Tag Archives: wireless

Review

New Connected Monitors Coming From Accsoon.

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Accsoon CineView M7 Pro

Accsoon will be previewing two very interesting looking monitors at NAB in Las Vegas. Accsoon are perhaps best know for their Seemo  products that allow users to turn their iPhones into an SDI or HDMI equipped monitor or for thier extensive range of HD and 4K wireless video transmission systems (see my review of their 4K Cineview Master system here).

Accsoon CineView M7

 

Now they are about to release a pair of really interesting monitors, The CineView M7 Pro and CineView M7. Both monitors have the ability to record footage at up to 4K60p in H.264 or H.265 direct to an SD card slot or to external USB thumb drives or external SSDs. This provides a simple solution for instant review of footage on-set, or sharing to social media and streaming platforms, with the increased processing power allowing the menus and file management to be incredibly responsive. Video and audio bitrates can be adjusted to match the required record times and storage media. I don’t yet have any information on bit rates, but the nice thing about H265 is it can deliver very high quality with very small files, so this could be an excellent backup for a cameras internal recording. They also have bluetooth allowing you to connect bluetooth headphones for audio monitoring.

The screens are 7-inch 1900×1200 displays with cinema-grade accuracy, covering 100% of Rec.709, and a 1500:1 ultra-high static contrast ratio. Like most modern monitors you get all the expected exposure and focus tools such as Waveform display, false colour, zebras and peaking etc.

They have powerful internal processors that allow the monitors monitors to work with both 3D and 1D LUTs which are loaded via USB, SD Card or flash drive. Importantly the CineView M7 and M7 PRO can also function as a LUT box allowing the transform to be applied to the output via HDMI, SDI or Wi-fi streaming, or to be ‘burned’ into the image recorded direct to card. This is a really nice feature. 

The monitor can also cross convert between HD and 4K, both up and down and the press release also mention the possible future ability to convert between different frame rates. 

The monitors take a pair of NP-F style batteries for onboard power and can also be powered via a DC input as well as USB-C PD.  

Rear view of the CineView M7 Pro with cage fitted.

 

Powering Solutions:

Dual NP-F Slots

USB PD

DC

I/O Interfaces:

HDMI IN: Supports up to 4K60 DCI video input

HDMI OUT: Supports up to 4K60 DCI video output

SDI IN: 3G SDI. Supports up to 1080P60 video input

SDI OUT: 3G SDI. Supports up to 1080P60 video output

SD Card Slot: You can directly record to the SD Card, import LUTs from SD Card and offload footage to the SD Card.

USB 3.0 (Type-C): Plug in external storage devices for recording and file import/offload

Microphone jack (3.5mm): Supports external audio input to replace the audio signal embedded in the video source. 

Headphone jack (3.5mm): Supports using external headphones or speakers for audio monitoring.

Bluetooth: Supports audio monitoring using wireless earbuds. 

Side views of the CineView M7

The CineView M7 Pro includes a built in wireless receiver that is compatible with Accsoon’s wireless video transmitters making it a strong candidate for use as a directors monitor. The CineView M7 does not have a built in receiver so will I assume be cheaper.

The projected price for the CineView M7 Pro is $900USD which seems extremely competitive for a monitor with this feature set, especially if you already own any of their wireless transmission systems.

Everything Else, Review

Why use Sony’s UWP-D Radio Microphones?

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There are LOTS of choices now when it comes to radio microphones. Some are better than others. Some may be smaller, some may be cheaper, some may be really terrible! So, given there are so many choices and the Sony UWP-D series isn’t amongst the cheapest, why choose them over some of the cheaper options?

Sony’s URX-P41D on an FX6 using the MI Shoe


Perhaps you are looking at some of the new miniature digital microphone kits from other well known brands such as DJI or Hollyland, or perhaps even Sony’s ECM-W3, all of which to be fair, do actually work pretty well, especially when you consider their low cost. So, why use the UWP-D series?

The vast majority of these smaller digital microphones use frequencies in the same range as used by Wifi and Bluetooth. By using these shared and licence free frequencies these devices can be made cheaply. But because the frequencies are shared and licence free the power levels that can be used are very low and there is a high risk of interference from other devices that are also using the same frequencies. Generally interference isn’t normally an issue unless you are somewhere crowded but with almost everyone carrying a mobile phone with WiFi and bluetooth enabled, if you are in a crowded place such as a large event, conference, performance etc, then interference can become a big issue. Range can be seriously reduced or in the worst case you may simply find you can’t get them to work at all.

The Sony URX-P41D attached to a Sony FX3 via MIShoe

 

The other thing about the very high frequencies used by these small devices is that they are easily blocked by solid objects, including people. So, if the presenter is wearing the transmitter on their front and they turn away from the camera so that their body now comes between the transmitter and receiver, the signal can be blocked or  degraded.

