Hands On Hollyland Mars 400S - Wireless Video Setup & Review

The Hollyland Mars 400S is an incredible HDMI wireless transmitter! It can stream video over WiFi to four smart devices in addition to its SDI/HDMI receiver. Wireless video has never been easier! I talk about how to set the device up, how it operates, and things to consider when purchasing an wireless transmission system.
GEAR in this episode:
Mars 400s: bhpho.to/2NXNJw0
Sony L Batteries: amzn.to/2pCPTb6
Battery Charger: amzn.to/35RJcCG
Friction Arm: amzn.to/2qkWXJx
Let's connect - / garrettsammons
The music I use fm.pxf.io/garrett
// #hollyland #mars400s #wirelesstransmitter //
*This video is not sponsored and all opinions are my own. Some of the links listed above are affiliate links that I earn a small percentage from qualifying purchases. Any affiliate links you use helps me create new content and costs nothing extra to you.
Welcome to Making Movies with Garrett! Learn tricks of the trade, discover new gear, stay up with filmmaking trends, dive into how I pull off cinematic looks, and so much more.

[@garrettsammons]

Forgot to mention! There's an option you can select between Speed and Quality. You can set it to have 1080p HD out with some latency, or lower resolution output with no latency. *Face Palm*

[@buddyfx7026]

That's a facepalm for sure but so glad you pinned this important detail! Btw just discovered you all today, excellent work! Subscribed :)

[@garrettsammons]

🤦🏻‍♂️ absolutely man. Glad to have you on board!

[@RevivalTemple]

do you know how i would change the video format?

[@TennymanMedia]

@@RevivalTemple Did you ever find out how to change the video format? Mine is stuck on 1080 30p and I need drop frame.

[@TMSProductions]

I have no idea how this video has so few views, the quality is fantastic! Great Work!

[@garrettsammons]

Still growing the channel! Appreciate the love 🙏

[@GearZenChannel]

It is getting easier and easier for small budget filmmakers to up their game. Thanks for the video!

[@garrettsammons]

You’re absolutely right! glad to help

[@RafickBottse]

Got mine works great! Nothing to complain

[@camshand]

Been seeing these everywhere on my Insta Feed 😉 I'd have to say the mobile app is the best feature, can then hand off the iPad pro to the director or client to just have eyes on without needing to buy a 2nd field monitor just for that use. Also thanks for the heads-up on the downscaling tip, I've had that issue with some field monitors before so good to remember that. Thanks for the hands-on look 😁✌

[@garrettsammons]

It can stream to up to 4 smart devices in addition to the receiver! So in theory, you could have 5 field monitors with 1 transmitter. It’s wild! I’m really impressed by this thing.

[@LiquidLensPhotography]

Amazing, video! Just what I needed to see. I was about to buy a Teradek system but the features and pricepoint on this one are compelling. Going to pick it up today.

[@andyhollyland9272]

Did you get Mars400S. Any problems ?

[@LiquidLensPhotography]

Andy Hollyland I got it but haven’t used it yet. Had a music video shoot scheduled for this weekend to use it but the pandemic caused a cancellation.

[@andyhollyland9272]

@@LiquidLensPhotography Well noted . If you have any problems using it , pls feel free to contact me . Take care of yourself during pandemic.Music shooting work is waiting for you .

[@echelonx4501]

Thanks mate. great review. loving your videos.

[@garrettsammons]

Happy to help!

[@lucrativestance]

Convinced. Just ordered it rite now lol. I have a car rig and having the hdmi running 20 feet to the cab can be tad abit annoying. So this should help me a lot and be easier on the gimbal since there will be less stress/wind moving that cable lol

[@chrisshoup4854]

Another great video. Thanks for your hard work.

[@garrettsammons]

Thanks Chris! 🙏

[@outDood705]

hello, good job thank you. One question, I just bought the 400s and when i turn them on in the Receiver I get this message. SISTEM EXCEPTION ERROR CODE 2. and it has no signal, is there isomething else that I have to do to make them work> thank you very much in advance

[@laurencegrant2882]

Its really clever. Just blogging and can have camera a couple of metres away and watch/focus check myself of Ninja V AND iPhone :) Only I needed to switch cameras HDMI to 1080 as it didnt work at first because I had it set to 4k

[@Willieswheels]

Great review!

[@garrettsammons]

Thanks Will!

