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Wireless video monitoring: Overdue revisit.


lyrnxG

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(I know this has been covered in the past, but the tech has evolved since the previous posts)

 

Hello all!  Has anyone found unique and/or cheap new ways to monitor video feeds wirelessly from a cart or as a boom operator on the floor?  I am familiar with Taradek cubes, QTAKE, and modulous type transmission.  What I would like to explore is cheaper alternatives that provide streams to IOS or android devices.  Ideally, these solutions have little to no additional equipment needed on the receiving side.

The reason I bring this up again is due to my friend's newly installed vehicle dash cam.  It is a BlackVue DR650GW-2CH, that has a proprietary live view via wifi app (ios and android).  I was blown away by the reasonable latency, great quality and range. 

 

Has anyone found success with new lightweight solutions?  Thanks!

 

 

 

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I too have been looking into wireless solutions, however, I have been avoiding anything working off of wifi frequencies like the plague for obvious reasons. 

I did manage to find a cheap Chinese tx/rx setup that works in standard def, and worked pretty well, but I purchased a cheap down converter for it to tap off of video villages HD monitors, and had no luck on that end. So I may have to buckle down and get a decimator or something of similar quality. 

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Once I've figured out a good solution I will share. I am sure that I am not the only person who is getting tired of being disconnected when VV has to move, and not being reconnected, let alone dealing with rolling and unrolling dirty cables. 

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I've used my trusty old Decimator2 at video village to feed a SD quadcopter/drone transmitter, and put the receiver on my cart. Really inexpensive, and surprisingly reliable. I got it off Amazon. I need to make a more robust box for it. It's pretty much a circuit board with some plastic wrap. I think it's intended for racing drones. They use standard definition video because the lag could cause them to crash, and they want it to be super lightweight.

The SD was adequate. Not coax cable quality, but the lack of dealing with cables was great.

This is what I have. Only $50

Boscam 32Ch 5.8G 600mw 5km Wireless AV Transmitter TS832 Receiver RC832 for FPV https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GWFUTSK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_dCD.wbPPBR0FM

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18 minutes ago, johnpaul215 said:

The SD was adequate. Not coax cable quality, but the lack of dealing with cables was great.

Thats awesome John.  How did you link the transmitter to the Decimator2?  I see the boscam has a 3 pin tail for power and a 3 pin for video?  Have you any pictures?  Thank you.

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19 hours ago, JonG said:

...but I purchased a cheap down converter for it to tap off of video villages HD monitors, and had no luck on that end.

I've just ordered a cheap downconverter from ebay. Is this the same you were using?

10 hours ago, johnpaul215 said:

I've used my trusty old Decimator2 at video village to feed a SD quadcopter/drone transmitter, and put the receiver on my cart. Really inexpensive, and surprisingly reliable. I got it off Amazon. I need to make a more robust box for it. It's pretty much a circuit board with some plastic wrap. I think it's intended for racing drones. They use standard definition video because the lag could cause them to crash, and they want it to be super lightweight.

The SD was adequate. Not coax cable quality, but the lack of dealing with cables was great.

This is what I have. Only $50

Boscam 32Ch 5.8G 600mw 5km Wireless AV Transmitter TS832 Receiver RC832 for FPV https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GWFUTSK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_dCD.wbPPBR0FM

I'm planning to experiment with this cheap 5.8GHz FPV gear, too. Does this stuff get along well with terradek Bolt or other wireless HD systems? 

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The SD was adequate. Not coax cable quality, but the lack of dealing with cables was great.

Thats awesome John.  How did you link the transmitter to the Decimator2?  I see the boscam has a 3 pin tail for power and a 3 pin for video?  Have you any pictures?  Thank you.

I can take a picture. It's documented in the box which leg is what.

I got a little electronics project box that I intend to mount the transmitter in. I'm mostly worried that the wires could be ripped out of the connector, so I'll wire to more robust connectors.

