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Lil DARling? (juiced link)


Rich Reilly

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Might have some uses depending on price..but monitoring issues seem primary.  

 

 

 

Distributed Audio Recorder

At NAB, I'm going to share some information on a new product we're developing.  It's a miniature audio recorder called the "Little DARling" - Distributed Audio Recorder.  The Zoom H1 is a great recorder.  But, there are times when I really don't want the internal mic because I'm just going to use a lavaliere, and I just want something really small ... like, belt-pack sized ... but those voice recorders just don't have the quality I'm looking for.

Imagine, making these filmmaker-friendly alterations to the Zoom H1 for use with a lav:

  • Chop the top internal mic off, to make it belt-pack sized (a little smaller than the Sennheiser G3 belt-pack transmitter)
  • Make the connectors locking, so the lav can't pop out
  • Add "Audio Bracketing", so you have a backup recording in post if you blow out the main track
  • Make key buttons recessed, so a user can not accidentally stop the recording or change settings as they are active and moving around ... no "butt dialing"
  • In addition to headphones, provide a "thru" connection, so the Little DARling can be a front end recorder, then drive a wireless transmitter like the Sennheiser G3 system

 I see lots of applications for this, like:

  • ALTERNATIVE TO WIRELESS:  Say, you have more than a couple of things you would like to lav-up.  Here, having 4+ receivers at your camera would be a big pain for a one man band.  Where do you mount all of the receivers?  How do you manage the mix into the camera?  With the Little DARling, you will have to manage sync in post, but there is software to help you with that.  But then, you'll be able to roam with your camera freely, without a bunch of wireless receivers bolted to it.  And, the mix is easier, since you have an "Iso" track from each of the DARs.
  • POV/ACTION: GoPro videos and the like, are full of wind noise.  The DAR can't fix wind noise.  But, remember the lessons from the FREE eBook on Audio Production, that the GETTING THE MIC CLOSE increases the desired signal relative to the background noise (wind noise, in this case).  This is optimizing the SA/NA (Signal-Acoustic / Noise-Acoustic) in the SANASENECYA methodology.  So, if you want to add drama to your action videos, then mic up the talent directly to feel how hard they are working.  Use a DAR and mic up a skiers boots to hear the "swish" of the turns, the derailleur on a bicycle while downshifting into a big climb, the halter on a horse to feel the grunts as it lands a big jump.  All of these things on an "Iso" track you can control how much and when to include in your mix in post, and it will help communicate the feeling of your story much better than something that is mostly awash with wind noise.
  • TRUE DUAL SYSTEM FOR PRO SOUND:  People doing mission critical work looking to eliminate single points of failure in their work flow, can add a Little DARling to their talent, to compliment their normal flow.  If you have dual recordings of your boom op, and he bumps the pole or doesn't track the scene fast enough, you basically have redundant recordings of the mistake.  Lav-up with a little DARling using an independent mic and recorder for true dual-system redundancy.
  • TRAVEL LIGHT:  An iPhone for video and a couple of DARs provide a great backpack video production kit for travelling to distant lands ...
  • DISCREET PRODUCTIONS:  Cameras like the Blackmagic Pocket Camera are great for going on location to things like bars and restaurants and doing discreet live scenes.  Bringing along a sound guy with a boom kind of draws a lot of attention.  Lav-up four actors with their own DAR for shoots on the down-low.
  • COMPLIMENT TO WIRELESS KITS:  The output is a dual headphone and mic-thru.  So, it can be used as a front end to a wireless transmitter, as a backup when interference invades the wireless RF channel.

As usual, I will only be at the NAB floor for a couple of hours a day.  Send an email to nab@juicedLink.com, and the auto responded will forward my daily schedule so we can meet up.  For now, check out this video from our DAR blog post:

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Not only monitoring, but the sync issues get glossed over pretty lightly.  I'd hate to see the face of somebody who was told that "Plural Eyes will sync that!" only for them to find that Plural eyes can't do anything without a matching waveform on the camera... It may work if the onboard camera mike is always close to the subject, but it kind of defeats the purpose of the recorder.

It could be a useful little device,  but on a practical level, I think it's it's capabilities are being oversold a little bit.

