It's Here!

The Lectrosonics Venue: Destined to be the hottest thing for carts since the cup holder. I recently got the chance to use it myself on a production set, and as a result liked it even more.For something so small, the Venue is guaranteed to be huge.

What am I talking about? A single rack space of six receivers with the RF performance and audio quality of the famous Lectrosonics 400 series, for less money than you'd pay for a single transmitter and receiver channel. That's what I'm talking about!

Buy new transmitters if you need them, or use your existing UHF Lectrosonics or Sennheiser transmitters (yes, it's compatible with Sennheiser transmitters!) and you have the most versatile high-quality professional wireless system you can by at any price. If you are like everyone else we've quoted this system to, you will be amazed at how inexpensive it is. As you read the awesome features of this unique system, you must remind yourself that even though this is among the highest quality wireless mic systems available, it is also the lowest priced system of this professional grade that has every existed. By far.

But there's more; much more:

• Each receiver channel can be displayed and controlled through the Venue's front panel, but for even more display information and control ability, the USB port allows a PC or Mac (using "Virtual PC") to interface with the Venue system.
  
• A graphic spectrum analyzer displays RF activity within the entire two-block range of the Venue system and helps choose your best frequencies.
  
• A built-in "Walk Test Recorder" allows one person to do a walk test and document the locations where strengths and weaknesses occur. If a dropout occurs "...on the right side of the stage behind the fireplace set..." and then clears up "... now on the other side of the fireplace..." (for example) you'll know about it.
  
• Up to four Venue modules (24 channels) can be linked together to be controlled and displayed on a single computer screen.
  
• The 6-channel system is DC powered with about 1 Amp of 10VDC-18VDC. Yeah!

Don't be misled by the very low price: This receiver system is top-of-the-line and holds its own with, or surpasses, any other analog wireless microphone system made for this use. The enormous difference in price is due to the amount of mechanical features that are no longer needed. For example, the individual receiver modules that plug into the Venue do not have XLR audio connections or BNC antenna connections, nor do they have any displays, external power connections or battery compartments. The receiver modules are very ordinary looking aluminum boxes with a suspicious looking circuit board edge connector. All of the audio, power, and antenna connections are mounted on the Venue master module, saving a small fortune in the process.

The small LCD window in the master module shows a surprisingly large amount of information about all six receivers at the same time: Audio modulation, RF signal strength, Pilotone (pilot tone) function, transmitter battery condition, and antenna phase. Pressing the button for a particular receiver displays detail information for that receiver, including frequency, corresponding TV channel number, and required transmitter channel selector position. Scrolling through the menu options allows control of audio output level, audio phase, transmitter battery type, three levels of noise reduction, Pilotone function (on or bypass), emulation mode for the various Lectro transmitters, tuning groups, and some special choices for diversity mode.

While it is surprisingly easy to get around the menu options, the little LCD display can only show so much, and you do have to check several menus to verify certain settings. That's where the USB computer interface comes in very handy. With a computer, you can display all of the parameters of any receiver and make changes to the receiver remotely.

Recently on a 5-day television commercial shoot, I used the Venue system in my cart. I was particularly interested to find out how much difference the computer interface would make, and if using a notebook computer with the system would prove to be a benefit or an inconvenience.

The first thing that occurs to a Venue user is the extreme convenience of having six diversity wireless mic channels in a single rackspace module, powered with a single 12V cable and fed with a single pair of antennas. That, alone, is reason enough that this system will find a firm place in the market.

But once the thrill of spatial victory faded to a controllable level, I was drawn to the user interface options. The Venue is so compact, my first instinct was to assume that the computer interface was a near-necessity and that the LCD was merely a fail-safe. Surprisingly, I soon realized that I could get along just fine without a computer. At a glance of the LCD I could survey all six receivers, knowing all of the basics about the radios' performance. A half -second visual scan of the small LCD display told me about modulation levels, transmitter battery condition, antenna function, and RF signal strength of six transmitters and receivers. If a second rack unit of six receivers was place just below the first, I could have just as easily scanned 12 channels.

