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Regardless of your preferences: analog vs. digital, touch screen vs. buttons, DVD vs. Flashcard, or simply, loyalty to one brand over another, everyone must agree that during the last 10 years Zaxcom has blazed the trail for new sound technologies in film and video production with a very influential sword. Zaxcom was the first to put nonlinear recording on the set which now seems to be the only way film production is recorded. Zaxcom was the first to put digital wireless systems on the set which is growing in acceptance and likely to become as standard as nonlinear recording. Zaxcom even put digital transmitters that are also recorders on the set–also likely to become a standard practice. Whether you use all of these things now or not, you probably will in the future. And when you do, whichever brand you choose to go with, you can thank Zaxcom for being creative enough, brave enough, and for working hard enough to make their vision our new reality.
However, that trail is often blazed with a sword that cuts two ways…
Being “the first” must put an immense amount of pressure on manufacturers, because it seems that, with new products, too often there are loose ends to tidy up. As you’ll see below, I believe the TRX-992 is a remarkable achievement that will, if not become the standard, at least be the predecessor of the standard. But we were able to test all of the unique features only after extensive, time-consuming, and frustrating efforts to sort out firmware revisions and undocumented boot-up settings. Even today, early March 4, 2009, the recently revised manual contains no information on how to setup and use most of the communications abilities of the TRX-992. Part of a good vendor’s responsibility is to protect the end-user from these burdens. For this reason, Trew Audio will not recommend the TRX-992 until the product can be shipped from the manufacturer properly documented, properly configured, and ready for the customer to use. It might happen soon, but it will have to happen before we recommend the product to our customers.
NOTE, March 9, 2009: I have received and reviewed a revised manual from Zaxcom. The revision added the missing menu items having to do with the private talkback and wireless monitoring functions of the TRX-992 system, including the RX900 receiver, and the IFB100 transmitter. With the needed information now available, and because the Zaxcom TRX-992 system is such an innovative and helpful tool for the sound department, and provides very high quality wireless audio from the boom mic, Trew Audio is now happy to recommend, sell, and support the system for our customers. (please see more about the new manual in the March 9th post below)
The TRX-992
The TRX-992 is designed to answer all of the dilemmas and limitations that accompany cumbersome wireless boom microphone rigs. Here’s a list of some common problems and basic answers followed by Zaxcom’s specific solutions.
Customary answers for wireless boom needs:
1) Phantom power for the boom microphone. Answer: External power supply box (unless using a plug-on type transmitter).
2) Wireless monitoring for the boom operator. Answer: External Comtek or Lectro IFB receiver.
3) Private talkback from the boom operator to the mixer. Answer: Out of luck.
4) Protection of audio in the case of a drop-out. Answer: Out of luck.
5) Full day battery life. Answer: Rechargeable external NP-1 battery.
Zaxcom’s answer:
The TRX-992
The TRX-992 accomplishes the boom operator’s wireless microphone needs, complete with 48V phantom power, 2-way private communication*, long-lasting internal rechargeable battery, and high quality recorder, all-in-one compact belt-worn box. Mission mostly accomplished.
In my awareness of most A to B comparisons made with the goal of choosing the wireless system that sounds most like a hardwired mic, the Zaxcom digital wireless has long been accepted as being the best sounding for film and video production. Since such a statement can make other wireless mic manufacturers rise up, I’ll point out that “best sounding” alone does not make any particular wireless system the best choice, particularly when there are other darn good sounding systems out there with their own fortés. Anyway, suffice it to say, if the TRX-992 proves to sound as good as other Zaxcom wireless systems (which it seemed to in the short time I listened to it) its audio quality is more than adequate, if not the best sounding.
The TRX-992 system consists of the belt-worn transceiver/recorder, the receiver, and, if wireless monitoring is wanted, the IFB transmitter.
