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time code tools, what to buy. (Ambient radio link)


alidav

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I rented once 3 small ambient boxes, the radio link, very immediate and simple to use, I worked with one tx and 2 Rx on 2 cameras, 

I see that it has been dismissed, from what has been replaced? what else besides Ambient you can choose? I heard something about to send time code and scratch audio to a camera? which product has these 2 facilities in same box? 

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13 hours ago, alidav said:

I rented once 3 small ambient boxes, the radio link, very immediate and simple to use, I worked with one tx and 2 Rx on 2 cameras, 

I see that it has been dismissed, from what has been replaced? what else besides Ambient you can choose? I heard something about to send time code and scratch audio to a camera? which product has these 2 facilities in same box? 

there was more questions, what has replaced the Ambient radio link? (TC-TRXforFAM.png)    is there something similar to it ? is it the Ambient nano kit? is someone using it  does it require a tx and rx or it can be used also as single tool to jam to, mixer recorder and camera at once?

Thanks, Costantin, The zaxcom is amazing but I am on a budget and so I'll keep using be a ew100 g2 system to send a scratch audio

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The question is,  in this typical scenario where I have to sync one sound devices 664 and 1 or 2  pro cameras in documentaries and tv shows,  a time code radio link like this TC-TRXforFAM.png can accomplish the goal? Since I am going to invest some money  I want just to make the right purchase, I have seen some video of ambient lockit acl 204, and there is a dozen of other products, I am very happy to accept any your advice. 

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Hi,

Please check out the below link to Ambients ACN Timecode products. These products are the direct replacement for the original Ambient products you have used I believe.

http://ambient.de/en/product_custom_cat/Timecode-en/

 

Zaxcom ERX and Zaxnet does TC and Scratch audio - https://zaxcom.com/product_categories/zaxnet-ifb/

 

You may also want to look at TimeCode Systems - http://www.timecodesystems.com/shop/

 

Can't think of any other TC systems that have a radio link feature but could be wrong.

 

Deneke, Betso and Tentacle Sync are other manufacturers of TC systems. 

 

There are many videos online showing these different systems. You Tube.

There are many, many discussions here on JW about the different systems. 

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1 hour ago, Soundwil said:

Can't think of any other TC systems that have a radio link feature but could be wrong.

[...]

There are many, many discussions here on JW about the different systems. 

 

Betso also does wireless sync, but as you mention there are many many discussions and if somebody is too lazy do look them up then there's only so much we can do.

 

chris

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16 hours ago, Soundwil said:

Hi,

Please check out the below link to Ambients ACN Timecode products. These products are the direct replacement for the original Ambient products you have used I believe.

http://ambient.de/en/product_custom_cat/Timecode-en/

 

 

I'll try to be more detailed, I have rented many times the ambient radio link, quite simple and immediate, it is possible to set it as receiver or transmitter, it doesn't generate time code but just transmit it wirelessly from my sound devices to 1 or more cameras. Now the last update is that soon I' ll be doing some work with a production company and they own the ambient lockit, I have seen many videos from ambient but never seen the essential way to set it. Does it generate time code? so my sound devices will have to jam as a slave to it like all cameras? I guess they will have a master lockit and tiny lockit, does the master lockit work as a stand-alone tool and the tiny lockit wired to the cameras and mixer recorder? please if anyone of you that daily use it could explain me this would help me a lot.

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The new system is excellent.  If they have master lockit it will be great for you.  Use your phone or computer (any device will work) to set time of day and user bits on the master lockit and then all the other ACN devices on the same channel will jam to it.  I run the master lockit on my 788t because it also allows me to control it.  Feel free to email or call me if you need any help I have 4 nanolockits 4 ACN lockits and 4 LS slates that all run off my master lockit.

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1 hour ago, ChrisH said:

The new system is excellent.  If they have master lockit it will be great for you.  Use your phone or computer (any device will work) to set time of day and user bits on the master lockit and then all the other ACN devices on the same channel will jam to it.  I run the master lockit on my 788t because it also allows me to control it.  Feel free to email or call me if you need any help I have 4 nanolockits 4 ACN lockits and 4 LS slates that all run off my master lockit.

Thank you very much

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With the new system every part of it is a standalone generator.  the Master lockit just has many other functions such as recorder control and wifi control and metadata distribution.  So it makes sense to run your recorder as a slave to the master.  The nano lockits are only $300 each or $500 for two so a master lockit and two Nanos.  