But it's even better using the Venue with its USB port to connect to my notebook computer, and I decided that whenever practical, the computer interface was, indeed, an added benefit. First of all, more information is displayed on a single screen and easier to read. For example, when a transmitter battery goes below a preset level, the icon turns red and flashes. Even while engrossed in this month's Rider magazine during a 2-hour lighting setup, I couldn't avoid noticing the flashing red battery icon on the lead actor's display. So, I got out of my chair and changed the battery before we rolled.

Another advantage of using a computer with the Venue is the ability to make all setting changes through a single screen. The same changes can be made using the Venue's internal LCD display, but requires scrolling through several menus for each channel. Even for those who seldom need to make any changes once their system is setup, the day will come when the computer interface will make their job easier and the production better.

Final Score:
Internal LCD display: Very Good. Notebook Computer interface: Even Better.

Here are the controls available through the LCD Display and through a computer:

Audio output level:
Adjust individual receivers outputs for levels from -15dBu to +10dBu

Audio phase:
Normal or reverse output phase can be selected. This can be very handy for a number of reasons, but particularly because some lav mics are phased differently from others.

Transmitter battery type
Choosing the type of battery in the transmitter allows the fuel gauge
displayed at the receiver to give an accurate depiction of how much juice is left in the transmitter battery. There is even a timer that can be selected. This option keeps track of the total amount of time a battery has been used - factoring in power on and off cycles - to reduce "false positive" meter readings.

Three levels of noise reduction
Part of the 400 series' brain is used on a digital noise reduction process that can actually reduce the self-noise of a microphone and other system noise.

Pilotone (pilot tone) function (on or bypass)
In normal use, the Pilotone (pilot tone) causes the system to mute when the transmitter goes out of range or is turned off. The circuit can be bypassed for testing purposes.

Emulation mode for the various Lectro (Lectrosonics) transmitters
All (Lectrosonics) UHF transmitters can be used with the 400 series receiver by selecting the proper emulation mode. There is even an emulation mode for Sennheiser transmitters! (3000 and 5000 Series) With the Venue receiver system, you can mix several different types of transmitters at the same time.

Tuning groups
Preset frequencies are stored in "groups" A, B, C, etc, which can be a very convenient time saving feature. For instance, if traveling from one city to another, six known good frequencies can be stored for "city A" and six others can be stored that are known to be good in "city B," etc. When going from one city to the next (or one sound stage to the next), a single click on the group letter will change all six channels, easily leaving a few valuable minutes for browsing around the Craft Service table.

(Note from Lectrosonics: The Tuning Setup Screen allows selection of one of four factory set frequency groups (Groups A through D), two user programmable frequency groups (Groups U and V) or the choice to not use groups at all. In the four factory set frequency groups, eight frequencies per group are preselected. These frequencies are chosen to be free of intermodulation products. In the two user programmable frequency groups, up to 16 frequencies can be programmed per group. More information on how Tuning Groups work can be found in the Venue Receiver Reference Manual (PDF 956.5K)

There are three choices for diversity mode:

1) "Antenna" or "Phase" diversity. This method is what is used by all
Lectrosonics UCR (compact portable) receivers. With this method, when the system detects that the signal is being received by both antennas by more than 90 degrees out of phase, the B antenna is reversed to maximize the combined signal strength.

2) Receiver Diversity (often mis-nicknamed "True Diversity"). This method uses two receivers for a single transmitter, favoring the strongest signal of the two receivers.

3) Frequency Diversity. This is arguably the most reliable of all diversity options, but it requires two transmitters and two receivers. With this method, the talent wears two transmitters (on different frequencies) with the microphones directly next to each other. The Venue system then blends the two receivers, favoring the receiver with the strongest signal. If one transmitter should fail, the Venue would totally switch to the remaining channel.

There you have it: the long awaited - but worth the wait - Venue system by Lectrosonics. You'll be glad you got it.

Glen Trew