glenn

Dear David, I am very proud of the work we have done on our wireless product line and I look forward to the release of new products that build on our existing technology. I thank you and all of the rest of our customers who chose the TRX900 with stereo adapter as their bag to camera link. Glenn

OK then, I will have a menu added where the down key is stop and the up key is record. Pushing the up key while in record will start a new file. Glenn

We did not intend for the recording to ever stop as the cards can now record 96 hours of continuous audio. I am sure we can make it easier to control if that is what is desired. I welcome any suggestions. Glenn

We are in the process of adding a few frames of delay to one of the Deva/Fusion output buses just for this purpose. External delay devices will no longer be needed . It will be out soon and will be available to all Zaxcom customers at no charge. Glenn

I was lucky enough to meet Les a few times and to have dinner with him once. His house was like that of a mad scientist. He was awsum and a really nice guy. I wish I got to know him better. Glenn

The input limiter is a software controlled hardware limiter that protects the A-D converter from clipping. The Soft Knee compressor is implemented in DSP code and is more of an effect for an input channel and functions to prevent an output from clipping on an output bus and disk or card mix bus.. We are here to help Ray and we frequently talk about Deva and wireless functionality. What we can not give him is the user point of view that is very important in answering the questions we do not know to ask. Glenn

The unit on the back of the slate at the Demo was a ZFR100 recorder with IFB receive option. The unit that goes on the Slate is the ERX2 IFB receiver that will be ready in September. The Connector is on the top of the unit and is very robust. Glenn

We are requesting that any customer in the US that wants a screen update send it in to us at Zaxcom. We will put in the new screen update the software and make sure all hardware mods are installed. If the external slate connector is needed we can install that as well. Turn around time is about 2 business days. Glenn

The external camera return can be used as the external slate mic input. There is a software switch for this. The camera input is line level so it will need an external preamp. Glenn

No problem going directly to 6.03. Glenn

The Deva product has only gone through 2 changes over the last 12 years. The Original Deva II was out for about 5 years (A Deva I was a Deva II in a black case). Deva 4,5,5.8,16 and Fusion are built on the same hardware platform and have been out for about 7 years. The fact of the matter is that the current Deva hardware shows no sign of going away any time soon. It is the heart of our system and there is nothing better to replace it with. We may offer different variations of the Deva but the basic platform is here to stay. Glenn

Deva IV, V, 5.8, 16 and Fusion will all work with Zax-Net. Even the wireless remote control function only needs an IFB100 to control gain and frequency remotely and transmit time code. The whole system is best but much can be done with minimal parts. Glenn

Our service at Zaxcom can range from in and out the same day to a few days depending on what needs to be done. Many dealers can and will service our gear if the problem can be fixed in the field. We just added 2 new dealers in LA for wireless so there should be lots of help available. If any repair is critical because the gear is on a show we flag it so we can get to it as quickly as possible. We are certainly not the highest price in any category of gear. Aaton Cantar, Sonosax mixers, Sennheiser wireless and Lectro IFB all cost more than our product offerings. There are products that cost less as well. All it takes to get started is a Fusion recorder and an IFB100 transmitter. The rest can be acquired as needed. We try to price our gear as low as possible in order to appeal to the greatest number of sound professionals. A basic Zaxcom Location sound package averages out to about the same cost as gear from other manufactures. The sale of an existing package will greatly offset the cost of the new gear. Glenn

We will not have pictures of the IFB/time code receiver for about 3 weeks. I will have one or two with me at the 695 day on July 18. It is the same size as a classic Ipod or current Blackberry. All of the off the shelf cases work fine with the IFB. It is very thin so it should be a big hit with the director crowd. Glenn

We at Zaxcom are introducing a new concept to location sound recording. Zax-Net provides a full integration of recording, mixing, wireless microphones and IFB receivers on location. Please follow the link for details. I hope that every sound professional in LA can join us for a seminar on July 18 and a live presentation of the new Zax-Net system for the production of location sound. Glenn http://www.zaxcom.com/events_exhibitions.htm

We are currently working to combine our high quality codec with our timecode transmission and our remote control capability. We should have this available for use with the TRX992 in a few weeks. The IFB receiver in the TRX900 will for now have to use our lower quality codec. It is still good for monitoring and communication. Glenn