A further issue with these low cost digital systems is the time it takes to encode the audio to digital, transmit it and then convert the digital data back to a useable audio signal. It takes time, and this introduces a delay into the audio. This delay can affect the lip sync of the recorded audio or make it impossible to mix the delayed wireless audio with any un-delayed audio from a wired microphone – the timing difference leading to an echo or phase issues that can make the audio sound strange.

For me, as a professional film maker these issues are significant. Not being able to mix different types of microphones without an echo or phase shift is a huge problem as often I will have a mic on the camera for atmos sound as well as the radio mic on the talent, and I need to be able to mix these different sources and I don’t want to have to spend time shifting the timing of each audio track separately in post. 


A further issue is the rechargeable nature of the cheaper radio mics. What do you do if you forget to recharge them before the job? What do you do if you’ve been shooting all day but have yet to finish and the batteries have gone flat? You can’t simply pop in a fresh set of AA batteries as you can with the UWP-D series. Additional battery cases (BATC-4AA) can also be purchased if you wish to make changing batteries in a rush even easier. 

UTX-B40 with it’s included 2x AA battery case (part number BATC-4AA)


All of the above reasons are why I still prefer to use my UWP-D microphones whenever I can.

The latest versions have a removable battery case that takes two AA batteries, so battery swaps are quick and easy. The receivers can be connected to any Sony camera with an MI Shoe using a cheap adapter that slots into the shoe and then the receiver is powered from the camera and the audio passed directly to the camera with no need to use any cables. If you are using an FX6 with the single channel URX-P40D or dual channel URX P41D you will get an indication of the signal strength of the transmitters on the LCD/Monitor, very handy indeed.

UWP-D Transmitter battery level indication on Sony FX6

 

The UWP-D series use a hybrid of analog and digital technologies. The transmitters and receivers use a digital compander system to process the audio so that any loss of quality during the analog transmission is minimised. The URX-P40D and URX-P41D can output using either analog or digital. Most of the more recent Sony A7 and FX series cameras can now accept the digital input which helps to reduce background hiss and noise.



The URX-P41D is a dual channel receiver. It has two separate receivers and these can be switched on and off independently.  There is also an additional 3.5mm socket for a wired microphone and this additional input can be mixed with the radio mic channels. It also has a headphone socket and this is very handy for troubleshooting any audio issues as it allows you to check what the radio mic receiver is receiving before the audio is passed on to the camera or recorder. There are two threaded 3.5mm sockets that can be used with the included 3.5mm to 3.5mm or XLR cables to feed the camera or recorder if you are not using the MI Shoe.

They are also very easy to use. Pairing is simple, on the URX-P41D you just press and hold the scan/sync button on the receiver to put it into the pairing mode. It will scan for clear frequencies and then when it has found them it will ask you to pair with the transmitters using NFC. Simply hold the first transmitter against the receiver and it will automatically pair, vibrating when it is done. Then you hold the second transmitter against the receiver and it will then pair with that one. The URX-P41D also has an IR port on the side for pairing with the previous generation of UWP-D wireless transmitters that pair via infra-red.

URX-P41D – you can see the IR pairing window on the side.



As well as the compact belt pack transmitter (UTX-B40), there is also a handheld microphone (UTX-M40) and a plug in transmitter (UTX-P40). Most of my own personal experience is with the belt pack transmitters, but I have used them all and they all work really well.

The latest Sony UWP-D transmitters


The URX-B40 transmitter is compact and sturdy. It has the same AA battery holder as the receiver and a pair of good quality alkaline AA batteries will run it for around 8 hours. It has a simple but effective removable wire belt clip. These have been dropped, sat on, pulled out of pockets by the mic cable more times than I can remember and never given any issues. The supplied microphone is pretty good. None of my clients have ever found the audio quality lacking and I feel that it is perfectly acceptable for news or documentary production. Perfectionist’s may prefer to use a different capsule, but for me it does what I need it to do.

I have been using various versions of the UWP-D radio mic systems for years and the first versions I got all those years ago still work fine today. The latest receivers with the digital MI Shoe output have a lower noise floor and having the signal strength displayed on the screen of my FX6 is very useful.  A decent radio mic system isn’t a small investment, but these should last many, many years. They won’t introduce phasing and timing issues as many of the lower cost digital systems can. The range is great and they can be used in crowded venues or at large events without being worried about interferrence from phones or other devices that use WiFi. 

Everything Else, Technology

New Accsoon Cineview 2 Wireless Video System

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New CineView 2 SDI wireless video link system.

