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Beta Sight: Aviom Pro16 Series

Sep 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Mark Ulano

On location with an Aviom digital-snake system.

While all this sounds like a digital version of the traditional setup, the big difference is that the Aviom is connected through a simple Cat-5 cable. The concept is so elegantly simple and powerful that it makes me wonder how I ever lived without it. I have been experimenting with different mixes of equipment to help streamline the process ever since I began this work, more than 30 years ago. These experiments include moving into 100-percent wireless systems, nonlinear recording devices, and now digital consoles. The weak link has always been the interconnects or snake. No longer. With the Aviom gear, I am able to physically free myself from the hardware interface that I had to deal with before.

In the past, I had to run out a thick snake from the truck to the wireless cart. This was very bulky and slow, especially with scene changes. Now, with the Aviom system, I simply run one Siamese Cat-5e wire and I am done, offering me a much faster setup with considerably less bulk. For Rocky Balboa, we were in the middle of shooting a scene when someone ran over the Cat-5 and partially cut it. The system still performed flawlessly even though the connection was only through a few strands of wire. I can't tell you how impressed I was. When the scene was completed, all we had to do was replace the single Cat-5 cable. The time savings of running one Cat-5 cable and only plugging in one connector on each side of the chain is huge.

Another advantage is that I can carry a ready supply of Cat-5e cable. This saves an abundance of space and weight, so it makes system redundancy easy. Additionally, if for some reason we need more cable, we can easily go to a local Home Depot or Radio Shack and get a 1000ft. spool for a hundred bucks. This simply can't happen with regular audio cable. The outlets available for Cat-5 cable are vast and worldwide.

Since I first discovered the Aviom digital-snake system, the advantages have been enormous, and it's significantly enhanced my production experience. I have the entire system physically integrated within my console. The Aviom digital snake allows me to have the recording systems and console farther away from the remote cart so they can be protected from extreme weather conditions. Because of the plug-and-play, modular nature of the system, I can run multiple sets simultaneously and enjoy the dramatically reduced costs of maintaining a Cat-5 cable versus an analog snake. Although they're ultimately similar in their end result, traditional snakes on every level are tremendously more cumbersome, less robust, and significantly more expensive. Now, all we do is turn on the Aviom gear, plug in the Cat-5, and turn on the radio receivers, and we're ready to go. I can see the director smiling already.

Mark Ulano has worked in the sound department on feature films since 1975.

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