[@ericknorpp8238]

Anybody know if the latency on a Pocket 6K is better than the gh5's? An does the 400 mars Non SDI have the same bar code you can scan to use with iphones? I am leaning towards the 400 bc my camera does not have SDI out or in... I would like to use this mainly for use on a gimbal. I know there is slight latency but I do not do any major moves or rack focusing... Or should I just go with the accsoon ?

[@garrettsammons]

This has WAY less latency than the Accsoon. I have both and it’s not even close. The 400 does also have access to the app the same way the 400s does.

[@ekphotography]

Making Movies thanks!!

[@lucrativestance]

Is there a limit on how many phone Devices can view live footage?

[@williamayton3148]

If I connect a wireless HDMI system that is rated for 1080p 60fps, to a NINJA V's HDMI output, outputting 4K, will the wireless system convert it to 1080p 60fps or will it just not work? My intention is to use the NINJA V as my main monitor, but use the HDMI output of the NINJA V for an external monitor wirelessly for directors, clients etc. So the connection line is: A7s iii > 4K HDMI > NINJA V Then that NINJA V > wireless HDMI system > Shinobi Monitor

[@Lenschunk]

Damn it man everytime I see you talk about something like this I just wanna buy all the things haha.

[@garrettsammons]

Hahaha remember it’s the artist not the paint brush!

[@sonydj23]

Hi Garret great video! Thank you so much. Quick question, are you able stream with a Panasonic Camera directly to the transmitter as well as iPhones wirelessly back to the receiver connected to the ATEM mini pro and be able to function as two cameras when you switch cameras on the ATEM? And function that same way through OBS As well? If that makes sense...

[@EdmondRaetzel]

Nice Review, thanks 👍

[@garrettsammons]

Thanks for watching!

[@antoniowimmer]

Hi Garret! I bought one because of your awesome review! Thanks! I just have one question: whenever I turn on the Hollyland WiFi in my phone, I do not have internet connection. This means that when I'm monitoring something on the phone, I won't receive notifications or anything related that might be important during the shoot. Do you know if there is any solution to this? Thanks bro, and keep up the great content!

[@garrettsammons]

I’m not sure what phone you have so I don’t know for sure, but with my iPhone, when I’m connected to the Mars’ wifi, I still get notifications, texts, etc from my cellular data. The WiFi doesn’t turn off my service, it just switches me back to 4G LTE. Maybe you have cellular data turned off?

[@BadKarma714]

Good video I loved it bro. But I did see some latennce on the monitor is it because of the camera filming it?

[@garrettsammons]

That's correct. The echo is coming from the source feed looping over and over. Outside of that, it is incredibly low to near no latency.

[@garrettsammons]

I also forgot to mention in the video, there’s a setting that you can choose between speed and resolution. So you can send full HD with some latency, or slightly lower resolution with near no latency. Super sweet option! Can’t believe I forgot to talk about it. 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@RolandsBriedis]

@@garrettsammons how mutch milliseconds did You got? I am planning to buy it also for focus pulling.

[@garrettsammons]

When put in low-latency mode, you get marginal latency when using SDI. Probably somewhere in the 40-50ms range. Low-latency mode in HDMI though is a bit longer. I haven’t don’t high speed frame tests on it but I’d say somewhere around 100-120ms. For intense AC work, I’d trust it with SDI, but HDMI is just a bit too slow for my tastes. It’s not Teradek, but you don’t have to add a decimal to buy it either. It’s definitely the best system at it’s price.

[@YoungBlaze]

i know its a little lag with Hdmi but have you tested it with SDI to see if its no latency

[@garrettsammons]

Not in this video, but there’s another episode coming where I will be doing just that

[@YoungBlaze]

@ Thanks for checking out my short on my page, that was the problem i had when i filmed it, my director was over my shoulder looking at what i was filming lol, but i know the Mars 400s has a option without the SDI, so im trying to see if its worth it, cant wait till he uploads a video showing if its no latency on sdi

[@YoungBlaze]

@ thanks for the info, my thing is i know they make a 400 version without the SDI which is 100 bucks cheaper, but if it still has the same lag then ill just opt for non sdi version, because the app with this is really good from what i see, cant wait till he puts out his video showcasing this

[@YoungBlaze]

@@garrettsammons did the video come out yet?

[@jkpinpdx]

My canon EOS 80D’s screen blacks out when I have this connected... is there a way to keep my camera screen ON while the client watches the feed on my Blackmagic Video Assist recorder?

