what is the wireless lavalier system you are using in pro environment?

I use the Audio Technica 1800 series dual channel since a lot of my stuff needs 2 lavs. Having 1 receiver is a nice thing to do after years of hauling 2.

I bet you find that Sennheiser is the most popular though.

I think in the top end pro location sound area Lectrosonics would probably be the most used then followed by Sennheiser, Zaxcom, drop down a level for the others Sony, Audio Technica etc.
The music industry tend to use Shure for stage work.

I use Sennheiser.

Bob

In the UK I have 2X sennheiser G2 with various transmitters and hire in if I need more systems!

what is the wireless lavalier system you are using in pro environment?
What do you mean by 'pro environment'? B'cast TV, big budget feature films?
I would consider the AT1800 and G2/3 Sennheiser 'semi pro' or 'entry level pro'
Popular 'pro' systems are generally from Lectrosonics, Zaxcom, Audio Limited, and the high-end Sennheiser models. These systems normally cost several thousand US dollars.

I own three system of g2, but are 30mw and not diversity, I have to upgrade to something pro, for some feature film, also hiring them,I heard about wysicom as another good choose and was interesting that could use also only the wisy diversity receivers with my evolution g2 transmitter, just to start without spending all that money for the whole system. have someone of you some experience of it?

I have to upgrade to something pro....
Sennheiser IS pro - if you wish to upgrade to something more expensive, perhaps digital and maybe having specific video features such as camera slot receivers etc - then fine, go ahead.

I suspect all the people with Sennheiser are pretty happy. The small difference in audio performance on the more expensive Sennheiser products could be worth it - only you can tell, but don't expect huge differences in quality - and the unknown audio location acoustics can make more difference than 'improving' your system!

I shot a production of Les Miserables this summer and they used 35 sets of Senn G2's. The only problems they had were due to human error. They did have some pretty nice mics attached and the sound was much better than I was anticipating.

I've got a G3 setup and can't complain. Hasn't let me down yet.

I also did a shoot on a small Indy Bollywood movie last year where we used Lectrosonics, 4 sets. Those are great but for me they are just too expensive.

If you' re doing high end features, all Sennheiser G series won't cut it. Lectrosonics barely cuts it too, unless it's the top of the line models over 400. For features, the most widely used I've seen is Zaxcom. If you can't afford the wireless system, however, Zaxcom also has mini digital recorders.
http://www.pro-sound.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=PSS&Product_Code=SZAXZFR200&Category_Code=ZAXCOMWireless

I have G3s, Lectro 211s and 411s. Cant beat the G3 for 'bang for the buck'. The Lectros' are certainly more bulletproof both physically, electronically and offer external antenna options. However when the G3s are set up properly (all other parameters being equal) audio quality differences in dialog are difficult to detect. The G2/3s certainly take more due diligence in set-up to obtain pro-level performance though. G3s are used on major features all the time, usually not for primary audio but most pro mixers have at least one or more. (A good pole for the JW group)

Let's be honest, if you are doing features, then the budget will provide whatever you wish, so spend what you want. It's a bit like a Fiat will take you to the stores just as well as a Range Rover - but if the route involves cross country over a mountain, then the Range Rover was a sensible expense. If there's no mountain, the Range Rover would be a waste of resources.

Warren's assertion that cheaper radio systems won't cut it make me smile, because very often a critical scene, shot with the talent double miked, provide 100% redundancy, and could then be safer than the esoteric 'deluxe' brands, which are still radio, and thus inherently prone to problems.

I've got 6 Sennheisers on the go today with DPAs, and I cannot fault the audio quality - and even if the funds for super-special ones were available, I'd spend it on other elements in the production chain, where the money would be better spent.

I'm afraid there is still snob value in certain pro audio circles.

I agree with Paul and the ecconomics of TV and film shooting comes into it these days in the UK.

If I was doing high budget drama or features then I would be hiring in whatever is required but as most productions want everything included for free these days I now have a std kit set that includes a couple of G2's and basic mixer and mic set. Anything more has to be hired in and is subject to extra charge.

Long gone are the days of investing huge amounts in kit as the daily rates have not changed much in over 10 years so productions now have to accept that it is the way it is these days although they also seem very happy to have unskilled people just operating self shoot cameras and calling themselves producers and directors even though they have minimal experience and very basic sound knowledge.

You can see that they have G2 or 3 radio mics in use and just sort it out in post although most ofbthe work for the dubbing dept is audio recovery these days and just getting something that they can then make a story out of with the addition of some voice over and library musak.

