Tentacle Sync

Allgemeine Informationen

Tentacle Sync: for everyone who needs to sync different

Whether you're a creative professional in the field of film and television or someone passionate about a creative project on the side, Tentacle Sync works for you.

It's time to listen

Digital film and video cameras are continuously being updated and tweaked to achieve the best-possible picture quality.

But sound quality on the other hand is often left lagging behind. A serious problem for the many cameras that only have noisy pre-amps and two available channels.

Fact: to get the most out of sound, you need to record it separately.

The challenge: Uniting audio and video

In one hand you have perfect picture quality and in the other stunning sound. You need to now cut them back together and this is how it's currently done:

1. Clapping the clapperboard has been done since dinosaurs roamed the earth and it's simply something nobody really wants to do any more these days, right? :)

2. Audio Waveform Synchronisation a la "Plural Eyes" actually works quite well - but only when every piece of equipment records exactly the same sound. And the syncing process could take some time, even on fast machines. And there are almost always some clips that, for reasons known to no man, still refuse to synchronise.

What the Pros do

In these situations, creative professionals work with timecode as it offers them the ability to automatically line up audio and video frame accurately in post-production. The thing is, less-expensive cameras have inadequate or no timecode so professional timecode generators are needed to achieve the marriage of audio and video. And here is the problem:

Professional timecode generators are expensive, heavy, bulky and rather complicated!
Plus: timecode generators still don't synchronise for you, they only make it possible. In order to synchronise, you still need the suitable software.

Tentacle Sync: it's time to sync different!

For way too long, timecode has been seen as an expensive professional feature of recording.

Tentacle Sync makes timecode technology accessible and affordable to everybody!
What we did was completely rethink the subject of timecode and syncing. We've stripped it back to its core and developed something that's actually astoundingly simple:

Tentacle is a timecode device that's not only light, small, and cheap but is also simple to use for even the least-tekkie creatives!
To make the whole workflow complete we have developed a software wich automatically syncs Video and Audio, ready for instantly viewing or exporting your dailies.

Our goal was to create a Timecode device especially for equipment that doesn’t have timecode technology built in – like DSLRs or low-cost audio recorders. Because Timcode consists of an audible audio signal it can be recorded on the audio track of such devices. Common Editing Systems and our software could make use of that tracks for automatic media synchronization.

And of course Tentacle uses LTC-Timecode according to the SMPTE-12M standard, making it compatible with every professional equipment.

Now some tech specs for the geek in you :)

Tentacle Sync Hardware:

Super Simple Usage: DIP-Switchless operation, no screwdriver needed! Just one button and LED. Advanced setup via software possible.
integrated hook and loop fastener
Super Small (34x50x16mm) and Lightweight (30g)
Generates all SMPTE timecode-rates: 23.98, 24, 25, 29.97, 29.97DF and 30 FPS with an inaccuracy of less than 1 frame in 24hrs.
Can act as a Master-Clock (Green Mode) or Jam-Sync to any external timecode source (Red Mode).
High quality built-in rechargeable Lithium Polymer battery with running times of up to 40hrs. Charging over USB takes only 1,5hrs.
Tentacle Sync Software:

Drag and Drop: just throw your media folders in and view your synced dailies instantly
Analyzes Timecode of Quicktime and Broadcast Wave Files (BWF)
Reads and analyzes audible Audio-Timecode
Supported Import Formats: Quicktime, AVCHD, XAVC-S, BWF, WAVE (MXF will be supported in Future)
Supported Export Formats: Quicktime (XML and AAF in Future)
Simultaneously sync and transcode your Material on Export to more editing friendly codecs like ProRes
System Requirements: min. OSX 10.9