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Wirecast vs BoinxTV
BoinTV vs Wirecast
So I spent the last two months battling with video for the panel shows and trying to see which piece of software would provide the best options. Until that point I had been using a great little programme called CamCamX which linked well to Ustream.TV and WebCamRec from Polyphonic which recorded the shows in decent quality. But it was just raw video and there was no lower 3rds or moving graphics etc and that was where we wanted to end up.
Enter probably the only two pieces of software which could attack the problem head on at a reasonable budget...BoinxTV and Wirecast. Now the one thing to point out right from the start is that BoinxTV also provides a 'Home' Edition and at the time of writing this its £5.99 which is an incredible price for something which is a powerful tool and at that price there is no contest unless you are looking at the extended features of both (I'm pretty sure that this is a mistake as the website shows $49). If all you want is some static graphics and lower 3rds and you machine is up to spec (see Hardware below) then just buy it.
1. OUT OF THE BOX...
OK so one of the biggest issues for me as a dyslexic is that I dont want a big manual. I want ease of use, intuitive controls and almost 'instant on' functionality for production and both pieces of software are relatively easy to handle.
BoinxTV has to edge ahead though in this area on scores as the free tutorials are easy to follow movies which can be run whilst setting up and also the UI on the system is clearly the more intuitive allowing you to set up a functioning set of graphics almost instantly without watching the videos. But dont read into that 'Wirecast is hard to use'. Its a little slower to grasp and the tutorials aren't as slick as BoinxTV but both provide a very easy and functional introduction to the system. Once into the mould of Wirecast, I found it more flexible, more creative and I now enjoy the interface far more
BoinxTV 5 - Wirecast 4
2. BROADCASTING...
Wirecast is the clear winner in this department. It has onboard integration for Ustream and all the other main internet broadcast channels right there in the settings. BoinxTV can also achieve the same end but you have to start CamTwist in order to do so and of course if you forget during your broadcast and cover the screen selection that will show badly. Its just a messy and inelegant solution to a simple problem. Interestingly, Wirecast can also interface with CamTwist as a Video Source which allows you to have a browser open and broadcast live searches etc if you have the screen space to do so.
BoinxTV 2 - Wirecast 5
3. Hardware Capability
Age of machines is a huge issue with graphics based software and being on the cutting edge means great performance whereas being even a few months out of date could mean being left for dead.
I tried both pieces of software on a MacMini (250MB Graphics), a 2008 MacBook Pro (512MB) and a Mac Pro (1GB). Obviously the result for both pieces of software varied dramatically as they went through each machine, but in every case, Wirecast emerged superior to BoinxTV. The reason? Wirecast has an even distribution of resources across the computer using CPU and GPU, BoinxTV appears to be totally GPU based which means that on older or lower end machines the result can be disappointing.
Now I must point out that 256MB of GPU is half of the minimum requirement for BoinxTV & Wirecast so you wouldnt expect them to function adequately in any way but Wirecast did a surprisingly good job on the MacMini. In Broadcast mode only it managed to push out 720p video with moving graphics and a movie for opening/closing credits without dropping frames. Once I had started a browser, opened Logic Pro 9, Camtwist and started recording, the quality quickly deteriorated but at the same resolution, BoinxTV would not even allow the Logitech Camera I had connected to show a continuous image without dropping frames when BoinxTV was the only programme running.
In fact throughout all the machines used BoinxTV dropped frames even with a GPU of 1GB on 8GB Ram which was the optimum specification.
BoinxTV 2 - Wirecast 5
4. PRICE
As I have said previously, there is a Home Edition of BoinxTV which is incredibly powerful and at £5.99 is a zero thought option if you have a powerful machine and want a simple solution, but both pieces of software reviewed were $499.
For that amount, You get the Top End version of BoinxTV whereas the Pro version of Wirecast is $1000. I'm sure that in two months of playing with both pieces of software, I have barely scratched the surface of their capabilities and again BoinxTV may have a slight price advantage on that basis. Having said that, I didnt once feel like there was something missing from either piece of software or that I wanted more. There is a small thought in my head however that both are a little overpriced
BoinxTV 3 - Wirecast 2
5. FINAL SCORE
BoinxTV 12/20 - Wirecast 16/20
WIRECAST WINS! But what is a little sad is that BoinxTV could easily close the gap on Wirecast with a little more thought and elegance. The UI is good and the software gives great results but there is too much that the user currently needs to do to make it work and the demand on the GPU hammers the number of available customers. If I'm spending $500 on a piece of software, the last thing I need is another computer at $2000 or more.
Author
Ewen Rankin