Although it’s nice to have standard 1/8” trs on the body packs, It really would only be a benefit to at least have threaded 1/8” trs connectors.. locking connectors are always worth their weight in gold in a live production environment
After few projects where we have used T1000 i quite like it, but i would like: - option to talk to only one pack - option to remove battery holders for easier mounting to rack - dont like the mute/talk interface on packs
I found this really helpful, thanks. You mentioned that if you wanted better sound quality you'd have to pay quite a bit more - do you have any other reviews or better systems? What products would you recommend that have better quality of audio?
FWIW I believe these are designed and made by some other company and white-labeled. The Hollyland Mars T1000 and the iKan Livecom 1000 appear to be the same system (and are actually selling for about the same price). They almost certainly are using DECT. I do wish the sound quality were a bit better, the sidetone was added, and the talk button was a latching PTT, and the tally USB API were documented... but for the price, and including a 4-wire interface I can't complain much. Wireless comm has historically been crazy expensive so having something in this price range is amazing. I do expect we'll see more comm shakeup in the next few years, it's always been overpriced. I've toyed with developing a full matrix capable non-cloud IP based system that can use smart phones and wired IP phones as the endpoints. There are some relatively inexpensive rugged Android phones with hardware PTT buttons you could use for client devices. The rest is all just software at that point and there is enough of an open source base of code for telephone and conferencing systems (Asterisk) to do it without too much difficulty I'd say.
It's just as likely that iKan is rebadging the Hollyland system. They do that a lot. The intercom world needs a shake-up. I think we're on the verge of affordable, good quality systems.
Hi, thanks for your review. I am looking for a relatively inexpensive intercom system with 8 beltpacks. But the T1000 sounds not verry good to me. What would be your next level choice for a intercom system? (Doesn't have to be wireless)
Hey Doug, thanks for your review. Before I buy this, you mentioned in another video that you connected it to your Dante audio comms system. How was this done and did you see an increase in audio quality? What Dante system do you have for comms? Thanks in advance.
It connects via one of my Yamaha Tio1608-D stage boxes. The manual for the T1000 describes how to make a cable to interface with a separate analog intercom, so that's what I did. The Tio unit converts between analog and Dante, giving me a way to add the T1000 to the rest of my system. Adding Dante does not improve the quality of the T1000. In fact, if any music leaks through (say, for example, Program audio is included in the audio injected into the T1000) all audio becomes completely garbled and unintelligible. You have to be really careful with the T1000 that only speech goes through the system or it breaks down quite badly. My intercom is assembled from multiple different systems. See these two videos: ruclips.net/video/sH6F9aEzhn4/видео.html and ruclips.net/video/tuy2W_QBnUY/видео.html That said, in early December I completely re-did my intercom based around a Behringer X32 Rack mixer with the X-Dante interface card. So almost all intercom audio now goes through Dante to get in and out of the X32, including the T1000 system if I use it. I'll be shooting a video about the new system sometime in the near future.
@@djp_video Thanks for the detailed reply. I look forward to that video. Also, if you include those affiliate links, that would be helpful too. Be blessed and stay well.
@@djp_video did you wire this to a 4pin XLR and plug it into the headset port of a Comms pack(?) Or did you interface with the wired Comms in a different way? Cheers
The RJ45 port on the T1000 provides a line level audio input and output. The cable you build converts from RJ45 to XLR (or whatever). Interfacing into another intercom system is going to vary based on what system that is. It isn't the same level as a headset, so if you wanted to wire into another intercom using a headset jack you have do modify the signal. If you're going into an audio mixer, though, the line level signal coming from the T1000 is already of the right type. If you want to connect into a Clear-com or similar system you'll want a 4-Wire adapter. 4-Wire is another way of saying line level audio.
@@djp_video that's what I knew. Just with you in the video saying you had wired into your Comms, I didn't know if there was a tick/hack around the 4wire adapter 👍 or something I was missing else where.
Hi, thanks for the detailed reviews, as always. I was wondering if the ethernet port could allow me to integrate this intercome with my blackmagic setup (Atem, talkback 4K etc). Do Blackmagic devices link to this intercom by connecting the intercom by the ethernet cable?
