SCPAN-SNAKE The worlds first HPX500 Studio Snake

Spec-Comm

Spec-Comm

DVXuser Sponsor
Hey guys,

I thought you would be interested in learning about Spec-Comm's latest accomplishment that will make your life in the studio much easier.

We have developed the SCPAN-SNAKE, a 25 meter snake that handles every connection needed in the studio including power for the camera!

The connections include the following:

12V DC power (4-pin XLR)
9-pin GPI (Pin 5 is ground)
X3 BNC cables (Can be used for TC, VIDEO, SDI, GENLOCK etc...)
Intercom AUDIO (3-pin XLR)
10-pin Remote cable (for AJ-RC10)

We built the SCPAN-SNAKE to Panasonic's specifications and then went one step beyond that to ensure the least signal degradation in such a long cable run. The 12V DC power cable was specially designed with very little line loss. This way, you can power your studio rig off of standard power supplies without having to modify the supply or over crank variable supplies. The SCPAN-SNAKE is covered in a durable mesh jacket and only the highest quality Belden cable is used throughout the entire cable assembly. Hirose and AMP terminations are used for the highest quality connections possible. The cable is built and tested in USA and comes with a 90-Day warranty for manufacturing defects.

Panasonic camera models that are compatible with this cable include AG-HPX500, AJ-HPX2000, and the entire Vari-cam line. We will have pictures on our website soon including a complete specification list. We should have our first shipment in about a week and a half. Price point is Sub-$3K.

Call me if you're interested or if you have questions.

Andrew Hoffman
Vice President
Specialized Communications Corp.
20940 Twin Springs Dr.
Smithsburg, MD 21783-1510 USA
800-359-1858 (US)
301-790-0103
Fax: 301-790-0173
andrewh@spec-comm.com
www.spec-comm.com

Please visit our new online store at ( http://www.spec-comm.com/store ). New products being added daily!
 
Well thats kind of neat, But do you make it in longer legnths. Because I´ll be doing concerts out of a van. Any chance of custom configs like

In 50 60 or 80 meters

12V DC power (4-pin XLR)
2x BNC cables (for SDI, GENLOCK etc...)
Intercom AUDIO (5-pin XLR female)
10-pin Remote cable (for ARC10

No hurry though don´t even have the cams yet.
 
Spec-Comm said:
Price point is Sub-$3K.
Click to expand...

Holy Crap man. $3k? You could build the same thing seperately for a few hundred bucks. And if you needed to go longer, you would be much better off purchasing something like a Camplex style system (Camplex is expensive). There are a few companies that build the same type of thing and modulate it over a single coax so you don't have some big bulky cable. Comparitively priced to the equivelent of about 35 Meters of your setup.

Not trying to bash you guys, but c'mon.... $3k?
 
Andrew McMillan said:
Well thats kind of neat, But do you make it in longer legnths. Because I´ll be doing concerts out of a van. Any chance of custom configs like

In 50 60 or 80 meters

12V DC power (4-pin XLR)
2x BNC cables (for SDI, GENLOCK etc...)
Intercom AUDIO (5-pin XLR female)
10-pin Remote cable (for ARC10

No hurry though don´t even have the cams yet.
Click to expand...

Andrew,
For "truck" work, you'll probably want to look at some other options. Telemetrics has coax systems for around $4k if I remember correctly, that transmits everything you need over one coax cable. TVPROGEAR has a similar setup, around $4k for theirs. We're in the process of buying some as we speak. They modulate everything over a single cable so you don't have a big group of wires or a thick bundle running everywhere. I've worked on a lot of trucks and the most common way of doing something like this is Triax, but it gets expensive and gets very heavy. Coax will work just fine for what you are doing. They also sell HD systems too that can run over fiber or good quality coax.

And the even better part..... You won't have to use the A-RC10G remote which will set you back $3500+ each, so if you have more than a few cameras, it gets extremely pricey. The RC10G will only do basic functions anyways for the HPX500. You might as well get something that costs a lot less that does the same thing.
 
"Holy Crap man. $3k? You could build the same thing seperately for a few hundred bucks"

I was gona say that, but my brain-mouth filter kicked in :)


9-pin GPI (Pin 5 is ground) What does this do?

telemetrix eh?


"You might as well get something that costs a lot less that does the same thing."
What is this "thing" you speak of?

Sorry spec-comm, Sometimes I just like to remind manufacturers that if your product if for a cost effective camera it should be cost effective.

Check out the thread were I really stuck it to varizoom about their new "economic crane" Which was shorter and more expensive than an similar jimmy jib crane.
 
