Tutorial: Live Event Streaming with the Roland V-60HD, Part 1--Overview

Control Surface

Next, let’s take a look at the V-60HD’s control surface. In Figure 1, you can see notice a lot of dedicated buttons and knobs, and a T-bar. It used to be that a T-bar was standard fare on a video switcher, but nowadays you can't always take that for granted. The tactile feel of a T-bar is something you just can't replace that with pretimed fades, which this switcher does have.

At the bottom of Figure 1 you can see a Preview and Program row of dedicated buttons. We've talked about the six video inputs already. Inputs 7 and 8 can be reserved for logos and USB Still Store memory.  

Figure 4 (below) shows a diagram of the audio workflow on the V-60HD. The Videoguys logo is on one of the other inputs here. You can very easily switch between the inputs on the program side by pushing buttons, or you can cross dissolve from your preview to your program bus using the T-bar, or do an auto take. There are also a lot of other effects like picture-in-picture, as well as different presets and splitscreen, and wipes going left-to-right and top-to-bottom.

Figure 4. Audio workflow diagram. Click the image to see it at full size.  

One of my favorite features on the V-60HD is the auxiliary row shown in Figure 5 (below). These buttons allow you to directly output any of the inputs on the Aux bus. The Aux bus is separate from the Preview, Program, and the Multiview outputs. It allows you to send an independent feed.

Figure 5. Aux buttons

Sometimes I produce webcasts in which I’m also sending a live video signal to a projection feed, a live IMAG signal, or producing a recording that might have a slightly different mix from one of the other outputs. That's where I use the Aux output. Some switchers have Aux outputs that are buried deep in the menu. Having dedicated buttons that I can push to toggle between the Aux outputs really saves me a lot of time. It allows me to be way more efficient with one operator operating and controlling the switcher, the Aux outputs, and the program at the same time rather than having to have two control surfaces and a submix going. It’s really a lifesaver in many workflows that I produce.

This has been an overview of the Roland V-60HD, a video switcher that I use in my own business on a daily basis. In our next video we'll get a bit more in depth and have a look at Roland's smart tally system and audio mixing capabilities within this very same video switcher. Thanks for watching.

For more information on the Roland V-60HD, visit this video’s sponsor, Videoguys.com.