VaricamLT: Wireless HD for the Varicam LT

M

Milan O.

Well-known member
I'm thinking about getting a wireless HD system for my Varicam LT which hopefully will work well with other cameras too.
I have zero experience with wireless HD systems but have tried to find information about a couple of them. Since I won't be using it often I'm thinking about getting something that isn't too expensive but still does the job. (Of course I could rent, but for me the time spent going to the rental place and so on just isn't worth it most of the tjme.)

I know about the Paralinx and Teradek systems and many people seem to use them, but they are a bit expensive. I've read about the Cinegears too, but people seem not to be satisfied with their customer support.

I've seen discussions on forums about the Vaxis Storm, which seems to work well, but I don't know how it works with the Varicam LT (if it can transmit the signal).
There's also the IDX CW-3, which is really cheap, but according to some it can't transmit PsF. On the other hand the Varicam LT can be set to output 50/60i or 50/60p (through the VF-SDI or if SDI 2 is set to VF-SDI, even when shooting in 23.98p or 24p). The thing is it that the CW-3 needs a YCbCr signal and I honestly don't know if this is what the Varicam LT outputs.

Have you any thoughts about these systems and have you used any of them (with the LT)?
 
I use the Teradeks (currently have a 2000 for sale if anyone is interested) myself.

Wireless video is, frankly, a PITA. It's a great tool but even the best units have their good and bad days, because there's a lot of other things happening in the FCC approved spectrum.

What I think is the best budget unit is the Connex Mini, from Amimon. Amimon makes the boards that service virtually the whole transmitter industry (including Paralinx, Teradek and IDX). They came out with two HDMI only products intended to serve the drone industry and the Mini is the smaller and less expensive of the two. It claims a 1500 foot range and while I can't say as I've tested that scientifically, it is very solid for a good long way. I think it performs favorably to the Teradeks at a fraction of the price. What you give up is the SDI I/O, and the connectors are pretty wretched and delicate. I've working on a rehouse project that mates both TX and RX to SDI convertors and hides all the cables internally.

It too cannot work with 23.98psf, but as you indicated the Varicam output can be switched over. For my rehouse I'm using the AJA HI5 Plus which manages the psf conversion on the TX, and an inexpensive HDMI to SDI convertor on the RX end. If you aren't concerned with psf, you can use a Blackmagic Micro convertor on the TX end and keep everything quite small. I know of a commercial kit coming out shortly that will offer just that.
 
Thank you Charles! I hadn't heard about Amimon before. I checked out their website and it seems like they make boards with SDI connectors but the Connex ones only come with HDMI, strange.

Maybe it's easier to buy the boards, make a housing and attach power connectors and buttons? Or maybe I'm thinking it's easier to make it work than it actually is...
 
Amimon is trying not to compete with their OEM customers and put out similar products, which is why they have focused on HDMI only to go after a specific part of the market. Or something like that.

Building a housing and putting everything together like that would be a fairly daunting project...! The tx boards can run hot so you need to heat sink them, for one thing.
 
If you just need something to give a producer/client to see the shot with decent quality, the Teradek Cube is nice, because it can transmit via Wi-Fi straight to an iOS or Android device. One of my audio guys loved it, too, because he'd put his iPhone in the bag and watch the shot so he could keep the boom out.
 
CharlesPapert said:
Amimon is trying not to compete with their OEM customers and put out similar products, which is why they have focused on HDMI only to go after a specific part of the market. Or something like that.

Building a housing and putting everything together like that would be a fairly daunting project...! The tx boards can run hot so you need to heat sink them, for one thing.
Click to expand...

Well, as far as I can see almost all of the different companies "making" these wireless systems are actually only making the housings. When comparing the Ghosteye, Vaxis Storm, Teradek Bolt and some other Chinese brands on AliExpress, they all look very similar. Maybe they should just be made by one company, as it is now it's just confusing. :)

Yes, you're probably right. In the end it won't be worth the time spent on trying to make it and even if I would succeed maybe something won't be good enough which will make the unit break or it just won't work properly.


