AbelCine Combines Professional and Consumer Tech for Its Wireless Video Solution
Wireless monitoring is often a very expensive proposition, but in the last few years it really has been consumer technology that has brought down the price significantly. While there have been many new interesting wireless solutions over the past few years (like some of those from Teradek), many people still want a simple plug and play wireless device that is completely self-contained. Over at AbelCine, they are utilizing consumer technology and adding in some professional tools to make a wireless video solution fit into literally any workflow. Check out the video below as Mitch Gross takes us through the AbelCine Wireless Video Solution.
Here is a little bit about the device:
Any combination of HDMI or HD-SDI at either end can be used, so a camera could output HDMI and a monitor could see it via HD-SDI, or the reverse. We also added a custom power regulator, which runs the complete transmitter kit and the complete receiver kit each off a single industry–standard 12v P-Tap. Locking HDMI cables are used to protect connectors and prevent accidental loss of signal.
The AbelCine Wireless Video Solution is rated up to 150 feet (line of sight), and each end weighs less than a pound. The complete kit sells for less than $1500
I really like solutions that are all-in-one, and while you could certainly build this solution yourself, these parts are already put together and guaranteed to work. At $1,500, it's not likely going to be a solution for DSLR users (though I guess you could rent it at some point if you didn't always need it), but if you have a bit more money to spend, and you need wireless monitoring often, this looks like a good solution -- and 150 feet should meet the requirements for many users. In addition to monitoring, you could also record the video output wirelessly for a kind of proxy or playback solution depending on your camera situation. I particularly like the thought put into the power solution and the HDMI cable, and assuming the locking mechanism on the cable is strong enough, you might even be able to hang this off the camera rather than having to mount it -- and as Mitch says on the site, you could either velcro the flat side or mount it in some way to a cheese plate.
There are some decent consumer solutions out there, but buying something that's already put together in this way means there's a far greater chance it will just simply work rather than you having to tinker with it. The big advantage to this system is that it doesn't matter what is coming from one end, as both HD-SDI and HDMI in this solution are interchangeable and cross compatible, and can all be powered from a single battery.
What do you think? What have you been using for wireless video monitoring in the past?
Links:
- AbelCine Wireless Video Solution -- AbelCine
- At the Bench: AbelCine Wireless Video Solution -- AbelCine's CineTechnica
Disclosure: AbelCine is a No Film School advertiser.