At NAB 2022, Teradek announced a new Bolt 4K Wireless Camera Control system. By utilizing Teradek’s custom silicon BB3, you can now control your camera wirelessly with any Bolt 4K device when used with SmallHD Smart 7 monitors.
You also require a SmallHD camera control license to make this system work, Camera Control licenses are available for ARRI, RED DSMC2, Sony VENICE, RED KOMODO, and RED RCP2 cameras.
Bolt 4K Wireless Camera Control makes it possible for you to control your camera’s core settings from anywhere on set. Unlike WiFi-based apps on mobile devices or additional dedicated hardware, Bolt 4K transmits Wireless Camera Control on the same wireless signal used to transmit zero-delay wireless video. This simplifies your setup and integrates with your existing ecosystem for touch-screen camera functionality on your SmallHD Monitor.
When using Wireless Camera Control with a Bolt 4K, your SmallHD Smart 7 monitor becomes the off-camera command station. Here you can control your white balance, shutter angle, trigger start/stop record, etc.
SmallHD’s PageOS user interface and menu settings are consistent no matter what camera you’re using so it won’t get confusing moving from one camera to another.
Previously if you wanted to do camera control Bolt 4K Monitor Modules needed to be connected to SmallHD Smart 7 monitors, now you can connect a small module directly to your Bolt 4K TX unit instead.
You can now use a workflow for wireless camera control with the Bolt 4K transmitters and receivers that you already own. By adding Teradek’s new USB adaptors and a few cables to your setup all of your hardware devices can properly interface with one another. Once your hardware is connected, you’ll again install a single camera control license on either your on-camera Smart 7 monitor or your receiving Smart 7 monitor. Once the license is installed, you can update settings on your receiver-side monitor, which will send the commands back to the transmitter, which forwards the command on to the camera.
The wireless video connection between any Bolt 4K transmitter and any Bolt 4K receiver creates the path for camera control commands from the receiver to the transmitter.
The Teradek Bolt 4K Wireless Camera Control is available in kits or you can buy individual pieces.
You also need a camera control license from SmallHD otherwise it won’t work.
Matthew Allard is a multi-award-winning, ACS accredited freelance Director of Photography with 30 years' experience working in more than 50 countries around the world. He is the Editor of Newsshooter.com and has been writing on the site since 2010. Matthew has won 43 ACS Awards, including four prestigious Golden Tripods. In 2016 he won the Award for Best Cinematography at the 21st Asian Television Awards. Matthew is available to hire as a DP in Japan or for work anywhere else in the world.
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