AVerMedia is a company that specializes in video and sound for the entertainment/technology industry and has since focused their efforts on video gaming and how to amplify the immersion for those looking for the full experience when gaming. Anything from microphones, headphones, soundcards, monitors, tablets, and much more, AVerMedia has excelled in many fields of tech that their efforts are surely being noticed further with their line of streaming products for content creators on Twitch, Mixer, YouTube, etc.

In addition to AVerMedia’s fine products, they have partnered with several other companies to provide a more robust experience when using their products for content creators. For example, they’ve worked with CyberLink PowerDirect in providing a free full version of the editing software/program to use for creating your content and having that professional and entertaining look—unfortunately, the CyberPower Director program does not come with the Mini. They’ve also teamed up with ReStream.io to provide a way to stream on multiple platforms simultaneously, so you can maximize your efforts in promoting your brand.

This is a good way to find out which platform is right for you based on the responses to your content whether you are streaming live or uploading.

• Interface: USB 2.0 (USB Micro)
• Video Input: HDMI
• Video Output (Pass-Through): HDMI
• Audio Input: HDMI
• Audio Output (Pass-Through): HDMI
• Max Pass-Through Resolution: 1080p60
• Max Record Resolutions: 1080p60
• Supported Resolutions (Video input): 1080p, 1080i, 720p, 576p, 480p, 480i
• Recording Format: MPEG 4 (H.264+AAC) / Supports hardware encoding
• Dimension (W x D x H): 100 x 57 x 18.8 mm (3.93 x 2.24 x 0.74in)
• Weight: 74.5 g (2.63oz)
• Bundled Software: RECentral streaming software, StreamEngine plugin
• MSRP: US$129.99

• Operating System: Windows 10 (to support UVC Protocol for driverless usage)
• Processor: Desktop - Intel i5-3330; Laptop - Intel Core i7-4810MQ
• Video: Desktop - NVIDIA GTX 650/AMD Radeon R7 250X; Laptop - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 870M
• RAM: 4GB (8GB recommended)

With the Live Gamer Mini, you can make some quick edits within the streaming program as well and you can also share clips or full streams to your social media account for quick sharing with friends or viewers! There are some other features in the program that are not necessarily compatible with the Live Gamer Mini as it is more for the Live Gamer Portable, as the example images used in the program itself are, in fact, the Live Gamer Portable. But this doesn’t take away any experience towards the Live Gamer Mini. It’s still the quality streaming device you wanted.

The resolution of the video the Live Gamer Mini produces is 1920x1080p at 60fps. This is just a small step down from the Live Gamer Ultra’s 4K resolution, which actually looks the same as the Live Gamer Mini. If you want that 4K, though, then we suggest getting the Live Gamer Ultra device which pushes out that 4K quality. Just make sure you have a 4K TV otherwise it will be a waste. Although, if you want to provide this for your viewers more than yourself, then by all means! Just make sure you meet the minimum spec requirements at the very least in order for your viewers to appreciate the 4K streams! Other than that, the Mini is perfect for you!

We tested out the Live Gamer Mini on our PC which the specs were:

• Intel i5 processor
• 16GB Ram
• NVidia EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB

We also have some video from Twitch that shows the quality of the stream with a game that has a pretty high demand for RAM and GPU, Destiny 2, and it looks fantastic. You can use the RECentral program to toggle between optimization settings for your streams which decreases or increases the quality of your streams depending on your internet download and upload speeds, RAM, Processor, and GPU usage. You have Optimal, Good, and Normal stream settings to choose from and depending on what you use, it will adjust the program automatically to reduce the CPU usage and RAM of your PC.

The good thing about the Live Gamer Mini is it has the ability to record your streams as a backup if you are using a 3rd party program for streaming. This allows you to upload your edited content manually if you want to at a later time. All with super low to no CPU usage.

The Live Gamer Mini is about ⅓ less the size of the Live Gamer Ultra device from AVerMedia and is also just as quiet if not, quitter. The Live Gamer Ultra is a bit noisy but that is because it has a built-in mini fan to help with the heating of the device when producing that beautiful resolution, the Mini is a slight step-down, as mentioned at the beginning of this review, but still packs just about the same amount of power.

The one thing that is different from the Mini and the Ultra, besides the 4K resolution, is the power cord for the device. The cord for the Mini is a USB Android connector as opposed to the USB-C connection required for the Ultra 4K and other fully equipped devices from AVerMedia. This is a clear sign that the quality may not be as great when you go down from a USB-C to a USB Android connector, BUT, and again, this does not take away from your quality streaming experience.