So the expensive pro kit may be very nice but minimal programme budgets tend to dictate what is actually being used these days in TV production!

SHOOT MYSELF IN MOUTH MODE ON

Ok - I need to edit my previous statement where I said I had 6 on the go - I now have ..... 5.

One of the nearly new Sennheiser G3 receivers has just died! The display is lit, but no digits appear, and there is no output at all.

Did I talk this up or what? It's a rather dull show and I have little to do apart from pressing one button everytime somebody says 'Go' - so I figured that I'd share this. Rather ruins my post - but it is the first real fault I have had in many years on Sennheiser!

Ha ha Paul sods law but just remember that they cost around £500 and work very well most of the time which is more than I can say for the mega expensive micron systems we had in the 80's and 90's !

While most of the work I personally do on set is Pro tools playback work, I have also done a lot of music for picture work. By a pretty wide margin, I see Lectro stuff- 400 and higher- on set. I also will occasionally see Zaxcom and a few other similar products. To be honest, if I walk on a set and the production guy is using G2 or G3, I begin to worry. There are plenty of good engineers that use them, but they are definitely a pretty good step down.

When i'm doing music productions, it is high end Sennheiser (3000 and 5000) that I prefer, but I'm also fine with Shure ULX-D/UR/Axient and Audio Technica Artist.

The elements you put on the packs are also very important. My preference is Sanken and DPA, but I've had pretty good results from Tram as well. The Sanken seems to do the best at integrating with the sound from the boom...

--Ben

I am happy with Sennheiser G3. My clients can't pay more for lectrosonics. :)

Same here.. some of my clients don't have the budget, so I leave the Lectros home and just take the G2/3s, same with the TC recorder. I'll take the 680 in place of the 744 and smart slate. I'll use the SD mixer/preamps and good mics in either case though..

I've used the AT1800 system for years and love it. It's very reliable, nearly as reliable as the Lectros I've used, but of course it doesn't sound as good as those. As much as I love the AT system it wouldn't cut it on a feature with any kind of real budget. You sometimes see the Sennheiser G3s on indie features. It's a great sounding system, probably better than the AT, but with nowhere near the range. So it's a tradeoff. I will say that I worked on a feature a couple of years ago and one of the actresses flat out refused to wear the G3 transmitter because she thought it was too big. She had worked on bigger projects I guess, and had never seen transmitters that looked like that.

I had a chance to use 2 pairs of Senneheiser G3s, and 2 pairs of Sony UWP-V1s for a wedding promo several weeks ago. This was in Oakland, CA. I clear scanned and synched both sets, and everything was good to go. During the ceremony, however, the Sennheisers kept getting hits with hisses and pops. The antennas were all pointed up. At one point, the minister's channel cut out completely for several minutes! It seems like the Sony has a much better reflection rejection or something....my personal experience have shown that the V1s work much better in the city than the G3s. Can anyone else confirm this? I did find one youtube video where the Sony showed a longer usable range in a city of tall buildings.

I had a chance to use 2 pairs of Senneheiser G3s, and 2 pairs of Sony UWP-V1s for a wedding promo several weeks ago. This was in Oakland, CA. I clear scanned and synched both sets, and everything was good to go. During the ceremony, however, the Sennheisers kept getting hits with hisses and pops. The antennas were all pointed up. At one point, the minister's channel cut out completely for several minutes! It seems like the Sony has a much better reflection rejection or something....my personal experience have shown that the V1s work much better in the city than the G3s. Can anyone else confirm this? I did find one youtube video where the Sony showed a longer usable range in a city of tall buildings.

It depends on your choice of frequencies.

If you had used the Sennheiser frequencies on the Sony and vice versa, it may well have been the Sony getting the hits.

You need to choose well separated and intermodulation-free frequencies that work for both brands.

Also - remember that a transmitter aerial touching the body can attenuate the signal by as much as 70dB and if the wearer is sweating it will attenuate the signal even more.

In a test in the UK, the G3 receiver came out the best for range without dropouts, beating many more expensive units.

I have found it best to use the Sennheiser 'Frequency Finder' site or other authoritative entity (or scanning device) and choose a channel that is vacant or has very low signal strength in a given area, Then manually check each receiver for RF at the shoot location. Using the above method, in my experience, has changed performance from 'OK' to outstanding.. The G2/3's receiver's 'scan' function is only good for 'significant' RF detection, but may be ok in a 'RF friendly' area..

Interesting Rick. I have not had much luck with the Sennheisers myself, the G2s and the G3s. I'll try your suggestions next time. They are great sounding units. No question about that.

