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WiFi Video Transmitter


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just seen a demo of the idx wifi tx rx it uses 802.11a and will cost £1200 all in tramsmitter and reciever there was a small delay range 50 m but option of more range with bigger ariel . enough to go through 2 walls . the demo was flawless the unit was a little on the large side but not that large.

 

Steve

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The Boxx seems / looks very impressive, and looks like a definate must-have. The lack of picture break-up is stunning, the stability of the image coming out of the thing should make it good for the ENG boys, never mind us. I like the idea of the battery mount, makes it even more practical.

 

It may be worth holding fire for a short time to see what becomes of the time-delay, no doubt this will come down more on the next model.

 

Component video too - fantastic, great for HD. It just gets better!

 

Looks like a great new tool though

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Thanks for all the interest in my product guys.

One point I would like to make is that with this technology and price point, I don?t see the delay coming down any time soon.

Our new 4 frame delay system will be around twice the price of the current version.

 

I have a delivery date of the first week in November.

I would also like to offer a £200 cash back for the first 10 members of this site to place an order.

 

If you would like to order please contact MK-V or email me at scott@boxx.tv

Steadicam will also be a selling the?boxx in the near future.

 

 

Regards,

Scott

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We have a few demo units but they are hard to get off people once they have them.

I can get one to you, or if you want to buy a system, we offer a 7 day return policy.

 

Aslo you might be intesting in an email containing FAQs

 

-----------------------

 

Q. You sell 2 receivers. Is there a huge difference between them (other than the weight difference), and what are the improvements with the "HG" model (Range, signal quality,...) ? Is it worth buying for steadicam use ?

 

A.For monitoring needs, I would recommend the CF range. The HG is designed for 'live to air' ENG needs.

 

 

Q Can you use 2 receivers simultaneously on the same channel, I mean receiving the same video emitted by one Tx on 2 different Rx (for example to be able to get the image on 2 different screens) ?

 

A.One TX can only talk to one RX. This is because the RX tells the TX that it is missing pockets of data so the TX can re-transmit them. This is what makes the the-boxx so stable.

Saying that, there is a really easy way to get around this that works extremely well.

If you plug the-boxx receiver into an analogue microwave system, you can re-broadcast the video and have as many receivers as you like. This provides very stable pictures because the analogue transmitter is now not 'moving in space'. Analogue microwave works really well when the TX and RX are stationary. Analogue microwave systems are very cheap, and used in this way, works really well. (they just don't like moving!!)

 

 

Q. I didn't understand your answer to that question... ("It uses as many receivers as you need to cover the area. It works like a cell phone network. As the camera moves from room to room it jumps onto the closest receiver/repeater .") Do you mean if you have more than one receiver, they may work as a repeater like on a Peer-to-peer network ? This sounds great, so you could increase the range by using more than one receiver...

 

 

A. What you have described is our new system we will be releasing in a few months. Its a more complex system and takes longer to set up. It's great for more permanent set ups in large areas with lots of walls and floors.

 

 

Q. - Is there a risk of having interference with Wifi devices, or other wireless FFocus devices for example ?

 

A. No. The-boxx scans and selects a clean channel. If there is no more clean channels on 2.4Ghz (Wi-Fi) then you can simply change to 5.2Ghz that is a much cleaner frequency.

 

 

Q. Do you need to buy anything more to get it working ? (cables...)

 

A. No. the-boxx comes with everything you need for composite video (other then Batteries and monitor)

If you want to use component video, you need one more cable. We also make a cable to use the Archos video recorder. www.archos . AV700

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this system does sound very good.

 

will you be making a system at 1.394ghz ?

 

Is your regular reciever exactly the same inside as the HG reciever just without the unidirectional antenna and pole mount? Could I, on your HG version have one omni and one unidirectional antenna to make it runner proof.

 

Both of your recievers are diversity based. On long shots would it be a problem cabling up one antenna to the end of the shot and one to the begining?

 

For export, would you be able to build me a 500mW or 1W TX module ? rather than the 50mW I assume your present system is?

 

How do other operators feel about a 1/2 second delay? often things are possibly cued by the AD off the monitor, do you think people will be able to get their head round these things?

 

That audio delay module is only going to be about $90 so very acceptable.

 

broadcasting mpeg2 ? well why not.......... if it enable you to do a shot otherwise impossible.

 

Music video s.. my bread and butter ..... I think it might irritate the director a little bit unless we give him playback off the delay.. many artists are bad enough at lip synch.. it needs to be watched carefully... then there s the clients.... do they need a delay as well... hanging out in the back of video village doing whatever they do all afternoon. Even 4 frames delay (180ms) will throw lip synch right out making it impossible to judge if the artist is doing a good job.

But really it s just the director that s important, so if you could get some good enough headphones for him (blocking out the real playback) then everyone could be happy...

 

Drama/features... definately no problem, the director is always monitoring from earphones... soundman would have no probs popping in the delay. The perfect signal picture would go no end in making every one a happy bunny. and nobody else can hear the actors so there would not be funny looks.

 

Comercials...... great system.. the clients will love it... everyone is happy.

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"How do other operators feel about a 1/2 second delay? often things are possibly cued by the AD off the monitor, do you think people will be able to get their head round these things?"

