NEW CanaTrans Video Transmitter

[Matt Petrosky]

Just thought I?d add my impressions?

 

I bought my Canatrans over a year-and-a-half-ago, before anyone or any rental house in LA had them. I was on a TV series and needed a transmitter after two of the camera department?s Modulus 3000's died on us. We contacted CIT, the manufacturer of Modulus, and inquired about an expeditious repair or a loaner unit. Their only response was, ?Send it to us in Maine.? (In the end it took months before we got it back, and no loaner unit was provided.) I refused to purchase anything from a company that would not support their customers or that made a product with so many flaws that could be so easily remedied--a discussion for another thread.

 

I saw Lentequip's ad in American Cinematographer and gave them a call. Emery, basically the Howard Preston/George Paddock/Jim Bartell of Lentequip, answered the phone and was great. Everything he said seemed the "right" thing to say. His whole philosophy on customer service and making products the right way -- not the cheap way -- was exactly in-line with what I believe and needed. Then we talked about price. He was very honest and explained about the great amount of money and time that went into developing the Canatrans and that he could not afford to sell it for less. To this I replied, ?But nobody in LA has one for me to check out or test. I, our camera department and our show, are going to be the guinea pigs, surely that is worth some discount.? Emery replied, ?Matt, if you don?t like it for any reason just send it back and we?ll refund all of your money.? I mailed him a check the next day and I?ve never looked back.

 

On that TV show the Canatrans continually outperformed a Modulus 3000 in an identical setup (i.e., two Arricam LTs, handheld, etc.). NTSC UHF video from a moving transmitter is not the perfect format or scenario, but the Canatrans is the best it gets. And I?ve found that dolly grips, sound mixers and directors appreciate the simplicity of a signal that can easily be picked up on set (i.e., not microwave or WiFi--yet). The Canatrans is bigger then a Modulus but some simple mounting brackets (thanks to Otto?s) and Velcro (how did they make films before Velcro?) have facilitated mounting on everything from an Arri 235 to the steadicam. My Canatrans has proven to be very reliable, user friendly, and it does not create any distortion or feedback on the steadicam or any of the cameras that I have used it with -- and the voltage display is a nice bonus for the steadicam monitor/video battery.

 

I had my Canatrans running pretty much non-stop, 12 hours/day for three days this past week and it performed like a champ! The first day I was all over a track field and the last two days I was in a large gym with 24-channels of radio mikes, motion lighting, tons of two-way radios and lots of reflective surfaces. The combination of my Canatrans and the Sony TU-1041U receiver handled the job with no problems. I set the Canatrans to 1/2 watt outdoors and to 1/8 watt indoors and I adjusted the display brightness to full for the sunny exteriors and to level 2 for the darker interiors. It?s great having all of this control! I also took advantage of the video gain to boost the signal a few dB, which made the D.I.T. very happy because it enabled him to closely match my transmitted image to that of the hard-wire with which he had performed the initial set-up. With this set-up, he was able to give fairly accurate feedback on our iris level throughout the shoot. Again my Canatrans proves itself to be very reliable, and all this with the old firmware. Emery, thanks for making such a great device, making it so well, and supporting it and it?s users.

 

Cheers,

Matt

[Brad Hruboska]

Guys just so you know, I had so many calls for sub rentals on my Canatrans 2 , I was obliged to buy a couple more and have them avaialble for rental. Call me directly if you need one for your show. I have them placed with a small rental house here in toronto, but i get a better deal on my own rental contracts.....

140.00 can/ day, three day week. Loger rental terms are negotiable. Each unit comes with pwer cables for whatever camera you need, pana, genesis (yes its different), AB, new arri /movicam, old arri, BNC, and 4 pin xlr. Emery is right here in town and special cables are usually quick to get made and delivered.

