Starting now (Black Friday) until 10am (AEDT/UTC+11) next Wednesday November 30 (which is sometime on Tuesday if you live in the Americas), you can get a year of UNIFY software for AU$1 (one Australian dollar). Today, that’s about US$0.67 (67 cents of a US dollar) as long as you use a credit card that doesn’t charge any international fee. I was charged exactly U$0.67 for my yearly license. I didn’t really need to buy one, since UNIFY is free with a RØDE X microphone (of which I have two pending to review), but I wanted to see the purchase experience for those who choose to acquire UNIFY without a RØDE X mic. Very briefly: UNIFY is like a RØDECaster in software (for compatible USB devices) plus powerful internal routing and even submixes. Ahead, I’ll explain UNIFY in more detail, how it behaves with mics made for UNIFY and with others. I’ll also answer the question: Can I use UNIFY in a Windows virtual machine with a Mac?
What is UNIFY in a nutshell?
In a nutshell, UNIFY is a piece of software from RØDE which is like a RØDECaster Pro in software (for USB audio devices) plus powerful internal routing and even submixes. Officially, UNIFY works only with Windows 10 and beyond, not macOS. (Ahead I’ll discuss using UNIFY in a virtual machine Windows on macOS.) The different submixes makes it more powerful than the original RØDE Connect, which is completely free and still works officially for both macOS and Windows.
What is the normal selling price for UNIFY?
UNIFY comes free with any RØDE X mic, like the XDM-100 and the XCM-50 which I covered in previous articles). For those who want UNIFY but don’t want to buy any RØDE X microphone, UNIFY can be purchased as a subscription for AU$7.99 (U$5.17) monthly or AU$69.99 (U$45.31) annually. With the Black Friday special, those who want UNIFY but without any RØDE X microphone can get it for only AU$1 or about U$0.67 (67 cents).
How does UNIFY behave with different types of microphones?
The below chart clarifies the behavior with RØDE X mics, with other RØDE mics and with other brands of USB mics.
The above chart was supplied by RØDE.
I have personally confirmed that a non-RØDE mic, the dynamic FDUCE SL40 indeed works with UNIFY, although without audio processing (other than channel assignment, muting and gain adjustment). You can see the FDUCE SL40 listed in my screenshot above.
As seen in my screenshot above, a RØDE X mic like the XDM-100, UNIFY accesses the DSP (digital signal processor) inside the mic so you can activate the High Pass Filter (aka low cut filter), Noise Gate, Compressor, Aural Exciter and/or Big Bottom including Advanced options.
On the other hand, as in my screenshot below, with an non-X RØDE microphone like the RØDE NT-USB+, UNIFY accesses the DSP (digital signal processor) inside the mic so you can activate the High Pass Filter (aka low cut filter), Noise Gate, Compressor, Aural Exciter and/or Big Bottom but without Advanced options.
How does RØDE UNIFY compare with RØDE Connect software?
While UNIFY can accept up to six microphones, RØDE Connect can accept up to only four. Both include virtual carts (playback of pre-recorded sounds) and both can accept virtual sources. Both can record multitrack or stereo. However, only UNIFY has submixes too.
Below is a comparison chart I created to show a matrix of RØDE, RØDE X and non-RØDE USB mics like the FDUCE SL40:
|
RØDE Connect
RØDE Connect software |
RØDE X UNIFY
with RØDE X mics |
|
| NT-USB Mini USB microphone(condenser) |
Yes, it works. |
Yes, it works, |
| NT-USB+ (condenser) |
Yes |
Yes, it works, |
| VideoMic NTG Hybrid microphone (USB + analog) (condenser) |
Yes |
Yes, it works, |
| VideoMic Go II Hybrid condenser microphone (USB + analog) |
Yes |
Yes, it works, |
| Wireless GO II Hybrid microphone (condenser) |
Yes |
Yes, it works, |
| AI-MICRO Interface for unbalanced analog mics vía 3.5 mm, up to two mics. Connecting dynamic XLR mics to the AI-MICRO requires iRig Pre 2 for best results. |
Yes |
Yes, it works, |
| XCM-50
USB microphone |
Not presently |
Yes (UNIFY comes free) |
| XDM-100 USB microphone (dynamic) |
Not presently |
Yes (UNIFY comes free) |
| Non-RØDE USB mics or USB interfaces (other brands of USB mics) |
Not presently |
Yes, it works, |
© Allan Tépper/TecnoTur LLC
In order to get UNIFY free for life, you need to own at least one RØDE X microphone. For a studio with multiple microphones in the same booth, I can only recommend dynamic mics, since condenser mics in the same booth are too prone to spill, aka crosstalk. So far, the only dynamic mic from RØDE X is the XDM-100 for U$249 each. If you want to spend under U$100 for a dynamic mic like the FDUCE SL40 (and you own no RØDE X mic), you have to pay for the subscription for UNIFY to get the maximum power.
