GADGET GURU’S MAGIC BOX

Ask and GaGu shall receive: last issue Guru talked starter streaming kit, and the nice people at Streamplify kindly sent him a set to check out. GaGu started with the Hub Ctrl 7 (£45), a seven-port USB hub with cute illuminated inserts. It’s very pretty, and handy to be able to physically switch off things like your webcam or mic, but it might not quite have the amps to juice up your phone. Next, the Mic RGB (£70, with an arm and pop filter). Its cardioid capsule is impressively sensitive and clear, and the unit is light enough that it doesn’t trouble the rather low-end arm too much. You do get fewer options than with higher-end mics, however, and certain RGB modes add odd electrical noise to its built-in headphone monitoring port.

Streamplify offers two lights, which are both really rather good. The Light 14 (£65) is a big ol’ temperature-adjustable ACpowered beast that made Guru’s eyes sparkle, and its remote control is a lovely touch. The smaller Light 10 (£20) runs on USB, which is more convenient, and it’s not quite as barmybright, but it’ll still be perfect if you’re going for that premium pupil look on a budget. And then there’s the Streamplify Cam (£60) and Screen Lift Green Screen (£130). The green screen feels professional, well packaged and protected, hydraulically assisted and very sturdy once it’s pulled up. For a consistent and easy-to-chroma-key backdrop, you won’t find much better value. And the 1080p 60fps camera? It’s sharp, very close to Logitech’s £90 C920, and it’s entirely good enough to stream with – though Guru needed to extensively fiddle with the settings to stop it tinting him blue. Overall, GaGu was delighted with the lot: the theme here might be compromise, but Streamplify has cut back on the nice-tohaves and left the essentials intact.