Rod Clark

Absolutely, you can mix and match HD-SDI->HDMI or HDMI->HD-SDI, but please note the HDMI decoder is still a few weeks out. You can use a laptop with HDMI in the meantime...

No, Ramon, The Chimera is an encoder for the broadcast industry. In addition to the Cube-120 HD-SDI encoder (transmitter) which has been selling for months, we now offer CUBE-320, a H.264 decoder (receiver) with WiFi in and HD-SDI out. On our store here: http://store.teradek.com/cu1chhdenbui.html It's worth emphasizing that these products are encoders/decoders, not just transmitters/receivers. Because we compress to the industry standard H.264, and stream over TCP/IP, we can do all kinds of cool stuff like record wirelessly to a proxy file (http://www.thevideocube.com/?p=121), stream over the internet, or even to iPads. The iPad SDK still does not allow us to do live video without buffering, but we are trying to find a workaround. In the mean time, the Cube to Cube latency is pretty good, < 100ms. You can easily extend the range with off the shelve Wireless routers, and there are many boosters etc out there if you need to extend the range beyond 300ft. Plus you can mix Laptops and SDI monitors - quite handy I think. We have many steadicam operators that have been using the encoders for months, but they'll have to chime in themselves. Thanks for looking !

Hope the cross-post is okay. Trying to support our friends the Diamond Brothers, I wanted to let you all know about the special they talked us into during REDucation week: You can save 20% on your complete order on Teradek Wireless HD transmitters/ receivers. We've mentioned it on this forum before here. Also wanted to let you know the Cube WiFi to HD-SDI decoders are now shipping. They are the same size as Cube TX, and pairs with the TX unit over WiFi to give you essentially a wireless HD-SDI cable extender. This can be done while maintaining live streaming over IP and proxy recording capabilities (if you set it up right). The Cube RX also supports inter-refresh H.264 which bring the end-to-end delay down to less than 3 frames.... Check it out : store.teradek.com Thanks for looking Teradek

Hi guys Wanted to let you know Teradek and OFFHOLLYWOOD is having a meetup to show RED MX Proxy Recording in NYC, on 11/23. As you may know from reading our blog, or seeing Mark Perderson's instructional video, Teradek Cube™ wirelessly records proxy H.264 dailies from multiple REDs to a Mac (or any machine running a NFS shared folder), and Mark's workflow allows instant reviewing of the proxy files on iPads, even before removing the media from the REDs ! The files can be easily be used as dailies to accelerate post production. This is a perfect fit for steadicam operators, allowing your client or director to review your take the moment you cut, even if you are still 100 feet away on set rigged up and sweating away in the sun. Or as someone from the industry phrased it, it's perfect to hand it to your client and say: "There, now leave me the #$%^ alone so I can do my job". :-) We'll also cover live streaming applications, our new Cube WiFi to HD-SDI Receivers, and we'll have guruss on site, answering any questions. Mark Pederson will host us in his spectacular facility and show OFFHOLLYWOOD's wide range of pro services and products. And we'll have free beer ! Hope to see those of you we know, and meet some new faces as well. For more details see http://www.eventbrite.com/event/1058051661. Cheers Nicol

Sorry of the delay in response. Cube is shipping today, so it's been absolutely bananas trying to get everything coordinated. To answer your questions: The rate limiter on Cube is the ability to stream over WiFi and we reach that limit around 6Mbps. That means you can stream to three or four clients simultaneously if you have low bit rates. In my experience, it's better to stream to one client with a higher bitrate (3 or 4Mbps) and use some sort of network infrastructure to distribute the signal. This video answers the questions: Regarding your second question: Do we make a Cube decoder? Yes. The encoder is the hot item, but we've had a ton of requests for a decoder that the VTR guy can use in their system. I think we're about 4-6 weeks away from delivering the Cube-to-Cube solution. rC

Ha ha! I love it. I talked to my boss today, he knew about jail-breaking his iPad. I'll see if I can twist his arm into trying it. Or maybe I'll just go hang out in the Apple store with a Cube. hehehe rC

