Comtek Pr-216 Frequency Chart
Salomon Thoj
Hey guys, anyone have experience with the listen tech receivers? I use a comtek 216 system and was tossing around the idea of adding some LR-400 receivers to the mix as they appear to be compatible but I have zero experience with them. I am happy with the pr-216 receivers as they are tough and reliable but the Listen Tech gear has a much lower price tag. Thanks
I have an 72mhz setup with both listen tech and comteks.. Sound is pretty decent either way. I have a listen tech base station and the listen techs are fequency agile so thats nice as well... If I really wanted to, I could have two different comtek feeds...between my fixed freq tx and the base station.
Rugged. ...as the director is required to drop theirs and also dangle it by the cord bouncing into things, at least twice a day. I say "required" as no one could be that consistent without a requirement in place somewhere.
I bought a new LR 400 72/216 for $89.00.... I want to test it out just for fun myself... If it sounds even close, that's not bad... it works on BOTH 72 and 216 Mhz... Cool... I like the Limited Lifetime warranty... Can't beat that... Funny they are in SLC Utah..... Just like Comtek... Coincidence?? Who knows...
If it works well in the 72Mhz zone... and sounds as good as the normal 72Mhz Comteks (my opinions of those I have voiced here a few times over) What a deal.... I will say again... As long as I am finding them in gutters, bushes and watching them being stepped on by morons... that's what they get... and they will like it...
Listentech has a new series of receivers that look kind of interesting. LR-4200. I called them up today and asked a few questions.... Smaller and lighter than Comteks (3.75x2x0.64 In.). Dual headphone output (intended as the attachment point for a neck lanyard but both ports will drive headphones simultaneously if that's useful to you). Li-ion rechargeable battery should last 12 hours (spec sheet says 8 hrs but on the phone they said it's closer to 12). Battery is easy to swap and non-proprietary NP60 type. Compatible with Comtek, comes in either 72 or 216 flavors. Paired with the Listentech base station (100mW) they claim 3000 ft range. Couldn't find a price for the 216 MHz version, maybe not available yet, but the 72 MHz one is $150 each. Base station costs $650. Rep on the phone said that they are designed to be more rugged than their previous receiver, partly due to the more compact design. Volume control on front-face buttons. Battery status, volume setting, and transmitter name on front OLED screen. Lifetime warranty if it does get cracked.
I don't really like the dual headphone ports, I'm sure it would create questions... also I'd prefer a volume knob on top but people are so used to looking at the face of their phones for control maybe the buttons on the front would be okay. You have to press and hold the button on top for 5 seconds to turn off. Automatically shuts off if no signal for 6 minutes... but does not automatically come back on, I don't like that.
Ive got 4 LR-400's I use in addition to Comteks when I need some unexpected extras. I find the sound quality to be a little worse than the Comteks in this setup, but good enough for reference and I've never had any complaints or comments about them. Bought them 2nd hand on Ebay as an experiment really and no complaints so far considering the price.
Don't know about the new digital ListenTech. but the LR400-216Mhz receivers w/ListenTech LT transmitter sound better than the Comek 72Mhz system. Though I didn't do an A-B test. The ListenTechs are not as rugged as the Comteks but cost less.
In 2000, the Grammys moved from the Shrine Auditorium to the then-new Staples Center (now Crypto.com Arena) and changed from one performance stage to two. Each Grammys since (except the unusual 2021 version) has featured A and B stages. That first year, Eddie McKarge and I were assigned to the B stage and, with a couple of exceptions, have anchored the B-side ever since.
