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AJA V2 analog versus DECIMATOR 2


JamieSilverstein

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AJA all the way. Their products have always been rock solid for me. In the rare event that something has a glitch their customer service is impeccable. Even when enquiring about general product information they have always been very friendly and accommodating. The antithesis of my experience with the folks that make the Decimator (Tecads).

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FWIW: Tecads was a Decimator distributor and handled North American service, but they have not been involved with each other for at least a year and a half. Decimator Design makes Decimators, and as recently as a year ago the North American service was handled by Symbiosis in the UK. Yeah, the UK. Dealing with Symbiosis was infinitely worse than dealing with Tecads.

 

I really just wanted to deal directly with Decimator, but was never allowed to, including by asking Decimator directly.

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I'd go AJA and here's why. Although the decimator is smaller and lighter the process of getting it repaired is a major headache. I used a decimator for years and like all decimators eventually it died. Even though they covered the repair it was a three month process. It was first sent to England to be assessed and then once it was determined that it needed repair it was sent to Australia. After that I'm pretty sure it was sent back to England and then to me. In the interim I bought an AJA and never looked back. As mentioned before in previous posts the AJA service is great.

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I’m from Symbiosis, the master distributor for Decimator Design.



The RMA process for Decimator Design converters has dramatically changed in the last 6 months since the Decimators mentioned above were sent for repair. Units are no longer sent to Australia for repair, and are turned around in the UK within a couple days and returned to the customer on Fedex International Priority at our cost.



We sell through resellers all over the US who hold stock - when you buy a Decimator it’s not coming from the UK.

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Suzanne;

 

I got an early decimator and it worked great. Thought of it as tough and bullet proof then started hearing of problems with them.

 

I bought couple more 3-4 years later (now the decimator 2 I believe) because they were so useful then suddenly they started being fragile and a source of worry. I still have several but I never go out with just one and I think twice and cross my fingers when I plug one in hoping today is not a bad day.

 

What changed?

 

Janice.

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Hi Janice,

 

Nothing has changed - the Decimator 2 adds HDMI out.

 

One thing to consider is the power. When you plug a Decimator into a Steadicam you need to be careful of the power output from the batteries. When they swap between battery 1 and 2 there's a power spike which exceeds the tolerance of the Decimator. Take the Decimator out before the batteries switch, and when the power output is steady plug it back in. All Decimators ship with a power supply which is the recommended way of powering the Decimator 2. Whenever you use an external power source the voltage output should always be checked.

 

Most of the repairs we have of Decimator 2s being used with Steadicams have been blown due to the battery power spike when switching between batteries.

 

If you've got issues with your units, please open a support case with us and our tech support team will investigate the problem and potentially bring them in for repair (should take 1 week door to door). Weblink for support is http://www.symbiosis.com/distribution/support

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Suzanne;

 

Good information thanks.

 

I would say how likely is it decimator could put in a power buffer of some sort since the many many device get used on battery power?

 

I know many times other people change batteries on the camera and steadicam and powering off the decimator every time is not going to happen every time. I've never heard of anyone using them plugged into AC.

 

I'd sacrifice size, weight and price to make them more safe from power surges. Heck your company would solve many repair problems that contribute to overhead and work. Repairing items is very hard on companies.

 

Janice

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Hi Janice:

 

Well, I for one use Decimators plugged into AC! I have several and I use them as signal modulators for my monitoring system, taking in the various output formats from different cameras and converting them to a single standard. I also use one as an SDI to HDMI convertor, so that I can transmit via Paralinx to a director's monitor. There are many units in service being used by video assist guys, broadcast folks etc. that are being AC powered. Regardless, the info about the power spike in battery switchover is a concern that should be addressed.

 

As some may recall from a few years back, I was pretty much ground zero for introducing the Steadicam world to the Decimator product, and was for a time a reseller of their line. I have no financial connection at this point but I'm still in touch with the company and we are discussing various of the stated concerns in this thread. To amplify Suzanne's comments, there has been change in their manufacturing approach over the past year which has significantly improved the QC process as well as the repair pipeline.

 

I'm not here to sell anyone anything but I have received assurances that the these prior repair scenarios have been improved. Hopefully someone will be able to post a more recent and successful about their experiences.

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Hi Janice,


At the start of the year, Decimator Design started using a completely new manufacturing facility with some of the most advanced manufacturing equipment available. This has vastly improved the manufacturing quality of the products and could potentially solve the issues you’re having with your older units. If you open a support case using the link in my previous post, we can have them back, test for issues and sort it out for you.



With regards to the power, the power protection was improved around 2 years ago, so it depends when you bought your unit. Although the Decimator 2 is a great application for the Steadicam, it wasn’t originally designed for that particular use, so it was designed for max 24V DC power.


The new Decimator products (MD-HX, MD-CROSS) all have a max tolerance of 32V DC. Any new products going forward will have the same power tolerance.


Edited by Suzanne Mills
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