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iPad as a video monitor


Michael Miramontes

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I use a teradek cube. I run a metacorder cart so it works out really well. Video is on one side of the monitor while metacorder is on the other. My boom op brings his iphone and wrist mount and has his own monitor. If you play with it enough you can get the delay down quite a bit. Right now im about 1/8th of a second of video delay - more than usable.

i have not tried it with an Ipad yet, but I do know there is no good low latency video streaming ap currently out for android.

The last commercial I did, the producers were glad they could have a realtime video stream on their computers (with audio). Saved the use of 5 comteks.

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Anyone know if the iPad can be used as a monitor? Now that I'm building a cart rig I'm trying to save as much space as possible. I'd prefer having an iPad in the mix so that I can take advantage of all its apps as well as using it as a monitor. Is this possible?

It is possible, but all the current technology has a bit too much latency to be tolerable (lipsync) for long stretches.

The prominent "transmission" device for this purpose lately is the TeraDeck ... not cheap either, and that will invite other iPads to drain bandwith once they see yours in action.

The Retina display is awesome, but it might be a bit of a wait until that latency gets significantly reduced.

Plus, I'll bet you'll find that sharing it between needed monitor and "app" usage will be aggravating.

MF

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I use a teradek cube. I run a metacorder cart so it works out really well. Video is on one side of the monitor while metacorder is on the other. My boom op brings his iphone and wrist mount and has his own monitor. / The last commercial I did, the producers were glad they could have a realtime video stream on their computers (with audio). Saved the use of 5 comteks.

thesoundguy - I missed your post by seconds, I guess...

This sounds innovative - so you are taking an HDSDI feed from camera into (your?) TeraDeck on the cart, and then via the TD network, you are getting video into your MetaCorder computer, correct? If you are down to 1/8th of a second, that is great IMHO.

And as importantly, something so cool (especially for client feeds) should have a decent value - what can you charge for that provided benefit? I'd certainly consider it myself if I could get a fast return on the investment.

Lastly, is there a limit to how many clients you can have onboard the stream?

MF

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I usually don't charge for it because It's mainly for me and my boom op. It's a system that we use ourselves just like any other sound cart monitor. I tell people that if they have their own computer, or tablet, I will give them the password and link to the feed. If it works cool, if not, I don't troubleshoot. I got it for myself and my boom ops. Other people being able to get the feed is just a perk and is subject to the amount of bandwidth available. (my needs for the system come first)

It doesn't require any extra gear on my part, or any extra work. At the end of the day I don't have any extra gear to gather up, and when I send audio to it It gets rid of a few comteks.

I use the HDMI version with a SDI to HDMI converter. The cube gets connected to the regular video monitor and is powered via an np1.

I chose the HDMI version for a few reasons. When I'm on a DSLR shoot with no monitor, I don't need a converter box and can go direct from camera. Also, when there is no feed to the cube, it tends to drop the video feed and with that, the connection. The sdi to hdmi solves this issue.

I have had up to 5 connections so far without any issues.

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It doesn't require any extra gear on my part, or any extra work. At the end of the day I don't have any extra gear to gather up, and when I send audio to it It gets rid of a few comteks.

Does that cannibalize your IFB rental? Or are you saying you get it without having to break out the units?

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I do a flat IFB rental. I really don't have that many comteks, and the key players still need them. (director, script sup, etc...) So I still get my IFB rental. When I run out of them and a producer or someone comes up to me asking for another, I tell them about my video feed link that has audio in it. A lot of times they are a bit far from set, and don't care too much about the delay. (android devices have a few seconds delay)

It saves the hassle of renting more comteks which I wouldn't make money on anyway.

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It saves the hassle of renting more comteks which I wouldn't make money on anyway.

Whoa now - No hassle, just revenue. The only hassle is keeping up with them, and that is worth something.

I give four / five headsets in my package rate.... additional Comteks with Sony headphone, battery = 25 per

The more the merrier. Comteks are part of the revenue stream of a healthy audio business.

My further recommendation is to make some money off of your innovative setup - At LEAST 75 / day for such a cool client service.

Then you'll recover your investment, and the funds can be applied to more Comteks! (My record is 15 on a big budget commercial day... the invoice was awesome!!!)

MF

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I just called Teradek about this system. Turns out one cube, the 155 for example, can only support 2 devices. If someone tries the jump on the feed the cube will shut down and stop working. If you want to feed more then two devices you would have to buy their Case, which runs $5k.

I thought I'd be able to eliminate using Comteks with this system and give my boom op a video feed on his iPhone.

This kinda sucks! There's just gotta be a way around this.

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Whoa now - No hassle, just revenue. The only hassle is keeping up with them, and that is worth something.

I give four / five headsets in my package rate.... additional Comteks with Sony headphone, battery = 25 per

The more the merrier. Comteks are part of the revenue stream of a healthy audio business.

My further recommendation is to make some money off of your innovative setup - At LEAST 75 / day for such a cool client service.

Then you'll recover your investment, and the funds can be applied to more Comteks! (My record is 15 on a big budget commercial day... the invoice was awesome!!!)

MF

I only have a few comteks. I live in a large market and people know how much comteks are to rent. I would not make anything more by renting them as people know how much they cost.

As for charging for the video stream, I don't think it's reliable enough to be charging money for. Maybe if it is specifically requested.... It's my system for me and my guys. If I need the bandwidth, someone get's kicked off.

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You could also use VLC to stream the multi-cast, do it could be the "terradeck", perhaps with more client capabilities.

So let me see if I'm understanding this correctly.

1. You connect the Teradek to the camera and broadcast a video feed

2. You have a computer setup to accept the feed all while using VLC to spit out a few more feeds

3. You have all the "iDevices" setup with a VLC player so that they can accept the feed being sent by the computer

Is this correct?

Thesoundguy,

Is this how you are doing it?

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This is beyond my expertise, but if you had a capture card, this should be possible. If you didn't need wireless feed from cameras, the terradeck isn't even necessary. I don't know what the limiting factor is on how many clients can participate in the multicast though, I'm just throwing that out there as a concept, no experience doing it myself.

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No.

I have my cube set in infrastructure mode which means that in my cart is a wireless router that it connects to.

Instead of getting the stream directly from the cube, I get it out of my router which has more bandwidth that the cube itself.

People connect to my router, and type in the link.

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No.

I have my cube set in infrastructure mode which means that in my cart is a wireless router that it connects to.

Instead of getting the stream directly from the cube, I get it out of my router which has more bandwidth that the cube itself.

People connect to my router, and type in the link.

Are you only using one cube? Sorry for all the questions. I really want to figure this out.

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yeah. just one cube.

Again, in AdHoc mode, it doesn't support that many connections. In Infrastructure mode, it will support as many connections as your router can handle.

Think of it like streaming video over the internet. If you have a webcam and want to stream video from your internet connection directly to the viewer, you are limited by the bandwidth you have available.

If you stream to something like... I don't know, Stickam, It takes the burden off your internet connection and puts it on Stickam. Instead of you supporting 10 connections as before, now you are only supporting 1. Stickam supports the other.

Adhoc is example one

infrastructure is example 2

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