Hi - anyone used these:

ART AV Direct Box

ART AV Direct Multi-input Audio/Video Direct Box ~ The Best Music Shop (http://tinyurl.com/ycx76sa)

ART | AV Direct - Multi-Input Audio/Video Direct Box | AVDIBOX (http://tinyurl.com/yendzbg)

Amazon.com: ART AV DIRECT Multi-Input Audio/Video Direct Box: Electronics (http://tinyurl.com/y9pgfp5)

At AU$100 they're a lot cheaper than importing a Beachtek or JuicedLink.

Is it effectively doing the same thing as those boxes? (No tripod thread tho...)

A DI box takes unbalanced instrument or line level sources and outputs a balanced mic or line level signal on XLR. The Beachtek etc mixers take XLR in through a gain stage and output a signal suitable for your camera (whether line or mic on 1/8", 1/4", XLR)

In other words, this is the wrong tool for the job.

They're not at all the same sort of device.

The ART AV Direct is a DI box. It's taking line/speaker level signals and converting to mic level. Beachtek and Juicelink boxes are basically just converting XLR mic/line to 1/8" mic and providing phantom power.

gotcha - thanks gang.