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Viviana or Ursa?


Alejandro Reyes

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Earlier this afternoon I saw the Gotham sound presentation of the Viviana Straps. Like the URSA straps, they have come in beige and black, they are thin and don't heat up like my current Neo Packs. They also both contain a non allergenic polyurethane for extra grip so the pack stays in place and won't slide off from sweat. For the price of $36 US, it's a done deal for me, I also like that it contains a two additional pouches for the excess wires. Who's used these, and what does everyone think of them? Would you prefer these over the URSA's? If you haven't made a decision yet, please take look at Gotham Sound review video here.

 

  

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Ironic that they seem to be an exact copy of the Ursa brand, with the cable pouches, the color coding at the top of the wireless pouch and the non-slip strips on the thigh belts. I'm interested in comparing the fabric used in the Viviana vs Ursa.

 

I have just about every Ursa strap they manufacture. I'll demo these and compare.

 

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I am also heavily invested in Ursa straps and have no real need for Viviana straps atm. 

 

While I am very happy with Ursa compared to my old NeoPax straps, I do have two have two issues with Ursa straps. 

 

The cable pocket is way too small. That being said, I don’t really need anyway. I‘ll either use the tx pocket or the belt itself. 

 

Just last week we were shooting outside in pretty cold weather and all actresses were wearing warm and long underwear. On this underwear the thigh belt will not stay in place and slip down all the time. It’s solvable,  but annoying. 

 

Curious how Viviana will handle these two issues

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4 hours ago, Constantin said:

Just last week we were shooting outside in pretty weather and all actresses were wearing warm and long underwear. On this underwear the thigh belt will not stay in place and slip down all the time. It’s solvable,  but annoying. 

 


A small safety pin or three would do the trick?

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14 hours ago, RLightstone said:

Ironic that they seem to be an exact copy of the Ursa brand, with the cable pouches, the color coding at the top of the wireless pouch and the non-slip strips on the thigh belts. I'm interested in comparing the fabric used in the Viviana vs Ursa.

 

I have just about every Ursa strap they manufacture. I'll demo these and compare.

 

 

Ironic indeed. I had a fairly heated exchange with Daniele some time ago when he announced them and I dared to suggest that they were an exact ripoff of Ursa. He went to great lengths to explain that they must be completely different because he 'has a patent'. I questioned this, and after quite a lot of bad tempered to and fro we finally got to the facts..... being that he has registered an EU trademark.... which is not exactly the same thing in any way - in fact it is basically a form filling excercise.

 

I absolutely applaud invention and innovation in our business, and the people who work hard and risk their own money, in order to make products that make our working day easier and more efficient. I see neither of these attributes in Viviana Straps, which makes me very sad.

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12 hours ago, Bash said:

he has registered an EU trademark.... which is not exactly the same thing in any way - in fact it is basically a form filling excercise.

 

 

Perhaps it’s a bit more than that, but I believe the trademark will only protect the product‘s name and maybe that of his company. 

I do not think that it will protect the product innovation itself. Such as it is...

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1 hour ago, Constantin said:

 

Perhaps it’s a bit more than that, but I believe the trademark will only protect the product‘s name and maybe that of his company. 

I do not think that it will protect the product innovation itself. Such as it is...

 

Whatever it is - it is absolutely not a confirmation of any sort of innovation or uniqueness. :-(

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Im using Viviana on a shoot right now, no experience with URSA. So far no complaints. Viviana thigh belts have sticky silicone strips running lengthwise to help prevent slipping which I thought was a nice touch. The TX pockets are said to be universal, but it is a bit of a chore to shove a TRXLA2.5 into one. Am I crazy, or do both URSA and VIVIANA straps essentially copy (and improve upon) the Neopax design?

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1 hour ago, Mike Robertson said:

Im using Viviana on a shoot right now, no experience with URSA. So far no complaints. Viviana thigh belts have sticky silicone strips running lengthwise to help prevent slipping which I thought was a nice touch. The TX pockets are said to be universal, but it is a bit of a chore to shove a TRXLA2.5 into one. Am I crazy, or do both URSA and VIVIANA straps essentially copy (and improve upon) the Neopax design?

 

Well, a belt is a belt. I‘m pretty sure that NeoPax weren’t the first ones either. 

But Ursa didn’t just improve the design. Their belts are better quality and much thinner and more comfortable to wear than Neopax. And they added the cable pouch and silicone strip to their (thigh) straps much earlier. 

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Of course Neopax wasn’t the first transmitter belt, but they were the first with the integrated pocket and stick-to-itself design that made them very user friendly. 

