Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/635406
36 W I N T E R 2 0 1 6 C A S Q U A R T E R L Y UPGRADE PATH IS ON MY MIND. IN FURTHER ARTICLES, I'D LIKE TO EXAMINE SEV ERAL OF OUR MANUFACTURERS INCLUDING SOUND DEVICES, ZAXCOM, AATON, WISYCOM, SONOSAX, SCHOEPS, SENNHEISER, SANKEN, AND DPA. BASICALLY, ANYONE WHO DEVELOPS AND BUILDS THE TYPES OF TOOLS FOR OUR UNIQUE CRAFTWHICH ARE SUBJECT TO RAPID TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT. The end of the year can be a frenzy to get those final year-end tax deductible purchases or sell off some older gear you're not using. Equipment, announcements, and unveilings happen thoughout the year: ISE in February, NAB in April, InfoComm and AES in June, IBC in September, or just whenever the manufacturer feels appropriate. We learn about our new tool options, we drool at the trade show or at the computer screen, and then we either buy or dream. There is a common conundrum called "iPod syndrome." In 2005, with great fanfare and anticipation, I finally bought my shiny new iPod Mini that was released the pre- vious year. I walked out of the store happy with a smaller, colorful version of my old iPod. I opened an email a week later to see an advertisement for a shiny, new, even smaller iPod Nano. Now in 2016, this game-changing product barely exists. Fool me once, shame on you … you know the rest. Since then, I have not been caught with the same upgrade envy toward Apple products. You need what you need when you need it. Do you absolutely need a MacBook Pro? Buy one and watch the next version unveiled soon after. I talk about Apple products because it begs to be mentioned that, other than the iPhone, that company has no consistent pattern to their upgrade development. To our delight, many of our manufacturers do. Looking to the past, I can see how things developed and at what speed. New developments happen quite slowly generally. We are a niche market. However, when it comes to the adoption of portable, nonlinear recording decks, changes are constantly occurring. Trends involving recorders have NO pattern! It's one "game-changer" after the next. Years ago on the same ticket, I bought a Fostex FR-2 recorder and two Lectrosonics UCR411a wireless receivers. Foolishly, I was more nervous about the 411a purchases! Which units are still in use today? [The 411a units.] Buying the newest, shinest device just announced can be a mistake. You might be in your natural upgrade cycle when a new product is announced and may end up buying the first hundred serial numbers of something. by Devendra Cleary CAS Equipment Upgrade Path: Lectrosonics Not a bad thing, per se, but just know you may be the one to discover a future "known issue" software bug or hardware improvement need. Lectrosonics is an easy example of a company that his- torically has maintained a very friendly upgrade path. So, I'd like to start here. LECTROSONICS Lectrosonics has been in business since 1971. They started out building lectern units (small, portable PA speakers). Then they started dabbling in building wireless links to their lectern units. They held formal boardroom discussions and determined wireless was the future. The rest is history, and even though they are not the only wireless company in the game today, you have to admit that their business structure has remained consistent A milled-out housing for the SMV transmitter They develop slowly because they want to offer nothing but reliable "potato-cannon-shootable" products. They have been successful at this. And because of the Nagra user inside all of us in pro- duction sound, this is very important. We need a rugged hunk of metal to perform its task with no trouble right out of the box