Lectro SR or Zaxcom for multiple camera hops?
jacob...@gmail.com
Zaxcom stereo for camera hops? 5 talent, 5 sound mixers, 5 cameras.
Talent on 5 MM400C's to 25 UCR411's into Wendt x5's. Stereo TX from
mixer to camera (TBD) + LMa for producer IFB.
If camera hops are Zaxcom TRX900AA with STA100:
1) Is this now transmitting on 2 frequencies, or 1?
2) The manual says: "The STA100 adaptor can be used to power the host
unit while the TRX900 or ZFR100 is in mono mode and using the mic
level input." Am I understanding correctly that the external power
input on the STA only powers itself and not the TX while in stereo
mode? I'd like to power both from the NP1... is this possible?
3) I've read about problems using the Zax with X5's - have these been
resolved?
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.movies.production.sound/browse_frm/thread/988a39d71f9f09a2/f27ee3a463d89bec?lnk=gst&q=x5+with+zaxcom#f27ee3a463d89bec
4) Are there any negative implications when using Zax with Lectros?
Jason Porter
Only 1 transmitter to power, external 12V power (bad side- no Tx , no
audio at all!)
2 channels (stereo)
amazing sound
easier to frequency coordinate
I have not used the SR yet, but all of my personal mics are Lectros.
2 transmitters to power (bad side- more cables and gear to carry and
maintain etc)
2 channel, very small Rx
I am sure they must sound excellent.
a little more work to coordinate freqs
I am all for a stereo send, but if you only need to send 1 mic to
camera (no boom for coverage???) maybe go for mono sends to save some
cash and RF headache :)
-JP
On Sep 1, 12:11 pm, jacobfar...@gmail.com wrote:
> I'm setting up a reality shoot, and am on the fence over Lectro SR or
> Zaxcom stereo for camera hops? 5 talent, 5 sound mixers, 5 cameras.
> Talent on 5 MM400C's to 25 UCR411's into Wendt x5's. Stereo TX from
> mixer to camera (TBD) + LMa for producer IFB.
>
> If camera hops are Zaxcom TRX900AA with STA100:
>
> 1) Is this now transmitting on 2 frequencies, or 1?
> 2) The manual says: "The STA100 adaptor can be used to power the host
> unit while the TRX900 or ZFR100 is in mono mode and using the mic
> level input." Am I understanding correctly that the external power
> input on the STA only powers itself and not the TX while in stereo
> mode? I'd like to power both from the NP1... is this possible?
> 3) I've read about problems using the Zax with X5's - have these been
> resolved?http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.movies.production.sound/brows...
Whitney Ince
jacob...@gmail.com
There will be boom coverage, plus the 5 talent TX will sometimes be
split between the 2 camera sends. I'm leaning towards the Zaxcom - I
feel like the less frequencies we have to coordinate, the better we'll
be. I'm gathering the Zaxcom transmitts 2 channels on 1 frequency? If
that's the case then our entire setup can be done with 15 freq's
(throughout 3 or 4 blocks for safety).
Sergio Sanmiguel
> > resolved?
AFAIK Using the Zaxcom Stereoline +Wendt X5 you'll necessitate the Zax
Filter Antenna up on your shoulder strap/harness...
~
SS
jacob...@gmail.com
The Zaxcom Stereoline is not the same product at the TRX900AA with the
stereo adapter. I haven't seen any information about a filtering
antenna on the TRX. Anyone have any info?
tsvisser
given to me in a relatively open venue... Zaxcom is soon releasing a
transmitter specifically suited for this duty, a replacement for the
TX990. I don't know anything more about it other than its model
number, which I will respectfully withold for the time being.
Whitney Ince
The filter antenna is a unlisted but important addition to any kit. It
allows you to move the antenna up and out of the bag and also has a RF
Trap in it. Just mention it to your rental house and they will provide
it. for When picking your freq's keep the spacing fair apart. As an
example My lectros are on 21 and 27 with my Zaxcom Hop's on 24.
glen...@comcast.net
This is important because the Lectro SR has no easy way to
power internally. If the shoot is with a prosumer type camera,
that's a heavy push toward the zax (4x AA internal).
Also, the recording transmitter is a great very easy backup
for piece of mind (and MUCH lighter than a separate recorder in the
bag).
