Review: Livestream Mevo

The final tests involved shooting several takes of the radio announcers at a recent Galax High School football game. The school posted one video to YouTube.

You’ll note some rough edges at the start. This is because the Mevo had no storage card in it when I attempted to start shooting; I had removed it to add some earlier videos to the school’s TriCaster-based live production. After getting everything set up, I pressed Record, and then learned that I had forgotten the card, so I had to scurry back, retrieve the card, and install it before starting the shoot, making me a bit late for the radio interview. Livestream could reduce gaffes like these with a visual indicator that there’s no card in storage.

After getting going, I shot this video of the radio announcers, allowing the Mevo to find the faces, but switching manually. In the production, I noticed that Mevo seemed to favor extreme closeups more than I typically like to, but you can correct this by dragging the frame larger. The camera doesn’t understand rule-of-thirds positioning, which was easily corrected as well. While I was experimenting with Grid View--one of the two modes you can use to switch between shots--I had trouble identifying which shot was live, which resulted in some poorly framed shots. As I said earlier, though the software seems easy, there is a learning curve. I’m thinking that a few more shoots with the camera and it would look as polished as multiple-camera video produced with a traditional live switcher.

Warts and all, however, this video was shot in a confined space that couldn’t support multiple cameras, and the framing variety makes it much more watchable than a static two-shot. The audio, which was captured by the Mevo, is certainly competent, and the video is sharp and clear, despite harsh overhead lighting. If the school buys a Mevo, I could see interviews like these streamed live to Facebook Live, with the recorded version uploaded to YouTube and other social media sites. I can see interviews with the coach from before the game added to the live stream during commercial breaks.

At a high level, that’s the value proposition that Mevo delivers: multiple-camera polish at a fraction of the cost and hassle. In this manner, it adds a touch of class to even the simplest of productions that wasn’t practical before. It’s the kind of device that you don’t quite understand the potential of until you’ve shot one or two videos with it. Then you’ll quickly realize that if video is important to you or your organization, Mevo is a must-have tool.