Myth Busted: Hollyland Wireless Does Work When People Show Up!

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I have heard the rumors for years. I’ve had people scoff at me when I suggest they get a Hollyland wireless video system. I have had people tell me that they will never buy a wireless system ever again. So I decided to see what the angst was all about. 

I recently got my hands on a Hollyland C1 wireless kit and thought I really need to find a way to put it to the test. It would be easy to set up the kit somewhere and put it to the test doing the normal things - testing for distance, seeing if it will shoot through walls, and all of the normal tests… but why be normal?!?! 

I volunteer as a director for my church's live streams (another article coming on that later)  and a couple of weeks ago we had one of our “superbowl” broadcasts - Easter. The media director asked if I had access to a wireless system because he wanted to add another camera. I did… I had the Hollyland C1 and this would be a great way to see if the rumors were true. 

Here’s the deal: I go to a large church… 500+ people in the auditorium, multiple wireless networks, and more reasons that the C1 shouldn’t work. There were 7 people on stage with wireless microphones and wireless in-ear monitors. There was another wireless camera in the room as well as additional wireless intercom units. So between the production gear and the hundreds of cellular devices, according to what I have heard, the Hollyland should not have worked.(This number doesn’t count the additional wireless sources in our second auditorium and kids area where they use wireless microphones, etc) 

BUT IT DID!!! 

We turned the system on before we connected the camera. Immediately, we got the “no video signal” graphic which meant the wireless system was connected. This was a good sign because the system did not have line of sight. It was in another room so the signal was working through a couple of walls and about a 15 foot height difference… but there was no one in the room so I didn’t get excited yet. 

We did four services and one rehearsal. We tested it during rehearsal and it worked like a charm - but no one was in the room. We just had to deal with the wireless production tools to create the potential problems. So Sunday morning, we put it to the real test. 

Sunday we did 3 live shows. The wireless system was attached to a Canon M50mkii and sent on its way. The room was packed. There were people EVERYWHERE! I have to admit, I was a little worried but once again, we connected from the production room and immediate connection! It didn’t matter where the camera operator went in the building, we had connectivity. 

I shared this story for a couple of reasons: 

1. I wanted you to know that the Hollyland C1 is a pretty strong tool and if it will work inside a church filled with people and a hundred wireless interference possibilities, it will probably work well for whatever you are doing. 

2. I want to encourage you to do your research and don’t just take someone’s word for it (counter intuitive to my whole role here… I know). A lot of the reviews that I have seen for the C1 were older and didn’t really seem to be done by people who really know what a wireless video system is capable of. They typically don’t send audio… They won’t work through an entire school building… etc.

As you prepare for next school year, do some research on the products you think you want to add to your workflow (but know your workflow first), ask questions, ask for demos, etc… Advocate for yourself to make sure you get the tools you need to get the job done.

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Meet the Author, Tom White

Tom White is the Education and House of Worship Specialist at Amitrace. Tom's role is to help educators build better programs through better training, planning, and equipment. Before joining Amitrace, Tom was the Broadcast Engineer at Grady College of Journalism and Communication at the University of Georgia. Prior to that role, Tom taught at Morgan County High School and Rockdale Career Academy where he and his student produced thousands of live streams for sports, news, and community events. Tom’s program at the Rockdale Career Academy received the NFHS Network Program Of The Year in 2016 and his program at Morgan County High School received the New Program of the Year title in 2018. Tom has been a long time contributor to many publications and is the host of Teaching to The Test Pattern Podcast.

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