Being asked on a more frequent basis to provide DVDs of events on the spot, so we now have three DVD recorders that have worked fairly well for that purpose using a single camera. However, now we are getting requests for multi-camera (1-3) shoots to be delivered the same way.

I want high quality recordings, but I realize that I'm not broadcasting these events over a major television network. So with a home-based business budget in mind, what are others doing for this situation?

I've looked at the Datavideo SE-500. Are there cheaper/better alternatives?

Thanks!
Rey

As someone whose business model has revolved around live switching for 14 years, what I can tell you is that the skill set is the most important thing. The equipment is only the starting block... Switcher, cables, monitors, comms... They do little without someone with fast reflexes, great simple communication skills and vision calling the show. A completely different game than assembling video from ISO recordings.

Thanks, Shawn. I should clarify one thing - the DVDs will only run between about 4 minutes - 25 minutes each. Cheer routines, choir competitions, etc. And aside from using my kids as "runners" and my wife for duplication and sales, I am a "one man band".

cables, monitors and comms - although if you are only using locked off cameras it's simpler? However, you still need somebody to cut the shots, you can't really operate even one camera and do the job.

We do it with a For-A switcher, 6 monitors, and a small audio mixer, plus comms all in one mobile rack we just wheel in. Running the cables is the biggest pain, and setup time is rarely as quick as it should be. Look for Panasonic MX50s on ebay - excellent and simple vision mixers, with built in audio mixing too.

Taking everyone's advice, I've been monitoring Ebay for a Panasonic MX50 or a Datavideo SE500. Are there any other recommendations that I may find a good deal on? I have three cams, but would like a switcher that can handle four. Audio isn't really necessary.

I will have a data video se-500 for sale very soon if you are interested. It works great but is being replaced with a pc based switcher.

The se-500 is an ideal solution for live switching and has worked great in our setup of four cameras and two audio sources.

George,

Any idea of what the sale price range will be? We have a tight budget and I'm trying out the live production as a one man band (I locked wide angle and two on remote).

Thinking of $700.00 plus shipping, new they are around $900.00.

what are you using for remote camera control?

A Bescor tilt/pan head with remote, LANC control for the camera and composite to Cat6 baluns for a feed back to my monitor.

I use an SE-500 for choir and music work and have found it excellent and easy to use. I normally use two locked off and two operated cameras. One of the great advantages of the SE-500 is it's quad output monitor view. This gives you a single output to a monitor screen which is split into 4 views, one for each camera input, so all you need is a main output monitor and the quad view camera monitor.

You need to be very on the ball to operate a camera and do the mixing at the same time but it can be done if you are not trying to follow fast action close ups.

The other use that I put it to is as a four way passive monitor when I am recording to each camera, but just want to monitor what the other cameras are doing wihout mixing them.

Roger

i have never used the quad display but it seems to be a brilliant idea.

we switch four cameras with the se-500. three have camera ops and the fourth is a wide lock down.

three cams loop through a set of bw monitors to se-500 inputs 1-3. the bw monitors preview the image from each camera before selecting it on the program bus.

i have never used the quad display but it seems to be a brilliant idea.

we switch four cameras with the se-500. three have camera ops and the fourth is a wide lock down.

three cams loop through a set of bw monitors to se-500 inputs 1-3. the bw monitors preview the image from each camera before selecting it on the program bus.

The big advantage of using the quad monitoring is that you get full colour monitoring, enabling you to get good colour balance between the cameras when you do a pre show white balance setup. Of course you also don't need to carry around separate preview camera monitors and no loop through connections, so speeding up setup times.

Roger

I've been trying to offer this sort of service myself. Problem is not many people in the area are interested in paying more for a same day edit.