When we started the QRX100 design we looked at making a slot in receiver and ruled it out. The limited amount of available power, intense camera heat with no ventilation, only 1 channel of audio interface in most cases, lack of compatibility between cameras, lack of space for I/O connectors, ground loop/audio quality issues and lack of support in the case of Sony make the slot a non starter for us. By keeping the receiver the same size as our current receiver we are instantly compatible with all broadcast cameras and are not locked into a limited feature set with limited RF performance. Freelancers will find it easier to just pop the receiver in the BEC box or Zaxcom holder when they work with different camera people. The presentation of our channel audio verification LEDs would also not be possible in a slot configuration. Use of the QRX100 with the Red camera is just like any other solution except with a single box you can sync the camera and feed 4 channels of audio from the sound cart. I do think that the audio on the RED is scratch track. The QRX100 is a single box solution that the Camera department will favor due to its size and weight. The Red application is a good one but the QRX100 was designed for ENG/EFP/Reality television applications. I am sure it will find its way onto those shows and productions first. How the 4 camera tracks will be used is up to the sound mixer and the production. I think the more places the audio can go the better. When the Deva II came out with 4 tracks I was told many times that more than 2 tracks was not necessary. I think this is a case of “if you build it they will come” The QRX100 can be purchased in 1,2 and 4 channel configurations so no one has to purchase capabilities they do not need. The channel count can be updated if desired after the unit has been purchased. To feed the 4 tracks you can use our Fusion mixer/recorder. It has 12 recordable tracks and 8 output buses so there will never be a problem mixing or routing any combination of tracks to the camera. Sound Devices makes some good mixers as well ;-) Best Wishes Glenn

Prices are not set in stone yet but I can tell you it is very competitive. The starting price should be a little lower than our current ENG receiver and a lot less per channel than any other solution. It should be a natural for the red camera. A total solution for audio and synchronization. Yes the time code generator has a battery backup so it will not lose time when powered off. This does require our IFB or Video sync option board. Power consumption as a 4 channel receiver should be about 200ma at 12 volts. The interesting thing here is that the unit runs fine down to 6 volts and has full line level output up to +20 dBu full scale for line level connection to camera. But if you have AES in on the camera that is how you will use it and it is the only way to go on XDcam. At this power consumption we have still archived a no intermod system. If you get the internal IFB return option the unit will draw about 300ma at 12 Volts. The camera mount will fit any of our older ENG receivers. It is also very light weight and provides receiver ventilation. It connects to the Anton Bauer battery mount with 2 thumb screws. The mount is available seperatly. Glenn

We have just posted the Zaxcom QRX100 page on our web site. http://www.zaxcom.com/qrx.htm There is a lot of detailed information on this new 4 channel ENG receiver, its IFB return channel and sync generator options. In the photos page is a shot of the unit in its Zaxcom camera holder. You will notice a group of 12 LEDs (3 per channel) located on the side of the unit. These will clearly indicate from a great distance that audio is being received by the QRX100 on each of its 4 channels. As most ENG receivers face the sky when in use it seemed logical to position the LEDs in a position that could be easily seen when in the camera mount. The unit can be reversed in the camera mount so the LEDs can face the rear or front of the camera. The LEDs are capable of any color and we are looking for suggestions on exactly what the LEDs should indicate. For now we will light the bottom LED green to indicate audio above -40 dbfs. The center LED will light green at -20 dBfs. The top LED will light green at -10dBfs, yellow at -5dbfs and red at clipping. We will most likely have different software modes for them. With the IFB return option you can listen to the audio directly from the camera monitor as well. One of the LED modes will of course be OFF. I hope to see all of you at NAB Best Wishes Glenn

In an effort to make our recorders as cost effective as possible we look to strip out features that will allow us to justify a lower price in order to be as competitive as we can. The effects package that we developed for Deva cost a lot of money and time to develop. We realize that not everyone needs these features so we do make it an option to save the customer as much money as possible. If we made the effects package a standard feature it would raise the base price of the Fusion for all customers. With the Fusion 12 we have decided to make nothing optional. All effects and 12 track recording is included. We often debate how we price things and what can be optional. We do produce everything here in America so our cost of production is higher than our competitors. It is always my goal to sell our products for as low a price as we can. Please understand that since our products have more features than competing products they cost more to produce and should be worth more as well. Glenn