[@garrettsammons]

Depending on the camera model you have, some cameras allow an active screen with hdmi out while others don’t. This would be a setting in your camera (different for each one) and isn’t an issue with the monitor.

[@PieRadioUK]

is it possible to connect multiple Hollyland Mars 300 / 400s so say we have 3 cameras and want to broadcast wirelessly ???

[@garrettsammons]

I’m not sure about multiple transmitters to a single receiver, but I know you can use multiple receivers for a single transmitter.

[@indeepproduction]

Hey Mr.Garrett , im trying to pair the 400s pro with my sony a73 but its not working , any tips on that . ive did set it to the same channel but it just gives me a black screen.

[@funnymono]

Cool video. Thanks

[@garrettsammons]

Glad you liked it!

[@yangpentingkomentar]

Have you solved 4K downscaled issue? I use Panasonic G85 4K30

[@garrettsammons]

It took some trial and error with my GH5S’ HDMI Rec settings to get it right. I’ll check with my G85 and get back to you with what I find. I know it works, it just takes the right settings.

[@ramonnavarrofoto]

Hello, a question. It is possible to activate the recording of the camera from the mobile device (ios or android). It is to be used with a bmpc4k and to be able to record remotely. Thank you.... and great channel

[@garrettsammons]

Hi Ramón. I don’t believe you can use the hollyland app to trigger camera recording. This unit will work for wireless monitoring with any HDMI out camera, including the bmpcc4k.

hola. tengo un problema con mi hollyland mars 400 s. despues de 2 meces de uso, ahora no puedo sincronizar. (pairing timeout) tiene alguna ayuda que me pueda brindar. gracias

[@garrettsammons]

My best advice is to check their help forum. They have tons of helpful information there: www.hollyland-tech.com/support/

[@1947filmsproduction]

Amazing review Garrett. Subscribed! Can this be used to pull focus with a Gymbal setup? I own a Tilta nano wireless follow focus and looking to add this to the kit.

[@dizhu2350]

Of course it can！ Do you plan to buy a Mars 400s？

[@garrettsammons]

Without question! I love this transmission system. If you want to get less latency, just set it to latency priority mode.

[@1947filmsproduction]

@@garrettsammons thanks. I bought it last week, did some tests and it works great! We are working on a short film next month and that'll be real in-field test of how it holds.

[@1947filmsproduction]

@@dizhu2350 got one lastweek. Did couple tests and it worked fine so far.

[@calebvanvoorhis1140]

I know that the max transmission is 1080p, but if youre filming in 4k, does that mean it will just transmit in 1080? Or that it wont transmit at all?

[@garrettsammons]

It will downscale and transmit 1080p

[@brandynbordeaux]

This is awesome thank you for the review. Do you think the latency will work for an AC pulling focus? Also, I am going SDI out from my Ursa G2 and then want to transmit to the receiver which will be going out HD to Atomos Ninja Inferno. I have an SDI to HDMI converter but do you know if I'll be able to just use the HDMI cord out of the receiver while going SDI out of camera? Thanks for the information big time!

[@garrettsammons]

Great question! The transmitter doesn’t cross convert signals, so HDMI in will only output HDMI. Same with SDI. That said, the G2 and this guy should allow you to pull focus fine as long as you’re in latency priority mode.

[@brandynbordeaux]

@@garrettsammons Okay, so here' the kicker. I also have an SDI to HDMI converter... so if I SDI out from the receiver, do you think I can take that signal and still convert it to HDMI for the monitor?

[@garrettsammons]

Oh sure! If you have a dedicated converter, I don’t see that being an issue at all.

[@dareckmaurice9435]

With this set up - can you also have a on camera monitor on top of your camera along with this external monitor AND the iphone?

[@garrettsammons]

This isn’t a loop through device, so you’d have to use an external monitor first, then output the HDMI from the monitor into this. That would work fine

[@dareckmaurice9435]

@@garrettsammons thx!

[@Championshipfilms]

Can this be used as a recording feed as well? Curtis Judd mentioned the 300 series rounded up the frame rates so the 300 was not a good choice for transmission meant for recording/streaming. Would like to be able to setup some wireless transmission for multi camera shoots. Thanks!

[@garrettsammons]

I haven’t used it in that capacity so I don’t really know. It would be a fun test for sure!

[@Championshipfilms]

@@garrettsammons ok thanks.

[@user-fw6yd9oz6r]

Does the 300-meter wire have android sits?

