Elgato Stream Deck XL - Advanced Studio Controller, 32 Macro Keys, Trigger Actions in Apps and Software Like OBS, Twitch, ​YouTube and More, Works with Mac and PC, Black

Product Information

This is definitely an evolving field, with new companies announcing devices left and right. Even this year, we still have devices like the Lenovo Legion GO to look forward to. For now, though, here are the top handheld gaming systems we've tested.

Elgato Stream Deck XL - Advanced Studio Controller, 32 Macro

I have multiple folders for specific things. For example, I have a speed folder that has dedicated buttons for Automatic Speed, Custom Speed, Freeze Frame, Normal Speed, Frame Blending, Optical Flow, and reset. But if I were to build a new controller designed for film editing from scratch it would need to take the following things into consideration, and it would have to be beat the default process of using a keyboard and mouse/tablet. The Text Title button is also a bit experimental at the minute. The purpose of it is to speed up my logging process.

Also once my hands are on the keyboard, I don’t really want to move them to another device unless doing so saves me time in total. With all the shortcuts I’ve memorised I’m very fast at editing, so moving to press a different button, turn a dial or adjust a slider needs to be a net positive! When I’m making selects from an interview I usuallyadd text titles above each portion of a clip with some key words about the content underneath, and add those key words in the name of the Text title and in the text title itself, as on-screen text.

Elgato Stream Deck XL 32 Key Customizable LCD Content - Scan

I did some test streams and, while I didn't have a real audience to control, the functionality worked as it should. Hitting a button to save a clip of what you just did, send a programmed message to the chat, and start and stop broadcasting are all seamless. Having these commands on a physical board makes you feel like you're at a control center, which is neat. The top left key is always ‘Next Profile’ in my custom key set ups and I’ve left a little Easter Egg in each of the film profiles too. But the benefit of using a controller that does fulfil these criteria is that you don’t need to memorise a whole bunch of shortcuts, as the buttons will tell you what they will do, and they will update as you work in different software. You can also set up macros that will perform repetitive tasks in a fraction of the time that doing so manually would require. The LCD display keys mean that each button tells you what it does and can update with both a change of context and button state (their are toggle switches that tell you if something is on or off). It’s also very easy and intuitive to set up and customise.

Site Customisation

All that’s said, it’s basically incredibly easy to set up and comes in a nice, compact form factor. My aim with my the profiles was (as much as possible) todo things that I can’t do with a straight keyboard shortcut – or things I’ve not been doing with a keyboard shortcut. The goal is to use maximise time-saving functions that are otherwise cumbersome to perform. Load Effects, Instruments and VSTs at the touch of a button and enjoy the flexibility of controlling any parameter in your plugin software. Just to say you can copy and paste your custom keys inside the Elgato app if you want to save time replicating keys. Using Bitfocus Companion, my Elgato can do quite complex things with OBS, Atem Mini (via Software Control) and Reaper.