Also, I suggest getting a spare antenna set. They're super cheap, but one of mine broke (transmitter) on set when somebody was moving the monitor.

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I've been using a Marell microwave SD link with great success although the image can get a bit scrambled when there's too much range involved. I got an AJA HD10MD3 which is doing a good job at the downconverting. They are cheap on the used market from steadicam guys who have converted to HD.

I've since managed to pick up a 1st Generation Teradek Bolt for a good price, so I'm keeping the Marell for SD jobs and backup.

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http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/908055-REG/idx_cw_1_wireless_hdmi_transmitter.html  + Blackbox video SDI to HDMI converter + Small HD HDMI monitor.Must say that powering the iDX is a bit of a pain :"However, both units are best off powered by optional battery adapters -- model #s A-CWJ-TX/A-CWJ-RX and A-CWS-TX/A-CWS-RX. These adapters accept JVC SSL-JVC50 and Sony L series batteries and connect to TX/RX via USB outputs".

You will will need a step down converter to get the correct current.This setup workes(d) fine for me for the past 3 years.

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6 hours ago, astro said:

I'm planning to experiment with this cheap 5.8GHz FPV gear, too. Does this stuff get along well with terradek Bolt or other wireless HD systems? 

6 hours ago, johnpaul215 said:

Their wireless video transmitter was on the camera, and mine was on the back of a monitor at video village.

I did have a Zaxcom ERX box (2.4GHz) on the camera and it played fine with the Teradeck. Everything was great!

Was the teradek receiver placed at video village, too or was it remoted? 

Both are operating in the 5GHz band so I worry that the 600mW FPV transmitter might interfere with the teradek receiver in close proximity?

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7 hours ago, astro said:

I've just ordered a cheap downconverter from ebay. Is this the same you were using?

I'm planning to experiment with this cheap 5.8GHz FPV gear, too. Does this stuff get along well with terradek Bolt or other wireless HD systems? 

Yes that is the converter. Sorry you just wasted your money. Just got a Decimator2, but need a project to use it on to know for sure if it will work. 

My end goal is to get a signal to my cart monitors, not a tablet. I want to stay away from wifi frequencies because frankly, I can't tell you how many times I see the camera and DIT people scratching their heads about why things arent working when they've got a number of things all competing for the same spectrum. 

The fact that my Zaxcom ERXs run on 2.4 gHz is infinitely disappointing to me, and the source of plenty of problems, re my statement above. 

In any case, I will report back with my findings once I've had a chance to play around with everything. 

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On 2016-04-02 at 8:17 PM, Michael Panfeld said:

Nyrius Aries Pro

Saw this option too.  What kind of range do you achieve?  This company kind of rubbed me the wrong way since they initially released these at 200 dollars, then nearly doubled the price once they realized film industry types were using them.  Also, the company refused to sell a single receiver or transmitter (only pairs).  Thoughts?

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if you are on a large enough production (with lots of rentals), the rental house can often toss in a down converter and standard def transmitter for nothing...because there is little demand for them on the camera side of things,  now wanting to see everything on high def monitors

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On 4/3/2016 at 11:01 AM, lyrnxG said:

This company kind of rubbed me the wrong way since they initially released these at 200 dollars, then nearly doubled the price once they realized film industry types were using them. 

I know! Super annoys me too!
All I can hope is soon a competitor comes out and undercuts them.....    can't be long at the rate tech improves. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 4/1/2016 at 7:20 AM, johnpaul215 said:

I can take a picture. It's documented in the box which leg is what.

I got a little electronics project box that I intend to mount the transmitter in. I'm mostly worried that the wires could be ripped out of the connector, so I'll wire to more robust connectors.

Also, I suggest getting a spare antenna set. They're super cheap, but one of mine broke (transmitter) on set when somebody was moving the monitor.

Curious to see your setup.  I assume you rewired the tx to run off of DC and take coax in?  Seems hard to find adapters for this drone stuff. Seems like you could run the TX off of a drone battery if need be.

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