Saturday, October 30, 2010 at 09:17AM Field review of Teradek's "Cube"
Product: Teradek "Cube" wifi HD video encoder
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Review by: Jonathan Bregel
This blog is about a month overdue but I figured I'd post it up for anyone interested in wireless HD video transmission. Khalid and I were looking into a wireless HD transmitter for a feature we are currently shooting overseas. We figured it would make more sense to buy one then rent it for 2+ months. Our friends at Abel Cine Tech were nice enough to let Khalid and I test the new Teradek "Cube" on a job in return for a review. I told them that I am not the most tech savvy person out there and that I would just put it to use on a real world commercial shoot and honestly tell them how the product worked. So below is my review of "The Cube."
*While reading the review, keep in mind I was running the cube in "Ad-Hoc" mode so my laptop was picking up the cubes wifi signal. Ive read that the cube works a lot better if you use a router. The reason I tested it in Ad-Hoc mode was because it has the potential to be a completely wireless/lightweight system which is ideal, especially for steadicam/handheld. The reason we wanted to test the cube was to see if it was a good alternative to the more expensive IDX Cam-Wave HD system....(update: we have recently purchased the Cam-Wave HD, pictured below)
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Back to the Teradek "Cube" - I'll start off by saying, read the instruction manual before you take this to set. Being pretty unfamiliar with all of the VLC/Bonjour/Wifi stuff which the Teradek Cube calls for, this was confusing for me. I literally had 2 hours to play around with the cube before going to set so I very possibly could have done something wrong. The hope is that the next time I get to use it, I will have time to reach out to Teradek for support. I posted several screen-grabs of the settings which worked best for me with "The Cube" in "Ad-Hoc" mode.
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Shoot Day 1:
I set the cube up on b camera operator Clayton Combe's camera first thing in the morning to see if it would work like it did the night before. It did.
However, since we were running audio, the slight delay in the HD stream was an issue. The delay causes more problems then just audio. Focus and framing are issues. The 1st AC could not judge anything off of the VLC stream in correspondence to the lens because everything is slightly delayed, same with framing. Its very frustrating having a 17 inch beautiful HD image on a laptop when you cant use it for live-action focus or framing. I resisted using it as a client or directors monitor because it really throws you off if you are unaware of the technology.
On a more positive note, The images you can get through the VLC stream is incredible.
I found a couple of other great uses for the cube since we weren't using the stream as a client/directors monitor. The first use was as a quick wireless framing reference for the director when the VLC stream was working smoothly. If the director was blocking a scene with the DP behind the A-Camera, I could be showing the director the B-Cam op's framing on my laptop, no matter where they were in the room. This was very convenient in that we didn't have to re-route monitor cables every time the camera was moved, I could just follow the director with my laptop and she could make the necessary changes to the B-Cam's framing/background art direction. As a DP, there is nothing more I hate then having to run back and forth between 2 cameras to check framing, exposure, etc.., so this was awesome for blocking. Keep in mind the director wasnt viewing the cubes stream while we were rolling, it was just for blocking. Viewing the stream while rolling is just too confusing with the delay and constant skips in the signal.
Another EXTREMELY helpful way the cube came into play was for the art department. I would honestly suggest a lot of art directors to get the cube as crazy as that sounds. We all know how much time can be wasted communicating stuff from camera to the art department like: "nooo, a little to the left, no, a little to the right, theres glare in the paint, that prop is too high, etc...) and then before you know it, the art director wants to punch the cam-op in the face. The cube can save A LOT of time/issues in that department. For example; I had the B camera op lock his frame with a stand-in in the shot, I then took my laptop over to the art PA's who were filling the frame with dozens of picture frames, and like magic, they can do their job in just a couple minutes instead of 30 minutes yelling back and forth from camera. Yes, again you could do this with a cable ran to a monitor, but the freedom of being able to move the monitor around the set to adjust everything in the frame is an incredible freedom. I found this very helpful in a few scenarios throughout the day.
Overall thoughts:
From my short experience, I would suggest using the cube if you are looking for a wireless HD transmitter to be used with a laptop. I would also suggest that you have time to figure out the cubes best settings before taking it to set. For me, I was rushed, so I have a feeling that I wasn't able to get the cube to work to the best of it's abilities. I am sure there are many more useful ways to put the Cube to use, these were simply my findings over the course of one 12 hour shoot day. Again, I am not claiming at all to be a master of the cube, or anything, I am just stating my on set experience with the Cube.
Hope this review helps.
-Jon
Reader Comments (10)
Quite interesting. I had no clue that the Cube went out and froze up that often. It never said anything about a 1/2-1 second delay on the website either, so I am glad you brought that up. I guess I will have to purchase a CamWave instead for the live event shooting. Thanks for the informative post.
Jonathan, I wish you had contacted our support while having those troubles. We have an excellent record for solving most or all of the issues you experienced in a matter of minutes with many customers. One or more of the following, placement of your Cube, using a router, and selecting the right settings should give you 100% reliability, with no frame drops, and a 0.1 - 0.2, not 0.5 -1.0 secs delay, which is still noticeable and not good enough for remote focus, but much better than what you experienced. Our biggest challenge with Cube is the learning curve as you had mentioned, it is another beast altogether than it's simpler to use COFDM cousins. Your choice of the Camwave is a good one that will likely serve you well for years, but if you ever get another chance, give the Cube a spin and contact us...after dialing it in right you'll find like many of our customers that it is a reliable little workhorse that adds value to you kit, even if it will never have 0 delay. Thanks for sharing your experiences !
Nicol
Nicol, what is your e-mail address?
Interesting blog.Thanks you!
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Jon,
Many thanks for making a truthful effort to explain this! It actually took me time to read the whole article but it proved to be very useful to me! I am just an ordinary essay writer but I understood every word you wrote!
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