William Demeritt

I've got a Paralinx Arrow on order, planning on using it for a job on 6/21.

 

The reconnection time might improve with the software updates, but I'm not really sure. Personally, my approach to that issue is: it draws only 5 watts, so connect it to a battery that'll run it all day and never power it down. Boom, no need to reconnect.

Eric, how do you know that is not the cause. i beleive touching a tiffen product would burn your hands (silver & vampire analogie) :) but seriously if the upgrade means changing teflon bearings to ball bearings, logically it is clear that there is something with teflon bearings. it`s either teflon deterioreting or the dust makes it`s way within bearings, mating with the oil already present and obstructs its proper fonction by making it sticky. and if the service makes the problem to go away for a while i bet it`s the dust messing with our arms.

 

also constantly making fun of tiffen products with bearly usable suggestions about our equipment is not very nice or helpful. i know i`m very new to forums and fairly new in steadicam world but your comments seems pointless other than making us feel bad. of caurse each should tell about his/her experiences and favor a product over another but i think this isn`t what you`re doing.

 

Actually, I remember seeing Eric spend a good chunk of time at the Tiffen booth at NAB this year giving specific feedback to Chris Fawcett on the design of the Exovest, I would imagine for improvements? He held the Exovest the entire time, and didn't burst into flames, even while flying their rigs at the booth.

 

Regarding "making fun of Tiffen products", he wrote the simplicity of cleaning the PRO arm. Maybe Jack doesn't advertise exactly this method, but his point is you CAN do it this way. Do you believe his method is falsely represented? If so, please call him out on it.

 

Otherwise, yes, I don't think anyone participating in the forum has any misgivings: Eric prefers the equipment he's invested in just as every operator (hopefully) prefers their own equipment. The thread is in the "Arms" category, and just because Eric is the most frequent to cite the strengths of the PRO arm over other manufacturer's arms doesn't make his claims less valid. If anyone believes they are, then please explain how.

 

Perhaps Eric is overbearing (be they teflon or ball bearing... sorry), but with the exception of Jerry Holway, nobody seems to be taking him to task over his claims that the gear he invested in is superior. If you disagree, speak up. However, I'd really be disappointed if positive reviews are disregarded simply because of the voice bringing them up.

 

Why does it seem people are so paranoid about a negative review? If it's major manufacturers charging for an "upgrade" when a competitor hasn't needed to "upgrade" anything in over a decade, is that not a valid thing to cite? When MK-V seems to generate strong negative reviews, we still walk on egg shells. Why is that?

 

If someone claims a product you own is sub-standard, that's not cause to silence that person. That's cause to examine your investment, consider their claims (and any evidence they give), determine if they have a valid point that affects you, and proceed accordingly.

 

As far as defending manufacturers, or restricting feedback about equipment, I can't help but think of a post of Janice's from a few months ago:

 

"Some should fail"

Transvideo makes the Titan HD

Boxx makes the Meridian

Justin,

 

Welcome to the forum. Yea, I think the experience of many operators (Steadi and other) is that the CamWave just doesn't have the robustness in broadcast ability that they expect. Even with line of sight, the signal breaks up a little too easily. I think the MicroLite is compressed in it's HD transmission (I think it compresses to H.264 before transmission, which creates a latency that will never get below 3-4 frames.

 

I believe most people will tell you the TitanHD and Boxx Meridian are quite capable. Both systems are based on the same chips as the CamWave, but they've spent more time perfecting the transmission strength, fidelity, and packaging software around it to give the user feedback about connectivity. Likewise, it's an uncompressed HD signal, so the latency is sub 1ms. They also have external antennas, which some people have modified their CamWaves to have (with good results).

 

Both cost less than the Microlite, more than the CamWave, but would probably work in your environment.

I've had some great success with cables made of Belden 9221 for HD-SDI that's spaghetti thin:

 

http://www.markertek.com/Cables/Video-Cables/BNC-to-BNC-Video-Cables/TecNec-Cables-Connectors/MB-MB-3.xhtml

 

Some websites even sell those with a female BNC on one end and male BNC on the other end. Makes for quick, easy disconnect or connect, and one less link in the chain that might malfunction (eliminates the need for female to female BNC barrel).

