4EX which was good, but it was not full HD (only 480p) internally, and an SD mixer before that. This is a huge step up from those mixers and I would certainly recommend it over the V-4EX or anything SD. I primarily use it for a weekly podcast, but do some live events as well.The mixer has four full 1080 (HDMI) inputs, so you can mix four video channels. There are two HDMI outputs, one the output stream out and one for preview, though you can program the preview channel as a second output if desired. It also has a separate RCA stereo audio input for a mixer, though you can pull audio from the HDMI inputs (and even do audio follow) if desired. Each audio channel has a separate programmable audio delay which is important to get a proper video-audio sync on many setups. It also has RCA audio out for the mixed audio.I fed this unit into a Ninja Blade recorder which records 4:2:2 video at a high rate and noticed no artifacts in either the video or audio - they are both as clear and sharp as the outputs coming right from the camera. I ran a GH4 with a high speed lens into it to see if it was sharp, and the image was great. Hooked up my laptop as an input - no problem. The video transitions were also clean - no issues with frame synch. The switch on the back lets you select between 720p, 1080i and 1080p output depending on your recorder.I like the layout of the mixer, as well as its compact size (about 12" x 4"). Its certainly small enough to take to a remote event or video shoot, but the buttons are big enough that you don't have to fumble to switch inputs. I'm already thinking it might save me a lot of time in post production versus manual editing for interviews. You could use something like an Atomos HD recorder, two cameras and this unit and have a complete live-switching interview setup that would fit in one backpack.It has a bunch of image effects you can use, though I primarily use the picture-in-picture, split screen, fade transitions and regular cuts. It has a standard A-B bus layout and transition T-handle fader. There are additional effects including a "bpm" feature to switch views with music if you are into that. You can save setups to memory as well.The entire unit can be controlled and settings can be changed remotely from a PC via a USB cable (download the software from the Roland site) as well which might be useful in situations where you want the ability to run it from a control room or using a separate operator.Pros:- Price - At the moment this is a great price for full HD- Portable - this thing is compact (only 12" x 4") - easy to set up for remote shoots- Supports four full 1080i and 1080p inputs, as well as a separate output and preview- Sharp video and audio output - did not notice any extra noise/artifacts- Nice feature set - transitions, picture in picture, split screen- Easy to use, if you have some basic experience with video mixing- Good audio support including audio out, mixing, audio delay, audio effects (gate, compressor, levels, etc), audio following- Extra audio input and audio out - if you have a separate audio mixer or need separate mixed audio out- Remote setup/control of the swtich from a PC via a USB cable if desiredCons:- You can't record directly from this unit - you need a separate video recorder if you want to record and not just view the output live- It does have a small fan that runs while its on - though the noise from it is minimalI'm sure someone will weigh in and say it is missing some "high end" feature, but its also missing the "high end" price. Its almost half what I payed for my V-4EX two years ago. This thing is also amazingly portable - which means I can take it with me to live events.Its the HD switch I always wanted!

great product.....