The first thing about TRX-992 that sets it apart from other wireless mic transmitters is that it has a headphone connector on the top. Of course, it would have a headphone jack, since it is also for boom operator to monitor. But after using it, it occurred to me that it sure would be nice if all transmitters had a headphone jack, allowing the mic to be heard without having to listen only through the receiver. To be fair, of course, a headphone jack would make bodypack transmitters larger when small size is a primary goal, but the point is that it is a very useful feature which goes beyond simply being a way for the boom op to monitor.
The next thing you notice is that the TRX-992 has two control knobs on the top. The first knob is for the boom operator’s headphone loudness. The second knob pans between listening directly to the boom mic (fully clockwise) and listening to the IFB signal (fully counter-clockwise). Boom operators can mix these two sources in their heaphones as desired, and there are occasions when they would want to do just that, such as:
1. When monitoring the program signal from the mixer through the IFB receiver, the boom op would want to have the monitor pan pot fully in the IFB position.
2. If the boom op wanted to hear only their microphone (and not other microphones it the mix) but also wanted to hear their boss talk to them through the IFB, then they would keep the monitor pan somewhere between IFB and Direct–achieving their desired balance between the two.
3. If going out alone with a boom mic to record sound effects directly to the TRX-992’s recorder, the boom op would put the monitor pan fully in the Direct position.
The TRX-992 is complex, but only because it has so many capabilities from which to choose. For example, it’s menu-driven features include a high quality recorder with full timecode and metadata options, and it writes to removable SD flashcard. It has two levels of IFB monitoring quality–high and low. In the low quality position (still better than most other wireless monitoring options) it can receive external timecode for its recorder. If timecode is not an important option (most of the time, probably) then the high quality mode is chosen. It has two internal switches for Phantom power ON/OFF and MIC/LINE level inputs. There is a lot this device can do.
It should be said that while the TRX-992 internal IFB monitoring is of superior sound quality than many other systems traditionally used, the range of its 2.4GHZ transmitter will be shorter–long enough range most of the time, but comparatively shorter. For this reason, and to remove susceptibility of a low-level tone being induced into the IFB circuit when located directly next to the receiver while the IFB is in high-power mode, a small external IFB antenna is recommended.
It’s great that the TRX-992 has an internal, replaceable, high capacity, fast-rechargeable battery–one that is even available inexpensively at Home Depot (or Lowes, or Ace or other places that sell Black and Decker tools). It’s also great that it is Lithium Ion because it is small, light weight and lasts a long time. But the “green” accolade is quite a stretch. Come on now… let’s be real here. The only “green” way to use a boom microphone is to use a cable, like they did in the days before global warming–no batteries required.
One of the more unique features of the TRX-992 is that the “up arrow” can be selected to be a talkback button (just don’t expect to find it in the manual today 🙂 ). This is a very interesting feature to me because one of the limitations of traditional wireless boom rigs is the inability to talk back privately, wirelessly, to the person operating the mixer. As someone who uses a hardwire system with full duplex private communication, I can attest to its value and usefulness. However, as clever as the Zaxcom talkback feature is, I believe it’s also where the system falls short, as I’ll explain.
The TRX-992 does not have the ability to use a separate talkback microphone, requiring that the boom operator still talk into the boom mic. The talkback becomes “private” when the boom operator presses the talkback button because it is then muted in the receiver’s channel 1 (taking it out of the program mix listened to by everyone on the set) and redirects it to the receiver’s channel 2, which is then fed into the mixer’s communication input. In addition to the possibility of accidental muting of the boom mic while recording (though very unlikely), there are several shortcomings with this approach. First, the boom mic is often 18 feet away when the boom operator has something important to say. Second, it is disconcerting when the boom mic suddenly disappears from the program each time the boom operator presses the push-to-talk button. Third, if the boom operator is listening only to the IFB for their monitoring and communication (typically the way I operate), then their voice disappears from their own headphones when using the talkback. Fourth, since the Sound Mixer is already listening to the boom mic in their mix, even though the boom mic is removed from the mix when the boom operator uses talkback, it seamlessly reappears in the communications channel. This means that the Sound Mixer cannot tell that the boom operator has made the communication private. In other words, the boom mic sounds exactly the same to the Sound Mixer whether others can hear it or not. This issue is addressed somewhat at the boom operator’s end, in that a low level tone is produced in their headphones when pressing the talkback button. If the same tone could be superimposed at the Sound Mixer’s end when talkback is activated, it would be a big improvement. Since it is common for Zaxcom products to evolve when things can be changed with firmware revisions, hopefully the “talkback indicator tone” can be added to the receiver as well.
