Left, Right, or Swivel?

[kwotipka]

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let's not limit our imagination here. Just because the thread is about PL (tv speak for intercom), doesn't mean that our headsets have to be a single use. If you are an audio person or a vidiot why would you want to have to deal with two different headsets?

Depending on how creative you are, a simple toggle switch or headphone mixer will allow you to listen to multiple sources at once. For example, I have built cables that allow me to listen to PL and listen to VTR playback when I cue up a tape. In the audio dept, I don't know of many audio ops that wear their headset unless they have to because they are "soloing" the various channels. A simple A/B toggle would works great here since you can jump over to the pl trace when you see the light flash. While this can work with just about any type of com headset, It works better when you have a decent set of cans on your head.

In this business, it is about being creative AND flexible when it comes to finding solutions. Don't just think out of the box but stand on top of it and look at the bottom as well.

BTW, I got mine on ebay for $100. They fit better then any headset I have ever worn and I have gone through a lot. After a 10 hour day, the last thing you want is a smashed head.

kw

 

[icewolf08]

ok, now, I am not trying to pick a fight here, after all, I did say everyone needs to pick what works for them, but I am trying to wrap my head around your reasoning. You have valid points, and I m sure they are situations you have been in, and maybe I just can't relate.

1) Sound op- If I was a sound op, and I have been, I would rather spend $300 on a great set of cans then on a set of cans that is decent, and has a mic. Also, as you said, most live mix sound ops don't want to have cans on unless they are specifically checking things because they are more interested in how the sound is in the space, your double duty idea kinda defeats that purpose, hence why most sound ops have a handset.

2) TV- My experience in TV comes from the live production and field production side of things. For live, in studio work I haven't run across a situation where I would need that. Sure, a sound engineer has to be listening to the PL, but more often then not, they are sitting in a control room where they can talk to the producer. In the field, coms are very often radios, in which case, you don't benefit from the nice headset, and since you are already carrying an audio package, you probably don't want to have extra gear to switch around your headset.

3) Cueing tape- Do you really need the high end audio quality to cue a tape? In theory you are only listening to snippets to find the right spot.

If you are happy with them, that's good. I certainly agree that the last thing you want at the end of the day is a headset headache, but that is why I have a headset that you barely know is there. If I need superior audio quality, I'll pull out the nice cans that I spent good money on.

 

[kwotipka]

I think that my point in all of this was not about the price but the diversity of the headset in question. I was trying to give some examples of being able to multitask a piece of equipment.

1) Sound op- If I was a sound op, and I have been, I would rather spend $300 on a great set of cans then on a set of cans that is decent, and has a mic. Also, as you said, most live mix sound ops don't want to have cans on unless they are specifically checking things because they are more interested in how the sound is in the space, your double duty idea kinda defeats that purpose, hence why most sound ops have a handset.

I have yet to see a sound guy walk in with $300 headphones. Normally they are the same ole crappy sonys. When you are doing corporate theater it is a balance between what the room sounds like, soloing the individual channels and listening for cues coming down the headset. As I painfully watch sound engineers try to wear two different headsets so they can follow the action and do their job, this seems like a perfect application to me.

2) TV- My experience in TV comes from the live production and field production side of things. For live, in studio work I haven't run across a situation where I would need that. Sure, a sound engineer has to be listening to the PL, but more often then not, they are sitting in a control room where they can talk to the producer. In the field, coms are very often radios, in which case, you don't benefit from the nice headset, and since you are already carrying an audio package, you probably don't want to have extra gear to switch around your headset.

Ever seen a boom operator with a nice talkback headset so he can communicate with the audio guy? Makes things much easier for the boom operator. Also, when you are running iso tapes in camera, it's one less set of headphones you need to wear.

3) Cueing tape- Do you really need the high end audio quality to cue a tape? In theory you are only listening to snippets to find the right spot.

Yes you do. They are also helpful when you are monitoring your record signals. Having a good set of headphones is essential for tracking down oddball noises in the signal. The extra cord that the adapter provides allows one a greater field of movement in the immediate area as well. I have a nice clearcom base station and the 6' of headset cord isn't always enough.

On a side note, I know many ham radio ops who have various switch boxes to switch one nice mic / headset or speaker across multiple radios. Basically (without a whole other post on level and impedance matching) it's the same thing.

kw