I hosted a gaming podcast for years, and Rode's latest free feature would have made it so much easier

The RodeCaster Duo and RodeCaster Pro 2 are already some of the most powerful content creation tools ever made. If you livestream, host podcasts, make videos, or create any kind of gaming content from the comfort of your home, there aren't any other audio mixers on the market that have the power and depth of features that Rode's do.

That was already the case, but this week, Rode has launched a free update for both devices that has taken things a giant leap forward. Rode CallMe is a brand new feature that connects a RodeCaster device in a remote call with either another RodeCaster device, or someone using this new service through an internet browser.

Introducing RØDE CallMe: Global Connectivity, Anywhere and Anytime. - YouTube

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Made in collaboration with Vortex Communications, CallMe is said to deliver crystal clear, low-latency audio calling that Rode claims will make you feel like you're sitting right next to whoever you're connected with.

I hosted a remotely-made gaming podcast from 2016-2022, and in the early days before the pandemic, that was a much harder thing to do than a lot of folks realise. Video calling existed, sure, but recording meetings or capturing the audio from a call could be tricky to do. Now, you have recorded Zoom meetings, Google Meets, and far easier ways to record your desktop and audio if you own a gaming PC. But audio quality can still be hit or miss, and depending on how you call and how you record, the clarity and latency can vary.

Often, it can feel like there's no real point spending so much money on one of the best microphones for streaming and gaming if you mainly use it for a remote podcast and the quality of the hardware is neutered at the recording end. Rode's new CallMe feature could be an enormous win for creators in that kind of position.

RodeCaster Duo | $499 at Amazon
The RodeCaster Duo certainly isn't cheap, but it's one of the most versatile and powerful pieces of technology I've ever owned. If I were to rebuild my content creation setup tomorrow, this would be the first thing I'd buy (as long as I had the budget for it, that is).

Buy it if:

✅ You want total control over your audio production
✅ You've got the budget for it
✅ You want to manage lots of audio sources on the fly

Don't buy it if:

❌ You only need to manage one or two audio sources
❌ Your other podcast host has a RodeCaster already

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Rode CallMe is brilliantly integrated into the RodeCaster's feature suite. You can map the call's audio to a fader, apply all of the effects to it that you could to your own microphone channels, and control it all through the RodeCaster itself. Like the "chat" channel on the RodeCaster Duo, it auto-applies mix-minus, meaning you won't be stuck with a pesky echo on either end of the call.

If only one half of your podcast has a RodeCaster Pro II or Duo, the other hosts can join a CallMe session through a web browser. Each device has a unique joining code, and you can toggle whether or not yours is open to receiving calls.

There is a catch to all of this, however, and it's a tiered pricing system. To be clear, Rode CallMe Lite is a free version of this service, which is available as part of a firmware update now. It allows you one CallMe channel for connecting with a single remote guest, as well as 10 hours of RodeCaster to RodeCaster calling per month (which should hopefully be enough for the amount of content you're producing), plus a 5-hour trial for browser connections.

The middle tier is Rode CallMe. It will cost you $9.99 per month (or $99 per year), but for that extra cash, it gives you two call channels, unlimited RodeCaster to RodeCaster call time, and full access to browser-based calling.

For the more professional users, Rode CallMe Pro includes everything in the regular tier subscription along with an additional CallMe channel, Advanced SIP Calling, Full recording codec control, and third-party interoperability with IP audio codecs. As Rode says in its reveal video, this is really geared at the professional broadcast engineers and radio producers, and therefore, its price is $49.99 a month or $499 per year.

I haven't been able to test out Rode's new CallMe feature yet, but I'll be very interested to see if the clarity and latency are improved from regular calling services today, like Discord. With Rode's track record of pure quality, I wouldn't be surprised if it was a difference worth investing in.

Other content creation gear

• Microphones: USB mics under $60
• Capture cards: AverMedia and Elgato black boxes
• Webcams: Simple cameras starting at $24

Also read about the best capture cards, the best webcams, and the best streaming gear.