Havent we been through this same exact conversation a few months back with the same people??

LOL
 
Yup, but I could never realy find anything that would work for me.

and besides this deosn't get talked about enough.

And if you thought it was hard to multicam the hpx.
just wait for scarlet.
 
ef03 said:
Havent we been through this same exact conversation a few months back with the same people??

LOL
Click to expand...

Its the same converstaion cause that's what we do :). But seriously, what is it that you are trying to do, Andrew?

If you are looking to multicam the HPX, I have looked into this quite extensively. Much of it depends on if you want to run HD or SD, that's where most of the cost varies. So here are the options that I have come up with:

Option #1.
The least expensive option is going with a system from Telemetrics or TVPROGEAR. What these systems do is use a modulation device to send different components over a single coax cable (or triax or fiber, but more money). The single coax contains your video, audio, power, tally, intercom, genlock, and is able to have control of WB and shading too. These systems are pretty much identical to the Camplex systems, but they are much less expensive. They use an attached box to the back of your camera and everything is fed into it. It transmits everything over a single coax for SD, and depending on the system, a second coax / fiber for HD (so you would have 2 cables running side by side). It goes to a ccu type device and you can plug in one of their proprietary remotes for your shading and WB. We're getting a new system in the next few weeks and we will most likely go with something like this.

Option #2.
The next option is to buil a system around the AJ-RC10G remote that was specifically made for the HPX line of cameras. Although a nice remote, you'll have to run multiple cables including a 10pin data cable. They say that it's only good for up to 150m, but I believe that is a limitation of the power it provides and you could have a seperate power supply and set it a bit higher to compensate for the voltage loss. The remote is VERY pricey compared to say a Hitachi paint box, and really doesn't offer many extra features other than P2 playback remotely, but in a live setting you will most likely have a seperate replay system and not need to replay things from the camera. The RC10G remote comes in at about $3500 each street.

Now, one of the people I was actually able to track down was the head designer of that remote. He mentioned that in theory, with a seperate constant power supply, you could set up the remote on a "switch", maybe a VGA switch or something of the sort so that you don't have to buy 3-6 of them for a live setting. They are a bit bulkier than a standard paint box, but if you could have one to control all of your cameras, that could be pretty nifty. He mentioned that if the remote is unplugged but you still have power running to the cameras, the settings will stay and when the remote is switched to each camera, it's an instantaneous switch. Again, in "theory".

This is pretty much what the $3k 25meter HPX Cable from spec-comm would be utilized for, but at 3 grand, that's an outrageous price to pay. I could put together a 500-1000 foot set of cables that does the same thing for less money than that. It could even be custom made and put on some sort of large multi pin connection so everything goes through a single connector.

Also remember though, the longer the cable run for your video, the further apart the timing of the signal bcomes and eventually will start to break up (on copper, not fiber). If running anything further than a couple hundred feet, you'll need to get some sort of re-timing device, which ae pretty common. If you are planning on doing this, look at the Ross Video platform of "Opengear" which are modular rack frames that fit processing cards in to perform various tasks for video and audio, including timing, A>D, D>A, amplifiers, splitters, converters, etc. Very, very cool stuff. And the SD stuff is supprisingly affordable (HD is available). We'll be using this system in place of a router to perform all of our processing and routing.

Option #3.
Camplex. Same as above, but much more expensive.


Overall, I would recommend going with a modulated over coax system for ease of use and price. I believe you'll find that getting into systems like that will save a considerable amount of time and money. We are going with systems, I believe from TVPROGEAR because they have the most cost effective solution that handles everything we need for now. Our system is being built around the 500's cause we love the cameras so much, and it allows us to use them for production work outside of a live broadcast rather than having seperate cameras to serve different purposes. The SD on the 500's looks just as good as pretty much any other camera on the market, so why the heck not.

Anyways.....
 
Oh, and I don't think the Panasonic switchers are the way to go, FYI. They don't offer really enough inputs to do much with other than small corporate work. Look at the Ross Synergy 100, which has 16 channels and can be upgraded to HD for a nominal fee at a later date w/o any other equipment to buy. They simply give you a "code" to upgrade the unit in the system menus (I know, kinda weird). That switcher will run you about $12k - $15k to start, but it's much more professional than most.

For-A Switchers have served many people in the broadcast markets well, They too have a series of portable switchers that have some decent features.

I love how the Grass Valley Indigo Switcher looks, but it just seems so overpriced for the features it has.