 

I’ve been working with Accsoon for a couple of years now and their products always represent great value and do what they are supposed to do very well. One thing in particular that I find immensely useful is the ability to use their wireless video transmitters as an access point that you can connect a camera to to extend it’s internal wifi range. This is particularly beneficial with Sony’s Cinema Line cameras as it can greatly extend the range and reliability of the remote camera control via Sony’s control and transfer app. See: https://youtu.be/iSC9i0Frz-Y

Accsoon have just announced a new addition to their line up with the new CineView 2 SDI (it does also have HDMI). I expect this will provide even better range and stability when used as an access point, plus of course it can transmit a very high quality, low latency HD video feed

The key points are below:
 
– A massive 1500ft/450m range with impressive stability and latency
 
– Equipped with HD-SDI and HDMI inputs/outputs for versatile connectivity. Has 4K 60P loop through on the TX unit.
 
– Features next-generation 1080P wireless video transmission
 
– Backwards compatible with previous CineView models
 
FX3, FX30, FX6, PXW-FX9

Sony ECM-W3 MI Shoe wireless microphone kit.

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I guess I must have missed this while I was on holiday but Sony have now announced a small wireless microphone kit that competes with the small digital wireless microphone kits from DJI and Hollyland etc. While not intended to replace the longer range professional wireless microphones such as the UW-P series these microphones offer a very compact system at a much lower price. Being digital they offer very high sound quality.

Many of us, myself included often use a Sony camera to shoot video blogs or simple productions where we all we need is a basic radio mic system and this is where look to be ideal. The receiver connects directly to the MI Shoe of any Sony camera with an MI Shoe, so there are no wires or cables to get in the way or to get lost. Then the small clip on transmitter with its built in microphone is worn by the subject. 

Sony ECM-W3S single channel wireless mic kit.

 

The single channel system costs £320 GBP ($350 USD) and the dual channel with 2 transmitters around £420 GBP ($475 USD).

The transmitter and receiver come in a small charging case and a windscreen is included for the transmitters. If you don’t have an MI shoe equipped camera there is a 3.5mm audio cable to connect between the receiver and the camera, computer or other recording device.

Shooting Tips

Microphone Latency – Don’t mix and match!

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This tripped me up recently and I really should know better.

Don’t mix wireless and cabled microphones with differing amounts of latency because if you do you may have a nasty and difficult to remove echo or phase issues in your audio. 

Digital + Analog don’t mix well.

In my particular case I was using a couple of Sony UWP-D wireless microphones to mic up two out of 3 members of a discussion panel. For the 3rd member I had planned to use another UWP-D but that microphone became unavailable at the last minute, so instead I used a lower cost digital microphone that works on the 2.5Ghz band. There is absolutely nothing fundamentally wrong with this lower cost microphone but the digital processing and transmission adds a very slight delay to the audio.

The Sony UWP-D’s are extremely low latency (delay) microphones and the audio arrives at the camera almost instantly. However most of the lower cost digital microphones have a very slight delay. That delay may be 1 frame or less, but there is still a delay. So the audio from the digital microphone arrives at the camera slightly late. If this is the only microphone you are using this isn’t an issue. But if you mix a very low latency microphone with one with a very slight delay, if both mics pick up any of the same sounds in the background there will be an echo or possibly a phase issue.

As the delay is almost never exactly 1 frame  this can be difficult to resolve in most normal video post production suites where you can only shift things in 1 frame increments.

Phase Issues:

Phase issues occur when the audio from one source arrives very slightly out of sync with the other so that the one source cancels certain frequencies of the other out when the two are mixed together. This can make the audio sound thin or have a reduced frequency response.

So… don’t mix different types of digital wireless microphones and don’t mix lower cost digital microphones with more expensive low latency microphones. And when you are checking and monitoring your audio listen to a full mix of all your audio channels. If you monitor the channels separately the echo or any phasing issues might not be heard.

Everything Else, Review

Hollyland Lark 150 Dual Channel wireless Mic System

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In this video – live streamed on June 24th 2021 I take a look at the new Hollyland Lark 150 dual channel wireless microphone system.

The Lark 150 is a compact digital wireless microphone system that is available as a single channel or dual channel kit. If you buy the single channel kit you can add an extra transmitter pack later if you wish and pairing the units is really simple.

Each kit is supplied in a storage box that acts as a drop-in charger. To pair the transmitters to the receiver simply place them all in the storage box together and they are paired automatically, it’s as simple as that.

The transmitter units have a built in microphone and come with a clip on fluffy wind gag. But in addition a plug in lavalier microphone of pretty good quality is also included in the kit, one for each transmitter pack. There is also a mute button on each transmitter unit.

The receiver outputs a mono output or stereo output via a 3.5mm TRS socket depending on you personal preferences (connecting cables for cameras or phones are included in the kit). There is also a handy “safety mode” that outputs at full level on channel 1 and at a reduced level on channel 2. This is great for filming in environments where the audio levels can suddenly change as the lower level recording helps avoid clipping or distortion if the levels suddenly increase. There are two large control knobs on the receiver that control the levels of the two channels and allow you to switch between the different operating modes. The LCD screen clearly shows how the microphone is configured along with the audio levels. There is an additional headphone output on the receiver for headphone monitoring in case your camera doesn’t have a headphone jack.

