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Long-distance wireless audio options
As a video production manager for college athletics, I use a Panasonic AJ-HPX3100 to shoot road football and basketball games. For football, we only have one camera that shoots highlights from the sidelines. The problem is that we need to record the radio call, too, which has generally meant setting up a smaller camera in the radio booth and plugging it into the mixer. It works, but it’s not worth the time spent in post production to sync the audio when we’re on a short turnaround time for a weekly coaches show.
So now I’m in the market for a wireless transmitter and/or receiver system (~ $1300 – $1500 budget) that is capable of capturing wireless audio from a long distance – from the radio booth on the upper floors of a college football stadium all the way down to the field. We have a set of Sennheiser wireless mic sets that have ALMOST worked in some cases, but for the most part it’s totally useless.
I’ve been looking into something like the Lectrosonics UCR401 (I’ve used a similar receiver in the past that works well in basketball arenas) to mount on the camera, but I’m a little nervous to invest in something that may not work. I’ve also been looking into some Sennheiser directional antennas, but I’m unfamiliar with the “workflow,” so to speak.
Any product recommendations or suggestions for alternative solutions?
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14 Replies
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syncing audio in post has come a long way. What NLE do you use? You could use an audio recorder rather than a camcorder to record the audio.
Mac Pro, macbook pro, Imacs (i7); Canon 5D Mark III/70D, Panasonic AG-HPX170/AG-HPX250P, Canon HV40, Sony Z7U/VX2000/PD170; FCP 6 certified; FCP X write professionally for a variety of media; teach video production in L.A.
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If you can get your budget up a bit, a Lectrosonics SMQV transmitter can be set to 150 mw output, which with a 411a RX will give you tremendous range. Search around for used gear in the block you need for your area.
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Distance coverage is affected by signal strength. One way to boost the signal strength is to simply use a more powerful transmitter. But there are often laws against that.
Another way of boosting signal strength is to use better antennas. Those little pieces of wire hanging out of the transmitter and receiver are convenient for short distances, but they are the WORST possible solution for long distances.
I use a 400-1000 MHz Log-Periodic antenna to boost range. Some wireless gear manufacturers sell them with their logo emblazoned on the side and charge you $100s for the privilege of flying their flag. But I use the PC-board antennas from this guy….
https://www.wa5vjb.com/products1.html $28, but you have to solder on your own cable
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We use the Adobe Production Suite (CS6). Syncing wouldn’t be such a huge problem if we weren’t pulling shooting and pulling individual clips, whereas the audio recorder would be rolling the entire time. I looked into recorders that can generate timecode, which would help, but those are incredibly pricey.
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We will be shooting in a variety of locations around the country, so I’m not sure which block to look for. In fact I’m not sure what that means! What does the block mean, and how do I go about finding out which one I require?
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“Block” refers to the block of frequencies the device can operate in. The frequency spectrum is broken up into “blocks.” The blocks available for wireless mic usage varies region by region. For instance, blocks that are open and work well in City A might be restricted in City B. Fortunately, this information is pretty well documented for most major markets so it makes planning and coordinating pretty straight forward.
Something new on the market is called “wideband” wireless, where one device can operate in a significantly larger range of the frequency spectrum. These have been out for a while on lower end gear, but higher end gear is just starting to merge in the wideband space. Wisycom is one brand that just came into North America from Europe. Gotham Sound is their N.A. dealer. Their TX have only been approved by the FCC up to 100 mw, so not quite as much output power as the Lectro SMQV, but they are wideband, which is nice if you are traveling a lot. Give Gotham a call and they will be able to help you with a lot more specifics.
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Well I am no engineer, so soldering my own cables is probably not a good option for me! But these antennas seem to work well, are relatively inexpensive and I see them on the field all the time.
If I get something that already has all the necessary cables and whatnot, how would I go about configuring the antenna and getting sound to my camera?
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If you are at a university, surely there are several electronics or physics or media (or even maintenance) benches around the campus where somebody could solder that together in a few minutes.
Not sure what you are asking about “configuring the antenna”? Not knowing exactly what kind of transmitter and receiver you have limits our ability to advise on how to connect the antenna. But for positioning, you simply aim them at each other.
And as far as “getting sound to my camera”, how does improving the antenna(s) change anything in the audio path?
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I’d have to check to see the exact model, but we have a Sennheiser kit that includes two mic/transmitters and receivers, along with a plug-on transmitter (I think it’s probably the ew 100 G3 combo). Basically all I’m asking is how/where (in relation to the location of the booth and camera, generally speaking) do I set up the antenna; and whether I need to do anything with the antenna to make sure it’s picking up the appropriate channel, etc. Or do, I just set up the transmitter and receiver as usual? Like I said, I’ve never worked with an antenna before so I honestly have no idea what I need to do with it.
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Awesome, thanks for the great info!
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