Here are a few of Fusions features I think you should consider. There are 2 Fusions available. The Fusion is a 10 track recorder with 8 analog inputs. The Fusion 12 is a 12 track recorder with 12 analog inputs. The Fusion has an internal mixer and does not require any external mixing surface. Its ability to mix 16 inputs to 12 record tracks and 8 output buses make it a great choice for over the shoulder use and sound cart operation. Fusions 8 hardware faders and 4 soft faders allow for fader control of 12 isolated inputs. Any fader or faders can be setup as masters to control the 16 inputs. The Fusion can record 12 isolated tracks or any mix you like from its selection of 16 active inputs. The Fusion draws very little power and gives off no heat. A single NP1 battery will run fusion for about 8 hours. All tracks can be metered at the same time, any of 12 tracks can be instantly soloed, disk tracks and output buses can be metered at the same time. Fusion 12 has 12 analog inputs and 8 digital inputs. 4 of the inputs can be used as camera returns. Any input can be routed instantly with the touch screen to any output Pre or post fader. Two mixing control surfaces the MIX8 and MIX12 convert the Fusion into a very powerful cart based mixer and recorder. The Fusion has effects, EQ, Notch filters, Soft Knee compressor, delay, and high pass filter. Touch screen interface is the fastest and most intuitive way to get to any function quickly. MARF operating system offers a audio file specific operating system that has many unique safeguards not found in FAT32 based recorders. The Fusion writes to DVD-RAM in a very reliable manor even if the media is less than perfect. If it is your intention to go over the shoulder the no moving parts feature is great for reliability. Motion and temperature are non factors. The Fusion has a camera return input that is integrated into the headphone monitor so audio bag use with camera is very simple. Slate mic and tone can also be routed to any output or recorded track. There is much more but these are some of the stand out if not stand alone features. If you have any operational questions I would be happy to answer your questions. Best Wishes Glenn gs@zaxcom.com

The sales brochure is now available at www.zaxcom.com Glenn

The same can be said of the cost of any new technology or technical improvement. Everyone had DAT machines or Nagras when the Deva was introduced. People switched to the Deva because it proved to be a better way to record. I am sure over time the TRX992 will prove to be a better way to use wireless boom. The cost of the TRX992 will be offset by the sale or re-purposing of the current gear used for wireless boom. To help people make the transition to the TRX992 we have put it on sale this month. If you purchase a TRX992 and RX900 ENG receiver we will give you the IFB transmitter for free. I post this only as a response to the issue of cost not as an advertisement. You can contact your Zaxcom Dealer for details. Glenn

While there are many ways to make a wireless boom rig from separate boxes here are a few of what I feel are the best features of the TRX992. Some features may not have been discussed previously so I hope it will add to the discussion. The internal recording (PAT PEND) is a stand out feature. The TRX992 will always be in the record mode unless you remote control this function from the sound cart. If post needs the recording it is very easy to transfer any bit of audio using Zaxconvert. Zaxconvert is a free program available to all for Mac and PC. Because the SD cards are so inexpensive they can be given directly to post. A 2 gig card is under $10 in cost Audio quality will also stand out. The TRX992 transmits its audio and now receives its audio as if it were AES on a hard wired cable so there will be a significant improvement over all FM wireless systems and IFB systems in use today. The TRX992 has a differential input and very high common mode rejection. It will reject cell phone interference and other induced sounds that can easily affect unbalanced audio input wireless transmitters connected to phantom power sources and boom polls. The direct connection of the TRX992 to the microphone and high resolution audio meter allows for very accurate setting of microphone gain by the boom op. The remote control feature allows the mic gain, transmitter frequency and recording functions to be adjusted from the sound cart. The rechargeable battery system will save a lot of disposable batteries from the dump. With all boom functions running from a single battery the TRX992 will warn of a battery failure through the headphone monitor before a loss of power can occur. This will decrease the likelihood problems due to the elimination of multiple unmonitored power sources. The high power battery adds to the performance of the phantom power supply, headphone amp and microphone preamp. The private line talkback feature is something that might be useful to some. This feature was something we added after the unit was designed so it uses the boom mic input for talkback. The elimination of multiple boxes and interconnection cables make the TRX992 a very manageable and reliable system. If the cost of all of the gear, cables and batteries are added up it can be seen that the TRX992 is a cost effective solution providing new features and improved performance over existing multi box solutions. Glenn

Zaxcom will be hosting a barbecue lunch at Coffey Sound on Feb 14th from 11:00AM to 2:00PM. Live demonstrations of our new TRX992 Boom Pole audio system will be available. Please have a look at http://www.zaxcom.com/transmitters.htm. for details on this new product. Once on the Zaxcom site click on TRX992 to get to the page. I believe this unique product sets a new standard in wireless boom operation. We were able to merge the functions of wireless transmitter, phantom power supply, IFB return receiver, backup recording and headphone monitor system into a single box solution that surpasses the audio quality and build quality of any other solution. The VPX power system incorporated into the TRX992 is very "Green" and will run the system for about 4 hours per charge. I will also demonstrate a new high visibility display for Deva and Fusion. This display is very bright and vivid and will aid in direct sunlight viewing. The display can be installed into any Deva 4,5,5.8,16 and Fusion. The Fusion12 will also be shown for the first time. A 100% solid state recorder designed for over the shoulder use. The Fusion 12 features 12 analog inputs with 4 camera returns. 16 input channels can be mixed down to 12 iso tracks and 8 output buses. The unit is very low power and does not generate heat. With 100% solid state recording the Fusion should be the most reliable location recorder available today. I hope you can join us at the event. Best Wishes Glenn