Battery life is excellent, I got around 8 hours of use from a single charge. To charge the transmitter and receiver units just put them in the carry case and the battery built into the case will charge them back up again. The case has a USB socket to charge it.

The sound quality is very good for a low cost system. As it is entirely digital there is virtually no hiss or noise. The only downside is that the range is more limited than most much more expensive professional radio mics. This system uses the licence free 2.4Ghz band so there are no licensing issues in most countries and the digital transmissions are very secure, so you don’t need to worry about people illicitly  listening in. 

While you can get up to 100m/300ft range from them in perfect conditions. I found that I reliably and consistently get a range of about 100ft (30m). Operate them in this distance range and they are generally rock solid. However if the presenters body or some other substantial objects gets between the transmitter and receiver there is a small decrease in range, perhaps dropping to a reliable  50ft (15m). This is still plenty for most applications.

I really like these microphones. They won’t replace my much more expensive Sony UWP-D professional microphones, but they are great when you need something compact, ultra light and really simple to use. They are perfect for a lot of blogging applications as well as for interviews etc. At a cost of around £210/$275 for the dual channel kit these are excellent value for the money.

Review, Technology

Accsoon CineEye 2S

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Wireless video transmitters are nothing new and there are lots of different units on the market. But the Accsoon CineEye 2S stands out from the crowd for a number of reasons.

First is the price, at only £220/$300 USD it’s very affordable for a SDI/HDMI wireless transmitter. But one thing to understand is that it is just a transmitter, there is no reciever. Instead you use a phone or tablet to receive the signal and act as your monitor. You can connect up to 4 devices at the same time and the latency is very low.  Given that you can buy a reasonably decent Android tablet or used iPad for £100/$140 these days, it still makes an affordable and neat solution without the need to worry about cables, batteries or cages at the receive end. And most people have an iPhone or Android phone anyway. The Accsoon app includes waveform and histogram display, LUT’s, peaking and all the usual functions you would find on most pro monitors. So it saves tying up an expensive monitor just for a directors preview. You can also record on the tablet/phone giving the ability for the director or anyone else linked to it to independently play back takes as he/she wishes while you use the camera for other things.



Next is the fact that it doesn’t have any fans. So there is no additional noise to worry about when using it. It’s completely silent. Some other units can get quite noisy.

And the best bit: If you are using an iPhone or iPad with a mobile data connection the app can stream your feed to YouTube, Facebook or any similar RMTP service. With Covid still preventing travel for many this is a great solution for an extremely portable streaming solution for remote production previews etc. The quality of the stream is great (subject to your data connection) and you don’t need any additional dongles or adapters, it just works! 

Watch the video, which was streamed live to YouTube with the CineEye 2S  for more information. At 09.12 I comment that it uses 5G – What I mean is that it has 5Ghz WiFi as well as 2.5Ghz Wifi for the connection between the CineEye and the phone or tablet. 5Ghz WiFi is preferred where possible for better quality connections and better range. https://accsoonusa.com/cineeye/

 

Everything Else, Technology

Accsoon Cineeye 2S Wireless Video Link with Streaming Function

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So there are now quite a lot of these devices appearing on the market. I have a Hollyland Mars 400 kit and it works really well. But this one caught my eye because it includes the ability to stream to platforms such as YouTube using RTMP.
In these days of remote production being able to stream the cameras output to a remote client or producer could prove very useful.

I haven’t seen one in person and I don’t know the company, so no idea if it’s actually any good. But certainly on paper it’s really interesting. 

Here’s the info from the press release. 

 
cameras, Technology

News from NAB – What on earth is XDCAM AIR?

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Well I didn’t know what “XDCAM Air” was so I had to ask. In a nutshell XDCAM Air is the name Sony are giving to the wireless and network functions of there more recent and forthcoming camcorders and it’s a cloud service especially for XDCAM.

So XDCAM Air covers things like proxy streaming from a camcorder, ftp uploading and the Sony QoS (quality of service) system that allows you to get great streaming image quality over less than ideal network conditions. Plus remote control of a camera or cameras over a wireless network.

But not only is XDCAM Air about existing capabilities, it is also about future possibilities with the introduction of remote NLE editing of content stored on a camera connected via the internet to the NLE. Other future possibilities are things like firmware updates and some engineering tasks over the Internet. As an example if your camera is playing up and engineer could be given remote access to the camera to look at any error codes or error logs stored in the camera. While the engineer might not be able to fix a hardware issue remotely it may mean that firmware bugs can be identified sooner or patches applied remotely. Perhaps one day I will be able to upload picture profiles or scene files directly to camera son the other side of the world.