The RJ45 port on the T1000 is an analog signal - so it isn’t Ethernet. The Blackmagic intercom products have AES/EBU connections for audio. So you’d need a way to convert between analog and AES/EBU. The least expensive way to do that is the Behringer SRC2496 sample rate converters, but it seems as though those have been discontinued so you’ll need to pick one up used. Please take some time to watch my videos on my intercom system. They will answer many questions for you: ruclips.net/video/sH6F9aEzhn4/видео.html (older video, using a system similar to what you’re looking at) and ruclips.net/video/xUfZnZf6pYI/видео.html (newer, Dante-based system)
@@djp_video Oh thanks a lot! I'll watch these videos right now. In my Blackmagic SetUp everything is linked through cascade ethernet cables, and i thought that if i linked this intercom to my switcher, it linked into the network of the whole system and could receive signals such as tally etc... My mistake. In the manual of the t1000 the network port seems to be made only to link two t1000 intercom systems between them, in order to have up to 8 beltpack etc is it right? Anyway, I'm going to watch your 2 videos in order to clear my mind about it. Thank you Maestro!
You can link two T1000s with an RJ45 cable, but it would need to be wired in a special way to swap the receive/send signals. A normal Ethernet cable would connect Receive to Receive and Send to Send, which wouldn't work.
Any idea the impedance of the headsets? And can you buy them individually? Curious if they are 32 ohm or not. I am looking for a good single muff headset to use with BMD camera converters for Handheld camera use. We have camera converters on the back of Panasonic AJ-HDX900 cameras. We've been using iphone headsets for awhile now, and they aren't the greatest.
Say doug. Is the rejection pattern of the mic good? I want to use it in concert We have been using phone as our intercom but the rejection pattern is terrible and the music and noise keeps leaking in. Any help will be appreciated :)
They have an adapter that plugs into one of the USB ports on the base and it gives you GPIO inputs. There are then 1/8" outputs that can drive LEDs on the belt packs.
Hi, can anyone tell me if you have the ability to use different headsets and if so, will the "Rotate Mic 90 degrees to mute" feature still work with other headsets? The 1-Ear Headsets are pretty nice, but sometimes you might be in very noisy environments so having a 2-Ear Headset would make it easier to hear. Thanks for the video!
These do use 3.5mm jacks, so many headsets are available. The mute feature is done completely by the headset, so if that's something you want you'd need to seek out headsets that have that capability.
@@djp_video Thank you for your answer! Sure, I would assume that mostly only person talks, the rest are just getting the instructions and are on mute. I'm hesitating between these and Eartec Ultralight and possibility to expand the set is their biggest advantage.
@@djp_video Sorry to bother you with this, but could you specify in which way they are better? I've been watching reviews/reading opinions for a couple of weeks now and ATM I literally have no clue which ones to choose... I would very much appreciate if you could say in a few words, why you would choose Hollylands over Eartec :) I need to decide within a week which ones to buy...
The Hollyland headsets are a lot louder and have better sound quality as a whole. I’ve used the Eartec units a few times and did not care for them at all. It was hard to hear and understand.
They have an optional GPIO interface that connects to one of the USB ports on the base station. The body packs have a 1/8" output that allegedly should be able to drive LEDs. But I haven't been able to test any of that.
What a nasty sounding system! Also some very annoying "gating" of the audio seems to be happening.? The 3.5mm jack connection on the belt packs needs to be locking (like the Sennheiser wireless systems) and what is up with them using an ethercon for analogue audio I/O? Why not just include a pair of XLR connectors? I shall be skipping this and saving up for something decent! Thanks for the review! :)
I demo'd this back in July and the audio quality didn't sound as 'bad' as this. Definitely no heavy 'gating' artifact. I really don't understand all the trash talking of this kit. There is nothing at it's price point for wireless intercom with the number of users, visual monitoring of bodypacks, power options, etc. Definitely better than EarTec which gave us lots of troubles when we had them. This Mars T1000 was on Black Friday sale for $1399 and included Hollyland new Extension Panel Antenna with 12dbi of gain. That should be good for situations where the base is inside another room or the OB Van/Trailer. Ordered and going to see how it tests out more extensively.
Primarily because we need constant communication, and everybody (particularly the director) needs to have the ability to talk at any time. Two-way radios only allow one person to talk at a time (so if someone else is talking you have to wait for them to finish), and because it takes a little time for receiving radios to detect a signal and open the channel, whenever you use a two-way radio you have to wait a fraction of a second to start talking -- something that isn't very compatible with fast-paced video production. Similarly, we don't like intercom systems that have any delay in the audio either. When I say "Take 1" I need for the operator of camera 1 to know right then that they're going live, not 100ms later. Otherwise they'll respond too late to start a motion shot, for example. Music-related events like concerts are particularly problematic, as we like to time the camera moves and transitions to the beat of the music, and if camera operators are hearing director instructions or program audio late, their moves probably won't line up.
