At some point, you might find yourself running into a situation where you wish you could pass HDMI signal wirelessly some distance to a receiving end. Maybe you want an extra screen somewhere to get the same content without running a cable. Or more than likely, a professional purpose that has something to do with your career in videography. Maybe you are capturing the unique wildlife of the African savanna and need to keep your load light as you crawl like a ninja in the grass, transmitting to someone at a distance who has all of the recording gear in a truck. For that, you are going to need a wireless solution that is both capable and dependable to deliver.
First, before anything, we must point out the fact that we have used all sorts of equipment here that establish the same use/function as this. Some of it can range pretty high in price or complexity when it comes to setup.
However, today, we are focusing on the “Hollyland Mars 400 HDMI Video Transmission System“. A solution that doesn’t seem to blend in well with any of these because the price falls into a much more affordable category, and it works right out of the box (minus the need of one battery or cable, which I’ll explain later). No setup needed unless you want to change what scene/mode it is set to. So it kind of makes some of these other equipment options look pretty bad (despite having fewer features than some).
It’s a straight forward solution that takes HDMI signal from one unit (transmitter) and transmits it up to 400 feet away to the receiver unit, and then outputs HDMI from there to wherever you need it.
It comes with a long list of neat features. Having dual HDMI outs for one is a nice option to have, as well as an HDMI pass-through on the transmitter, and automatic channel scanning (max of 8 channels to choose from). However, what is really nice is the “up to 400 feet” spec, which makes this quite handy when running around outside (virtually no matter what you are trying to accomplish).
You can connect up to two receivers to the same transmitter. Although, you’ll have to buy the second one since it only comes with one. You can also opt to only using the one it comes with, but then also be able to stream to 4 mobile devices in addition to it (iOS or Android). So in addition to what comes in the box, you can stream to up to 4 smartphones or tablets at the same time, all thanks to a free app (HollyView app, available for both iOS and Android devices). This allows you to share the footage with anyone else who might have some input.
Latency can be tweaked using the before mentioned scenes/modes, in which it comes with 3 to choose from. It’s a toss-up between speed (latency) and picture quality (with the middle option being a balance of both). There isn’t much difference speed-wise, so we’d recommend keeping to picture quality more than anything unless you absolutely need to save every ms of time possible in the latency.
As mentioned before, it works right out of the box when it comes to settings and functions. You do need a battery though as it only comes with a single DC cable for external power (typically used for the receiving end). So you can find/use any 12V adapter that fits really, as long as it offers an output of at least 1,000mA. Although, we tried using a 500mA 12V adapter and it worked flawlessly, so it may be 500mA+ in reality. It supports Sony F970/550/770 style batteries (which it doesn’t come with any, so this is supplied by you). They don’t run too much if you stick with the generics. Else you will be dishing up a bit more for the straight Sony brand (F970 battery runs around $120 for example, but the generic could run you around $20-$40 and sometimes come with two).
We preferred using the DC cable on both since it can eat through a battery quickly (just like an LED light or an external monitor), but if you are using it outside, you will probably stick with the batteries. Even more of a reason to stick to the generic batteries (assuming they deliver as well as the Sony brand).
From our tests, it seems to function pretty well. We streamed it around the office here without any hiccups we could find. You can see in one of the images (below in the gallery) that we streamed it to a TV on the wall that was in front of the camera (one of the sets here). Latency wasn’t bad at all as in picture quality scene/mode, the worst we could see was around half a second (if that). We took it outside and walked about 100+ feet away and still had a solid connection.
Each unit has an OLED screen that is quite easy to read and the menu is pretty straight forward. Typically, you won’t be diving into it unless you are changing the scene or channel.
There is a USB (Type-C) port on both units that are used for updating the firmware. Although we typically always advise that you make sure you are on the latest firmware before giving something a try, we didn’t have a single issue out of the box. So we never got around to checking the firmware.
Price-point is a little high for some at around $539. This can be a little shocking for some, but it really isn’t too bad for what it is. Comparable to a professional model that typically costs much more than this, it can come pretty close in function. The only thing you are missing is the extra options in the menu to control various things. A consumer typically wouldn’t have a need for this, and a professional could still quite easily find themselves using this regardless of any extra features it lacks.
Our Conclusion
It’s a pretty solid solution for wireless HDMI transmission. The fact that it can go up to 400 feet is a big deal, and the dual HDMI ports on the receiver are nice. The pass-through on the transmitter is also a nice touch. The fact that it works right out of the box without any troubles is a solid benefit. Honestly, we were expecting some kind of trouble with it but were quite happy to not find any. Sure, it could use a few extra bells and whistles in the menu, but for a consumer, or a professional looking for a simple option to get the job done, this is a pretty strong option for the job.
| Buy from Amazon | Buy from B&H Photo | |
Our Rating | Average Price* $539 |
*Average price is based on the time this article was published
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