News

Natürlich sind wir auch bei der diesjährigen TMT32 im Düsseldorfer Kongresszentrum dabei. Wir freuen uns, wenn ihr uns an unserem Stand #30 im Foyer im Rahmen der Tonmeistertagung besucht und wir Euch unsere Neuigkeiten zeigen können. Wir bringen nicht nur die TIMEBAR - unser erstes multifunktionales Timecode Display mit, sondern auch ein paar überraschende Software Updates. Aber mehr wird nicht verraten, ihr müsst schon vorbeikommen ; )

Wir haben hier mal ein Angebot für alle Rheinländer oder diejenigen aus dem Umkreis, die mehr über Timecode erfahren wollen. Wir haben uns mit Mediatec und Ambient zusammengetan und können nun im schönen Köln einen Timecode Workshop anbieten. Das ganze findet in den Räumlichkeiten von Mediatec am 24.Oktober von 10:00-14:00 Uhr statt. Die Themen sind zum Beispiel die Einführung und Grundlagen der Timecode Synchronisation (LTC, Genlock) und der Umgang im Schnitt - Import der Timecode synchronisierten Clips. Natürlich wird es nicht nur trockene Theorie, sondern auch einen Praxisteil geben sowie ein anschließenden Q&A Teil. Freut euch auf eine gemischte Tüte Timecode. Mehr dazu und die Anmeldung findet ihr unter dem Link.

Recently we were contacted by students of the renowned Folkwang University of the Arts and the University of Applied Sciences Bielefeld if we could support an interesting project with loans of our equipment. Of course we were happy to do so and one of the contributors Leon Schäfer, who had taken over the production, gave us a great report and honest feedback, which we would like to share here. 

We have a new firmware update 2.2.0 for the TRACK E timecode audio recorder. With the latest version of our Tentacle Setup App (iOS/Android) and your updated firmware you can now put your little TRACK E recorders to sleep, when they are not needed during a long day of shooting. Do your talents have a long break in between shots and you don't want to bother them and yourself to manually turn off the TRACK E? Then this is the time to let your TRACK E devices take a little nap and save battery. With just one button click you can put them to sleep and wake them up again.

Now that the first TRACK E units were shipped around two years ago, we wanted to add a Battery Replacement Kit for the TRACK E as well. The DIY concept has already been very well received by you for the Tentacle ORIGINAL and SYNC E and with the TRACK E Kit it has been extended to all our devices. To ensure that our devices have a long, successful life ahead of them, we want to make battery replacement not only as easy as possible for you, but also cost-effective. We offer the battery replacement kit with everything you need for replacement at home or on location and Alternatively, our service partners also offer the exchange through their service technicians.

We, as a company have outgrown our charming and South of France looking backyard location in the heart of our city Cologne. We’ve developed, manufactured and shipped all our devices, grown vegetables, had our daily home-cooked common meals and had some pretty good parties in this little oasis, but it has gotten way to small for us. Finally this summer, coincidence or fate brought us our new location, which met all requirements. We are leaving our place where everything started with mixed feelings, but are really excited for everything that is yet to come.

Since we started Tentacle Sync, we have been supporting educational institutions. We know how important it is to have good and sufficient equipment during education, as some of us have also attended film school. For this reason, we give schools and universities a 40% discount on the products in our own online store. In addition, the Tentacle Sync Studio software is completely free.

We were really lucky to be able to attend this year's Broadcast Asia in Singapore. It was amazing after all this time to travel abroad and present our products at a trade fair we haven't been yet, meet old & new customers and having a lively exchange. Also, we've also had a bit of news. Now it is easily possible to synchronize GoPro cameras in a Multicam setup with all other cameras and audio recorders, that are fed with timecode by a Tentacle SYNC E  or TRACK E. The Tentacle Timebar App enables you to synchronize your GoPro cameras. The synchronization is realized through a generated QR code from the app. This makes it possible to visually synchronize GoPro cameras to the Tentacle Sync timecode. 

Dear friends of the Tentacle,

there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Last year’s scarcity of electronic components put a big stop to our TRACK E and SYNC E production. But the wait is finally over…

As you all probably know, the procurement of certain electronic parts has become very complicated during the past 20 months. To avoid future delays in production and delivery, we redesigned our SYNC E from scratch using electronic components that are more easy to obtain. The updated SYNC E offers all functionality and quality, you are used from the previous versions – of course the SYNC E mkII units are fully compatible with all our other products and will cost the same as the current SYNC E. As you may have guessed, we took the opportunity to also improve some aspects during this process such as a better battery management, an even more sturdy build of the device and other general improvements. We will start shipping the SYNCE mkII in spring 2022

Finally, tradeshows are a thing again. And even more lucky for us – the first one that we attend, happens to be just around the corner in Düsseldorf. So, come and visit us at the Tonmeistertagung from November 3rd - 6th at booth #024. We are looking forward to meeting you (in person again). 

And we don’t show up empty handed – get a first glimpse of the new TRACK E firmware, which now offers audio-monitoring for Android and iOS devices. The firmware will be available some time later this year. 

See you in Düsseldorf!

https://tonmeistertagung.com/en/

As you may have noticed, factories can burn down, container ships can get stuck, too little of everything is available, everyone wanting much more of everything and on top of all that we are still in one of the worst pandemics. One fact that makes it all more bearable is that we're not in this alone. We have fantastic new staff to handle all of this and we can ship many many orders every day. Still, we are behind and can't build TRACK E and SYNC E devices as fast as we would like to due to difficult component sourcing. So thank you all for your support and understanding for the delivery delays.

Stay healthy, happy & busy!

We are thrilled, exhausted, relieved but mostly really happy that the release and the shipping of the first batch of our TRACK E timecode audio recorder is done. We can't put into words how much we appreciate your numerous orders and feedback on the TRACK E. Now that the first batch is sold out and many orders are still coming in, we want to let you know, that we are getting everything ready to manufacture the next batch. This will be available in January. And please check our worldwide reseller list: some of them still have TRACK E audio recorders in stock.

While some of us are busy assembling the SYNC E time code generators, packing orders and answering your questions, the others are busy programming the new setup app, preparing the workstations and ordering the last components for the TRACK E, all the things on our to-do list.
We are happy that after these months all threads finally come together. In a few weeks we will start with the production of the first TRACK E audio recorders. This is not only possible thanks to our hard-working team, but also thanks to our great group of beta testers who took the audio recorder TRACK E to the Alps, to reality shows, podcast productions and much more. For more info click here. 

The latest version of our free Timebar App is here. And it’s now available for iOS and Android. The Timebar App is an easy and no-cost alternative to a classic slate on set. Just choose one of your synced Tentacle Sync E units as a source and get a full screen, frame accurate timecode display on your mobile device. Now you can add any custom information to your display as well. This tool is not only helpful for the camera and sound department, everyone on set who needs timecode for their notes like Script or wardrobe can use it.