Wow that sounds like hot garbage my 20+ year old Telex BTR-200 sounds way better. But the real killer is the 1/8” jacks on the belt packs they need to be XLR that would be broken in no time. And not quite a deal breaker but XLR audio I/o would be far better than an RJ45.
Doug Johnson Productions yeah that one is an easy fix and not quite a deal breaker but I would like to see a more rugged connector on something that is clearly portable unit.
Doug Johnson Productions yea but let’s be honest who’s going to use it with an ethercon connector I know I don’t use them on equipment that I have that has them but 95% of that is permanently installed. Something like this that is portable with that price tag should have XLR. Really though this a minor issue the problem is the audio quality I had high hopes for this and had looked at the unit above this that is a full rack but I think that has sent me back to the drawing board.
Although it’s nice to have standard 1/8” trs on the body packs, It really would only be a benefit to at least have threaded 1/8” trs connectors.. locking connectors are always worth their weight in gold in a live production environment
this!
Been looking at this for awhile now! Thanks for the review. It all the main points and happy everyone can talk all at once on them!
Man. This seemed worth looking at until 5:55. Thanks for the review.
Can you explain your reasoning a bit more?
@@leopoldwhylie5076 audio quality is crap
After few projects where we have used T1000 i quite like it, but i would like:
- option to talk to only one pack
- option to remove battery holders for easier mounting to rack
- dont like the mute/talk interface on packs
I think that even with the battery mounts that the unit is more than 1U tall
Very very very smooth review Doug, love the tasty B-roll!
I found this really helpful, thanks. You mentioned that if you wanted better sound quality you'd have to pay quite a bit more - do you have any other reviews or better systems? What products would you recommend that have better quality of audio?
See my video on budget intercom options: ruclips.net/video/tuy2W_QBnUY/видео.html
Was waiting for this review from you. Thank you.
I have a problem - very quiet sound in the headphones
and there is also a very lacking function so that you can hear yourself
FWIW I believe these are designed and made by some other company and white-labeled. The Hollyland Mars T1000 and the iKan Livecom 1000 appear to be the same system (and are actually selling for about the same price). They almost certainly are using DECT. I do wish the sound quality were a bit better, the sidetone was added, and the talk button was a latching PTT, and the tally USB API were documented... but for the price, and including a 4-wire interface I can't complain much. Wireless comm has historically been crazy expensive so having something in this price range is amazing.
I do expect we'll see more comm shakeup in the next few years, it's always been overpriced. I've toyed with developing a full matrix capable non-cloud IP based system that can use smart phones and wired IP phones as the endpoints. There are some relatively inexpensive rugged Android phones with hardware PTT buttons you could use for client devices. The rest is all just software at that point and there is enough of an open source base of code for telephone and conferencing systems (Asterisk) to do it without too much difficulty I'd say.
It's just as likely that iKan is rebadging the Hollyland system. They do that a lot.
The intercom world needs a shake-up. I think we're on the verge of affordable, good quality systems.
Hi, thanks for your review. I am looking for a relatively inexpensive intercom system with 8 beltpacks. But the T1000 sounds not verry good to me. What would be your next level choice for a intercom system? (Doesn't have to be wireless)
I'm going to ask the community to weigh in on this. I still haven't found any other affordable options I'm happy with.
Hey Doug, thanks for your review. Before I buy this, you mentioned in another video that you connected it to your Dante audio comms system.
How was this done and did you see an increase in audio quality?
What Dante system do you have for comms?
Thanks in advance.
It connects via one of my Yamaha Tio1608-D stage boxes. The manual for the T1000 describes how to make a cable to interface with a separate analog intercom, so that's what I did. The Tio unit converts between analog and Dante, giving me a way to add the T1000 to the rest of my system.
Adding Dante does not improve the quality of the T1000. In fact, if any music leaks through (say, for example, Program audio is included in the audio injected into the T1000) all audio becomes completely garbled and unintelligible. You have to be really careful with the T1000 that only speech goes through the system or it breaks down quite badly.
My intercom is assembled from multiple different systems. See these two videos: ruclips.net/video/sH6F9aEzhn4/видео.html and ruclips.net/video/tuy2W_QBnUY/видео.html
That said, in early December I completely re-did my intercom based around a Behringer X32 Rack mixer with the X-Dante interface card. So almost all intercom audio now goes through Dante to get in and out of the X32, including the T1000 system if I use it. I'll be shooting a video about the new system sometime in the near future.