 

In terms of mounting guys I have it velcroed to the underside of my preston MDR most of the time and I have had good range and no interference at all. B)

 

 

Brad Hruboska

Toronto ( thats new york time zone for you western types)

416-822-8496

steadi@sympatico.ca

[chris fawcett]

Dear Canatrans aficionados,

 

I just shot the Krump Kings dancing live on stage at the Melkweg, so lots of lighting, PA etc.. The video transmitter hired by production, a Teletest, had so much breakup it did not produce useable images for live projection, so I went hardwired. Bummer, with all that leppin around, I wanted to join in. What are the odds that the Canatrans might have worked in this situation? A guess, of course, but it would be appreciated.

 

Thanks,

 

Chris

[Jason Torbitt]

2.4 Ghz transmitter's aren't reliable enough for any form of transmission/broadcast/big screen events. The frequency is cluttered by every other imaginable device, lots of multipathing etc. The best solution would be for production to hire wireless RF triax cameras that can be relied upon (and can be racked from the truck, which makes things easier)

[Guest avwireless]

I am new here and I must say that I am learning quite a bit about the industry.

 

While I am, admittedly, somewhat biased in this regard (being as I own the company that distributes these units and have a hand in their design), I would like to point out a cheaper, and, from what I have been able to determine, better alternative to most every other system out there.

 

The units are made by StarLink wireless and have several features that people in the industry seem to love.

 

First, they are the lightest in the business, weighing from 50 to 140 grams, depending on the unit. Second, we have models that can connect directly to Anton-Bauer power packs without external regulators. Third, they have a very small power drain and produce very little heat. Finally, they provide range and reception that matches or exceeds everything else on the market.

 

We also provide receivers with an LCD screen that makes them highly sought after as production preview units.

 

They are being used by many of the film industries biggest production companies and have been difficult for the rental companies that have them (such as VER, Video Equipment Rentals) to keep in stock due to the high demand.

 

My website is AV Wireless Technologies. Feel free to check it out.

 

Additionally, we are in the middle of a great push for new product development, have several innovations on the way, and would love your input as to what you need, what the limitations you have seen in our competitors, what you would like to see created or invented, or any comments or questions you have.

 

I know, this sounds like a sales pitch, and, to a certain extent it is, but it is also a call for assistance from the people who know the industry in-depth. Personally, I am not a salesman. I am an inventor and technologist who is constantly looking for problems to solve and I would LOVE the challenge of providing solutions to the issues you in the film industry find most vexing, even if they are not related directly to the wireless technology I we are talking about.

 

Thanks all!

 

Jeremy Hawkins

AV Wireless Technologies

(831)338-2460

[Alec Jarnagin SOC]

'What are the odds that the Canatrans might have worked in this situation? A guess, of course, but it would be appreciated."

 

Chris,

 

How are you? Hard to say because RF is such a funny thing, but I'm guessing in such an RF hell, you would not have faired any better. While the Canatrans is the best UHF transmitter I have seen (was the Teletest UHF?), it still is not magical. Although your problems with the Teletest may have been just those frequencies so the Canatrans may have saved you by virtue of changing the channel????

[Alec Jarnagin SOC]

Jeremy,

 

Welcome to our forum. Wow, you managed a hefty posting spree in the last 24 hours letting us know of your transmitters! No offense, but you are starting to sound a lot like a sales person.

 

You state:

 

"First, they are the lightest in the business, weighing from 50 to 140 grams, depending on the unit. Second, we have models that can connect directly to Anton-Bauer power packs without external regulators. Third, they have a very small power drain and produce very little heat. Finally, they provide range and reception that matches or exceeds everything else on the market."

 

That is quite a claim. A few questions. What voltage range do they accept? Can they accept 24+ volts? Seems to me they need a dedicated tuner versus a standard UHF receiver. Okay for some applications, but overall this limits its use on many sets (please read the archives as to why). While I accept that there are reasons not to use standard UHF channels, I don't think it makes sense to compare a unit that does not with the Modulus and Canatrans.

