Elgato’s Stream Deck has quickly become one of the most powerful tools in a content creator’s arsenal. Essentially acting as a programmable hotkey pad, users continue to adore the Stream Deck for its seemingly limitless functionality in a wide variety of production software and streaming platforms.
Whether it be Twitch, YouTube or any of the popular social media sites, the previously reviewed Elgato Stream Deck has proved time and time again to be the perfect solution to managing any aspiring content creator’s in-house productions because of how efficient and intuitive it is to tailor the device to the user’s individual needs. However, With a large price tag of $200 CAD, some consumers just don’t find the Stream Deck to be an affordable investment, which is precisely the reason that Elgato decided to create the Elgato Stream Deck Mini.
Retailing for $130 CAD, the Elgato Stream Deck Mini is the more affordable and compact younger sibling of the already beloved Stream Deck. The only core difference between the two devices is that the Mini only contains 6 fully customizable LCD keys, compared to the original’s 15. Initially, I believed this was a huge downgrade from the first model of the Stream Deck. Sure, I might have saved a third of the price tag, but now I only possess just over a third of the LCD screens to customize to my liking.
Despite this, the core experience of managing my channels and profiles remained unhindered while using the Elgato Stream Deck Mini. By creating multiple bite-size folders for each individual platform I felt I was able to tune my hotkeys more effectively and greatly improve the efficiency and focus of my production. The original Stream Deck’s 15 screens are impressive to behold at first, but I quickly found that many of them ended up as dead space instead of being utilized as helpful functions.
Personally, the Stream Deck Mini fits my needs perfectly, but that’s because my streams don’t offer the same level of production as the professionals who love to use intricate graphics and a variety of scenes or sets. My best advice for content creators in the market for a Stream Deck is that they should pick the model that best reflects the level of their production. If the user is a beginner or plans to stream purely as a hobby then the Elgato Stream Deck Mini is the ideal tool for them because they get to save money while still getting to take advantage of the same software, features and functions as the more expensive model. Overall, the Elgato Stream Deck Mini is a fantastic broadcasting accessory for any level of content creator, and one that definitely deserves the same level of praise as its larger iteration.
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