I think other post have cleared this up but with the zax,
ONE freq, TWO channels audio. Also, the zax are free of intermod
but you'll still to have to coordinate and protect the Lectros.
I would love to see a new stereoline product from Zaxcom.
Although the audio performance is fantastic and I am
a generally happy owner, user, and advocate, physically
the stereoline adapter is perhaps the worst piece of design
I have seen ever in a pro sound product.
Glen P.
jacob...@gmail.com
> Keep in mind that once the job is over, you can use your Lectro SR
> system to supplement
> your current lectro wireless arsenal. Zax's aren't compatible
> with anything but other Zax's, you get no use out of them other than
> hops. (Like when you are
> working on a job with multiple sound mixers, and you need to do distro
> hopping to
> multiple cameras, or share receivers with other mixers, or lav a
> talent and send him
> around to multiple locations where the transmitters are exchanged.
> I've been in these situations
> often enough to be glad when every mixer on the job uses Lectros,
> there are more options to solve
> problems and create quick solutions in the field. Newer Lectros have
> lots of backward compatiblilty
> to extend these solutions even further. If the Zax receiver fails, you
> could loose your hop for the rest
> of the job. If your lectro fails, you probably have or can borrow
> Lectro receivers to finish the job.
> ben
Thanks for the input. I've pretty much decided on the Zax with filter
antenna's for camera hops. There will be alot of benifts for this
shoot - less gear, less frequencies, etc. I believe cameras will be
XDCam. One thing I'm still unclear on is will an NP1 power the entire
TX in stereo mode? If so I'm set.
Jason Porter
-JP
.... One thing I'm still unclear on is will an NP1 power the entire
Billy Sarokin
Zax's aren't compatible
> with anything but other Zax's, you get no use out of them other than
> hops.
Not quite sure I understand this. Most radios are not compatible with
other brand radios. You can't use Lectros well with Audio Ltd
receivers or Sennheisers with Lectro receivers. I see your point
about needing to borrow one, but I wouldn't make any professional
decisions on that basis. Since any piece of equipment can fail, any
pro should go into the field with adequate back-up (or at least a back-
up plan). And 'you get no use (from Zaxcom) other than hops?'. I
definitely don't understand this statement. Zaxcom radios are the
best I've ever used and I very rarely use them for camera link. They
are my main 'on talent' radios. You can use them for body mics,
camera hops, remote stashes, even as remote recorders (with time
code!). They're small, have awesome sound quality, long battery life,
a built in recorder, ifb, remote control, and great range. If you
only had one and it failed you can easily rent another (as you would
with any professional radio). The only question I can't answer is if
the Wendt mixer has poor rfi rejection. For that I would recommend
testing a Zaxcom with your system.
Best,
Billy Sarokin
Boomboom
€s.com> wrote:
> On Mon, 1 Sep 2008 21:30:45 -0700 (PDT), Scott <sc...@farroutpro.com>
> schreef:
>
> >and the new Digital
> >line, both of which have no competition)
>
> eeeh...What new digital line ? ( the stereo RX ? )
>
> R
...apart from the 7xx "encoding mics" series, never heard about
digital Lectros either... O_o ???
Sergio Sanmiguel
Lectro D4 (four channels digital camera link):
http://web.me.com/farroutpro/sound/lectro_d4.html
~
SS
Billy Sarokin
> On Sep 1, 3:57 pm, Billy Sarokin <bigm...@verizon.net> wrote:
> Lectrosonics 4xx series will emulate Sennheiser and Shure wireless
> (both transmitters and receivers) as well as all other legacy Lectro
> products including IFB's (except the 7xx series and the new Digital
> line, both of which have no competition)
I stand corrected. Thanks for the info.
Billy
Billy Sarokin
competition to Zaxcom radios (50mw, 200KHz band width, 500' range).
This won't be it. What about the Sonys? Any sign of them in the real
world?
Billy
Batter...@googlemail.com
Call me old fashioned but isn't 1 Watt greater than 50 milliwatts?
Also according to Scotts site it's 1000' range....also greater than
500'. I think that is real competition to the Zax.
Billy Sarokin
<Batterywa...@googlemail.com> wrote:
> Call me old fashioned but isn't 1 Watt greater than 50 milliwatts?
> Also according to Scotts site it's 1000' range....also greater than
> 500'. I think that is real competition to the Zax.
