Stereo Bluetooth wireless?

[Chadfish]

I just saw something cool, but I don't know how bad it would sound. This guy is using bluetooth as a wireless setup for cheap.

 

[gpforet]

This might make an inexpensive comtek like feed to the script super and 1st AD but don't know if I'd trust it for a full blown camera feed let alone the sole transmission method for the master audio. Heck, I'm even fearful of running my boom wireless. I am running into more and more gigs where I'd love to have wireless feeds to director, script super, and video village and recently missed a good ebay deal on 4 channels of comtek for around $600. But for the main camera hop, I haven't seen anything I'd trust for less the $3k for two channels.

 

[davefisk]

Using bluetooth for wireless has been tried, and it's really tricky. First, there isn't great range. Second, it has to be frequency agile and it has to automatically be searching for open frequencies and be able to switch to them on their own due the crazy nature of bluetooth. I remember Ricsonix (the original inventor of the Pin Mic that Rode makes) was developing a bluetooth wireless system, and I had tried out a prototype. I don't if it ever came out. In the end I think it ended up being impractical due to the range issues.

 

[j1clark@ucsd.edu]

Using bluetooth for wireless has been tried, and it's really tricky. First, there isn't great range. Second, it has to be frequency agile and it has to automatically be searching for open frequencies and be able to switch to them on their own due the crazy nature of bluetooth. I remember Ricsonix (the original inventor of the Pin Mic that Rode makes) was developing a bluetooth wireless system, and I had tried out a prototype. I don't if it ever came out. In the end I think it ended up being impractical due to the range issues.

There is a spec for a 100 mW Bluetooth transmitter, however, probably most manufacturers tended to the 2.5 mW version (10m/33ft). The 'typical' WIFI device is 100 mW, and as is well known... a battery consumer...

The two things that assist Bluetooth in noise immunity are Frequency Hopping, and FEC, but the latter is an 'option'... there is also automatic retransmit, which is much 'cheaper' than FEC circuitry...

But like all things in the 2.4 band... the local environment may be more hostile than even these methods of avoiding noise can overcome...

I think these would be good for the 'advisory' role of getting sound around a set without wires... just to get something to someone so they can monitor it...

The other issue, is that the audio is necessarily digitized, and as such, the audio circuitry in such a device probably is not what most people would want for their production recording.

One idea would be to have a 'real' recorder at the sending side, have the recorder also 'transmit' the monitor signal via Bluetooth. That way whatever may happen to the packets as they are flying over the airwaves, the recorded audio becomes the master, and could be transmitted later, or via an SD type card uploaded later.

For example, the H4n could be strapped to the person, mic wired in, the Bluetooth device using the headphone jack, send the monitored audio to the receiver, and there monitored by a human...

Next 'nifty' thing would be a two way communication such that the recorder was under the control of the sound person at the receiver...

 

[zaarc]

key phrase is "so this is extremely handy for your next low budget application." Can't argue with that. Also, did I catch that right, that you can also use your bluetooth headphones at the same time? I could see that being useful as well.