 

Thomas,

 

For me, this is an absolute deal breaker. I didn't want to barge in and rain on this manufacture's parade, but I would much rather a stable analog picture because these days everyone on set has watchmen and are looking at the shot. The frame delay would kill the feedback from the sound mixer to his boom op (as far as being in the shot), etc. Most importantly though, a lot of directors want to watch from a watchman right up by the action. I realize that you could re-transmit the signal to an analog system and this might work in many situations, but I just don't see a director liking having his watchman delayed from the real action as he glances between them. Now what about cues for talent or iris pulls by the DP? I strongly feel that any frame delay is a deal-breaker, but I will certainly watch this technology.

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will the 4 frame delay version work as well as the 12 frame delay version ?

 

are these pal or ntsc frames being discussed? i.e. on the 4 frame delay it makes a difference of 133ms or 160ms being 25% slower. or are we talking 24p frames.

 

Is it true diversity or is one ariel transmitting and one receiving?

 

Alec, would you find 4 frames acceptable? being a 7th of a second (assuming it s 4 NTSC frames).

 

What is the delay on a regular radio link (i.e. modulous or marell) I am assuming there will be a slight one... very slight.... maybe in the region of 25ms.... warning... that was a guess!

 

I think its still great for playback. maybe you could provide a live broken up feed straight off it with no delay and a clean feed with 1/2 seconds delay?

 

Alec... I have been working with one of your NY Dp s ! Milton... He speaks highly of you...

 

thomas

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I ve been thinking about microwaves near your head for a while.

 

These transmitter s at 2.4ghz output 50mW or 0.05W.

 

One would argue that 2.4Ghz is attenuated by water which is why its the frequency of choice for microwave ovens!

 

However microwave ovens output 750 Watts to cook things.

 

Mobile phone s out put at 900Mhz ish or 1.8Ghz (orange in UK) and output between 5W and 25W. and you literally put that next to your head. If you want to avoid death from mobile phone don t put it to your head before it starts ringing (when dialing out)

 

I feel comfortable having 1W nearby...

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Joseph,

 

I have used TITAN several times, and it is nice device, although you get noise every now and then especialy when used in narrow corridors. Can be easy connected to rig by standard Hirose 6pin power/video connector.

 

So far I didn`t use Modulus so I have no way to compare but I had never heard a complain from DP about quality of Titan.

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Thanks for all the questions.

 

Hello all,

 

I have tried to answer all your questios below. Please let me know if you have any others.

 

 

 

 

Q. How about a small microwave close to your head? Is this dangerous?

 

A. YES. Very much so!!.

This is the main force that drove me to design a safe microwave system for camera operators.

I have been a cameraman for 15 years (with 2 Emmy nominations) and too many times I have been asked to use a 2.4Ghz transmitter on my camera that has an ?export only? sticker. This sticker means that the out power of the unit is totally illegal !!

There is a lot of cheap systems being used that have an output power of 3 watts. In the EU the maximum power output at this frequency is .01watt.

A 3 watts system is designed to put up a tower or on the side of a building. Having this power right next to your head (in my opinion) is insane.

 

The transmitter in the-boxx uses the same chip set and power output as a Wi-Fi card (like in your laptop)

The official FCC recommend is that the antenna should be no less then 20cm away from any person when in operation.

If you are still concerned about this, have a think of how close your Wi-Fi card is to your ?crown jewells? when surfing the internet in your lap.

We are talking about extremely low levels of microwave emissions with the-boxx system and I don?t believe it to be a concern.

 

 

Q. Will the 4 frame delay version work as well as the 12 frame delay version ?

 

A. Yes, its very stable too. The thing about digital and QOS (Quality of Service) systems is that you get perfect pictures or nothing at all.

 

 

Q. What is the delay on a regular radio link (i.e. modulous or marell) I am assuming there will be a slight one... very slight.... maybe in the region of 25ms.... warning... that was a guess

 

A. There is no significant delay on an analogue link.

 

 

 

Q. For export, would you be able to build me a 500mW or 1W TX module ? rather than the 50mW I assume your present system is?

 

A. Sorry we can?t do this. The ?boxx RF output can be amplified, but by doing this would make the system NOT FCC or CE approved.

 

 

 

Q. will you be making a system at 1.394ghz ?

 

A. Sorry no.

 

 

 

Q. Is your regular receiver exactly the same inside as the HG receiver just without the unidirectional antenna and pole mount? Could I, on your HG version have one omni and one unidirectional antenna to make it runner proof.

 

A. We have two levels of minimum standards when testing the circuit boards that are used in the-boxx.

The boards that pass the higher level are used in the HG version. The difference is marginal when talking about a monitoring link.

The HG is designed for ENG live-to-air uses.

 

 

Q. Music videos.. my bread and butter

 

A. Unless you can have the director isolated from the fold back, I would recommend sticking to analogue!!

 

 

Q. the delay thing!!

 

A. Digital system with no delay costs about £50.000, $100,000 or more. If you are interested in this type if system check out

http://www.gigawave.co.uk/

http://www.rfcentral.com/

 

Delay does have advantages, we just have to understand them.

The director, ques off real life action. He can then look at the monitor and see the result of the live que. (live)

It?s all about re thinking with the technology. Its going to be a hard sell but I will bet anyone here that in a year from now, this systems will be the norm and we will be talking about how we used to do it in ?the old analogue days?.

 

Scott Walker

 

+44 7798526766

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