Though traditional taped together wireless boom systems are a bit clunky, the only thing that’s really missing from them functionally is the ability to communicate privately. This is ironic because, for me, the exciting prospect about a wireless boom “do-all” box was the inclusion of private two-way communication, which, I’m afraid, is largely still missing in the TRX-992. This is particularly frustrating because, from what I can tell, a separate talkback mic (external input, preferably) could have been implemented.
There you go: The good, and the bleeding cutting edge. With all that said, pretty much everyone who uses wireless booms (a growing majority) has been surviving without private communication. And though I’m still hoping for the TRX-993 (with separate talkback mic), for those of us using two, three, or even four boxes for our wireless boom rigs, the Zaxcom TRX-992 doing it all—and even more—with one box, will make it that much easier to do our jobs better.
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Glen, Thanks for the frank and informative review of this product. I have been looking forward to hearing early reactions to the system. Ease of set up is so important and it seems that it took some time to properly configure the system. Perhaps there is a a way to store a quick configuration to get going similar to the old Deva 2 days. The talkback is a good point but I will be happy to have all the other features that the TRX-993 has to offer.
Thanks Glen; a very informative and balanced review. Do have any idea on pricing for a full rig?
Good point about quick loading of presets, but my impression so far is that it is not something will change often, like, for example, a multitrack digital recorder. Multitrack recorders such as the Deva have things that are constantly changing such as routing, EQ, compressors, mirroring tracks, etc. The TRX-992 will probably not be changed very often at all once it is set for the user. Items such as phantom power on/off and mic/line level input selections are with hard switches that are accessible through the battery compartment.
Bal, regarding pricing for the TRX-992 system, I'll post the prices soon, but I'm afraid you've caught me away from the office and I can't remember. Our sales staff should have those figures, so if you need them first thing in the morning, please contact them at one of the locations shown at the bottom of this page.
Thanks for participating,
Glen Trew
The manual for the Zaxcom wireless and the TRX992 have now been updated. The Private talk back feature that is now available in the TRX992 is a new feature that was added to the unit about 1 week before our first delivery to Trew audio. As with any new feature the software precedes the manual.
We have also made sure that our new high quality IFB codec is shipping with all IFB transmitters. Trew audio had to load the software after the IFB unit was received. This was a procedure that took a few minutes. The Codec is selectable on all TRX series transmitters and Zaxcom IFB transmitters.
I like Glens idea of a tone on the output of the receiver to indicate that the private talk feature has been activated. I am sure we will put that in.
The TRX992 is a new product and I am sure we will get lots of user feedback over the next few months. We work very hard to get it right the first time but as with any new technology there is always something new to learn and discover in the area of product development. We have had the product out in the field for the last month with Billy Sarokin beta testing it. This has gone almost flawlessly so the product was released in February. I will work with Glen to make sure all features are covered in the manual so that there will be a minimum of head scratching when the TRX992 or any Zaxcom product is used for the first time.
A TRX993 is not in the Cards.
Glenn Sanders
President Zaxcom Inc.
Hi Glen,
My apologies if this appears twice. I just wrote an entire treatise and it disappeared! So, as they say, take two....
