Hi Rod Montrose,
The PTZOptics Wireless Cable utilizes MIMO technology combined with the longer range capabilities of 802.11a and 802.11n over the 5GHz band to create a unique solution that has been tuned in software and hardware for these longer range applications when using two (2) or more WirelessCables together allowing them to accomplish the specifications listed.
PTZOptics WirelessCable Specification Sheet
There is no special firmware specific to using NDI|HX rather you will find that the units have been tuned, as mentioned above, to provide a higher quality experience for video and audio applications with no impact on most standard TCP/IP applications of the product. On that note you will find products that deploy NDIv4|HX, or greater, are able to provide the best possible experience.
The real-world indoor capabilities will heavily depend on the space they are being used in... for example if it is a large convention hall with little to no obstructions the listed ranges will likely be achieved ignoring potential interference from other sources in the same band. However if these were deployed inside of an older building where the the exterior walls are made of stone and the interior walls are plaster and lathe or a metal comb you will find these ranges diminished due to the material(s) it is having to pass through... on this note that we did perform testing inside of an approximately 100' x 100' warehouse / office space with block interior walls where the WirelessCable was successfully able to pass the signal, with high quality, through 3 - 4 block walls and outside of the building for a total estimated distance of 150' using only two (2) units.
We have seen a number of clients that have deployed their setups using more standard consumer solutions and while I can say the ranges are greatly diminished in comparison, if planned properly that can easily be overcome, the only words of warning would be associated more with regards to reliable control of the devices, as these solutions seem to not reliably deliver every CONTROL packet resulting in some less than ideal movements when controlling a camera and that it can also create additional drift with regards to audio video synchronization thus also impacting synchronizing multiple cameras... this issue can be minimized using our guide on enabling the NTP functionality of your cameras and the production system as shared below just know that users report the system occasionally hiccupping still when deploying these more consumer based solutions.
Synchronizing Multiple Videos Feeds & Preventing Audio Drift
I hope that this information is helpful towards making the right decision for your use case and if you have any additional questions please do not hesitate to return to the PTZOptics forum.
Have a wonderful day.
Hi Matthew,
Thank-you for the detailed response. In our application, the two units will be approximately 120 ft, line of sight with no intervening walls. One of the configurations we're looking at is having 3 cameras feed the rear of the church, and we need the signals from the 3 cameras feed to the front. If we had the 3 cameras connect into a 1000T PoE+ switch, could we connect one of the Wireless Cables to that and have it send the 3 video feeds to the other Wireless cable, where we would have another 1000T PoE+ switch and the video editing setup?
Hi Rod,
That is a "text book" ideal case scenario based on your description :-)
If you have any additional questions please do not hesitate to return to the forums for additional assistance.
Rod Montrose
I'm investigating using the PTZOptics "Wireless Cable" PT-WC-G1 & PT-WC-PP-G units for live streaming four PT30X-NDI-WH cameras for our church, covering the sanctuary which is about 150' x 70' using a hub & spoke (Infrastructure) configuration. Reading the PT-WC-PP-manuals, these units appear to be 5GHz 802.11a/n (I'm assuming this is an error in their manuals since there's no 802.11a/n standard, these are 802.11ac WiFi5 nodes since they support MIMO). The output power isn't anything special (17dBm). They list the distance up to 400M/1300 ft, @ 300 MBps, which is far better than I have seen with any other 802.11ac nodes.
My questions are:
- Is there anything special about these units, or are they just 801.11ac nodes? They have a premium price compared to similar units. I was thinking they had PoE support, but as others pointed out, they require PoE injectors like most other nodes. Is there special firmware optimized for NDI video?- What's the expected real-world range indoors, assuming the Router can see the four Adapters? Has anyone used these in a similar configuration?
- Would getting WiFi6 802.11ax router and adapters be a better configuration with the cameras?