@@djp_video Thanks for the detailed reply. I look forward to that video. Also, if you include those affiliate links, that would be helpful too. Be blessed and stay well.
I'd be curious to hear a comparison between the headset over the system and directly captured. Top marks for your glamorous new models as well :-)
The headsets themselves are fine. The wireless system is limited by its use of DECT.
when we used it back in 2019, it was having a major buzzing noise that it was unbearable, tried everything. shipped it back.
Can you tell me more about the interface cable you built for connecting to a standard wire comms station?
I modified an Ethernet cable by adding XLR connectors. The wiring diagram is in the manual.
@@djp_video did you wire this to a 4pin XLR and plug it into the headset port of a Comms pack(?) Or did you interface with the wired Comms in a different way? Cheers
The RJ45 port on the T1000 provides a line level audio input and output. The cable you build converts from RJ45 to XLR (or whatever).
Interfacing into another intercom system is going to vary based on what system that is. It isn't the same level as a headset, so if you wanted to wire into another intercom using a headset jack you have do modify the signal. If you're going into an audio mixer, though, the line level signal coming from the T1000 is already of the right type.
If you want to connect into a Clear-com or similar system you'll want a 4-Wire adapter. 4-Wire is another way of saying line level audio.
@@djp_video that's what I knew. Just with you in the video saying you had wired into your Comms, I didn't know if there was a tick/hack around the 4wire adapter 👍 or something I was missing else where.
Thx for the review Doug ,could we purchace this from Amazon?
There's a link in the description.
Hi, thanks for the detailed reviews, as always. I was wondering if the ethernet port could allow me to integrate this intercome with my blackmagic setup (Atem, talkback 4K etc). Do Blackmagic devices link to this intercom by connecting the intercom by the ethernet cable?
The RJ45 port on the T1000 is an analog signal - so it isn’t Ethernet.
The Blackmagic intercom products have AES/EBU connections for audio. So you’d need a way to convert between analog and AES/EBU. The least expensive way to do that is the Behringer SRC2496 sample rate converters, but it seems as though those have been discontinued so you’ll need to pick one up used.
Please take some time to watch my videos on my intercom system. They will answer many questions for you: ruclips.net/video/sH6F9aEzhn4/видео.html (older video, using a system similar to what you’re looking at) and ruclips.net/video/xUfZnZf6pYI/видео.html (newer, Dante-based system)
@@djp_video Oh thanks a lot! I'll watch these videos right now. In my Blackmagic SetUp everything is linked through cascade ethernet cables, and i thought that if i linked this intercom to my switcher, it linked into the network of the whole system and could receive signals such as tally etc... My mistake. In the manual of the t1000 the network port seems to be made only to link two t1000 intercom systems between them, in order to have up to 8 beltpack etc is it right? Anyway, I'm going to watch your 2 videos in order to clear my mind about it. Thank you Maestro!
You can link two T1000s with an RJ45 cable, but it would need to be wired in a special way to swap the receive/send signals. A normal Ethernet cable would connect Receive to Receive and Send to Send, which wouldn't work.
Any idea the impedance of the headsets? And can you buy them individually? Curious if they are 32 ohm or not. I am looking for a good single muff headset to use with BMD camera converters for Handheld camera use. We have camera converters on the back of Panasonic AJ-HDX900 cameras. We've been using iphone headsets for awhile now, and they aren't the greatest.
I'm not sure the impedance. But I don't think I'd recommend these over some of the other options out there.
Say doug. Is the rejection pattern of the mic good? I want to use it in concert
We have been using phone as our intercom but the rejection pattern is terrible and the music and noise keeps leaking in.
Any help will be appreciated :)
It isn't particularly amazing.
For portability and ease of use, eartec ultralite seems to be a better choice.
My experiences with the Eartec systems have not been positive.
Where did you get the hard case? I see a Hollyland logo on it. I can't find it anywere.
It came with my set. I didn't have to buy it separately.
Weird, the one my colleague has just came in carton boxes
Good video. Sound quality is terrible....How does the tally system integrate?
They have an adapter that plugs into one of the USB ports on the base and it gives you GPIO inputs. There are then 1/8" outputs that can drive LEDs on the belt packs.
Hi, can anyone tell me if you have the ability to use different headsets and if so, will the "Rotate Mic 90 degrees to mute" feature still work with other headsets?
The 1-Ear Headsets are pretty nice, but sometimes you might be in very noisy environments so having a 2-Ear Headset would make it easier to hear.