Ooops, misread the 1000. My apologies, the link does say 1000'. And
yes, 1 watt is much more than 50mw and that's a problem. It will need
a huge amount of power. For example, my Deva 10 track recorder uses
900 mw at 12v, This radio transmitter will draw at least 1.25 watts.
That's an enormous amount for a radio mic. The unit is obviously not
a body mic and the 5mHz bandwidth would greatly limit it's use. It's
hard enough to find an opening of 100-200 kHz, it will be much harder
to find an open 5 MHz. MAny of us use 1 watt video transmitters that
use 6mHz, and we all know how hard it is to get a decent video
signal. The 900Mhz block they are referring to is the ISM
"Industrial, Scientific and Medical Band'. So don't use it in a
hospital. It's also available for unlicensed use for wireless LAN and
cordless phones (and GSM cell phones). No TV, but lots of other
signals, especially when your trying to protect 5 Mhz. Perhaps they
have come up with an error correction algorithim that can correct for
a sudden loss of part of the frequency. But until they show the unit
it's all conjecture. The 4 channel transmission is good (though
Zaxcom could probably squeeze 18 channels into that bandwidth).
Anyway, I was a bit flip (big news there ;-) it looks like an
interesting product, but it's a long way from a notice on a 3rd party
web site to a product in the stores. I thought Sony was close with a
digital radio at the 2007 NAB, but I don't believe it's out yet.
Best,
Billy
Martin Harrington
Martin H
On 3/09/08 12:55 AM, in article
72b66173-58dd-48c5...@m73g2000hsh.googlegroups.com, "Billy
Billy Sarokin
€s.com> wrote:
> On Tue, 2 Sep 2008 14:20:36 -0700 (PDT), Billy Sarokin
> <bigm...@verizon.net> schreef:
>
> > I thought Sony was close with a
> >digital radio at the 2007 NAB, but I don't believe it's out yet.
>
>
> R
Now we're talking. Looks like it's available. Anyone plop down the
$5300? Any reports? The camera slot mount is good and I believe Sony
has remote control (but no recording) and at $5300 it's only $1200
more than a Zaxcom, so it's (very) roughly in the ballpark. From what
I remember from the tech sheets at NAB it seems like Sony came up with
a digital and rf design very similar to Zaxcom. Any rental houses
have one yet? Glen Trew? It would be interesting to see a side by
side.
Best,
Billy
Billy Sarokin
> Try 1000 feet or more...
>
> Martin H
lol, this is like the scene in the Music Man when Mayor Shinn and the
Buffalo Bills are saying that the River City boys band could beat any
other band in Iowa and Shirley Jones says, 'What Band?'
Billy
Billy Sarokin
feature, the receiver seems to have the remote control feature built
in (as opposed to Zaxcoms seperate IFB transmitter). It didn't give
many details, so I don't know if the remote control is embedded in the
UHF signal and shares the UHF antenna or if it's a seperate signal on
a different freq (needing a seperate antenna). Also don't know if the
the remote control can send audio like the Zaxcom ifb for receiving a
return feed. According to the specs you can adjust the transmitter
freq remotely which you cannot do (at this time) on the Zax. One
major difference from the Zax. While the receiver can receive 2
channels, the transmitter is mono, so to use it in the bag for 2
channels you would need 2 transmitters which would raise the price for
a 2 channel system to approx $7600 which seems out of the ballpark. I
would imagine they have a 2 channel transmitter in the works, but I
couldn't find any confirmation. So for the time being Zaxcom still
seems to have the field to itself. Anyone hear of any other digital
radio rumours? Audio Ltd? Sennheiser? Shure (which has very nice rf
software)?
Billy
Billy Sarokin
Their remote control uses 2.4 gHz (like the Zax). I don't see an
external antenna connector, so I'm guessing remote control range would
be very limited (30-50'). With the Zax I found I needed an external
antenna AND a booster amp to get the remote range to equal the audio
transmission range.
I like that the receiver can receive 2 seperate transmitters. This is
good for body mic work but not as good for a camera hop because you'd
need 2 transmitters. Bandwidth and specs seem similar to Zax.
LAtency is a bit higher, but no big deal. Of course they don't have
recording capability and return feed (ifb) audio, but they are made to
interface with Sony cameras which can make them worthwhile on Sony
shows.