And if you want to get really serious, like you have $60k+ to spend, the Ross Vision MD line is phenomenal, absolutely beautiful. Very innovative, slick etc. etc. etc.

Just my 2....no...3 cents.

Kit
 
"Now, one of the people I was actually able to track down was the head designer of that remote. He mentioned that in theory, with a seperate constant power supply, you could set up the remote on a "switch", maybe a VGA switch or something of the sort so that you don't have to buy 3-6 of them for a live setting. They are a bit bulkier than a standard paint box, but if you could have one to control all of your cameras, that could be pretty nifty. He mentioned that if the remote is unplugged but you still have power running to the cameras, the settings will stay and when the remote is switched to each camera, it's an instantaneous switch. Again, in "theory"."

I thought of that, a while back, but now that you tell me about these generic paintboxes.
Sweet, that probably saved me days of phonecalling.

All I have to do now is plan the flypack layout, That's the really fun part. (not sarcasim it is really fun)
 
Andrew McMillan said:
All I have to do now is plan the flypack layout, That's the really fun part. (not sarcasim it is really fun)
Click to expand...

Hell yeah it's fun. I'm about to build our new truck in the next few weeks and it's almost all I can think about. I'm really excited.

So Andrew, what's your budget for your flypack? What are you planning to put in your rig?
 
Andrew McMillan said:
Well thats kind of neat, But do you make it in longer legnths. Because I´ll be doing concerts out of a van. Any chance of custom configs like

In 50 60 or 80 meters

12V DC power (4-pin XLR)
2x BNC cables (for SDI, GENLOCK etc...)
Intercom AUDIO (5-pin XLR female)
10-pin Remote cable (for ARC10

No hurry though don´t even have the cams yet.
Click to expand...

We are looking into longer cable lengths but nothing longer than 30' has been tested at this time. I know that the Remote cables are spec'd out to about 90 meters. The 9-Pin GPI cable I'm sure can go longer than that. We would be really pushing things for the 12V 4-pin by going longer and I would be interested in seeing how the Video and HD/SD-SDI signals do on longer runs as well. That's a great idea and it is our intention to start testing at longer lengths.

Our intentions for this cable was for studio use, hence the shorter length, the mesh covering (field use should have a rubber molded jacket) and the high-end connectors and cable that is used. This also explains the price. :)

Thanks,

Andrew Hoffman
Vice President
Specialized Communications Corp.
20940 Twin Springs Dr.
Smithsburg, MD 21783-1510 USA
800-359-1858 (US)
301-790-0103
Fax: 301-790-0173
andrewh@spec-comm.com
www.spec-comm.com

Please visit our new online store at ( http://www.spec-comm.com/store ). New products being added daily!
 
Kit Hannah said:
Holy Crap man. $3k? You could build the same thing seperately for a few hundred bucks. And if you needed to go longer, you would be much better off purchasing something like a Camplex style system (Camplex is expensive). There are a few companies that build the same type of thing and modulate it over a single coax so you don't have some big bulky cable. Comparitively priced to the equivelent of about 35 Meters of your setup.

Not trying to bash you guys, but c'mon.... $3k?
Click to expand...

Hello Kit,

I really appreciate the feedback. :)

Please note that I said SUB $3k. The price isn't announced yet. It will be under $3k.

Andrew Hoffman
Vice President
Specialized Communications Corp.
20940 Twin Springs Dr.
Smithsburg, MD 21783-1510 USA
800-359-1858 (US)
301-790-0103
Fax: 301-790-0173
andrewh@spec-comm.com
www.spec-comm.com

Please visit our new online store at ( http://www.spec-comm.com/store ). New products being added daily!
 
Andrew McMillan said:
"Holy Crap man. $3k? You could build the same thing seperately for a few hundred bucks"

I was gona say that, but my brain-mouth filter kicked in :)


9-pin GPI (Pin 5 is ground) What does this do?

telemetrix eh?


"You might as well get something that costs a lot less that does the same thing."
What is this "thing" you speak of?

Sorry spec-comm, Sometimes I just like to remind manufacturers that if your product if for a cost effective camera it should be cost effective.

Check out the thread were I really stuck it to varizoom about their new "economic crane" Which was shorter and more expensive than an similar jimmy jib crane.
Click to expand...


Hey Andrew. Nice name! :)

The 9-pin GPI is intended in the cable assembly to be used as a Talley trigger. So you would hook one end into your VF monitor (BT-LH80) and the other end into your switcher. With some configuration, your tally light will turn on if you're live or it can change the color of the Talley light from red to green. The list goes on. GPI triggers come in really handy in the studio.

