Wireless Video Transmitter at DVinfo.net

Andrew Fraser · August 7th, 2007, 03:14 AM

Does anyone have any experience with wireless video transmitters? I need to buy one for use with monitoring a remote camera, and for use sometimes with live multicam shoots.

Ervin Farkas · August 7th, 2007, 07:55 AM

Open up you wallet wide and visit http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...=&cltp=&clsgr=

Jay Cowley · August 9th, 2007, 09:03 PM

if quality isn't an issue, i know radio shack has like an $80 sender that just accepts composite video. ive used them, they seem to work, just not great

Andrew Fraser · August 13th, 2007, 05:07 PM

It really needs to be high quality, the BHPhoto site has some good products.

Paul Cascio · August 13th, 2007, 05:54 PM

Why not use a Slingbox?

Jaron Berman · August 13th, 2007, 11:24 PM

The "wireless" can of worms. mmmmm

There are actually a number of options when it comes to wireless, but firstly - where will it be used, and in what capacity? Will one end of the wireless link be moving during the shot? What kind of distance do you need?

For wireless handheld or steadicam use, the major contenders are the widely known CIT Modulus 3000, 2000, or the new 4000. Also there is the excellent Canatrans, the Transvideo Titan, the Boxx, and the WEVI Camwave.

The modulus and Canatrans are TV-UHF band transmitters. Technically illegal to use without license in the U.S. To get best performance from these, you MUST have a good tuner and antenna setup. Not recommended for live camera feed to air - signal interference and dropout is almost guaranteed at some point. Fine for video village though.

The Titan, Boxx, and WEVI are all microwave - less range due to the higher frequencies, but also less interference. Titan is analog, 2.4ghz, the Boxx and Wevi are both digital Wifi. Digital means delay, so expect a 3-5 frame delay in the signal. I own a WEVI, and can attest that it is a rock-solid, broadcast grade signal. BUT, it is delayed, so it will probably not work for live to air, unless you can make a creative solution (perhaps delaying all your other cameras and audio by the same amount, then you could cut seamlessly and save a LOT of money).

All the above units are below $5000 roughly. Now...
For true broadcast, no delay links, you'd be looking at a gigawave system or grass valley digital triax system. These systems, to be polite, are substantially more than $5000. Quite substantially. If you're using it for i-mag, then you'll need a system with <1 frame delay, most likely. Definitely not cheap, and certainly the kind of thing that would be a substantial cost to rent for even a day.

There are a lot of other systems out there, but this is a general list off the top of my head. I have both the WEVI and a TV-UHF transmitter. For steadicam use I generally mount both so that a director watching the performance can look on a handheld monitor with no delay (slight picture breakup, TV-UHF), while back at video village they can watch a crisp feed without breakup (digital wireless). But live to air is a whole other ballgame.

August 7th, 2007, 03:14 AM	#1
Andrew Fraser Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Victoria, Australia Posts: 42	Wireless Video Transmitter Does anyone have any experience with wireless video transmitters? I need to buy one for use with monitoring a remote camera, and for use sometimes with live multicam shoots.

August 7th, 2007, 07:55 AM	#2
Ervin Farkas Inner Circle Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Atlanta/USA Posts: 2,515	Open up you wallet wide and visit http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...=&cltp=&clsgr= __________________ Ervin Farkas www.AtlantaLegalVideo.com

August 13th, 2007, 05:54 PM	#5
Paul Cascio Trustee Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Bristol, CT (Home of EPSN) Posts: 1,192	Why not use a Slingbox? __________________ Paul Cascio www.pictureframingschool.com

August 9th, 2007, 09:03 PM	#3
Jay Cowley Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Niagara, Ontario Posts: 141	if quality isn't an issue, i know radio shack has like an $80 sender that just accepts composite video. ive used them, they seem to work, just not great

August 13th, 2007, 05:07 PM	#4
Andrew Fraser Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Victoria, Australia Posts: 42	It really needs to be high quality, the BHPhoto site has some good products.

August 13th, 2007, 11:24 PM	#6
Jaron Berman Major Player Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 439	The "wireless" can of worms. mmmmm There are actually a number of options when it comes to wireless, but firstly - where will it be used, and in what capacity? Will one end of the wireless link be moving during the shot? What kind of distance do you need? For wireless handheld or steadicam use, the major contenders are the widely known CIT Modulus 3000, 2000, or the new 4000. Also there is the excellent Canatrans, the Transvideo Titan, the Boxx, and the WEVI Camwave. The modulus and Canatrans are TV-UHF band transmitters. Technically illegal to use without license in the U.S. To get best performance from these, you MUST have a good tuner and antenna setup. Not recommended for live camera feed to air - signal interference and dropout is almost guaranteed at some point. Fine for video village though. The Titan, Boxx, and WEVI are all microwave - less range due to the higher frequencies, but also less interference. Titan is analog, 2.4ghz, the Boxx and Wevi are both digital Wifi. Digital means delay, so expect a 3-5 frame delay in the signal. I own a WEVI, and can attest that it is a rock-solid, broadcast grade signal. BUT, it is delayed, so it will probably not work for live to air, unless you can make a creative solution (perhaps delaying all your other cameras and audio by the same amount, then you could cut seamlessly and save a LOT of money). All the above units are below $5000 roughly. Now... For true broadcast, no delay links, you'd be looking at a gigawave system or grass valley digital triax system. These systems, to be polite, are substantially more than $5000. Quite substantially. If you're using it for i-mag, then you'll need a system with <1 frame delay, most likely. Definitely not cheap, and certainly the kind of thing that would be a substantial cost to rent for even a day. There are a lot of other systems out there, but this is a general list off the top of my head. I have both the WEVI and a TV-UHF transmitter. For steadicam use I generally mount both so that a director watching the performance can look on a handheld monitor with no delay (slight picture breakup, TV-UHF), while back at video village they can watch a crisp feed without breakup (digital wireless). But live to air is a whole other ballgame.