Pearl Mini early look — use cases, applications, and technical comparisons

Epiphan Pearl Mini is the newest member of the Pearl family that contains all the qualities customers have come to love about Pearl-2, but on a miniaturized scale. The popular “all-in-one” design is represented proudly in the heart of Pearl Mini, offering users everything they need to capture, encode, livestream, and record professional-quality video.

All Epiphan products are built to be tough, reliable, and easy-to-use – and Pearl Mini is no exception.

Why Pearl Mini?

Pearl Mini fills a nice gap in our professional live production lineup – somewhere between our Webcaster X2 and Pearl-2 encoders.

On one hand, Webcaster X2 is an excellent choice for those who value simple, single-camera livestreaming to social media platforms Facebook, YouTube, and Twitch. On the other hand, Pearl-2 is ideal for live event productions and other live streaming setups involving multiple sources, simultaneous streaming and recording of multiple programs, streaming to multiple endpoints, custom layouts, 4K encoding, and more. There’s quite a difference in design, technical horsepower, and price between these two popular products.

With Pearl Mini, we’ve developed a professional live streaming and recording system for those who require a more advanced setup than Webcaster X2, but who don’t need the comprehensive variety of features and capabilities that Pearl-2 offers.

Pearl Mini vs. Pearl-2

While Pearl Mini and Pearl-2 are similar in design and function, there are significant technical differences to be aware of between these two products.

Notably, Pearl Mini offers 3 inputs, 1080p resolution support, and 3 encoded programs. Pearl-2 supports up to 8 inputs, 4K resolution, and a greater number of encoded programs. See the table below for more detail.

Pearl Mini use cases

Epiphan Pearl Mini is an incredibly versatile live production system that enables professional live video across a variety of markets and industries. Here a few of the most popular use cases.

Use case 1: Marketing

Pearl Mini offers a valuable opportunity for marketing departments to include live streaming into their marketing mix.

With Pearl Mini, marketing teams can use live streaming to increase brand awareness, generate audience engagement, help tell their brand’s story, and stay at the cutting edge of marketing technology.

Examples of Pearl Mini applications in marketing:

WebinarsProduct launch livestreamsLive event coverageStreaming marketing announcements (e.g. promotions)

Use case 2: Education

Pearl Mini is the perfect choice for educational institutions looking to implement lecture capture technology. With Pearl Mini, users can easily capture, record, and stream lectures, conduct one-on-one remote tutorials, and/or create a library of video on demand in their LMS/CMS.

Advantages of using Pearl Mini for lecture capture:

Enable delivery of programs at a distanceCreate blended learning formatsStore lecture material in video on demand (VOD) formatSimple to set up & integrates into existing LMS/CMS infrastructure

Use case 3: Corporate communication

Companies can tap into the power of live video to engage their customers, employees, partners, and shareholders using Pearl Mini.

Live stream meetings, presentations, training and more to increase stakeholder engagement, enhance communication strategies, and boost corporate brand.

Examples of Pearl Mini applications in corporate communications:

Sales training & skills developmentCompany meetingsConferences & live eventsProduct/service demos

Use case 4: Live event production

Pearl Mini is an excellent encoding appliance for streaming and recording small live events.

Using a mix of sources, such as cameras and computers, users can create live switched programs, stream to multiple destinations simultaneously, and record in high-quality for post-production.

Examples of Pearl Mini applications in live event production:

Sales training & skills developmentCompany meetingsConferences & live eventsProduct/service demos

Additional use cases:

In addition to the target use cases specified above, Pearl Mini can also be applied across a variety of industries which can benefit from live streaming and recording.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

Hungry to learn more?

Epiphan Pearl Mini isn’t available for order yet – but it will be soon. Visit our Pearl Mini product page to get more detail and sign up to our mailing list for all the latest Pearl Mini news.

Let us know what you think of Pearl Mini! We always enjoy hearing feedback.