Studio Tools

If you’re wondering what I use to record my videos, below is some information on those tools that I find extremely valuable. I upgrade equipment when I find something better, but this is what I use as of 9/14/2022.

Equipment

Here are a few items that I personally use for recording and when I use them.

When used	Item or Product	Notes
All voice overs on all videos. Picked up a few spares, just incase I can’t find them in the future.	USB Surround Sound PC Headsets	I’ve used this set for years, the audio quality is much better than others I’ve tried that are x3 the price.
When recording pre-existing video content, recording on-screen computer interactions (browsing), on-screen computer demonstrations, etc.	OBS Studio	OBS Studio is Free software and may be found here. This software may also be used for live-streaming, which is something I don’t typically do.
Any Raspberry Pi, HDMI input, Retro Computer (Composite) or VGA inputs from some original video source.	HDML-Cloner Box Pro	I’ve found this tool to be very helpful for my productions. It may not be ideal for everyone. There are limitations. It’s primarily for 1080p recording, so if 4k+ video is your focus this is not for you. Otherwise, you can find the product here.
Used for most all videos, recording close-up or further away from an object/product. See cell phone tripod mount below.	Suspension Boom Scissor Arm Tripod Stand	Getting the right shot for recording close-up is tricky without the right equipment. This is a scissor suspension boom that I use and works very well for my needs.
Used for most close-up live-shots of items being reviewed.	Cell Phone Tripod Mount	Often times I find that the camera on my cellphone is better than most of my stand-alone cameras. When I use the phone, I use this mount with the suspension boom (above).
Used anytime I’m recording game-play, or any video coming from a modern or retro device. Also used frequently when capturing video from portable handhelds to see the results before moving to the video editing process.	Portable Monitor – Lepow Upgraded 15.6 Inch 1920 x 1080 Full HD	I don’t have a lot of desk space for recording videos, I’ve used several portable monitors to be able to see the video source I’m recording. This is the monitor I currently use.
Recently purchased, ordered this to be able to capture video from a TRS-80 and ColecoVision/Adam system when combined with the HDML Cloner Box Pro (above).	Analog NTSC UHF VHF CATV Tuner RF Demodulator with RCA A/V Output	This unit works well, I’ve used it to capture video from a TRS-80 CoCo Model 2, ColecoVision and Atari 2600. The unit takes up far less space than my previous solution, a VCR. While not exactly cheap, it works.
A good buddy informed me that in a few instances the lighting could be just a bit brighter. It was for that reason I decided to add another light to my recording studio and this is it.	LED Desk Lamp with Clamp, Flexible Gooseneck	If you wind up getting one of these, be sure to pair the remote to the lamp (see instructions). It’s great and gets VERY bright, perfect for recording on a desk. Infact, I may buy a seconds just because it works so well.