Unfortunately, in this software driven age, user manuals range from useless to worthless. When was the last time you checked the manual for your laptop? As soon as something is printed up it's obsolete. I've been using the 992 for 2 months now and still have not bothered to download the manual. As with most Zaxcom gear, the options are very simply laid out on the menus. Though I must admit that the Deva is starting to get complicated with all the new features. The 992 on the other hand is extremely simple to use. Of course the manual or the web page should be kept up to date, but new features are coming at an incredibly fast pace. I'd rather have the feature first and manual second than the other way around!
You described very well the range of features on the 992, but there is one I'd like to stress.
Gain. Both the abundance of it and the ability to remote control it. The new 992 was designed to provide an incredible amount of gain both for the mic and the built in headphone amp. None of my previous analog or digital wireless boom rigs have come close. I find myself working in the middle of the range rather than at the top of it. And I can control the gain remotely almost as if I had a remote pot. I say almost because the gain is controlled in 2 db increments. I often raise or lower the gain during takes. Before the 992 I had to ask my boom person to adjust it which he could only do between takes, and with a pole extended 18', was not always done happily.
Which brings me to Hi / Lo Quality. You touched on the subject a bit, but here's an elaboration. Yes, you can set the 992 for Hi Quality ifb and can send a signal back to the 992 that is almost as good as what the 992 is sending to you. But the trade off is that you no longer have remote control of the gain and frequency, nor can you transmit time code. The tc isn't that important because in a pinch you can jam the 992 at every battery change as if it were a slate, but the gain control is essential. Basically it's your mic pre. I adjust the gain of the pre on the 992 as often as I do with my other mics. I miss the remote control when I'm using an older radio that doesn't have that feature.
I use the ifb for talk back to the boom op (usually George Leong). He listens to his mic directly and uses the mix pot to 'put me just where he likes me', which is probably pretty low ;-) One issue is when the 2nd boom person wants to talk to him. I have to 'enable' the conversation by clicking the matrix on my Deva to route that other mic to the ifb. So far, the benefit of having a boom person hear a superb quality feed of just his mic outweighs by far the smaller inconveniences the system entails.
As with all such products, since they are software driven, they just keep improving as new features are thought up and added. The upgrade process is very simple. I've even done it from my pda/phone. I've downloaded the software to the micro sd card in my phone, put it in a mini sd adapter, put it in the 992 and pushed a couple of buttons.
My crew and I were the first beta testers of the 992. As soon as it was released I purchased the unit I was testing. It's a small, stunning, efficient piece of work.
Battery life is currently 3.5 hours. The batteries are inexpensive ($20ish) and change instantly. There is no battery door. The battery snaps in and out securely. Zaxcom has a high capacity battery in the works that will run approx 9 hours.
The recording feature is also extremely useful, both when trouble hits or to use it as a quick remote rig. Someone stepped on the power cord on the back of my cart during an action sequence today (I guess they got excited)and my cart lost power. It didn't matter. I had the 2 SD cards (one 992 and one body pack). It's better than Maalox.
As for the private line, while it is possible with the 992, my boom ops are usually well behaved. I'm the wild card. I use the ifb as my private line back to the boom. My feeling is that if the 992 does not fit precisely with the way you work you might want to consider modifying the way you work. It's that good.
All the best,
Billy Sarokin
ohh no, I wrote it twice for nothing. sorry.
Peter Devlin asked for the ability to quick load presets. The 992 set up is pretty fast and simple. It does have the recently released expander and dynamics menus. I havn't used them. They were designed for a specific theatrical user and then released generally. I've never had a need to use them. I guess if you had a very noisy lav mic ou could lower the noise floor of the mic, but the 900's and 992 themselves are incredibly quiet.
But for those who like to modify the characteristics of their mics, I guess a preset facility would come in handy (though I'm not sure if that is what Peter had in mind).
Best,
Billy
Hi Billy,
Thanks for taking the time to share your experience with the 992. I agree that manuals are not always relied on like they use to be. For example, in all these years, I've never opened the manual for a Deva 5 except to verify the pin-outs of the connectors. The Deva is very intuitive and the options are pretty well spelled out in full English. (Though a section in the Deva manual the describes all the shortcuts would be very helpful to new users).
