Paralinx Arrow

[Frederic Chamberland]

Been using the paralinx linked to a decimator for 3 weeks on my Pro sled flying an Alexa:

Pro's:

It''s ridiculously small and compact .

No latency

They advertise 300' in clear sight and it's really 300' . No less.

Price / preformance can't be beat

Con's:

Both rx and tx get really hot . Remember Modulus ? That hot.

Power thru 5v mini usb only for transmitter .

Hdmi is a horrible connector . On both ends .

Basic kit is a bare minimum: you'll need a decimator for any camera without hdmi (alexa)

, you'll also need a hdmi to sdi converter at the receiver end if your video village cannot ingest hdmi signal .also add some mini usb cables , short hdmi cables .... My 1200 $ paralinx is working how i want it with about 700$ worth of extras.

Bottom line : great system for the price and so small you forget about it. But it's not an "out of the box" solution for pro use.

Will be testing it in the cold in november , will post results.

Cheers.

[Mark Baluk]

Something I've noticed with any WHDI system I've used before, they certainly do run hot!

 

What solutions do people have for powering 5v usb? Right now I'm just using cheap china ebay batteries with a usb plug in them. Kinda annoying and unreliable.

[William Demeritt]

Frederic: when you say the HDMI connector is terrible, do you mean that the idea of using an HDMI connector is terrible, or the build quality on your Arrow is substandard or otherwise not robust?

 

As far as "hot", I suppose that's subjective. I've never picked up my Arrow after a day shooting on set, or touched it while powered on for a while, and felt in danger of burning myself or even feeling uncomfortable. Yes, it's notably WARM, but I was never concerned. I'm thinking of attaching a heatsink to try and dissipate the heat more aggressively.

 

The unit comes with 2 5V USB to PTAP power cables, that's how I've powered the transmitter on my sled. The receiver, I just attach to a cubetap, as is the power cable for the AJA HA5.

 

Honestly, I would place the overall pieces of the kit at a higher price: $500 for HD-SDI to HDMI, $500 for HDMI to HD-SDI, and $1200 for the Paralinx Arrow. So probably $2200 (plus tax)? I already owned the Decimator 2, so I considered that a second use of my gear.

 

I used it on a stage quite effectively, and in a small house in Pasadena a week ago, worked great for some room to room transmission. Maximum I think was just 50' with 2-3 walls and a refrigerator blocking. Never dropped out, no complains, no problems.

 

My plans include confining the receiver to a contained box that just receives AC power or battery power and has HD-SDI output (probably just a project box with all the connections made inside), just to simplify things.

 

Either way, I like it so far.

[Frederic Chamberland]

Hi William,

No complaints about the connector on the paralinx , the hdmi standard by itself is what I dislike : it's more of a consumer product .

The heat issue , as you mention it , is more of an observation than anything else .

Power wise , i've had some cables made by David Hable (pro power to mini usb with a 5v converter). David actually made a Y cable and since the decimator can also accept 5v, the cable breaks into mini usb AND decimator round connector. This is a clean a more robust solution than the adapter cable that's in the paralinx box (p-tap to full size usb).

Cheers

[Alan Rencher]

I just want to give another shout-out to Dan and Greg at Paralinx. Their new trade-in program for the new hardware is great. Dan always helps me out right away, whenever I contact him. Also, I would say that you won't be sorry sticking with them over some other competitors like Teradek, They already have some exciting things coming up (which I will not discuss until they make any announcements), and the bottom line is, the investment will be a good one!

[William Demeritt]

I've done business with Dan and Greg a couple times now, and I really appreciate everything they've done for me. They understand the business, and they know what we need.

 

Furthermore, just the small accessory changes and upgrades they've made are really fantastic: the shield is a great idea, their new 5v USB cables and adapters are fantastic and well thought out, and I hear they have some great things on the horizon. Cannot wait to try them out!

 

In the mean time, I gotta get my order in for another receiver to set up my system for multicast. Upgrade is free, additional unit is apparently all I gotta pay for!

[Alan Rencher]

New items for Paralinx: HD-SDI module "Crossbow" due this summer. Nebtek is also doing an HD-SDI module that is a custom housing for an Arrow and Atomos converter with a few mods. SmallHD also has the Arrow transmitter and receiver bracket for the X-Port of their pro monitors (their high bright is rated at 1600nits!). Its selectable between transmit and receive.

 

Edited April 8, 2013 by Alan Rencher

[Victor Lazaro]

Wow! Can anyone take some pics of this at the SmallHD/ Paralinx booth for the ones that couldn't make the trip?

[Alan Rencher]

Left: early Crossbow prototype, right: Nebtek Sling prototype

 

Both will do the same thing. Not sure of both will be available, or if they will be combined.

[Osvaldo Silvera SOC]

Looks like the Nebtek is winning out by a long shot, in size and power input, no excess cable on the outside and more compact, although I'd like the option of not having a battery plate on the transmitter, Just a power connector to run a P Tap or other source to the Tx unit., Keep it as small as possible.

 

And will the Receiver also be set in a case? Hmmm.

 

Also, saw this on the nebtek site, which leads me to question......WHo MAKES it? Camwave or Paralinx?

http://www.nebtek.com/products/CW%252d1.html

[Alan Rencher]

The crossbow isn't final. It's being vetted, and will change drastically based on feedback. There may be a sandwich plate adapter as well.

 

Paralinx was first to market with the Arrow. There are a lot of clones this year.

[Mark Schlicher]

Just got the Nebtek email. The Sling will work with either Paralinx or Camwave.

[Victor Lazaro]

It's crazy, looking at all the wireless options coming out, they all look like the Arrow, even the receiver from RED despite being in an aluminum encasing, has the same plugs at the same location that the Rx arrow...

[Brian Freesh]

So the crossbow and the sling are just HDSDI to HDMI converters?

[Victor Lazaro]

So the crossbow and the sling are just HDSDI to HDMI converters?

Pretty much, and a power management, that will allow any power and adapt to 5V1a. it will save you from having too many cable connecting too many converter boxes together.