Tentacle Sync 'Track E' - New minirecorders with timecode

[IronFilm]

 

 

 

 

[thephoenix]

what's your expertise on that product ?

[Anaconda_]

Seems great for wedding video makers. No more bad signal issues, and with 32-bit audio, leveling is much less of a worry. Locking connector and all. 

Is there a ‘lock’ button to stop the groom from accidentally stopping the recording in his pocket? 

[IronFilm]

1 hour ago, thephoenix said:

what's your expertise on that product ?

Well I've obviously never used it (but would be keen to be a beta tester!), as they only got their working prototype literally days before IBC, and it is planned to be shipped out in 2020. 

However I own the original Tentacle:
 

And I've got their latest timecode box, the Tentacle Sync E:
 

Thus I know their products well, plus Tentacle has a very good reputation in the industry and they've been revolutionary, so I'm certainly feeling optimistic about how awesome the Tentacle Sync Track E will be! 

7 minutes ago, Anaconda_ said:

Seems great for wedding video makers. No more bad signal issues, and with 32-bit audio, leveling is much less of a worry. Locking connector and all. 

 

Yes, for many many ultra low budget videomakers (such as your average wedding videographer) then these will be a godsend! 

Plus I can see handy uses for it in a professional setting as well.

 

8 minutes ago, Anaconda_ said:

Is there a ‘lock’ button to stop the groom from accidentally stopping the recording in his pocket? 

I don't think I've seen a start/stop button on the Tentacle itself? Is all controlled via the app instead I think. 
But even if there is a button for that on the Tentacle itself, I'm sure they could come up with an override feature via the app.

[Anaconda_]

20 minutes ago, IronFilm said:

I don't think I've seen a start/stop button on the Tentacle itself? Is all controlled via the app instead I think. 

I certainly hope that’s not the case. The app will of course be brilliant, but personally, I would rule these out if there’s no hardware start/stop on the device as well. 

[BTM_Pix]

With the 32 bit floating point audio its going to be a great fire and forget device that is going to really appeal to wedding shooters and so from that point of view I can see why they would want to make it even more "groom proof" by not having a record switch but for every other application it seems a bit restricting.

Depending on whether this sliding switch here is a physical or virtual one (I'm guessing the latter as it will likely be a "hold it in this position for 5 seconds to switch off" type of control) then they could still build a functionality in before it ships to initiate the recording with some other logic like a double slide up etc.

What I'm quite surprised about though is that neither Newsshooter or Cinema5D asked the question when they were doing their interviews about the product.

[IronFilm]

2 hours ago, Anaconda_ said:

I certainly hope that’s not the case. The app will of course be brilliant, but personally, I would rule these out if there’s no hardware start/stop on the device as well. 

Their apps are really nice though, simple to use. Am using them every day with my current Tentacle Sync E timecode boxes. 

 

25 minutes ago, BTM_Pix said:

With the 32 bit floating point audio its going to be a great fire and forget device that is going to really appeal to wedding shooters and so from that point of view I can see why they would want to make it even more "groom proof" by not having a record switch but for every other application it seems a bit restricting.

Not really limiting at all, for most applications you'd only be wanting to directly press that "record button" but once a day. So to use the app instead? Not a big deal at all. 

Because you don't want to be digging under the actor's clothes multiple times a day to stop start it!

And actually, this is where the app comes in very very very handy.......    as then you can remotely start/stop them all at once! (I do greatly hope there is a batch option in the app)

[BTM_Pix]

32 minutes ago, IronFilm said:

Not really limiting at all, for most applications you'd only be wanting to directly press that "record button" but once a day. So to use the app instead? Not a big deal at all. 
 

True enough.

With the battery life that they are talking about and the size of micro SD cards available today it would indeed be possible to record in a single take for 8-10 hours (providing its exFAT to handle the 4 gig limit or has some other in built spanning solution of course).

I've never used their Sync Studio app so I don't know whether there is a performance hit etc if you were using that one continuous 8-10 hour audio file and it then doing the sync to tens/hundreds of smaller video files? 

I'm guessing not and in some respects it might actually be faster ?

32 minutes ago, IronFilm said:

Because you don't want to be digging under the actor's clothes multiple times a day to stop start it!
 

I wasn't suggesting it was an either/or situation just that it would be useful to have both.