But we cannot confuse the intuitiveness of the Deva or a Dell computer as reducing the importance of documenting the specific unique functions of the TRX-992 with a user manual. The features of the 992 that have been publicly promoted and presented for several weeks cannot possibly be figured out without instruction, which was still not available in viewable form last night when I wrote the review.
A revision of the manual was sent to me late this afternoon with updates pertaining to the use of the 992 system. I don't doubt that the manual is now sufficient, but since the previous one was not, we'll have to verify the new one. While we work very hard to be a technical support service for our customers after the purchase is made, Trew Audio must know that a customer has a reasonable chance of getting a product to work when they receive it. For this to happen with the TRX-992, proper instruction in the form of a manual (pdf will do, if it must) is necessary.
I hope to be able to report back on the new manual by tomorrow, but I did have to eat diner tonight and tomorrow is already a full day. It will happen soon enough.
I like the way you are using the Direct/IFB mixer function (the manual calls it "Transmitter" but I think of it as "Direct"). For mixers that have the ability to send the boom operator a mix of everything except the boom mic, it is a great for the boom op to decide if they want to hear only their boom mic or the other mics in the mix as well. However, the mixer would need to have the "mix-minus" ability to the boom op (probably doable with most top mixers), because if the boom op listens to their mic "direct" while hearing the same mic through the IFB monitor feed, there will be phasing issues do to processing latency. Your mix-minus method is a great work-around that I had not thought of.
Thanks again,
Glen Trew
lol, of course. As a dealer you are on point for any tech related questions. I get the odd email, but your phone rings off the hook, so point taken regarding the manual!
All the best,
Billy
My concern for the lack of proper documentation (user manual) is not about the increase of Trew Audio's work load (though it has already increased my workload significantly). My concern is for the customer who would be up the creek without a paddle.
I am reading a new revision of the manual now, and will relay my findings.
Glen Trew
'up a creek without a paddle' sounds like our job description. Just downloaded the manual. Might not have a paddle, but at least I now have a rudder :-)
Best,
Billy
I have received and reviewed a revised manual from Zaxcom. The revision added the missing menu items having to do with the private talkback and wireless monitoring functions of the TRX-992 system, including the RX900 receiver, and the IFB100 transmitter.
With the needed information now available, and because the Zaxcom TRX-992 system is such an innovative and helpful tool for the sound department, and provides very high quality wireless audio from the boom mic, Trew Audio is now happy to recommend, sell, and support the system for our customers. I plan to use one myself.
As originally mentioned in the review at the top of this thread, before this revision of the manual was issued, it was impossible for a customer to setup their system based on information available in the manual. Now that this revision has been made, it is possible to setup the TRX-992 system for its wireless boom functions such as talkback and wireless monitoring, but still difficult (which I have a solution for at the end of this post) .
How difficult? I can fly a high performance multiengine airplane in zero visibility, then shoot an instrument approach into Chicago O’Hare at night, but, I have to say, that I still get lost navigating through this manual.
My issue with the manual no longer has to do with its technical completeness and accuracy; I know that Zaxcom has been hard at work to have accurate documentation for their wireless systems, and has succeeded. My issue now has more to do with the single manual approach it takes. The manual is a 92 page book that serves as the manual for every Zaxcom wireless transmitter and receiver available: the TRX900, RX900, TRX900AA, TRX800, RX4900, TRX700, and TRX992 and IFB100. (The table of contents alone is six pages.) From a user’s perspective, there are several inconveniences with this approach, one of the most obvious being that, if you decide to print it (and you should), you may need to reload your paper at least once, and possibly your ink cartridge, too, in part because you have to print information about items you may not even own.
