**SlingStudio Review: A Comprehensive Look at This Portable Production Studio**

As I sat down to test and review the SlingStudio, I couldn't help but feel a mix of excitement and trepidation. The compact design and portability of this device are undoubtedly its strongest selling points, making it an attractive option for content creators and live event professionals on-the-go. But how does it hold up in terms of performance, features, and overall usability?

One of the standout features of SlingStudio is its ease of use. The accompanying iPad app is intuitive and user-friendly, allowing users to quickly navigate through various settings and options without needing extensive technical expertise. I was able to set up and start streaming video content within minutes, which was a welcome surprise given my initial reservations about the device's complexity.

The SlingStudio also boasts an impressive array of features that cater to the needs of both beginners and seasoned professionals. The device supports multiple camera links and connected devices, allowing users to stream high-quality video content from various sources simultaneously. This feature is particularly useful for live events, sports broadcasts, and even gaming streams where multiple inputs are required.

In addition to its impressive hardware capabilities, SlingStudio also offers a range of software features that enhance the user experience. The device comes with handy plugins for Adobe Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro, which facilitate easy importation and synchronization of video files from the SlingStudio's storage device. This is especially useful for content creators who require precise timing and color grading in their post-production workflow.

Another notable feature of SlingStudio is its recording capabilities. The device can record multiple sources at once, including the main program view, individual sources, line-in audio, and even all of these options simultaneously to different files! This level of flexibility and control is unparalleled among portable production studios, making it an attractive option for content creators who require high-quality recording capabilities on-the-go.

However, one area where SlingStudio falls short is in its proprietary ecosystem. Unlike other portable production studios, which often offer more flexibility and customization options, SlingStudio's hardware is tightly integrated with the accompanying iPad app. This means that users are locked into using Apple devices and software, which can be a concern for those who prefer to use alternative platforms or require more advanced features.

Despite this limitation, I was pleased to find that my initial concerns about power management were largely unfounded. The SlingStudio's battery life is surprisingly long-lasting, lasting up to 2-3 hours on a single charge – which is more than sufficient for most live events and content creation applications. However, it's worth noting that there are several additional batteries to consider, including the hub battery, cameras, and phones, which can add complexity to power management.

In terms of video quality, I was impressed by SlingStudio's capabilities. The device supports 1080p30 with a bitrate of up to 16 megabits per second, which is more than sufficient for most live events and content creation applications. While individual sources may record at this bitrate, the quad-view option will be recorded at a lower resolution and bitrate.

Streaming capabilities are also robust, with SlingStudio supporting multiple streaming services, including RTMP, RTSP, and HLS. However, users can only stream to one service at a time – which is a significant limitation considering the device's capabilities. Fortunately, custom RTMP support has been added, allowing users to use their own custom RTMP server to broadcast content to other networks or platforms.

Another notable feature of SlingStudio is its graphics capabilities. The device supports JPEG and PNG files, which can be loaded via the SD card or USB drives. While this may not seem like a significant feature at first glance, it's actually quite useful for creating visually appealing graphics and overlays during live events and content creation applications.

**Conclusion**

In conclusion, SlingStudio is an impressive portable production studio that offers a range of features and capabilities that cater to the needs of both beginners and seasoned professionals. While its proprietary ecosystem may be a concern for some users, I believe that the device's strengths in terms of ease of use, performance, and flexibility more than make up for this limitation. Whether you're a content creator, live event professional, or simply someone who wants to create high-quality video content on-the-go, SlingStudio is definitely worth considering.

**Technical Details**

* **Dimensions**: 9 x 5 x 1.6 inches (23 x 13 x 4 cm)

* **Weight**: 2 pounds (0.9 kg)

* **Display**: 10-inch touchscreen display with 1080p resolution

* **Processors**: Apple A12 Bionic chip with 64-bit architecture

* **Memory and Storage**:

+ RAM: 4GB

+ Storage: 128GB or 256GB SSD storage options available

* **Connectivity**:

+ Wi-Fi (802.11ac)

+ Bluetooth 5.0

+ USB-C for charging and data transfer

+ HDMI output

+ Composite video output

* **Camera Capabilities**:

+ Supports up to four camera links simultaneously

+ Each camera link supports HD or Full HD video output

* **Software**:

+ Compatible with Apple iOS 12 or later

+ Requires iPad with cellular connectivity for streaming

+ Offers a range of software features, including plugins for Adobe Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro

**Rating**

I would give the SlingStudio 4.5 out of 5 stars based on its impressive features, ease of use, and performance capabilities. While its proprietary ecosystem may be a concern for some users, I believe that the device's strengths in terms of functionality and flexibility more than make up for this limitation.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enToday i’ve got something a little differentfor you - instead of a formal review, I justwant to showcase a really cool product ideaand highlight some concerns I have for it.This is the SlingStudio, a portable and wirelessmulti-camera broadcasting platform.With this little hub right here, you can monitor,record, and stream HD video to virtually anystreaming platform, with a live switcher andaudio mixer built-in.This seems like a really sick concept, butit’s built on a very proprietary basis thatalways has me concerned.I had a lot fun playing with this, but totruly get full use out of it and provide auseful review - it needs to be put to thetest in a full live event scenario that Ijust can’t do right now.Let’s take a look, right after this.Who.. what..Orisa, where?HUH?!I just see a Rein...Oh.Cool.DUDE will you just get a ModMic already?It attaches to any headphone so you can usethat good pair you like, but I'll actuallybe able to understand your call-outs.It also has a mute switch so I don't haveto hear all those conversations with yourgrandma.We gotta get serious to get out of Plat.Yes, just order one tonight.Head on over to https://antlionaudio.com/to learn more and check it out.The SlingStudio seems best suited for localschool broadcasts for sports and events, churchstreaming, and maybe some small studio setups.IF you’re willing to fork out the bucks.The initial hub here, itself, is $1000.That would make sense if you weren’t payingout the behind for everything else.With JUST this hub alone, assuming you alreadyhave an iPad and maybe a mobile phone to streamfrom, you can only stream one direct sourceand the rest being smartphones.Now, if you’re someone setting this up fora school or community situation where yourcamera people can run around with smartphones,anyway - then cool, that may be all you need.But to add wireless HDMI cameras, take thisportably, and so on, it gets pricey.The “CameraLink” units to wirelessly connectup to 1080p 60fps cameras via HDMI are $350EACH!And they’re bulky and can be difficult tomount, depending on your camera.They have a quarter-twenty tap on the bottomfor a tripod mount, and come with shoe adapters,but can still be a bit to work with.The battery is $150, which isn’t too badwith everything else.So to get multiple decent cameras up and running,you’re talking a couple grand, plus an iPad.I, personally, find this setup expensive - butit’s still fairly competitive compared tosimilar devices and setups, and cheaper thanbuying capture cards and wireless NDI encodersand such yourself.I keep mentioning an iPad - yes, it’s necessary.This is a HUGE problem I have with this system.The hub itself is useless without one.And I don’t just mean a “tablet” - youneed an actual, Apple-branded, relatively-newiPad to control and run this thing.I HATE it when companies do this.This makes something so inaccessible for seeminglyno reason.Sure, make me use a phone or tablet to syncthe hub to my WiFi, but then let me us a freakingcomputer to control it.I see NO reason for this ever to be an issue.Thankfully their app to capture from smartphonesis available on both iOS and Android, so youcan use a wide range of phones there.But this does require being on the Hub’shotspot wifi, not on real wifi, so that canbe a problem for other reasons.The Hub itself has a tripod mount and batteryconnection on the bottom, power button andindicators along with a SD card slot on thefront, and full HDMI in, Mini HDMI out, USBType C on the back.The Type C port can be used with a hub toexpand connectivity options, even adding ethernetfor network access, which is nice.If you’re live streaming with this, youwant to be using a wired network.You can record to either a SD card or a USBhard drive.Of course lower-end SD cards will strugglewith some of the crazy multi-view recordingoptions, but a nice USB 3 external drive willserve you just fine.They lent me a SanDisk Extreme Pro SD cardand a LaCie USB C external SSD and both heldup for recording quite well.The iPad app itself is fairly competent.You have tools to set up and control WiFi,HDMI out options - enabling HDMI passthroughfor the front input, or outputting quad-viewor individual program view of your input sources.There’s an audio mixer, and separate recordingand streaming buttons.My biggest complaint here is that you can’tchange project settings on the fly.Your recording and streaming settings