I hear it's double-secret-lava proof, as well as gravity repellant.

 

So now that we've witnessed how annoying rumors can be, how about we wait until Chris introduces the next generation of the monitor. Apparently it'll be an "upgrade" of some kind from the 1st gen, other than that, let's let him unveil it.

 

He's one person developing this thing, and we've already seen the timeframe push back. When it's ready, he'll announce it. He showed the new housing at the Stabilizer expo VERY briefly, it looks spiffy and says "Cinetronic".

 

I promise you, LA operators or current owners worldwide are not privy to reliable information about the next generation. We're not holding out on you guys, so the rumor mill does very little to help.

 

Can we continue discussing products companies unveiled, announced or released at CineGear?

No worries, my post was ambiguous. Great price, great motor.

Peter,

 

I meant that the HPM-1 would sell individually for $1800, or that was what I thought I was told for the motor bought individually. If that's incorrect or unset I apologize.

Sorry that price was during CineGear, I guess it's gone back up to $1195

Probably worth mentioning while being vague: not only is this an upgrade of the monitor, it's an upgrade of how we think about monitors and how we upgrade those investments. From what I hear, the monitor will not only be an upgrade in performance, but it will also allow for easier performance enhancements and upgrades down the road. LCD panel replacement won't require a whole new monitor purchase, software upgrades with new features, etc.

 

Yes, from what I saw, my patience is renewed but also my anxiousness to get my new monitor grows!

What makes this different from the other WHDI sticks on the market?

 

Dan and Paralinx say they've added new antennas inside the transmitter and receiver, as well as power amplifiers to give them their broadcast performance distance. Likewise, both the transmitter and receiver are FCC and CE approved for sale here with those enhancements.

 

WHDI sticks sold on Amazon generally advertised 30' to 100' line of sight with significantly reduced performance for obstructions. Dan packaged the kit properly, and priced it to move. I have one on preorder with them, and plan on testing it on set as soon as I have one.

Well???

What was there to see? Anything really good? For those of us who were not able to be there, please tell all...

 

Grayson Grant Austin, SOC

 

As far as our world is concerned:

 

Tiffen:

• showed off their ExoVest, gathering more interest and momentum. Very open design, room to breathe and great ventilation. Also has mounting options for front and back mounted vest styles.
  

 

GPI-PRO:

• debuted a "lighter" sled featuring a few components that are interchangeable with the existing PRO components.
  
• Gen IV battery base, 2 battery positions only, extendable rear battery position, I think total weight is 1.7lbs
  
• "light" upper j-box and lower j-box, I forget the specifics
  
• reintroduced the DB2 as the donkey box for this "light" sled (same specs as the original DB2, no limit to it's weight tolerance).
  
• 18" fixed length centerpost
  
• as David Baldwin indicated, new gimbal options: VZ (obviously), clamping w/no VZ, kipp handle clamping, and I think an option to go grip-less (handle the centerpost)?
  
• Atlas arm full debut: 2 canisters in a new skeleton, 1 front and 1 back. Weighs approximately 1.5lbs more than existing 4-can "Titan" arm, but occupies far less space (the sections without a canister are flat, low profile bones).
  
• "grey" canister with 25-30% greater lift capacity than the black canisters. 2 greys in your "Atlas" arm gives you upwards of 50lbs sled. 4 greys in your existing 4-canister "Titan" arm gives lifting capacity of a 92lbs sled (as was the big event at 1:00PM). The "Titan" arm will accept grey canisters, it's well within tolerances for springs that strong.
  

 

Hopefully GPI PRO updates their website soon with all this new information.