 

I remember the older straps before Neopax were usually a 2-part system with a little pouch and then a separate elastic belt with just a few adjustment points. I remember they were universally hated by talent and sound mixers alike. 

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14 hours ago, Derek H said:

Of course Neopax wasn’t the first transmitter belt, but they were the first with the integrated pocket and stick-to-itself design that made them very user friendly. 

 

I remember the older straps before Neopax were usually a 2-part system with a little pouch and then a separate elastic belt with just a few adjustment points. I remember they were universally hated by talent and sound mixers alike. 

 

First Sense in the UK were doing integrated belts about 20 years or so ago (I just checked their old website on waybackmachine). I am not sure how long Neopax have been at it but I am pretty sure they were not the first (their earliest website on wbm is 2011) . That said, they may well have been the first in the USA. ;-) Simon B

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On 3/23/2018 at 5:10 AM, VAS said:

Whatever you are gonna buy, they will do the job.

Perfect answer, as it stands I already made my decision in buying Viviana for now. I will however get some URSA's as well later on down the road. But for now, we're gonna give Viviana's a try. 

On 3/22/2018 at 2:40 PM, RLightstone said:

Ironic that they seem to be an exact copy of the Ursa brand, with the cable pouches, the color coding at the top of the wireless pouch and the non-slip strips on the thigh belts. I'm interested in comparing the fabric used in the Viviana vs Ursa.

 

I have just about every Ursa strap they manufacture. I'll demo these and compare.

 

 

That sounds great, I would love to hear your opinion and comparison of both. All I have to say is that NeoPax needs to up their game because the current straps get wet and slides off very easily. Plus they need at to least have an additional pouch for excess wires. 

On 3/22/2018 at 7:37 PM, IronFilm said:


A small safety pin or three would do the trick?

David that's great to know I'll be sure to purchase some safety pins. Speaking of which URSA has these single pouches where you can hide them on talent. It requires using a safety pin on the waist of the back of the pants, this is especially great for male actors of larger frames. Probably something to consider I believe they run for 15 dollars US but I'm not certain, I know Gotham Sound has and Chicago very own Second City Sound has them.

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On 3/29/2018 at 3:42 AM, Constantin said:

 

Well, a belt is a belt. I‘m pretty sure that NeoPax weren’t the first ones either. 

But Ursa didn’t just improve the design. Their belts are better quality and much thinner and more comfortable to wear than Neopax. And they added the cable pouch and silicone strip to their (thigh) straps much earlier. 

Constantin thanks for your comment so far I'm sold. I'm getting some Viviana straps next.

Edited by Alejandro Reyes
My comment made no sense and I only just realized it.
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We have looked at the Viviana straps and compared them to the URSA straps. The material used in both is exactly the same and is also cut to the same thickness and width almost like they came out of the same factory. The only difference between the two is the that Viviana have the extra cable pocket and they are shaped differently at the ends. We only supply URSA straps.

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4 hours ago, Alejandro Reyes said:

Perfect answer, as it stands I already made my decision in buying Viviana for now. I will however get some URSA's as well later on down the road. But for now, we're gonna give Viviana's a try. 

 

That sounds great, I would love to hear your opinion and comparison of both. All I have to say is that NeoPax needs to up their game because the current straps get wet and slides off very easily. Plus they need at to least have an additional pouch for excess wires. 

David that's great to know I'll be sure to purchase some safety pins. Speaking of which URSA has these single pouches where you can hide them on talent. It requires using a safety pin on the waist of the back of the pants, this is especially great for male actors of larger frames. Probably something to consider I believe they run for 15 dollars US but I'm not certain, I know Gotham Sound has and Chicago very own Second City Sound has them.

 

Hi Alejandro,

 

I own four Viviana Straps, but I will buy some URSA later.

I didn't had the change to wash Viviana Straps so far, to tell you my opinion.

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I’m going to buy some Ursa straps but am not sure if I’m going to get the small or the larger sized pocket. I mainly use Lectro SMDB’s and I know that both sizes should fit. But if now the cable pocket is a bit small, is it wise to go with the larger pocket to have some more space for the cable?

 

john

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I don’t know which size pockets I have, but I can get all tx, SMDB, SMa, SSM, and A10 in there. The A10 is a but squeezy but it fits. 

If you feel the tx is a bit loose in there just get the safety straps and use one of them. I don’t use the cable pocket. It’s too fiddly for me, especially when the costume is a bit tricky. I just roll up the excess cable and stuff it behind the strap. Works well...

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