Marco,
TV Channel 27 (548–554 MHz) is vacant in ALB area.. at least for now. Lucky you.
And would be good for a frequency block A G2/3 system.

Here is a RF scanner that works great for radio mic systems..... well worth the low cost.

RF Explorer model WSUB1G [TES82252P] - $129.00 : Seeed Studio Bazaar, Boost ideas, extend the reach (http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/rf-explorer-model-wsub1g-p-922.html)

@ Rick Thanks!

I, too, use an audio-technica 1800 series. Not much of my work requires wireless, but I've had one for about 4-5 years and it still works fine. The dual channel receiver is real nice on those few occasions when I need it.

A growing problem for me is more the age and condition of my hearing, coupled with the annoyance of tinnitus. Certain frequencies just don't get through, and I realize I can't discern 'fair' audio from 'good' as well as I used to. Crisp music is what I miss the most. Take good care of your ears, and turn down the volume while you're young.

Hey, how does that frequency finder site work? Some of those fields are obvious but I have no clue what some of those numbers mean. And what does the attenuation field mean?

I could have used this the other day. Had a rented Lectro set but also my G2, put both on a speaker for redundancy. Lectros were fine for the most part, G2 was pretty much constantly crap.

Attenuation means...well.. attenuation. More is better in our case. (80dBm is better than 70) A 'vacant' channel would be best. For instance, in Albany NY, Channel 27 is 'vacant', so choose a bank/channel(s) frequency within 548–554MHz. assuming one has the A frequency block. See the manual for bank/channel frequency allocations. To get optimum performance out of the G2/3s, due diligence is necessary.. that goes for the Lectros too.

Ok thanks. What about those other numbers? The ones that have nothing but the number in their fields? They default to 14 and 69 or something

Don't know about blank columns. No data or vacant maybe.. but ' vacant' is usually stated. The USA tables are tied into the FCC's database, that's why it was unavailable during the government 'shutdown' a week or so ago.

TV= TV channel #
MHz.= Channel frequency range
ERP= radiated power
Dist= Distance from broadcast transmitter
Prx= dBm signal strength

You can adjust the search parameters. For instance the usable TV channels in an A block G3 would be approx: Start: 21; End :28 The 'Range' (system model) parameter would highlight the available frequencies for that particular model.
The chanels highlighted in Yellow (if highlight is enabled, 'should' be useable. As I previously stated, it's best to check for extraneous RF in your chosen frequency (with the system's transmitter switched off) prior to rolling at the location.

Ok, I think I get it. So the "range" range you mention goes with the upper limit/lower limit parameters on the site. And that info will be in the manual.

Ok, just fiddled around with this at my house. I get 59 "usable" channels, 14 in my EWG2's range. Out of those. . .how to choose any over any other? Most distance from transmitter? Lowest "erp"? Highest negative number (prx-I'm assuming this is the attenuation?)

What frequency block is your G2?
Choose the TV channel/frequency range which has the highest negative number Prx. Set your G2 accordingly.. within that TV channel/frequency range.
If you have an A block frequency G2, TV Channel 22 would be my first choice in Houston. So choose a G2 frequency between 518-524 MHz which would be in Bank-1, Channels 1 thru 4 are within those parameters.
Second choice would be TV channel 25 (236-542MHz) .. G2 Bank-4, Channels 1 thru 4.
You can also manually adjust a frequency and save it to Bank U. However If your using multiple systems, use the presets in just one bank to avoid intermodulation.
http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/members/rick-reineke-albums-alblum-picture818-houston-tx-g2-block.jpg

Thanks. Don't know the name of the block I have (I didn't know any of that when I bought the system back in 2004), but my freq range is 518.00 to 554.00 or something along those lines.

That would be the 'A' block. 518>554 MHz.
There's no totally vacant TV channels in Houston for that block, but frequencies within TV Channel 22 or 25 should work. Try frequency/channels in 'Bank 1' or 'Bank 4'.

Thanks. Something else I wanted to ask about is local interference. What I mean is, any number of shoots happen with large corporations at their offices/buildings with God knows what flying around in there. How to deal with that?

Dumb question I guess. I guess that's where the scan function comes in.

But riddle me this. . .let's say you're on a certain bank and it says "4 channels available". How to know which of the 4 is the best in that situation?

Get your hands on one of these............
RF Explorer model WSUB1G [TES82252P] - $129.00 : Seeed Studio Bazaar, Boost ideas, extend the reach (http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/rf-explorer-model-wsub1g-p-922.html)

It is the most useful thing to have in your kit if you are using radio mics.........At least you can see what's happening and where the gaps in the RF spectrum are.