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We offer instructional videos on the Panasonic MX-50, MX-30 and AVE-7.
Click here for Instructions Videos.

Preview Out Explained On A Video Mixer
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What if you wanted to see what an effect or transition is going to look like before your actually perform it? Well, if your editing session is on pause, it’s just a matter of watching the effect take place on your main program monitor.

However, what if you want to test the effect while your editing VCRs are up and rolling, or you are right in the middle of a multiple camera live-switch and there is no way possible to “pause” the whole show just so that you can get an idea of what Wipe Number 132 looks like?

Maybe you just want to see which video image is standing by to be the replacement for the existing program when a transition is executed. That’s where the Preview mode comes in.

Panasonic Preview

On broadcast production switchers, the Preview image is the next in line video source that will toggle itself with the Program (Main Output) signal upon completion of a wipe or dissolve. However, when Panasonic introduced their line of digital video mixers back in the mid eighties, they took a slightly different approach to what the Preview was supposed to do.

Instead of delivering a next-in-line image to the separate Preview monitor, they just sent the identical image to the Preview monitor that was present on the Main Output when the Main Output was in the “Effects” mode (the three buttons in the far upper right corner of the Panasonic MX-50, MX-30, AVE-7 and AVE-5 video mixers).

To appreciate what the Panasonic style Preview mode can do, you actually have to figure out which video bus is actively being sent to the mixer’s Main Output: “A” or “B”. Once determined, you can press that respective button in the Record Out section and that bus’ video picture will continue to be outputted regardless of what you do with the T-Bar or Auto-Take button.

In other words, you can play around with the different effects or transitions between the “A” and “B” buses and watch them take place on your Preview monitor while the Main Output signal remains undisturbed.

Once you find a wipe or dissolve that you like, just return the T-Bar to the bus that is actively going on to the Program monitor and press the “Effects” button in the Record Out section.

Now you can execute your transition and it will look just like the one that you previewed while you were temporarily “off line” in the Preview mode.

Videonics Preview

Unlike the Panasonic digital video mixer, the Videonics MX-1’s video mixer Preview output is a display of four miniature screens that simultaneously show all of the video sources connected to the MX-1’s video input along with the mixer’s effects menu.

The concept is unique, however the images displayed on the four little screens are somewhat grainy and contain a lot of strobe.

Ideally, this Preview screen should be used in conjunction with additional video monitors connected to the auxiliary video outputs of the source VCRs and/or cameras if precise reference monitoring of your sources are necessary.

Ironically, even though the Videonics MX-1 video mixer is the least expensive digital mixer with Preview capability (for some reason Panasonic dropped the Preview function from their AVE-7), you can change the display of the MX-1’s Preview output from the multiple four screen to an actual full screen next-in-line image sans graininess and strobe.

When you perform an effect the Preview screen and the Program monitor display flip-flop with each other just like the $150,000 TV studio switchers.

Technical Note: Several users of the Videonics MX-1 have experienced a picture shake when performing a live-switch while using the full-screen preview display. Videonics recommends using the full-screen preview for composition and focusing, and then go back to the mini monitor preview display prior to actually performing a transition.

Sony Preview

The Sony FXE-100 switcher/edit controller combo sports another variation of Preview Output. In addition to its Main Out signal, there is a Main Monitor Out connector that sends a separate video image to a secondary monitor. In the edit controller section, an array of buttons toggle the user through an of the source VCRs and/or cameras, as well as the main output signal.

The respective video source appears on the Main Monitor Out monitor automatically when a specific VCR is activated for use with the edit controller’s transport controls or jog/shuttle dial.

Effectively, you could get away with using just one video monitor for your entire A/B Roll editing system with the Sony FXE-100.

Regardless of which digital mixer that you have, the use of the Preview function can speed up your editing process substantially if you use it correctly.

Learn more about the Panasonic MX50, MX30 and AVE7. Check out our instructional videos in our Online Catalog.

Please Note:  We DO NOT sell or provide support for video mixers.
We offer instructional videos on the Panasonic MX-50, MX-30 and AVE-7.
Click here for Instructions Videos..