JuicedLink is going to show off new "Little DARling" Distributed Audio Recorder

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zijital

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JuicedLink is going to show off new "Little DARling" Distributed Audio Recorder

http://www.juicedlink.com/blogs/news/13161873-new-for-nab-little-darling-distributed-audio-recorder

While I think Sennheiser G3 wireless sets are a good deal for the price, I still have a number of G2 units that don't scan frequencies that well & I've just always had to "deal" with random wireless interference. Pairing the belt pack with something like this would be awesome.

I doubt I'll be at NAB, but if I was going I'd make sure to check this thing out.
 
love it. really cool for impromptu mic ups.

he is also one of the more awkward guys. Perfect for marketing, as his awkwardness gets burned into your memory, and it is difficult to forget.
 
I'm really interested in price. If it is cheap enough & the battery life is long enough I think it could be great for cheap audio of a lot of people.

For weddings it'd be great to mic a lot of the VIPs. If you're doing a documentary & you have a primary wireless mic on the main subject you could put a few of these on anyone else that is around that are interacting with. This would be good for indie features, especially ensemble casts (like a Robert Altman movie). And a bonus to having / hiding a lav on people vs having a big boom mic flying over their head is that people often forget they're wearing a lav. You could discover some real moments and still be getting good audio.
 
zijital said:
I'm really interested in price. If it is cheap enough & the battery life is long enough I think it could be great for cheap audio of a lot of people.

For weddings it'd be great to mic a lot of the VIPs. If you're doing a documentary & you have a primary wireless mic on the main subject you could put a few of these on anyone else that is around that are interacting with. This would be good for indie features, especially ensemble casts (like a Robert Altman movie). And a bonus to having / hiding a lav on people vs having a big boom mic flying over their head is that people often forget they're wearing a lav. You could discover some real moments and still be getting good audio.
Click to expand...

True, part of the beauty would be to have several of these, but then it would have to be cheap.
 
I think cheap is always relative. If it is more expensive than a Sennheiser G3 wireless kit, then I'd say it is too expensive. But even if it is $200, or twice the price of a Zoom H1, I'd consider it being fairly cheap.

Well as long as the pre-amps don't sound cheap, I'm not looking for Sound Devices quality, but still something that is going to make video professionals happy.

That being sad, I'd love if Sound Devices started making something like this, and something that is like a cube transmitter but is just a recorder. I'd love the ability to just plug a small cube into the bottom of any handheld dynamic or shotgun mic & just start recording audio w/o having to have cables & neck straps & etc. around.
 
Price should be $59.
He will sell thousands at that price.
I like the idea of a loop through.
Sometimes you would want to monitor the audio.
 
If its $59 I'll order 7 or 8 for work tomorrow (well, I'll request it in the budget & maybe it'll get ordered before 2016). But I highly doubt it'll be that cheap. I think anything under $200 it'll sell great, especially if there are nice pre-amps.
 
Great idea. Surprises me that no one has really come up with it before.
I think this is going to be a cash earner for Robert.
 
I think its a great idea and in my case just added protection when using wireless in known "hit zones" with the loop through. I think he is very smart and a couple will certainly find their way into my audio kit. I bet they will also find their way into law enforcement and private investigation work too.
 
I tried to find the reference but couldn't find it. Didn't Ed Burns use this technique on one of his recent movies, lav'ing the actors and recording to a recorder on them? Maybe it was Nice Guy Johnny but it was definitely around that time.
 
This is Robert from juicedLink.


Thank you for taking the time to watch the video about the little DARling !


Let me start out with a question:


1) BATTERY LIFE VS SIZE: For my purposes, I want to keep it as small as possible, and 7-8hrs (rought estimate, currently) of battery life is fine. But, I get others who want longer battery life, even if it makes it bigger (AA size bigger). How much battery life is sufficient? Is it really terrible to have to change a battery for the occasions when you have a super-long event?




Let me address some Q's:


1) he is also one of the more awkward guys. Perfect for marketing, as his awkwardness gets burned into your memory, and it is difficult to forget.
- I posted this on my Facebook page as foddor for my friends. One reply was "You're like the El Camino of the video world, so awkward its beautiful" ... ;)


2) I think cheap is always relative. If it is more expensive than a Sennheiser G3 wireless kit, then I'd say it is too expensive. But even if it is $200, or twice the price of a Zoom H1, I'd consider it being fairly cheap.
- These havent gone through proper production flow to measure assembly/test time, I haven’t gone through the pricing spreadsheet. Filmmaking is not a very big market. Even so, I think it may come in around the PCM10 territory.


3) That being sad, I'd love if Sound Devices started making something like this, and something that is like a cube transmitter but is just a recorder. I'd love the ability to just plug a small cube into the bottom of any handheld dynamic or shotgun mic & just start recording audio w/o having to have cables & neck straps & etc. around.
- There is a family of DARs slated. Make sure you are subscribed to the juicedLink Blog.


4) especially if there are nice pre-amps.
- Yes. juicedLink low-noise preamps.




Thank you,


-Robert
 
RERozak said:
This is Robert from juicedLink.


Thank you for taking the time to watch the video about the little DARling !