 

Jim Bartell stealthily showed off his plans for an upgrade to the Bartech single channel to become 2 channels (works with an analog and digital receiver, or two digital receivers). Bolts on an Iris slider to the side. Also, plans are in the works to offer a 3-channel Bartech solution using Preston Microforce or Libec zoom controller plugged into the bottom of the Bartech hand unit. Probably will require 2-3 BDR's. Either way, looks like a cool, scalable way to offer 3-channels at a lower cost.

 

Peter Hoare showed off his new Axis system (visible here) with a new transmitter and receiver and his new HPM-1 digital motor. The responsiveness was remarkably fast (that's just in my opinion, I'm sure seeing it will impress anyone) and affordable at about $1800? Standard digital motor connections, works with Preston or BDR.

 

Chris Bangma with Cinetronic had the new housing to show off: touch-screen buttons on the front, customizable backing plate for if you want to add a battery plate to it. Other details, I'll leave up to him, but I did hear it'll be 30% brighter than current gen Cinetronic monitors.

 

Dan Kane from a new company called Paralinx released the Arrow, a WHDI latency free, uncompressed HD transmitter with advertised 320' line of sight and 200' "obstructed" (depending on the obstructions, this needs testing). I preordered one, and plan on giving reviews here as well as feedback to Dan. Price was $995, but is HDMI only. Powers off 5v USB connectors. The performance at the Stabilizer Expo on Sunday seemed pretty solid, especially when considered against the price.

 

Any other new products relevant to Steadicam or camera operators?

ok...here goes:

...

 

I am typing this from the burn unit in Torrence...next year will be a success.

 

What's this thread about again??

When Dan arrives, I already have some test ideas in mind that I want to run (with his permission).

 

For me, the whole HDMI issue isn't really a dealbreaker when considered against the cost (I would consider owning two kits, in case the first goes down). I just think this is the cheapest solution to the problem of tethering vs. reluctance to use SD transmission. I have no problems telling productions "If you want a truly bulletproof unit, let's rent a Boxx Meridian (from Ron Baldwin, here's his number, call Jumbo's and have them page him)."

 

The linkup time, in my mind, can be "handled": stack it on the camera's battery and whenever the camera is on, the Arrow is on. 8-10 seconds to lock transmission is still about the boot-up time of most HD cameras. If you lose range, get back within range and wait to re-link (yawn). When Paralinx gets feedback of the final product, I bet they're going to dig into the software and figure out how to improve that re-link time. However, I have the feeling that's a part of the AMIMON chip, as the old Brite-Views I played with had the same challenge.

 

I guess I'm just thinking of this unit as a $1,000 powered antenna for my Decimator 2 to my AJA HA5, not a transmitter. If I get self-conscious, I can buy a plastic hobby-box, wire in a 2-pin hermaphrodite LEMO plug and DC plug, and slap all the stuff into a box together. Bam, it's "packaged" with HD-SDI on the outside.

 

On a bigger set, yes, probably not the go-to package, but on the other projects when I get that question of "Do you mind being tethered?" I can decline and offer a good solution with limits, and if they want better, "vote for Jumbo's".

Marc,

 

I'll be happy to come by early and help if you need it.

Switronix Recon Ultra, I think it's $3,600 but has HDMI and HD-SDI (whatever you input, both come out)

I won't spend time dominating the thread, eager to see feedback. However, they know the HDMI thing is a dealbreaker for people. here's Dan's thoughts from RedUser:

 

http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?80257-PARALINX-ARROW-Wireless-Uncompressed-HD-Transmitter-System-Ships-June-15th-2012&p=1017312&viewfull=1#post1017312

Alan: just posted a new thread about it. Hoping I can score a demo to play with it sometime soon.

http://www.hotrodcameras.com/?product=paralinx-arrow-hd-wireless-kit

 

Just got back from CineGear, wanted to report back on a project that seems near and dear to me: wireless HD video. More details are coming out, but just wanted to share the paper specs of this product.

 

The Paralinx Arrow uncompressed wireless HD kit

 

The transmitter is about the size of a bulky USB stick (like the Phillips one someone posted a few weeks ago), runs off 5v USB input (wish they'd went with another type of power connector) that includes a d-tap to 5v adaptor.

