Wireless video has overtaken film sets at an incredible pace. While wireless video used to be exceptionally rare and mainly reserved for Steadicam back in 2005, in 2017, wireless video is practically the default for every production. Of course, this frequently means more wireless interference on set, as film crews use up more wireless spectrum and compete with other wireless technologies. Anyone who has shot video in a busy city or at a trade show surrounded by hundreds of other shooters knows that finding clear spectrum is vital. With its newest firmware upgrade, Teradek has delivered tools to make finding that clear spectrum easier than ever.
An additional benefit of this firmware upgrade is the ability to use Bolt Manager to change settings in your Bolt device when connected to a PC or Mac. While the on-unit screen and menu on the Bolt is fairly simple and easy to use, the interface has its limitations. The ability to control your Bolt from a computer will speed up the settings process. Multiple unit productions will especially appreciate the ability to ripple changes out quickly to all their kits when situations change. Rental houses and live event crews are also going to find this functionality beneficial.
Credit: Teradek
The top-of-the-line Bolt 3000 also gets new features that aren't available in the rest of the line, including the ability to choose quality settings. This allows productions to focus on image quality and sacrifice range when monitor image quality is paramount, or focus on range with lower image quality for jobs where image quality isn't as important (e.g. where it isn't going direct to broadcast, but is just a confidence monitor).
The firmware update is available from the Teradek site, with the Bolt 500 starting at $2,990 from B&H.
Tech Specs:
- Built-in spectrum analyzer
- Wired pairing
- Quality select (Bolt 3000)
- Broadcast mode (Bolt 3000)
- Support for China region
- Mac or PC apps for Bolt Manager