Let me start out with a question:


1) BATTERY LIFE VS SIZE: For my purposes, I want to keep it as small as possible, and 7-8hrs (rought estimate, currently) of battery life is fine. But, I get others who want longer battery life, even if it makes it bigger (AA size bigger). How much battery life is sufficient? Is it really terrible to have to change a battery for the occasions when you have a super-long event?




Let me address some Q's:


1) he is also one of the more awkward guys. Perfect for marketing, as his awkwardness gets burned into your memory, and it is difficult to forget.
- I posted this on my Facebook page as foddor for my friends. One reply was "You're like the El Camino of the video world, so awkward its beautiful" ... ;)


2) I think cheap is always relative. If it is more expensive than a Sennheiser G3 wireless kit, then I'd say it is too expensive. But even if it is $200, or twice the price of a Zoom H1, I'd consider it being fairly cheap.
- These havent gone through proper production flow to measure assembly/test time, I haven’t gone through the pricing spreadsheet. Filmmaking is not a very big market. Even so, I think it may come in around the PCM10 territory.


3) That being sad, I'd love if Sound Devices started making something like this, and something that is like a cube transmitter but is just a recorder. I'd love the ability to just plug a small cube into the bottom of any handheld dynamic or shotgun mic & just start recording audio w/o having to have cables & neck straps & etc. around.
- There is a family of DARs slated. Make sure you are subscribed to the juicedLink Blog.


4) especially if there are nice pre-amps.
- Yes. juicedLink low-noise preamps.




Thank you,


-Robert
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I whole-heartedly believe 'confident', 'awkward', and 'beautiful' can all be exhibited simultaneously.

Thanks for the answers.
 
Hey guys ... let's not forget about my question ... a little help ...

***
BATTERY LIFE VS SIZE: For my purposes, I want to keep it as small as possible, and 7-8hrs (rought estimate, currently) of battery life is fine. But, I get others who want longer battery life, even if it makes it bigger (AA size bigger). How much battery life is sufficient? Is it really terrible to have to change a battery for the occasions when you have a super-long event?
***
-R
 
RERozak said:
This is Robert from juicedLink.



1) BATTERY LIFE VS SIZE: For my purposes, I want to keep it as small as possible, and 7-8hrs (rought estimate, currently) of battery life is fine. But, I get others who want longer battery life, even if it makes it bigger (AA size bigger). How much battery life is sufficient? Is it really terrible to have to change a battery for the occasions when you have a super-long event?



Thank you,


-Robert
Click to expand...
It is more of maintenance issue. You have been using the thing for 5hrs. Do you: change out the battery now? or, use a model with 12hr life so that you can leave it on the subject all day, and or use it for two days without thinking?


In a wedding environment, lighter smaller, 7hrs is ok.

In a one man band travel doc, or experimental filmmaker, or "tight deadlines-the last things you want to think about is sound!-professional use", then a 12+hr model would be far more welcome. Because camera guys do not prioritize all of their gear the same.

Anything to prevent a battery swap mid day would help. 2 AA can be a bit more bulky, but I do not think it is all that bad.


Tracking down 5 separate recorders and monitoring their battery life would be a logistical nightmare in the real world, for a camera operator. I would have far more peace of mind if they could last all day. 12 is a minimum for me. 24 is better. 7-8 is tempting, but would reduce my desire to invest.

The light weight of the single AA is nice for the subjects, no doubt.



One thing I am unsure of, is how to check sound? How to make sure the unit is operating normally?
 
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I'm curious if you could get 12hr from a different type of battery. I know years ago when I've put budget AA batteries into a digital camera I'd get about 10 pictures or less with the flash before the batteries were dead. If I spent more money on the advanced high blah blah AA batteries, I could get 40-60 pictures or more.

James0b57, I agree that 12 hours would be nice, but I don't expect 12 hours from any device the I normally use from a single battery. Sennheiser G3 units, Lectrosonics, Zoom H4, etc. So personally if I can get 7-8 hours on a rechargeable AA battery, I'd be happy.
 
zijital said:
I'm curious if you could get 12hr from a different type of battery. I know years ago when I've put budget AA batteries into a digital camera I'd get about 10 pictures or less with the flash before the batteries were dead. If I spent more money on the advanced high blah blah AA batteries, I could get 40-60 pictures or more.

James0b57, I agree that 12 hours would be nice, but I don't expect 12 hours from any device the I normally use from a single battery. Sennheiser G3 units, Lectrosonics, Zoom H4, etc. So personally if I can get 7-8 hours on a rechargeable AA battery, I'd be happy.
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Wireless units can be monitored and mixed by a dedicated sound person. these unmonitored satellite recorders are a different tool.
Beside, I am just saying what would be useful to me. 12hrs batt life is what would help me. Anything less and I would start to think of options. I don't want to cause an audio person to lose their job and give myself another audio tool to babysit. As a camera operator, these are not for me.
 
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Hi Robert,
Between size and battery life, I would prefer size. Smaller size would be easier to hide in a talent. If the battery lasts for half a day then it is fine. So that I know if I need full day use, then I will mandatorily change the batteries.

Cost shouldn't be at the PCM 10 levels. Make it cheaper and people will pick up 4-5 each.
 
I think my fear around the units is not being able to monitor things like clothes rustling or controlling it when signal jumps off the scale (squealing kids for instance)..but otherwise I think this kind of thing has been sorely needed for a long time.
 
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