 

The receiver is about the size of a 3x5 index card and about 1" thick, also runs off 5V usb adaptor. It's very light and portable, I would think it's great for a handheld director's monitor.

 

Price: $995 for the next 2 weeks until they ship, then it goes to $1195.

 

Biggest downside: it's HDMI.

 

Even they're suggesting "just go get a Decimator 2 if you need HD-SDI to HDMI", and they're right. To build this wireless HD kit out right, you will spend another $495 for a Decimator 2, AJA HI5, Atomos Connect H2S (for $349 when it ships), etc. Likewise, you'll need an AJA HA5, BlackMagic HDMI to HD-SDI on the receiver, Atomos Connect S2H (for $349 when ships).

 

$995 + $495 + $495 = $1985 (plus tax?).

 

New Canatrans is $4,327. Lite version of new Canatrans is $2,195. Switronix Recon is around $3,000. Camwave is $5400.

 

Briefly chatting with Dan Kane (who I know has been working on WHDI transmitters since before I was playing with them), they did increase the power output and add new antennas to the transmitter/receiver.

 

The result: advertised 320' line of sight transmission, 200' transmission with obstructions.

 

Some of the other operators at CineGear walked a good distance from the booth and lost signal, I'll let them chime in with the distance.

 

Another downside: from power on to signal lock: 7-10 seconds.

IF you lose signal during a shot, it takes about as long to recover the signal, especially if you're far away.

 

They're actively researching multicast capability, so that one transmitter can be received by several receivers. Hopefully, that's a software update down the road (they're not saying when, but it's on their development path).

 

Personally, I'm pretty excited. I'm going to try and arrange a demo, and if it works out well, I'll pick one up at that price and shelf my Modulus. For film jobs, I've found a few analog to HDMI converters that I can replace my Decimator 2 with and just transmit digitized 720p.

 

As far as range, I've already grown accustomed to working with video assist in placing a sharkfin "close to the furthest possible place, and closer for the rest of the move". For this system, I would just have video assist run a BNC to my stand or somewhere very nearby.

 

Again, I want to demo this and really put it through some trouble. However, if it works, I'll be really excited. Here's a very prospective unit, advertises great range, low power consumption, and a package whose pricepoint altogether is over $1,000 less than competitors.

 

Here's hoping...

 

So, in summary:

 

PRO:

$995 price now, $1195 in 2 weeks.

320' line of sight advertised, 150-200' obstructed (looking forward to Steadicam testing)

low power consumption

small, compact, and light

UNCOMPRESSED (DP can turn on scopes and histograms at the monitor and get an reliable reading)

LATENCY FREE (sub 2ms)

 

CON:

HDMI

slow to lock, slow to recover

powering could have been more robust, not USB port

HDMI

range needs to be tested, reliability needs to be tested

HDMI

 

No, I don't work for Paralinx, I have no affiliation with them or Hot Rod Cameras (who are selling them). I'm just a WHDI enthusiast whose happy to see a company take advantage of the technology without gouging the pricetag.

Isn't it HDMI only? That's not so good.

 

Not good but getting there. Buy an AJA HA5 and you're good on the receiver end. Decimator 2 on tx end with scaling to hdmi enabled and you're transmitting.

 

It probably has a few antennas, I'm curious to see about the broadcast power and actual transmission channels.

I'll check out the Paralinx today, but with the specs I see online and the price I can finally say: SOMEONE GOT IT!!!!

 

I need to see the powering options, but it looks good.

Range?

Another satisfied customer. I got one. Very happy.

In the previous picture I attached, I am the Grip on the bucket end of the Techno15. I have a headset talk back to the operator, whose wheels are rigged in a BMW thats chasing behind us so the Libra transmission holds. We have perfect communication whilst barrelling down streets at 100 kmph. Thats the operator in the picture :)

 

Very cool, good thing you had the headset. Now tell me, how would you fare if you were the grip on bucket and and you were driving the car at the same time? That's what the Segway driver is doing.