Because many Zaxcom wireless items share the same software, when menu choices are common between them, the common descriptions are to be found in only one place of the manual. Therefore, though the menu categories of a receiver (for example) are listed on or near the receiver page, the menu descriptions are located somewhere else within the 92 pages. This would be more manageable if there were page number references to help jump from the menu categories to their descriptions, but there are not. So, you must hold your original place with while searching other pages looking for the needed details, then go back to your original page. Viewing the manual in its pdf form seems somewhat easier at first because the menu categories now link to their respective options and descriptions (they did not link when the review was first posted, so kudos to Zaxcom for adding that), but then you have to manually find your way back to your original page (there is no “return to xxxx page” link), giving your scroll wheel a real workout. Also, because related items are a bit scattered, it means that you can’t print sequential pages that relate only to a particular system. For example, you can’t print pages xx through xx and to have a complete manual that is only for the TRX-992/RX900/IFB100 system.
There are, indeed, some good and valid reasons for the single manual concept. For example, part of what keeps Zaxcom on the leading edge is their ability to evolve their products with software revisions, which is very valuable for owners of Zaxcom products. With the single manual approach, as these revisions come about, there is only one manual to revise and only on place in the manual to enter a revision. Though this may seem just like a way for the manufacture to reduce their workload, it also reduces the chances for overlooking items in the manual when revisions are made, which is very beneficial to the user, as well.
So, the Zaxcom TRX992 is, in my opinion, now ready for the real world of location film/video sound production. In addition to the 92 page manual, to help Trew Audio customers more quickly make the most of their TRX-992 system, I am writing comprehensive instructions that will be included on a single printed sheet.
Thanks to Zaxcom for following through with the manual revisions, and congratulations to them for successfully blazing the trail for sound mixers again.
Glen Trew
(Yes, that one!)
Glen
It appears you have missed a capability on Acrobat, that I think you will appreciate.
If you use a short cut (link is your term)in a PDF document to go to a new area, you can go back to the previous place in the document.
Try this on any document with short cuts. Click on the short cut. Once at the next page, right click anywhere in the document. This brings up a dialog box. In that dialog, select "Previous View". This will take you to the previous location in the document.
The function has been in since at least 8.0. I haven't tried to see how many previous locations you can go through but it should be enough for most people.
Have a GREAT DAY!!!
Ray
Hi Ray,
Thanks for the info on the shortcut. It had not ocurred to me to use the "previous view" shortcut to jump back to the menu category page. This does make a difference when viewing in Acrobat, but I don't think Mac's resident program "Preview" has that feature.
Now, if you can add page number references on the configuration menu pages to direct people to the menu options, that would help make the printed version much more practical.
Lastly, it would be great to not have to print the entire 92 page book just to get information on a particular system.
Thanks again. I know it's a lot of work and I think it's coming along nicely.
Glen Trew
Billy you touched on a question that I had. How can the two boom ops have a private conversation will working out the lighting on a shot. It seems like a bit of a pain to have to change the matrix on the Deva to accommodate this. Why can it not work like a telex? If you are all on the same system it should cut program sound but let you have a private line. Also how do you que the material record on the SD card? Lets say the boom op stays to record a wild track while the sound assist and I are on a set shift. I download the SD card to the Deva but how do I find the material I need without scrolling through the whole card? And as long as the 992 is on is it recording everything on set?
Bill
Sorry to take so long to answer.
To answer your first question: The '992 has an IFB receiver that operates in the 2.4 GHz range and the transmitter for the boom mic operates somewhere between 518 and 854 MHz. For two boomers to converse, the audio from the boom mics must be tyed together instead of whatever else was originally being sent to them. Remember, in an ideal world each boom is receiving only their audio or, with the '992, just the mixer for communication. Then this must be routed to the IFB100 to be sent to both boomers.
To answer your last question: Everytime recording is started, a new recording segment is created to hold that audio. All that needs to happen is note the segment # when you start recording this additional material. When you return to the sound cart, tell your mixer that used x thru y recording segments and what each contains.
Hope this helps.
Ray
Glenn
The updated UM is now on the website.
Ray