I prefer the Analog way stuff over the Edirol, but i will try and give you some info.
Pros: (compared to analog way)
- It is essentially two switches in one, which allows you to down-stream or up-stream key
- The same goes for switching and or PIP'ing
- It can key to a variety of background colors (don't know if the Analog way can or not, we only key to black)
- Most features you could want while in-use are on buttons, no menu structure to deal with when changing PIP, etc
Cons: (compared to analog way)
- It requires two preview monitors to be used effectively
- It is 20~30% more expensive than a centrix + controller
- Its scaling isn't as nice (IMHO)
- Its keying isn't as nice (IMHO)
- You only have 4 SD and 4 HD inputs (the analog way products any input can be anything from composite SD to RGBHV HD)
- No Shadow Key (aka title) (at least that I am aware of)
- No integrated Frame Store or Image Freeze on outputs
- I don't believe its image control settings are as detailed as the analog way gear
- As a subset of the above, I don't think it handles stretching (aka anamorphic) to widescreen that well either (although this only effects you if you have 16:9 screens and are playing 4:3 into it.
So, in short, unless downstream keying was a big deal for you, or you need to use lots of PIP that changes its position regularly, I would probably go with the Analog Way gear.
But thats just me,
Karl P