[0:00] This is the Elgato Stream Deck,
[0:02] and it is hands down the
[0:03] best accessory you can buy.
[0:05] The possibilities are only
[0:07] limited by your creativity.
[0:09] So let's check this thing out,
[0:11] give you some thoughts or
[0:12] ideas on how you could use this
[0:14] and how you can even get
[0:16] a Stream Deck for free.
[0:18] Hey there, macro lover,
[0:19] it's Brian from Accessify.
[0:20] And on this channel, we
[0:21] do unboxings, reviews,
[0:23] and much more of
[0:24] accessories for your tech.
[0:26] So if any of that
[0:27] interests you, you know what to do.
[0:29] So back in 2017, Elgato
[0:31] created the Stream Deck,
[0:32] and it was originally
[0:33] targeted for streamers
[0:34] to automate basic tasks for
[0:36] controlling their streams.
[0:38] But now it's 2023,
[0:39] and it's become so much
[0:41] more than we ever thought.
[0:42] Now we wanna use it to
[0:43] improve your workflow
[0:45] like it did for me.
[0:46] Now there are five
[0:47] models of the Stream Deck
[0:48] that you could buy right now.
[0:50] There's the Stream
[0:50] Deck Mini, the Mark II,
[0:53] the XL, the Foot
[0:54] pedal, and the newer Plus
[0:55] with a bunch of buttons,
[0:57] a nice little touchscreen,
[0:58] and four rotatable knobs.
[1:00] But today we are gonna talk about the
[1:01] version that I have,
[1:02] which is the 15 key Mark II,
[1:05] which I think is the
[1:05] best of size and function.
[1:08] Now it comes in two
[1:09] colors, which are black or white,
[1:11] and you even have replaceable face plates
[1:13] so you could personalize
[1:14] your Stream Deck to your liking.
[1:16] From what I understand, the Mark II
[1:17] is actually the only
[1:18] model in the whole lineup
[1:19] that has these face
[1:20] plates that you could swap out.
[1:22] I don't even think the Mini or even the
[1:24] XL have this option.
[1:26] So if you really want customization,
[1:28] the Mark II is where it's at.
[1:30] The Stream Deck comes
[1:30] in an all plastic finish
[1:32] with a decently big rubber anti-slip
[1:34] surface at the bottom.
[1:35] Now build quality feels very good
[1:37] and I have no complaints here.
[1:39] At the bottom you
[1:40] will find the USB-C port
[1:42] that's used to provide power
[1:43] and data to your Stream Deck.
[1:45] So yep, no external power
[1:47] bricks here, thank goodness.
[1:50] Included also is a
[1:51] stand to change the angle
[1:52] of your Stream Deck if you choose.
[1:54] And unfortunately with the Mark II,
[1:56] you only get two angles to choose from,
[1:59] which kind of stinks
[1:59] since the Mark I had a stand
[2:01] which allowed you to have
[2:02] multiple angles to choose from.
[2:04] Each LCD screen has a
[2:06] resolution of 72 by 72 pixels,
[2:09] but the XL version actually has 96 by 96.
[2:13] I'm not sure why
[2:13] there's a higher resolution
[2:15] in the XL model.
[2:16] If you know, let me
[2:17] know in the comments below,
[2:19] but kind of wish I saw that in the Mini
[2:21] and the Mark II models.
[2:23] I think that'd be really cool to see.
[2:24] To configure your Stream Deck,
[2:25] you will need to download
[2:26] Elgato's Stream Deck software
[2:28] on your computer and then
[2:29] have it run in the background.
[2:31] But once that's done,
[2:32] you can now start
[2:32] configuring your Stream Deck
[2:34] to your liking.
[2:35] But what are some of the
[2:36] things that we can do with this?
[2:38] Well, honestly, you can
[2:39] make it as simple or as complex
[2:41] as you want it to be, and
[2:42] that's the beauty of it.
[2:43] But to unlock more functionality,
[2:45] you can use the Stream Deck plugin store
[2:47] built into the software
[2:49] to add on different plugins
[2:50] to interact with
[2:51] different hardware and software.
[2:53] So let's talk about just some of the ways
[2:55] that you can use this for yourself.
[2:58] The first way you can use
[2:58] this is for creating macros
[3:00] for photo or video editing.
[3:02] Now for me, I do video for a living,
[3:04] and I use DaVinci
[3:05] Resolve as my editing software.
[3:07] And I've been slowly
[3:08] creating buttons on my Stream Deck
[3:10] for my most used keyboard keys
[3:12] to have quick and easy editing.
[3:14] I just use the keyboard
[3:15] customization settings in Resolve
[3:17] and then assign a hotkey
[3:18] button to whatever I need.
[3:20] For example, let's say
[3:21] cutting a video clip in a timeline.
[3:23] You can also use the same
[3:25] method for Adobe Lightroom.
[3:26] Just use hotkeys to
[3:27] make small or big changes
[3:29] to your photos, or even use
[3:31] a button to quickly add a LUT
[3:33] to your photo for faster editing.
[3:35] The second way you can use
[3:36] this is as a software engineer.