Thanks for the video!
These do use 3.5mm jacks, so many headsets are available. The mute feature is done completely by the headset, so if that's something you want you'd need to seek out headsets that have that capability.
@@djp_video Thanks for letting me know!
Can this be paired to work with a Clearcom wired system through ethernet?
Not through Ethernet, but a common 4-wire interface to Clear Com would let you connect to this system.
Hey, do you know if it's possible to connect two base stations so it can connect 10 people together?
Using a custom CAT-5 cable you could link two. But the gating of the audio could prove to be awkward with that many people trying to talk
@@djp_video Thank you for your answer! Sure, I would assume that mostly only person talks, the rest are just getting the instructions and are on mute. I'm hesitating between these and Eartec Ultralight and possibility to expand the set is their biggest advantage.
These are much better than the Eartecs
@@djp_video Sorry to bother you with this, but could you specify in which way they are better? I've been watching reviews/reading opinions for a couple of weeks now and ATM I literally have no clue which ones to choose... I would very much appreciate if you could say in a few words, why you would choose Hollylands over Eartec :) I need to decide within a week which ones to buy...
The Hollyland headsets are a lot louder and have better sound quality as a whole. I’ve used the Eartec units a few times and did not care for them at all. It was hard to hear and understand.
how does tally work on this system?
They have an optional GPIO interface that connects to one of the USB ports on the base station. The body packs have a 1/8" output that allegedly should be able to drive LEDs. But I haven't been able to test any of that.
Are you selling your Hollyland Mars T1000?
I have no plans to
What a nasty sounding system! Also some very annoying "gating" of the audio seems to be happening.? The 3.5mm jack connection on the belt packs needs to be locking (like the Sennheiser wireless systems) and what is up with them using an ethercon for analogue audio I/O? Why not just include a pair of XLR connectors? I shall be skipping this and saving up for something decent! Thanks for the review! :)
I demo'd this back in July and the audio quality didn't sound as 'bad' as this. Definitely no heavy 'gating' artifact. I really don't understand all the trash talking of this kit. There is nothing at it's price point for wireless intercom with the number of users, visual monitoring of bodypacks, power options, etc. Definitely better than EarTec which gave us lots of troubles when we had them. This Mars T1000 was on Black Friday sale for $1399 and included Hollyland new Extension Panel Antenna with 12dbi of gain. That should be good for situations where the base is inside another room or the OB Van/Trailer. Ordered and going to see how it tests out more extensively.
Worship Leader Hangout review has the sound quality I experienced. ruclips.net/video/VChW-lYtB1U/видео.html
Here’s a noob’s question. Why don’t broadcast people just use 2-way radios ?
Primarily because we need constant communication, and everybody (particularly the director) needs to have the ability to talk at any time. Two-way radios only allow one person to talk at a time (so if someone else is talking you have to wait for them to finish), and because it takes a little time for receiving radios to detect a signal and open the channel, whenever you use a two-way radio you have to wait a fraction of a second to start talking -- something that isn't very compatible with fast-paced video production.
Similarly, we don't like intercom systems that have any delay in the audio either. When I say "Take 1" I need for the operator of camera 1 to know right then that they're going live, not 100ms later. Otherwise they'll respond too late to start a motion shot, for example. Music-related events like concerts are particularly problematic, as we like to time the camera moves and transitions to the beat of the music, and if camera operators are hearing director instructions or program audio late, their moves probably won't line up.
Been using discord+cell phones for a year now, thinking about something more reliable
Wow that sounds like hot garbage my 20+ year old Telex BTR-200 sounds way better. But the real killer is the 1/8” jacks on the belt packs they need to be XLR that would be broken in no time. And not quite a deal breaker but XLR audio I/o would be far better than an RJ45.
It took me all of 10 minutes to make an adapter cable to go from the RJ45 to XLRs
Doug Johnson Productions yeah that one is an easy fix and not quite a deal breaker but I would like to see a more rugged connector on something that is clearly portable unit.
It is actually an Ethercon (or clone at least), so it's pretty rugged.
Doug Johnson Productions yea but let’s be honest who’s going to use it with an ethercon connector I know I don’t use them on equipment that I have that has them but 95% of that is permanently installed. Something like this that is portable with that price tag should have XLR. Really though this a minor issue the problem is the audio quality I had high hopes for this and had looked at the unit above this that is a full rack but I think that has sent me back to the drawing board.
@@djp_video Hey There we have this unit and I've tried to make an adapter cable. Is there a diagram you used to make your adapter?