 

 

"Additionally, we are in the middle of a great push for new product development, have several innovations on the way, and would love your input as to what you need, what the limitations you have seen in our competitors, what you would like to see created or invented, or any comments or questions you have."

 

 

I'd like to see a transmitter that transmits on standard UHF frequencies (user selectable with 20 or thirty channels) that accepts 10-35 Volts, user selectable power out-put, variable video transmission gain, has a multi-pin connector for powering the unit and video in. It should have no internal wiring (all circuit boards), be firmware upgradable, and offer great customer service. All of these things add up to the Canatrans, but now cut the size, weight, and cost in half. Not too easy.

 

If you go the dedicated receiver route, it should be for Wi-Fi, but you need to get the frame delay down to 2 frames or so and the cost to compete with the Modulus and Canatrans. Also not easy (there is another thread about this so lets not get into Wi-Fi on this one, please).

 

Not trying to bust your chops Jeremey. Many manufacturers come on here, excited about their wears and post a lot. Just please read the archives and let the people that use your products do the championing.

 

Kindest regards.

[chris fawcett]

Alec,

 

Very well, thanks. I hope for you too.

 

That's good to know. The Teletest was 2.4 GHz, with 4 channels (though not the latest model). All channels were the same: horizontal lines and breakup. I'm sure the Canatrans would have been superior, but in this situation, it would have to have been perfect. The Boxx might have worked well, but for the latency. I'd love to get a transmitter that would cope with straight to air or live projection. Maybe the 2-frame delay systems will drop to affordable prices by NAB (if you can believe the romours). Until then, I'll hire whatever seems appropriate for the job.

 

Thank you very much for the input.

 

Jason,

 

That would have been very agreeable, but it wasn't that kind of gig. I was flying solo!

 

Chris

[RonBaldwin]

http://www.wolfvid.com/datasheets/Transmit...N_ONE_SHEET.pdf

I used this one from Wolf Seeberg on Grey's Anatomy last season. Pretty solid picture...frame delay drove nearly everyone batty. The data sheet says 340 msec delay, but I swear it was nearly 3/4 sec. The mixer had to delay the comtecs to match the picture. It was a mess -- try operating when the mixer hands you the wrong comtec! Very rarely had reception issues, nice picture.

 

rb

[Guest Jeremy Hawkins]

Jeremy,

 

Welcome to our forum. Wow, you managed a hefty posting spree in the last 24 hours letting us know of your transmitters! No offense, but you are starting to sound a lot like a sales person.

 

You state:

 

"First, they are the lightest in the business, weighing from 50 to 140 grams, depending on the unit. Second, we have models that can connect directly to Anton-Bauer power packs without external regulators. Third, they have a very small power drain and produce very little heat. Finally, they provide range and reception that matches or exceeds everything else on the market."

 

That is quite a claim. A few questions. What voltage range do they accept? Can they accept 24+ volts? Seems to me they need a dedicated tuner versus a standard UHF receiver. Okay for some applications, but overall this limits its use on many sets (please read the archives as to why). While I accept that there are reasons not to use standard UHF channels, I don't think it makes sense to compare a unit that does not with the Modulus and Canatrans.

 

 

"Additionally, we are in the middle of a great push for new product development, have several innovations on the way, and would love your input as to what you need, what the limitations you have seen in our competitors, what you would like to see created or invented, or any comments or questions you have."

 

 

I'd like to see a transmitter that transmits on standard UHF frequencies (user selectable with 20 or thirty channels) that accepts 10-35 Volts, user selectable power out-put, variable video transmission gain, has a multi-pin connector for powering the unit and video in. It should have no internal wiring (all circuit boards), be firmware upgradable, and offer great customer service. All of these things add up to the Canatrans, but now cut the size, weight, and cost in half. Not too easy.

 

If you go the dedicated receiver route, it should be for Wi-Fi, but you need to get the frame delay down to 2 frames or so and the cost to compete with the Modulus and Canatrans. Also not easy (there is another thread about this so lets not get into Wi-Fi on this one, please).