32 minutes ago, IronFilm said:

And actually, this is where the app comes in very very very handy.......    as then you can remotely start/stop them all at once! (I do greatly hope there is a batch option in the app)

In the controlled situations that you are dealing with where you have a dedicated sound person and multiple units then I can see that it would be an absolute boon.

Having said that, in uncontrolled situations, its likely to be even more useful as if it can do the all day takes and sync as easily as if it were multiple takes then removing that possibility of not having put the external recorder into record is an even bigger boon!

Right, I'm convinced now  

[IronFilm]

20 hours ago, BTM_Pix said:

I've never used their Sync Studio app so I don't know whether there is a performance hit etc if you were using that one continuous 8-10 hour audio file and it then doing the sync to tens/hundreds of smaller video files? 

Don't need to use it if not using Aux LTC

The whole point of TC is it makes syncing easy in a snap, almost no processing required to do whatsoever by the computer, and very accurate.

[BTM_Pix]

2 hours ago, IronFilm said:

Don't need to use it if not using Aux LTC

For the significant majority of users on here, aux LTC will be what they are using as their cameras don't have TC so its going to be relevant to them.

The cheapest one that would be in general use on here would be the Pocket4K but Tentacle Sync Studio doesn't yet support BRAW so that is another workflow factor but will hopefully be incorporated as its still a few months from release.

 

[IronFilm]

16 hours ago, BTM_Pix said:

For the significant majority of users on here, aux LTC will be what they are using as their cameras don't have TC so its going to be relevant to them.

More and more NLEs though are supporting reading it, such as DaVinci Resolve. 

 

16 hours ago, BTM_Pix said:

The cheapest one that would be in general use on here would be the Pocket4K

 

The Sony PMW-F3 is even cheaper, dirt cheap ?

[Anaconda_]

This also looks like a great option for wedding gigs and news crews. 

Transmit the audio to your camera, and record locally Incase you lose signal for any reason. You can also choose between XLR (with or without phantom) or 3.5mm OR both! Seems mega versatile.

 

[IronFilm]

9 minutes ago, Anaconda_ said:

Transmit the audio to your camera, and record locally Incase you lose signal for any reason.

Zaxcom says...  NO! 

Sorry Anaconda, you can't. Not unless you spend mega mega bucks on Zaxcom wireless 

[Anaconda_]

Did you watch the video? The guys says you can transmit the audio and record it to an SD card at the same time.  

[BTM_Pix]

1 hour ago, Anaconda_ said:

Did you watch the video? The guys says you can transmit the audio and record it to an SD card at the same time.  

My understanding of it is that Zaxcom have a patent that means it won't be able to do it simultaneously on versions they sell in the USA.

For the rest of us though, it will be able to, although it too will lack timecode.

https://www.newsshooter.com/2019/09/10/deity-introduces-hd-tx-transmitter-with-recorder-built-in/

 

[IronFilm]

1 hour ago, Anaconda_ said:

Did you watch the video? The guys says you can transmit the audio and record it to an SD card at the same time.  

 

Not in the USA

 

[.mateusz]

Quote

What makes this even more interesting is how Deity got around a Zaxcom patent they hold for recording internally on a wireless transmitter. Deity explained to me the HD-TX doesn’t have timecode and the USA models cut the audio transmission when you hit record and resume transmission when you hit stop. This functionality isn’t included on Zaxcoms patent. The international units won’t have limitations as the patent only pertains to the US market.

Quote from the article from NewsShooter.

Kind of a sassy approach, but I love that someone finally did something about the patent ? 

[IronFilm]

28 minutes ago, .mateusz said:

Kind of a sassy approach, but I love that someone finally did something about the patent ? 

People have already been limiting their gear (or other bad stuff) in response to getting around Zaxcom's patents. 

The list is long:
Tascam
Sonosax
Lectrosonics 
Sound Devices
JuicedLink 
etc

[Anaconda_]

As an end user, if I was in the US, I'd just buy this from another market and then go about using it how it should be used. Next time I went on vacation I'd get one delivered to the hotel or whatever. What a load of bs.

EDIT: Doesn't the Tentacle Sync Track E essentially record and transmit at the same time? You can listen live on your phone, so if you plug your phone into the mic socket of your camera you have a (probably low quality but good for syncing and drafting an edit) receiver. Surely the patent doesn't allow for low quality transmission, but puts the stops up for HQ transmission.

[IronFilm]

1 hour ago, Anaconda_ said:

Surely the patent doesn't allow for low quality transmission, but puts the stops up for HQ transmission.

Blocks any type of transmission