[@laurencegrant2882]

great video. great product, shame it doesn't work on 4k. I use with my camera to Ninja V in and the out to TX and then RX to a monitor. Ideally I would like to record internally to camera in 1080 and Ninja in 4k, with viewing all the time. I suppose if i want 4K i would have to spend a lot more !

[@garrettsammons]

Teradek is the only company who produces a no-latency, 4K, wireless transmission system (as far as I know). It starts around $4,000USD to get into the system.

[@jvazquezvisuals7030]

So I'm sending a signal to an Atomos ninja inferno and to a atomos sumo. I usually record 4k 10bit into the inferno. Will have any quality issues if I downscale to 1080p?

[@andyhollyland9272]

will not have any issues. 1080P/60 Supported

[@HiphopG35]

I noticed quality drop on receiving feed.Do you get the same? The quality on either ios devices or wireless monitor is much lower than if i would plug an hdmi cable directly Camera to monitor.

[@garrettsammons]

You have the option to set latency priority or image priority in this system. Latency priority will be faster, but at a lower resolution, while image quality will be slightly slower, but with better image quality.

[@chrisshoup4854]

Hey bud camera wise am I better having 2 cameras, 1 for video and one for photography or 1 camera for both?

[@garrettsammons]

It honestly depends on what you’re doing and what your budget is. Generally, a camera that does both will be OK at both, where a camera that does one will be excellent at that one. Most dual purpose cameras are better at one than the other. That said, depending on your budget, there are a lot of good hybrid cameras out there.

[@chrisshoup4854]

Making Movies thanks bud. I can afford both. You are so awesome bud.

[@hmejia30]

Can I add another transmitter to play on a second screen??

[@garrettsammons]

I’d recommend a smart device since this transmitter works at sending a signal to the receiver and additional smart devices simultaneously

[@cpmedia580]

can we use this for live streaming?

[@garrettsammons]

Absolutely! kzbin.info/www/bejne/rp-ofWWghpZ0aNE

[@markhepi7791]

Could this work with an BM atem mini?

[@garrettsammons]

As a video source? Absolutely.

[@dm.b7560]

but can have more than 1 RX? 2 physical receivers?

[@garrettsammons]

You can absolutely hook up two receivers

[@ultimicio]

Will it work with black magic pocket 6k?

[@garrettsammons]

Absolutely!

[@HakimZziwaTips]

Alright I will "Smash" that like button ..... :)

[@garrettsammons]

Much appreciated 🤙

[@ImAlecPonce]

how well does that wifi option work on ipad screens?

[@garrettsammons]

I used it with my iPad Pro and it was awesome!

[@reyesmontemayor6998]

How degraded is the distance in which it will transmit the app video signal?

[@garrettsammons]

It definitely has a limited window for the WiFi viewing. I’d say you get about 30-40 feet before it starts dropping frames.

[@villagevideonews1528]

I see it will transmit 1080p How about 1080i used by CBS NBC CNN PBS or 720p Used by Fox ABC & ESPN Embedded audio?

[@garrettsammons]

Great question! I know it defaults to the output from the signal it receives, so I can’t imagine it wouldn’t work. That said, I haven’t tested it.

[@kvmhollyland4117]

1080i supported

[@Mrsniffles17]

So you can still record in 4K but the signal outputs to 1080

[@garrettsammons]

That is correct

[@ekphotography]

A lot of lag there on the first seconds of the video..? And does it send 4K 60p ok?

[@garrettsammons]

I was pushing that video signal through several monitors and video recorder before I had the HDMI out to plug into the transmitter. That echo comes just from having too many layers of video out. It's a full HD transmitter, so it's 1080p up to 60fps.

[@garrettsammons]

I also forgot to mention in the video, there’s a setting that you can choose between speed and resolution. You can send full HD with some latency, or slightly lower resolution with near no latency. Super sweet option! Can’t believe I forgot to talk about it. 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@insanejughead]

Tbh, who the fuck cares about a few milliseconds of lag when this is not built for internet streaming and fast-paced games... It's built for offset viewing of what's being filmed.

[@freddiehill1512]

Shame about the latency. It's pretty shocking. No good for 1st AC...shame.

[@garrettsammons]

In order to get that sweet sweet 0.01 latency, you’re looking at the Teradek system or top line from Hollyland or Vaxis. The entry level systems are amazing, but you trade cost for latency.

[@digipro360]

Near none latency? are you kidding me? This kit is sooo laggy.

[@JaimeRealizador]

This horrible to focus puller !!!! Horribleeeeeeee