 

Cheers,

Brent Calkin

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freeheel: " I think it's it's capabilities are being oversold a little bit. "

I don't.

and it will probably have a lot of appeal in its target market.

marc: " the lack of headphone monitoring is a killer deal-breaker. "

huh?

proposed spec: " In addition to headphones, provide a "thru" connection, so the Little DARling can be a front end recorder, then drive a wireless transmitter like the Sennheiser G3 system "

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looks intriguing. I could see a few uses for it in my job. depends on the price though. If it was priced low enough, I'd buy one or two for any kind of "by the ways" that pop up and need a solution. It seems like he's in the information gathering stage right now.. 

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So Mike, you think this is a good idea, and not a way of describing lipstick on a pig?

 

ALTERNATIVE TO WIRELESS:  Say, you have more than a couple of things you would like to lav-up.  Here, having 4+ receivers at your camera would be a big pain for a one man band.  Where do you mount all of the receivers?  How do you manage the mix into the camera?  With the Little DARling, you will have to manage sync in post, but there is software to help you with that.  But then, you'll be able to roam with your camera freely, without a bunch of wireless receivers bolted to it.  And, the mix is easier, since you have an "Iso" track from each of the DARs.

 

 

My translation:

Because you don't want to  either hire a soundperson, or learn how to do sound properly, you are going to have 4 recordings that may or may not be useful cause you can't listen to them during the take, and will have to somehow sync by hand, cause PluralEyes won't help you.  But hey, while you're shooting every thing will be perfect - free roaming camera, no mixing gear, no pesky sound person trying to convince you of the proper way to do things...

 

Sorry, but marketing language happily describing a potential nightmare is not a good way to sell me gear.

And the people who would potentially buy this may not be able to see past the hype...

It may be a useful tool in some instances, but it's being sold like it'll revolutionize DSLR audio capture.  

Cheers,

Brent Calkin

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freeheel: " So Mike, you think this is a good idea, and not a way of describing lipstick on a pig? "

yes...

it may not be for you...

it may not even be for "us",

but for the target market: you bet.

" not a good way to sell me gear. "

you, me, "us", are not the target market...

 

you know once upon a time instead of the clumsy, somewhat flakey wireless mic's available, we used to put little recorders on actors...

little NAGRA recorders...

 

" it's being sold like it'll revolutionize DSLR audio capture "

and, if it performs as planned/described/intended, it will (somewhat) for thousands of DSLR people.

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I like your idea.

Practicalities: 

 

-needs a remote trigger recording function or else it's just too much work for a sound-mixer and post (TC would be nice also to lessen workflow for post -- if your product is going to cost me more time and labor, then it is not helping me or us)

-Adjustable gain on mic input -- where is it? Must have it. How many db of gain/headroom? 16 db of redundancy is cool, but I still want to pass-thru into a wireless system so I can mix it with my mixer/recorder that's in my bag or cart. So I'll need adjustable levels. I don't see how 16 db of redundancy can help with the pass-thru of the audio unless you have built-in some sort of "never-clip" like switcher between the two channels.

-External power would also be nice -- again, your adding more work for me if I have to switch out more batteries.

 

-If you could make this practical for me, I would use plenty of it. I used to work weddings and events. I agree something like this could be useful in those areas. For corporate or narrative work, it could slow us down a lot though.

 

 

-- Thanks.




Edit: Also, I agree that the Zoom H1 is a great recorder for it's very small niche of small-sized finger-held recorders.

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It has a headphone jack / output. Can also daisy chain it to your transmitter of choice via this jack.

Interesting unit if designed correctly I think. Not an everyday use item but a good problem solver potentially.

That said, I was not impressed with the juiced link products I've used in the past, even understanding that they are not intended for sound professionals.

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I started reading. I said to myself, "cool, a new product! I wonder what it is!"

Then, I read this sentence: "The Zoom H1 is a great recorder".

 

I then proceeded to resume my daily endeavors.

I kind of love the Zoom H1. For sure, you have to be sure to compare a few and make sure yours doesn't drift, but its size and ease of use and price point is pretty dang awesome. I pair mine up with a Wendt X3. (the H1 is the backup to my other recorder) 

 

I think that the LilDARling is a great idea, but that someone should have thought of it earlier-- not sure how relevant it is any more...