As our company continued to expand, we began to look for ways to streamline our on-set workflows. For example, many Playback Operators use off-the-shelf tools such as Keynote or ProtoPie for creating and cueing phone graphics during a scene. However, we found that both of these programs had serious limitations, both in their capabilities and the time it took to program and design individual graphics. A custom solution was needed by 2020. Chris Cundey had already spent several years developing our proprietary programs, Magic Phone and Scene Builder. This allowed us to effortlessly recreate common smartphone actions so that they could be easily cued in an on-set environment. With these two applications, we could create simple phone calls and texting gags in just a few minutes. Even more complicated actions, like posting a live photo to Instagram or scrolling through Twitter, became straightforward to build and easy for an actor on set to operate under the guidance of a Video Playback Engineer. In fact, the accuracy of the graphics was noticed by phone manufacturers and Magic Phone quickly became a preferred program amongst product placement teams in order to ensure the proper look and feel of the most popular smartphone brands. We made plans to license Scene Builder and Magic Phone to other Playback Engineers and companies, but our commitments to film and television clients kept us too busy to devote the necessary resources beyond sending alpha versions of the programs to a few friends.
The shoot was extremely successful, and we realized that once production came back, a similar service would be needed. We revised the software, added the ability to stream from cameras, and were ready to meet the demand when production returned in the fall of 2020. As expected, there was a huge need for streaming from the set. SetLink Live went on to be used on multiple shows, such as The Morning Show, Black-ish, and Insecure. Even today, nearly two years later, this application continues to see daily use on several shows; often with two Local 695 Engineers running both the software and the safety cameras. It remains a valuable tool that can be used either standalone or in conjunction with video assist tools like QTAKE. Additionally, it can be used for custom remote video playback feeds (such as scripted Video Chats), whether from one stage to another; or from one side of the world to another.
Our success in the past two years led to the development of several additional programs to make on-set life easier and more productive in the ever-expanding world of the Video Playback Engineer. Modern Gamma is a color-temperature control program used to handle multiple displays, powered by either Intel or Apple Silicon processors. Modern Chroma, our green screen generator, allows the operator to quickly dial in a preferred hue and brightness level, place or remove tracking marks, and even using various effects when the camera is shooting over the monitor toward an actor. It can also cue between various colors/effects, allowing an operator to start with a green image at the start of a camera move and then automatically change it to gray once the monitor is no longer blocked and then change again to another effect once the screen is no longer being photographed. Simple Cues, our QuickTime control program, allows a user to quickly jump between multiple clips and then set separate loop, pause, and advance rules for each one. All three of these programs are available to license monthly as part of a package with Scene Builder and Magic Phone.
Additionally, we have also developed Vitals, an easy-to-control heart rate monitor program for hospital and EMT sets. The program can run multiple custom cues, including various heart rates, blood pressure, temperature, etc. It has multiple looks and can run on monitors of nearly any aspect ratio. Vitals is available as part of a standalone package, which can be licensed on a monthly or per-show basis.
Like most people reading this article, I was absolutely terrified by the pandemic. I lost my job. I felt cut off from my friends. I was afraid for my family and I was afraid for myself. And I had nothing but time on my hands. So I started writing and developing projects with my roommates, Dilek, Kyle, Natalie, and Emre. They may not have been filmmakers but they were passionate artists and I am thankful for all of them. It took bravery to go out and shoot in those strange days. We, of course, made it as safe as possible. Experience shooting during the pandemic helped me to start work with a German reality/challenge show as early as May of 2020. That job led to another one at the reboot of Saved By the Bell, which I believe was one of the earliest shows to resume production. And that show brought me to Star Trek: Picard. Boom baby, was back at it!
It was exciting to figure out all the possibilities. I got to work on the design and infrastructure of it. I ended up making a lot of flow charts and maps. On a show this large, it would have been impossible to wing it. I needed a complete plan in place. Maybe two or three of them. Thankfully, I was working with Todd Marks of Images on Screen, who was the Video Department Head on Picard. He was a veteran Video Playback Engineer and he spoke to production about getting me the essential prep time needed to create an ideal scene to stream for this show. He and his team of Video Engineers were able to understand the more technical aspects of our craft and vouch for it if something was needed. I was not alone and knew I had the backup of a full team of tech wizards at the helm of the show. Having such a large amount of Local 695 representation on set was wonderful. If I was getting a hard no from production and really needed the help, I was no longer a one-person band raising my hand.
In that meeting, I learned that Top Gun: Maverick would be shooting almost entirely in California, which is where I live. I had been shooting on distant locations for most of my projects over the preceding years. The opportunity to shoot a whole movie at home was very welcome.
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