Another option could be to purchase a single dynamic XDM-100 and then all of the other dynamic mics can be non-RØDE X dynamic mics like the FDUCE SL40 + Shure A7WS windscreens for all of the other local panelists. The XDM-100 gives you lifetime access to a UNIFY license.
Can I use UNIFY in a Windows virtual machine with a Mac?
The short answer is: Apparently yes! Here are some more details:
Even though I prefer Windows 10 LTSC Enterprise for many reasons (as covered in this article), I have recently purchased two Windows 11 Pro OEM licenses for two different reasons:
- On my ThinkPad laptop, I discovered that Descript was the only app I ever tried where a specific function wouldn’t work with Windows 10 LTSC, which was Descript’s screen recorder.
- For a Mac with an M1 processor, the only Windows that currently works (quickly) is Windows 11, since it’s the only one made for ARM. (If you have a Mac with an Intel processor, you can indeed use Windows 10 LTSC Enterprise.)
So even though I own a laptop with a debloated Windows 11 Pro OEM, I couldn’t resist trying to run a debloated Windows 11 Pro OEM (with local accounts only) on my Mac Mini M1. So with the Black Friday special, I purchased Parallels Desktop for Mac Standard (1 Year). As part of the Parallels installation, it installed the ARM version of Windows 11 Home (which I won’t use), so I upgraded it to Windows 11 Pro (using a Windows command) and then activated it with Microsoft using a Windows 11 Pro OEM license and created the two local users (without any Microsoft accounts), one Administrator and one Standard.
I then debloated the Windows 11 Pro, purchased the year license of UNIFY with the aforementioned Black Friday of U$0.67 for a year and installed it into the virtual machine Windows 11 Pro on my Mac Mini M1 with 16GB RAM. Then I got UNIFY to recognize a RODE X mic, a standard RØDE USB mic and the FDUCE SL40.
INITIAL CONCLUSIONS:
So far, UNIFY seems to be running perfectly with these three microphones in a debloated Windows 11 Pro OEM in a virtual machine created by Parallels in my Mac Mini M1 with 16GB RAM. I was able to have two local users own Windows 11, without using any Microsoft account. I didn’t have to make any special settings in Parallels. So far, I am using the default settings for RAM and drive. I am ecstatic to see UNIFY running on my Mac Mini M1 and recognizing multiple USB microphones properly.
If your Mac has an Intel processor, then the only difference is that you could install Windows 10 LTSC Enterprise (which only exists for Intel and AMD processors), or you could install the Intel version of Windows 11 and (optionally) debloat it, etc. as indicated above.
DISCLAIMER:
At this time, neither RØDE nor I am recommending that you do this, since further exhaustive tests are required to determine whether this is a reliable solution. I needed to get this article out in time for Black Friday and will share more information later.
For more info
For more info about UNIFY or the Black Friday offering, visit rodex.com/unify
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FTC disclosure
Many of the above manufacturers have sent Allan Tépper review units, including RØDE. Some of the manufacturers listed above have contracted Tépper and/or TecnoTur LLC to carry out consulting and/or translations/localizations/transcreations. So far, none of the manufacturers listed above is/are sponsors of the TecnoTur, BeyondPodcasting, CapicúaFM or TuSaludSecreta programs, although they are welcome to do so, and some are, may be (or may have been) sponsors of ProVideo Coalition magazine. Some links to third parties listed in this article and/or on this web page may indirectly benefit TecnoTur LLC via affiliate programs. Allan Tépper’s opinions are his own. Allan Tépper is not liable for misuse or misunderstanding of information he shares.