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I kind of love the Zoom H1. For sure, you have to be sure to compare a few and make sure yours doesn't drift, but its size and ease of use and price point is pretty dang awesome. I pair mine up with a Wendt X3. (the H1 is the backup to my other recorder) 

 

I think that the LilDARling is a great idea, but that someone should have thought of it earlier-- not sure how relevant it is any more...

 

Maybe so, but when I think Zoom, I think consumer-level products.

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  • 1 year later...

I am curious how this device is any different than the TASCAM recorder that has a law suit pending against it for infringing upon patents held by Zaxcom?  It seems an awful lot like the same thing.  Hmmm...

 

The one place where I could see this as useful for me is for a wireless boom operator to have a recorder before the transmitter in case of a drop out.  But it would involve several devices, I think, to make that sort of thing work so the boom operator could have headphone monitoring besides via IFB.

 

I agree the packs on talent could pose a real challenge for post to sync everything up without any sort of time code or clock on the recorder.  I suppose placing the talent near the sticks for marking the scene could work to overcome that problem, mostly.

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I am curious how this device is any different than the TASCAM recorder that has a law suit pending against it for infringing upon patents held by Zaxcom?  It seems an awful lot like the same thing.  Hmmm...

 

As far as I can tell, the last update on this device was back in November. And B&H currently lists it as not available.

 

http://www.juicedlink.com/blogs/news

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1043553-REG/juicedlink_dar122_little_darling_distributed_audio.html

 

So maybe it won't be making it out to market either.

 

If there's a Zaxcom patent issue, it would be cool to see some company work out a licensing deal or for Zaxcom to bring out a low-cost (and of course more limited) belt pack recorder. Without thinking about it very deeply, I think there could be a device that's truly useful and that doesn't limit sales of Zaxcom's other products (or that makes enough in licensing to offset any loss). But I'm just guessing here...

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Jim, I had a conversation with someone on here a couple months ago regarding exactly your sentiments.  I really should have been writing it to Glenn at Zaxcom.  I wish there was a Zaxcom-like recorder (with time code) with a Lectro connector.  I guess a couple more lavs are not the big expense for adding the Zax body recorder, but every little bit counts.

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Maybe so, but when I think Zoom, I think consumer-level products.

 

True but it looks like some of their newer Zoom stuff shown at NAB is aimed at a more pro level, take the new F8 for example. It looks impressive but what will the preamp's sound like, what will it cost? no idea but it is def a whole new direction for them.

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True but it looks like some of their newer Zoom stuff shown at NAB is aimed at a more pro level, take the new F8 for example. It looks impressive but what will the preamp's sound like, what will it cost? no idea but it is def a whole new direction for them.

I may disagree. While we've been using zoom products for field use, they were never inherently designed for our niche of the market. With the F8, I think that Zoom is finally designing a product that is more in line for field use. And I think it may be a great entry level product for those starting out, but I still don't think I would call it "pro level". I definitely don't see myself selling my current recorders to purchase this instead. Just my opinion obviously. We'll see as we learn more about the product.

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ta5-lemo adapter cable like the one lectro is about to release for the SSM?

Jim, I had a conversation with someone on here a couple months ago regarding exactly your sentiments. I really should have been writing it to Glenn at Zaxcom. I wish there was a Zaxcom-like recorder (with time code) with a Lectro connector. I guess a couple more lavs are not the big expense for adding the Zax body recorder, but every little bit counts.

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TA5 to TA3 adapter?  I guess I was thinking more like TA5 to a time code synced recorder with the full Lectro functionality.  That is asking too much and I suppose it is a request for Lectrosonics and no one else.  I can already make TA5 to TA3 adapter cables or have them made if I do not want to do it myself---nothing new there.  

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I may disagree. While we've been using zoom products for field use, they were never inherently designed for our niche of the market. With the F8, I think that Zoom is finally designing a product that is more in line for field use. And I think it may be a great entry level product for those starting out, but I still don't think I would call it "pro level". I definitely don't see myself selling my current recorders to purchase this instead. Just my opinion obviously. We'll see as we learn more about the product.

 

I meant in comparison to what they make currently, I do not mean at the level of an SD or any of the field recorders at that level.

Seems like it may be some comp for the Tascam gear like a DR-680 however.

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