SmallHD and Teradek Announce FOCUS Bolt TX and Bolt RX Wireless Monitors

NewsIndustry

by Graham SheldonApril 7^th, 2018

In late February I reviewed the wonderful Teradek and SmallHD 703 Bolt monitor and I hoped in that post that we’d see continued collaboration between the two companies (both are owned by Vitec Group). That wish has come true in the form of two new touchscreen LCD monitors with built-in wireless capabilities. All the details on these two new wireless friendly monitors are below: 

Credit: Teradek and SmallHD

The FOCUS Bolt TX, as the name suggests, is a on-camera monitor/transmitter that takes your camera feed (through micro HDMI) and sends it to the following compatible receivers:  FOCUS Bolt RX (pictured in upper right), 703 Bolt monitor/receiver, Teradek Bolt 500 and Sidekick II. The original SmallHD Focus monitor made a splash at NAB last year with its relatively affordable price point and ability to power the camera it was mounted on through optional Panasonic, Sony, Canon or BlackMagic power cables.

Photo Credit: Teradek and SmallHD

Now beyond simply powering your camera, Teradek and SmallHD promise you are able to send a wireless signal up to 500ft from the 9.2 oz monitor. Of course, all of your favorite features such as Focus Assist, Peaking and Anamorphic De-Squeeze remain from the original Focus. The adding of a transmitter doesn’t come without cost, however, and the Focus Bolt TX bundle will set you back $1,299.00, as opposed to the more economical Focus base model currently priced at $599.00.

The Focus Bolt RX monitor/receiver (pictured below) also costs $1,299.00 and it’s aimed squarely at directors or clients in need of a portable field monitor solution. It also serves as an affordably priced little cousin to the 703 Bolt monitor/receiver, albeit a little less feature rich.

Picture Credit: Teradek and SmallHD

The receiving side of the Focus Bolt family, this 5-inch, 1280×720, 294 PPI monitor is compatible with the FOCUS Bolt TX, Teradek Bolt 500, 1000 and 3000 transmitters. The Focus Bolt RX ships with everything in the above image and like the original Focus you can swap out power options to suit your favorite camera system. If the handles are anything like the 703 Bolt, you’ll love the rubberized grip and how compact everything is.

Of course, you are giving up a few key features if you choose to go with the Focus Bolt RX and not the pricier and larger 7-inch full HD (1920×1080) 703 Bolt. For one, SDI ports don’t exist on this monitor and you are limited to a single HDMI input port. Of course, there also isn’t a multi cam mode in this monitor and you take a hit on display resolution (1280×720 compared with 1920×1080 on the 703 Bolt).

Both the Focus Bolt TX and RX have an expected availability of May 31st. 

This has already been a busy NAB 2018 for SmallHD and the company has announced three other monitors, including an OLED version of the Focus which we reported about yesterday.