Thanks for the thoughts.

Andrew Hoffman
Vice President
Specialized Communications Corp.
20940 Twin Springs Dr.
Smithsburg, MD 21783-1510 USA
800-359-1858 (US)
301-790-0103
Fax: 301-790-0173
andrewh@spec-comm.com
www.spec-comm.com

Please visit our new online store at ( http://www.spec-comm.com/store ). New products being added daily!.
 
Thanks spec.

I wounder how the other systems handle tally or return video.

Any ways we need to have the flypack in for under 200k
But we don't need much more than the switcher, intercom and recorder.
Maybe somekind of playback server, but for the most part it i'll be a one trick pony.
 
Spec-Comm said:
Hello Kit,

I really appreciate the feedback. :)

Please note that I said SUB $3k. The price isn't announced yet. It will be under $3k.
Click to expand...

Dually NOTED. But, please note that you wouldn't say "SUB $3k" if you were going to sell it for $899. I get that it will be under that, but by how much? Look, I'm not trying to bash you guys, but most of the people running around these boards are looking for inexpensive solutions and don't have loads of money to spend. We're buying HPX-500's for $8k and putting SD lenses on them cause we simply cannot afford the HD price. I'm not discounting that you make a good product, I'm just saying that it is expensive for what most of us are willing to spend.

I "want" a Ross Vision 2ME+ switcher, but I simply cannot afford $60k, I will have to settle for the Synergy 100, which can be had for around $15k. I myself cannot even afford that. Lucky for financing though.

People want and need cost effective solutions these days. I guess if you're looking for expensive, "high end" cabling, this might be the way to go. But if you're like me, you'll go find the same thing if needed for 10% to 20% of what your setup costs. And if anyone needs it to look nice, they will buy a jacket to put it all in.
 
The time has come that we have the SCPAN-SNAKE in-stock and ready to ship. This is a very exciting occasion for us at Spec-Comm and we hope that you all enjoy the cable as much as we have enjoyed making it.

We now have it available on our web store for sale and we are going to be releasing our studio packages that include this cable. We will keep you posted on the studio packages.

You can order the SCPAN-SNAKE by clicking HERE.

In the meantime, thank you all so much for all of your valuable feedback that has made the SCPAN-SNAKE what it is today.

Enjoy,

Andrew Hoffman
Vice President
Specialized Communications Corp.
20940 Twin Springs Dr.
Smithsburg, MD 21783-1510 USA
800-359-1858 (US)
301-790-0103
Fax: 301-790-0173
andrewh@spec-comm.com
www.spec-comm.com

Please visit our new online store at ( http://www.spec-comm.com/store ). New products being added daily!
 
I would like to take the opportunity to say thank you for all of the support with the SCPAN-SNAKE. It's a success with close to half of our first batch sold already!

Thanks again.

Andrew Hoffman
Vice President
Specialized Communications Corp.
20940 Twin Springs Dr.
Smithsburg, MD 21783-1510 USA
800-359-1858 (US)
301-790-0103
Fax: 301-790-0173
andrewh@spec-comm.com
www.spec-comm.com

Please visit our new online store at ( http://www.spec-comm.com/store ). New products being added daily!
 
Spec-Comm said:
We are looking into longer cable lengths but nothing longer than 30' has been tested at this time.
Click to expand...

I just noticed an error in my own post! :)

I meant 30 meters, not 30 feet. I had a stone hedge moment. :)

I would also like to clarify too why we are limited to 30 meters (About 98 feet) and can't do cable runs into the 500' to 1000' range.

Our cable has a 12V, 4-pin XLR power run that is spec'd out for over 6 amps pull. This is enough to power everything you need in the studio, Camera, BT-LH80 Monitor, Lens, AJ-RC10, Tally lights, etc...

That's right, No power supply needed at the camera! This wasn't an easy task and it took some special engineering to get this to work without having to use a variable power supply or modify the existing supplies. This still limits the cable run length. If powering the camera isn't needed, you may extend the remote, video and tally cables much farther.

I hope this clarifies some things. And I apologize for the typo. Go ahead, call me Nigel. :)

Andrew Hoffman
Vice President
Specialized Communications Corp.
20940 Twin Springs Dr.
Smithsburg, MD 21783-1510 USA
800-359-1858 (US)
301-790-0103
Fax: 301-790-0173
andrewh@spec-comm.com
www.spec-comm.com

Please visit our new online store at ( http://www.spec-comm.com/store ). New products being added daily!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top