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Hi Alidav, I think some of the systems being suggested above are too complicated for your needs. Basically, most users and manufacturers have moved away from directly transmitting Timecode over a radio link, as it is less reliable than having an accurate generator attached to each camera. You can get radio drop-outs. There are of course two ways timecode can be used on set - continuous timecode, often set to time-of-day, or "Rec Run" timecode, used less often nowdays, but only really for a single camera and a recorder, where the timecode starts and stops with the camera.

 

For Continuous Timecode (or Time of Day) - which is what you'd need if there were two or more cameras anyway - all you really need at the basic level is two TC generator boxes for the camera, and use your Sound Devices 664 as the TC Master. Any of the currently available boxes will work fine - Tentacle Sync, Timecode Systems, Ambient's many products (including the Nano), and several other manufacturers. You simply jam-sync each box to the TC coming out of the 664, and put them on the cameras. Depending on the brand of the TC box, you might want to re-jam at lunchtime, or leave them to run all day. Ambient and Tentacle both have good videos showing this process. The tricky part is knowing how to set every brand of camera to lock to their TC box, and having the correct cables to link the two, but that's the same as using the TC radio link boxes you are used to. Some of the current boxes have a wireless network facility - this is different to the old TC radio links, as the wireless is used to simply jam-sync all the boxes (once or every few seconds, depending on manufacturer) - if the wireless drops out, there is no problem with the TC coming out of the boxes, and if one cameras jumps in a car and goes far away, it still gets TC. With those 'networked' devices, there's an advantage in having one of the boxes attached to your 664 as well, as it removes the need to jam one of the camera boxes to the 664 with a cable (which will then jam all the others over the 'network'). Please note that with the Ambient system, you do not require a 'Master Lockit' - even a Nano can be the 'network master' - the Master Lockit just gives you advanced control and Metadata functions you may not need for Documentary work.

 

In the other, less likely case of using "Rec Run timecode" that starts and stops with the camera - some of the manufacturers still allow for this. Ambient for example, allow all their TC boxes to operate in "TRX mode", which to the user works in the same way as the old TC radio link boxes you have used. TC goes in to one box, and comes out of another one (or many) - and will start and stop as the source does. It is really using the wireless jamming network (they call C-Link) to start and stop the TC generators in each box - so it is still a bit more reliable than the old radio link system (which is why Ambient have discontinued them).

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18 hours ago, nickreich said:

Hi Alidav, I think some of the systems being suggested above are too complicated for your needs. Basically, most users and manufacturers have moved away from directly transmitting Timecode over a radio link, as it is less reliable than having an accurate generator attached to each camera. You can get radio drop-outs. There are of course two ways timecode can be used on set - continuous timecode, often set to time-of-day, or "Rec Run" timecode, used less often nowdays, but only really for a single camera and a recorder, where the timecode starts and stops with the camera.

 

For Continuous Timecode (or Time of Day) - which is what you'd need if there were two or more cameras anyway - all you really need at the basic level is two TC generator boxes for the camera, and use your Sound Devices 664 as the TC Master. Any of the currently available boxes will work fine - Tentacle Sync, Timecode Systems, Ambient's many products (including the Nano), and several other manufacturers. You simply jam-sync each box to the TC coming out of the 664, and put them on the cameras. Depending on the brand of the TC box, you might want to re-jam at lunchtime, or leave them to run all day. Ambient and Tentacle both have good videos showing this process. The tricky part is knowing how to set every brand of camera to lock to their TC box, and having the correct cables to link the two, but that's the same as using the TC radio link boxes you are used to. Some of the current boxes have a wireless network facility - this is different to the old TC radio links, as the wireless is used to simply jam-sync all the boxes (once or every few seconds, depending on manufacturer) - if the wireless drops out, there is no problem with the TC coming out of the boxes, and if one cameras jumps in a car and goes far away, it still gets TC. With those 'networked' devices, there's an advantage in having one of the boxes attached to your 664 as well, as it removes the need to jam one of the camera boxes to the 664 with a cable (which will then jam all the others over the 'network'). Please note that with the Ambient system, you do not require a 'Master Lockit' - even a Nano can be the 'network master' - the Master Lockit just gives you advanced control and Metadata functions you may not need for Documentary work.

 

In the other, less likely case of using "Rec Run timecode" that starts and stops with the camera - some of the manufacturers still allow for this. Ambient for example, allow all their TC boxes to operate in "TRX mode", which to the user works in the same way as the old TC radio link boxes you have used. TC goes in to one box, and comes out of another one (or many) - and will start and stop as the source does. It is really using the wireless jamming network (they call C-Link) to start and stop the TC generators in each box - so it is still a bit more reliable than the old radio link system (which is why Ambient have discontinued them).

Thank you so much for your exhaustive reply

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