 

Not trying to bust your chops Jeremey. Many manufacturers come on here, excited about their wears and post a lot. Just please read the archives and let the people that use your products do the championing.

 

Kindest regards.

 

This is EXACTLY the kind of stuff I am looking for. Thank you very much.

 

The postings were a bit sales looking, I agree, but I have been seeing so many units that were similar but so much more expensive that I was worried that there was something wrong.

 

Plus, I didn't see the "view new posts" button until late, but instead just did a search on "wireless" and answered in those places where I thought my products could help. Then I saw the button, hit it, and realized that, from that perspective, I looked all spammie. ICK! SOrry about that!

 

I will pass the info along to my tech people and we will get to work on it! THANK YOU SO MUCH!

[Guest Jeremy Hawkins]

Jeremy,

 

Welcome to our forum. Wow, you managed a hefty posting spree in the last 24 hours letting us know of your transmitters! No offense, but you are starting to sound a lot like a sales person.

 

You state:

 

"First, they are the lightest in the business, weighing from 50 to 140 grams, depending on the unit. Second, we have models that can connect directly to Anton-Bauer power packs without external regulators. Third, they have a very small power drain and produce very little heat. Finally, they provide range and reception that matches or exceeds everything else on the market."

 

That is quite a claim. A few questions. What voltage range do they accept? Can they accept 24+ volts? Seems to me they need a dedicated tuner versus a standard UHF receiver. Okay for some applications, but overall this limits its use on many sets (please read the archives as to why). While I accept that there are reasons not to use standard UHF channels, I don't think it makes sense to compare a unit that does not with the Modulus and Canatrans.

 

 

"Additionally, we are in the middle of a great push for new product development, have several innovations on the way, and would love your input as to what you need, what the limitations you have seen in our competitors, what you would like to see created or invented, or any comments or questions you have."

 

 

I'd like to see a transmitter that transmits on standard UHF frequencies (user selectable with 20 or thirty channels) that accepts 10-35 Volts, user selectable power out-put, variable video transmission gain, has a multi-pin connector for powering the unit and video in. It should have no internal wiring (all circuit boards), be firmware upgradable, and offer great customer service. All of these things add up to the Canatrans, but now cut the size, weight, and cost in half. Not too easy.

 

If you go the dedicated receiver route, it should be for Wi-Fi, but you need to get the frame delay down to 2 frames or so and the cost to compete with the Modulus and Canatrans. Also not easy (there is another thread about this so lets not get into Wi-Fi on this one, please).

 

Not trying to bust your chops Jeremey. Many manufacturers come on here, excited about their wears and post a lot. Just please read the archives and let the people that use your products do the championing.

 

Kindest regards.

 

 

Oops! I forgot to answer the questions:

 

What voltage range do they accept? Can they accept 24+ volts?

 

Yes, they can accep up to 30. We designed several to connect directly to Anton Bauer power packs. To do that, they need to accept the power output for when the batteries are freshly charged down to when they are just about out. We added a specially designed internal regulator to do this.

 

You are right, they could use more power inputs, but because of the desire to keep the size and weight down, we are looking into accomplishing this with cheap external adaptors as opposed to having a bunch of inputs directly on the units themselves.

 

as to the WiFi, we are working on this. It has been done so poorly in the past (802.11A) that now that the tech has made the bps high enough to actually handle this type of application, we want to be able to to it right and at a reasonable cost. This is indeed a tall order and now, for the first time, I really no longer have any idea what my tech people are talking about when they tell me what they are doing :)

 

I will look into the UHF application and, as it seems to be quite in demand, I am pretty sure we can come up with what you are looking for. I must say, though, that the UHF rout was rejected originally by us because we remember UHF televisions, that had TONS of channels and showed nothing except for a couple of fuzzy ones. It has been my experience that UHF simply provides a lower quality than the equally available 1.2 GHz range, but that could have changed.

 

Thanks again!

 

Jeremy