Run&Gun said:
If you just need something to give a producer/client to see the shot with decent quality, the Teradek Cube is nice, because it can transmit via Wi-Fi straight to an iOS or Android device. One of my audio guys loved it, too, because he'd put his iPhone in the bag and watch the shot so he could keep the boom out.
Click to expand...

I want to have it in case I work with a focus puller but also use it with a client monitor. I guess the Wi-Fi sollutions have too much delay for pulling focus?
 
Milan O. said:
I want to have it in case I work with a focus puller but also use it with a client monitor. I guess the Wi-Fi sollutions have too much delay for pulling focus?
Click to expand...

It's not a bad delay, but definitely what I'd consider too much to pull focus from. It's not really a necessity in what I do, I bought it more for a convenience/'value added item' for certain situations and certain people/clients.
 
I use both Cubes and Bolt 2000's in my setup; the Bolts are the primary signal with no latency for myself and video village (director), and the Cubes are a reference for those who don't need to see lips in sync (makeup/hair, AD's). The delay can be shortened via the app at the cost of streaming reliability.

As far as other companies doing rehouses of the Amimon chips...the major companies at least (Teradek, Paralinx) also spec boards in there which add their own kind of special sauce. They work with Amimon on the feaure set and requirements for each generation of product.
 
The SDI kit for the Connex Mini I alluded to earlier has been announced:

http://www.camotionllc.com/connex-mini/

Camera Motion Research makes a lot of accessories for the Mini including self-contained battery kits for both TX and RX, brackets and plenty of spare cables and antennas. Strongly recommend purchasing the Connex units from them, they are good people and doing good things!
 
The Connex would be great but it looks like it can not be used with the SDI 1 or 2 outputs. The Varicam only outputs 23.98PSF on the SDI outs. I have the IDX CW-3 http://www.idxtek.com/products/cw-3/ and it has the same problem. My work around is either feed the signal through the Odyssey 7Q or daisy chained through the viewfinder output.
 
CharlesPapert said:
The SDI kit for the Connex Mini I alluded to earlier has been announced:

http://www.camotionllc.com/connex-mini/

Camera Motion Research makes a lot of accessories for the Mini including self-contained battery kits for both TX and RX, brackets and plenty of spare cables and antennas. Strongly recommend purchasing the Connex units from them, they are good people and doing good things!
Click to expand...

Thanks again Charles! The other day when I checked their site I rember seeing something about that they won't ship to the EU, or outside the US (can't remember now) but now I can't find that info.

It says "And like the Connex, the mini does not transmit audio.", will that cause any problems? Do you use the camera audio often or is it more common to solve that via the audio technician in situations when you need wireless video?

dolby said:
The Connex would be great but it looks like it can not be used with the SDI 1 or 2 outputs. The Varicam only outputs 23.98PSF on the SDI outs. I have the IDX CW-3 http://www.idxtek.com/products/cw-3/ and it has the same problem. My work around is either feed the signal through the Odyssey 7Q or daisy chained through the viewfinder output.
Click to expand...

You should be able to change it on SDI 2. Go to MENU > OUTPUT SETTINGS > SDI OUT.
Scroll to SDI OUT 2 SIGNAL SEL and select VF SDI.
Then you can change the output format in MENU > OUTPUT SETTINGS > VF SDI OUT if you scroll to VF SDI OUT FORMAT.
Changing the settings there will change the VF SDI and the SDI 2 output.
 
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We use the viewfinder output since I always want to see the information onscreen and keep an eye on ISO/frame rate/format etc. So we can output 59.94.

The SDI convertor I'm mating with the Connex is the AJA Hi-5 Plus, which converts the 23.98psf to 23.98p which the Connex can manage. The Decimator HX does the job nicely also, but is bigger and heavier.
 
It is correct that we can't ship Amimon Connex or Connex Mini sets outside of North America because of dealer agreements (we're an authorized dealer).

But we ship all our Connex and Connex Mini accessories worldwide.

Rich Greb
Camera Motion Research
 
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