[3:38] Now, I know nothing about coding,
[3:41] but just in the Stream
[3:42] Deck store alone are ways
[3:43] for you to interact with
[3:44] Microsoft Visual Studio Code,
[3:47] Apple's Xcode, Unity
[3:48] Engine, and even JetBrains IDE.
[3:51] So maybe you want some
[3:52] simple debugging actions
[3:53] starting or stopping your code,
[3:55] whatever it may be, that's a possibility.
[3:58] Third way you can use this
[3:59] is to control your smart home.
[4:01] And with Home Assistant being the best
[4:02] smart home software,
[4:04] this is a no-brainer.
[4:06] You can control
[4:07] lights, turn on smart plugs.
[4:09] And honestly, if you can control
[4:10] something on Home Assistant,
[4:12] you can control it on your Stream Deck.
[4:15] Now, Homebridge is here too as well
[4:16] for people that may have
[4:17] HomeKit focused smart homes
[4:19] like myself, so I'm glad to
[4:21] see this as a secondary option.
[4:23] Fourth way I could see using this,
[4:24] if you do a lot of business work,
[4:26] if your business uses Zoom
[4:27] or Microsoft Teams often,
[4:29] you can have a plugin called MuteDeck,
[4:30] which then you can control your webcam,
[4:32] turning it on and off,
[4:33] mute your microphone,
[4:35] leave a meeting, whatever you want.
[4:37] There are also plugins to control
[4:38] Microsoft Powerpoint,
[4:40] Apple Keynote, if you do
[4:41] a lot of presentations,
[4:42] update your Slack status.
[4:44] And if you use iCAL, you can
[4:46] even have your deck display
[4:47] how long until your next meeting.
[4:49] Finally, this is the
[4:50] best third-party application
[4:53] you can get and it's called Companion.
[4:55] Now, this allows you to
[4:56] control a massive list
[4:58] of hardware and software
[5:00] and how it all communicates
[5:01] together to create
[5:02] literally the ultimate workflow.
[5:05] I mean, check this out,
[5:06] this Stream Deck controls
[5:07] an ATEM video switcher from Blackmagic.
[5:09] And these Stream
[5:10] Decks are working together
[5:11] to fire ProPresenter slides
[5:13] and give useful information
[5:15] on how long videos have before ending
[5:17] for someone controlling a live stream.
[5:19] Your Stream Deck can control a whole
[5:22] audio mixing console.
[5:24] What?
[5:25] There are some things you
[5:26] will need to do to set this up,
[5:28] but I'll leave the
[5:28] Bitfocus Companion website
[5:30] in the video
[5:31] description below for instructions
[5:32] on how to set this up.
[5:34] But you don't even need a Stream Deck
[5:35] to actually make that stuff work.
[5:38] If you can access a
[5:39] webpage, you can use Companion.
[5:41] Now, like I mentioned in the beginning,
[5:42] do you want a Stream Deck for free?
[5:45] Well, we're gonna be
[5:46] using the application
[5:47] from Elgato called Stream Deck Mobile.
[5:49] And as of June 27th,
[5:51] 2023, Stream Deck Mobile
[5:52] gives you six Stream Deck buttons
[5:54] completely for free.
[5:56] That's having a
[5:57] Stream Deck Mini for free,
[5:59] heck, even with full
[6:00] wireless connectivity.
[6:02] Now, like the name
[6:03] implies, you will need to use
[6:04] a mobile device for this to work.
[6:05] So if you have a spare
[6:06] phone or tablet lying around,
[6:08] this will be ideal.
[6:09] But you could still
[6:10] use your current device
[6:11] if that's all you have.
[6:13] Download the Elgato Stream Deck software
[6:15] and I'll leave a link
[6:16] in the video description
[6:16] that will take you directly there.
[6:18] Then download the Stream Deck
[6:20] mobile app on your app store
[6:22] and follow the
[6:23] instructions on how to pair.
[6:25] And now you have six
[6:26] completely free buttons to use.
[6:28] There's also the Pro Mobile subscription
[6:30] that gives you up to 64
[6:32] keys and some features
[6:34] that aren't even possible
[6:35] with the regular Stream Deck
[6:36] for just $25 a year.
[6:38] If you were to buy two Stream Deck XLs,
[6:40] which would give you the 64 keys,
[6:43] it would take you 20
[6:45] years before you reach
[6:46] the full retail price of
[6:48] both of those XLs combined.
[6:51] That's insane.
[6:52] As you could see, I
[6:53] believe the Stream Deck
[6:54] is one of the best
[6:56] accessories that you can own
[6:58] and nothing is
[6:58] stopping you from being able
[6:59] to use the Stream Deck to
[7:01] fully become more productive.
[7:03] Now, the Mark II model
[7:04] we talked about today
[7:05] is currently $130 at the
[7:07] time of this recording.
[7:08] But there are other
[7:09] models of the Stream Deck
[7:10] that you can buy, so go down to the link
[7:12] in the video description and I'll have
[7:14] all of those down there
[7:15] if you're interested.
[7:16] Now, if you have some more free time,
[7:17] I recommend you watch this
[7:19] video that I just put on your
[7:20] screen for your
[7:21] convenience and I'll see you later.
[7:23] Deuces.