Wireless technologies for outdoor movie systems
Getting rid of wires has been a technological trend since late 1990s. Think of cellphones and Starlink satellite internet. The absence of wires makes your gadgets more portable and much more convenient to handle.
Over the years many of AV technology professionals got used to the idea of wireless devices. However, there are some downsides to consider. Wireless devices are quite often less reliable, stable and costlier than the wired alternatives.
Nowadays, the market offers solutions that claims to do just that. But having tested dozens of wireless HDMI solutions, our customers and us haven't succeeded in getting a truly operational device.
Here is a non-exhaustive list of problems that we faced along the way:
Alternatives
If you need a wireless content transmission to your projector use streaming devices such as Apple TV, Chromecast, Amazon FireStick or compact media players. By doing so you'll be able to assign the content of your choice to this device instead of transmitting a row video signal to a projector.
There are quality wireless speakers on the market with a built-in Bluetooth receiver which are great for listening to music. However when it comes to dialog in movies you want the characters' speech to be synchronized with the picture. This is where Bluetooth async kicks in — due to range, interference and large data transmission amounts of video.
Alternatives
Good old XLR cables from the audio mixer to a speaker. Period! But if you really need to transmit the audio signal wirelessly. The only tried-and-tested solution would be a kit of audio transmitter and receiver from Sennheiser, for each channel right and left, meant for live dialog recording.
In everyday life wireless technology makes our life and work easier. But when it comes to the smooth run of your outdoor movie event, especially professionally, for your customers — a bunch of good old cables will fetch you peace of mind.
Over the years many of AV technology professionals got used to the idea of wireless devices. However, there are some downsides to consider. Wireless devices are quite often less reliable, stable and costlier than the wired alternatives.
Video signal transmission to your outdoor movie projector
It is a tempting idea to ditch your HDMI cable and wirelessly transmit a video signal from the content source device to the outdoor projector.Nowadays, the market offers solutions that claims to do just that. But having tested dozens of wireless HDMI solutions, our customers and us haven't succeeded in getting a truly operational device.
Here is a non-exhaustive list of problems that we faced along the way:
- Signal delays.
- Asynchronous audio and video.
- Limited signal transmission resolution, bitrate, fps rate.
- Signal interruptions due to physical obstacles, signal interference, bad weather.
Alternatives
If you need a wireless content transmission to your projector use streaming devices such as Apple TV, Chromecast, Amazon FireStick or compact media players. By doing so you'll be able to assign the content of your choice to this device instead of transmitting a row video signal to a projector.
Wireless outdoor movie speakers
Long XLR cables are heavy and bulky. And similar to wireless video transmission it's extremely difficult to transmit the audio signal without delay and loss of quality in real-life conditions.There are quality wireless speakers on the market with a built-in Bluetooth receiver which are great for listening to music. However when it comes to dialog in movies you want the characters' speech to be synchronized with the picture. This is where Bluetooth async kicks in — due to range, interference and large data transmission amounts of video.
Alternatives
Good old XLR cables from the audio mixer to a speaker. Period! But if you really need to transmit the audio signal wirelessly. The only tried-and-tested solution would be a kit of audio transmitter and receiver from Sennheiser, for each channel right and left, meant for live dialog recording.
In everyday life wireless technology makes our life and work easier. But when it comes to the smooth run of your outdoor movie event, especially professionally, for your customers — a bunch of good old cables will fetch you peace of mind.