Jess, Can you jailbreak an iPad? I'm totally going to try it. rC

In a simple network (let's just say excluding the internet for simplicity's sake), really there are two main items that will contribute to Cube's latency. As I mentioned before, it takes about 100 milliseconds just to get the video into the Cube, compressed, moved over to the WiFi, and transmitted. It's on the receiving end where the two major differences occur. Those two differences are: - RTP to laptop, opened in VLC - HTTP Live Streaming to iOS (iPad/iPhone) RTP to laptop, opened in VLC In the advanced settings for VLC you can adjust the desired latency. There is a continuum. Less latency means a higher probability of dropped frames or frames arriving out of order. The latency can be set as low as 100 milliseconds, which in practice works pretty well. The latency can also be set as high as two seconds, which is crystal clear. In our experience, setting 300 milliseconds in VLC provides EXCELLENT quality video, HTTP Live Streaming to iOS (iPad/iPhone) HTTP Live Streaming to the iPad or iPhone is 10 seconds delay. The quality is insanely good, but the tradeoff is an insane delay. So short answer: VLC = 1/3 second iPad = 10 seconds*** ***The triple elipses to remind everyone we're developing a RTP app for iPad that will reduce the latency to 1/3 second. Available soon (not RED soon... actually soon! LOL) Thanks again guys for letting me hang in the forum. If you have any encoding questions beyond Cube, I'm happy to answer them. rC

Charles, I think Sergie's DP was pulling iris from a laptop, which is only a 1/2 second delay. Regarding the audio: If the camera is capturing audio (even as a secondary source to the boom mic), that audio will be transported with the video and arrive concurrently with the images. But... the director probably wants to hear the primary audio to get a true feel for what is being captured. BTW, we tested Cube on an Alexa this morning. WOW! The monitor out on the Arri is a stunner! The dynamic range is almost too good to be true.

Jens, Thanks for the feedback. You're right, the live sound and video sound will be out of synch. I guess you'd have to equip the director with headphones (which many wear anyways) and/or use Cube in situations where actors are out of earshot. Thanks again for the feedback. rC

Guys, thanks for the feedback and expressing concerns. Latency is an issue anytime you begin compressing video. The minimum theoretical possible latency if you were shooting at 24fps would be 43ms, because the CMOS has to capture the whole frame before it can begin processing. Given the electronic of the camera, the processing time involved, then just transporting the video off of the camera itself would probably equate to two or three frames. After receiving the data, then we process it. That means we have to crunch between 200-350Mbs down to 2Mbs, and move it to the USB bus, and send it over WiFi... etc, etc,. You get the picture. There are challenges. So, just to manage expectation a little. Cube is not for pulling focus! Cube is not for framing shots or operating. In the context of pulling focus, you're absolutely right, Cube is unusable. Cube is for wireless monitoring, and for that purpose it works brilliantly. For monitoring, a few frames latency when viewed by a Director or DP isn't going to be a deal breaker. Cube does have some features that are really Steadicam friendly. Cube only weights 6oz. Cube uses only a tiny amount of power. And Cube transmits full HD video. So, someone mentioned that it's great for low-budget (5D guys) without a VTR guy. Yes it is. But, it's actually better for untethered guys (like you) who have some infrastructure behind them. If you have a camera cart with a WiFi router on it, and a cable running to the VTR guy, you'll be running around the scene streaming live HD video, and even recording it for playback. Now, regarding the iPad/iPhone issue. I'll give you a little background. Apple uses HTTP Live Streaming at their encapsulation protocol. It's a REALLY stable streaming platform because it buffers the images. But, the 10 second delay is there (which SUCKS!). But, we're developing an app for the iPad/iPhone that circumvents the HTTP Live Streaming buffer and displays images directly with RTP (a different protocol). So, in 6-8 weeks, we'll have solved the iPad latency issue. Once that's solved, Cube to iPad to Director is a slam dunk, and you guys can probably make your purchase price back in kit rental in 10 days of shooting. Also, I was a AC for about 10 years before leaving the business to pursue other ventures. So I've got onset experience, so I should be able to answer questions relevantly. And one final thing, we're located in Irvine. So if you're a SoCal guy, please feel free to come visit our offices one day. I'll buy you lunch if you'll run around our parking lot with your rig streaming HD video. my direct email is rod - at - teradek - dotcom Thanks again for letting me participate in the forum. I hope with your feedback we can deliver a product that'll really suit your needs and make you a few bucks in the process. rC

Hi everyone, This is my first post in the forum, but I hope to become a regular contributor. My company, Teradek, makes HD video encoders and a product of ours called Cube has been making a ton of noise over on the Red User forum and on Cinema5D. Cube is the world's first camera-top HD video encoder. It's tiny and perfect for Steadicam rigs. We've been beta testing with a few Steadicam guys and they recommended we post here and say hi. Here's some of our beta test footage If you're interested in learning more about Cube you can check here www.teradek.com and here at www.thevideocube.com. Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for letting me join the forum. Best, Rod Clark