I'm glad the ball is rolling. While I love (and depend on) my Zaxcom
radios, competition raises the bar all around. I'm hoping Lectro and
Audio Ltd jump into the fray soon, but I'm not sure the Lectro 900 mHz
model will see the light of day. Like the CamLynx it is suitable as a
camera hop but not as a body mic. One feature that Lectro has (and
Sony partially has) are broader band units that can transmit and
receive accross a wider range. The Sony transmitters cover 66 mHz
(though their receivers only cover 24 mHz). Zaxcom covers 30 mHz (and
I believe this will increase soon via software improvements). Some
Lectro units are wide band too (if I remember correctly they are the
opposite of Sony, their receivers are boradband but their transmitters
are not). A wide band is probably our best defense in the frequency
wars.
Best,
Billy Sarokin
Ty Ford
(in article <o7kqb4h4cfoj5dsm0...@4ax.com>):
> On Tue, 2 Sep 2008 07:13:04 -0700 (PDT), Sergio Sanmiguel
> <sounds...@gmail.com> schreef:
>
>
>>> ...apart from the 7xx "encoding mics" series, never heard about
>>> digital Lectros either... O_o ???
>>
>> Lectro D4 (four channels digital camera link):
>> http://web.me.com/farroutpro/sound/lectro_d4.html
>>>
>> SS
>
> Ehh, i thought lectro told here on Ramps that this was just a concept.
>
>
> R
For Karl's video explanation and demo from NAB, look in the NAB 2008 folder
on my online archive.
Regards,
Ty Ford
--Audio Equipment Reviews Audio Production Services
Acting and Voiceover Demos http://www.tyford.com
Guitar player?:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RZJ9MptZmU
Ty Ford
(in article
<72b66173-58dd-48c5...@m73g2000hsh.googlegroups.com>):
They were working on the floor at NAB. Look in the NAB2008 folder in my
Ty Ford
(in article
<da3efc16-3ee3-40ea...@w7g2000hsa.googlegroups.com>):
I got 1000+ feet with an Audio Ltd. 2040 here. A good couple hundred feet or
more than I got with the Zax.
and xmiter power is not the main factor in distance.
Batter...@googlemail.com
> On Tue, 2 Sep 2008 14:48:50 -0400, Batterywa...@googlemail.com wrote
> (in article
> <da3efc16-3ee3-40ea-9c68-e93306b6d...@w7g2000hsa.googlegroups.com>):
>
> > On Sep 2, 3:55 pm, Billy Sarokin <bigm...@verizon.net> wrote:
> >> 1 watt, 5mHz bandwidth, 100' range? yikes. Still waiting for digital
> >> competition to Zaxcom radios (50mw, 200KHz band width, 500' range).
> >> This won't be it. What about the Sonys? Any sign of them in the real
> >> world?
> >> Billy
>
> > Call me old fashioned but isn't 1 Watt greater than 50 milliwatts?
> > Also according to Scotts site it's 1000' range....also greater than
> > 500'. I think that is real competition to the Zax.
>
> I got 1000+ feet with an Audio Ltd. 2040 here. A good couple hundred feet or
> more than I got with the Zax.
>
> and xmiter power is not the main factor in distance.
>
> Regards,
>
> Ty Ford
>
> --Audio Equipment Reviews Audio Production Services
> Guitar player?:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RZJ9MptZmU
and xmiter power is not the main factor in distance.
Totally agree with you Ty.....but it does help : )
Billy Sarokin
digital radio out there what would you like me to compare it to. A
Vega? Anyway, to get back to the original poster maybe he'll take a
look at the Sony for use as his video hop and report back.
.... or maybe I saved him a trip to his dealer ;-)
Billy
On Sep 3, 2:49 pm, ¤R¼..-¦°€•*¦*b€rt°• <~¤..-¦-•¦-y¤€-•~¤¤¦*@le•
€s.com> wrote:
> On Wed, 3 Sep 2008 09:02:30 -0700 (PDT), Billy Sarokin
> <bigm...@verizon.net> schreef:
>
> >I took a closer look at the Sony Digital units.
> > Zaxcoms...
>
> > like the Zaxcom...
> > Zax.
> > Zax.
> > So for the time being Zaxcom still
> >seems to have the field to itself.
>
> Amen.
>
> >Billy
>
> Fantastic info, and i really never heard this r,r,r,r,record from you
> before.
> Oh, and maybe the next time you can call the topic Zaxcom versus
> Sony ?
>
> R