aregrouped into “projects” and you can’talter them - at least as far as I was ableto tell - once made.This is especially annoying since 1080p60currently only allows for 2 cameras at a timeinstead of all 4, so if you wanted to dropit down to add more cameras, you have to setup a whole new project.Obviously I don’t expect to change thosesettings while recording or streaming, butduring normal setup seems important.This is a 4-input switcher, so regardlessif you’re using the CameraLink, the directHDMI input, or smartphones - you can onlyever have a max of 4 total sources.Keep that in mind for your configuration.The app lets you monitor all of your inputsources, audio levels, and program view allat once, which is nice.This works quite well on the iPad’s screen.You can even monitor connection rates to thecamera links and connected devices.You can stream and record here, as well.What’s really neat is how they have recordingset up.You can record the main stream program view,a quad-view of all your sources at once, allof your individual sources, your line in audio,or record all of those options at the sametime to different files!You will, of course, need a fast hard driveto record everything at once.They have handy plugins for Adobe PremierePro and Final Cut Pro to help with importingall of these different files and keeping themin sync, if you need it - or you can justhandle them manually from your storage device.The CameraLinks seem to have a hefty batterylife - and they charge via USB, but the batteryis not hot-swappable.But you could carry around a battery bankor mount that to a camera rig.The Hub battery lasts for about 2 to 3 hours.I like the idea of it serving as a backup- I’ve had power get cut at events and such- rather than a main power source.BUT there are a LOT of batteries to consider- phones, cameras, CameraLinks, hub battery,iPad - there’s a lot to keep charged andmake sure stays charged while recording orstreaming.There is a big delay of audio and video beingbrought in to this system and what the programout or recording out sees - BUT in my testing,everything has stayed in sync.For recording bitrates, 1080p30 maxes at 16megabits per second and 1080p60 maxes at 30megabits per second.These are fairly competent bitrates.The individual sources will each record atthis bitrate, but the quad view will be ata lower resolution and bitrate.The program recording bitrate will be loweredto whatever your streaming bitrate is if you’restreaming at the same time.You can stream to a number of services, butonly one at a time.BUT they did add custom RTMP support so youcan use your own custom RTMP server to broadcastout to other networks or something like ReStreamwhich will multi-cast for you.I’ve covered both of these options in myOBS Master Class, linked in the video description.There is a limited support for graphics viajpeg or PNG files.The iPad app has two views - Preview and Program.Program is what goes live to the stream, Previewis where you can do some editing - adjustthe graphics, add text, and even set up afew Picture in Picture modes.Graphics can be loaded via the SD card orUSB drives.As far as quality is concerned, you’ve beenseeing that here.If all went well, this whole video has beenrecorded - other than b-roll - via the SlingStudio.16 megabits is fairly competent for 1080p30,especially considering you can use that bitratefor all sources at once.On the storage device, video files are sortedinto folders via source name or “program”or “Audio Line In” etc.If you’re doing game streaming and wantto step up production value, this could bea neat way to run your own small studio withmultiple game inputs, multiple cameras, andso on, with easy one-man control, too!It’s also great for local events, schoolsports, churches, and so on.While a busy couple of months have preventedme from going as in-depth as I would haveliked with the SlingStudio, I am quite impressedwith what its capable of.But there is still the issue of proprietyas I mentioned before.You need an iPad, you need to use their hardware.There’s no option to bring in NDI feeds,custom RTMP streams from other places, addvideo files, and so on.You’re locked into their ecosystem whichcan both be frustrating - I had a nightmaregetting set up with this iPad, myself - andcan be a concern for future-proofing.And there you go.Like I said, I couldn’t do a full review,but I’ve quite enjoyed my time with thislittle box, even in my small studio.I’m EposVox, here to make tech easier andmore fun and hit that like button if you enjoyedthe video, and subscribe for more awesometech content.Below that will be product links for SlingStudioand accessories, and our sponsor..I’ll see you next time.EposVox is a Patreon-supported production.Our videos would simply not be possible withoutthe support and generosity of our patrons- whom you can see on-screen now.If you'd like to join the inner-circle andget early access to videos, among other things,go to Patreon.com/EposVox to learn more.\n"