Hollyland Tally Station

The Hollyland Wireless Tally System (Tally Station) is a professional broadcast-infrastructure solution custom-engineered to deliver multi-camera live switching cues to camera operators and on-camera talent.

In live broadcast environments, multi-camera concert shoots, or house of worship streaming productions, it is absolutely critical for camera operators to know when their camera is live on the main feed ("Program" or red light) or cued up next ("Preview" or green light). This system bridges the gap between your technical director's video switcher and the physical cameras spread across a venue, utilizing an ultra-stable wireless link to eliminate complex tally cable runs.

Core RF & Operational Features

• Multi-Channel Scalability (Up to 8 Cameras): The standard Tally Station features 8 independent wireless channels, allowing it to seamlessly manage up to 8 individual Tally Light boxes simultaneously. This makes it highly versatile for everything from a simple 3-camera interview to a complex 8-camera live event setup.

• Dual-Color Switching Language: The system utilizes the universally accepted broadcast signaling standard:

  • Red Light (Program / PGM): Indicates the camera is currently live to air or recording.

  • Green Light (Preview / PVW): Alerts the operator and talent that the camera is cued next in line to go live.

• High-Range Wireless Sub-1GHz Band: Operates on an optimized Sub-1GHz wireless frequency band rather than crowded 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz spaces. This allows the tally signal to effortlessly punch through concrete walls, stage decorations, and heavy crowd interference, delivering a rock-solid operational range of up to 2,600 feet (800 meters) line-of-sight.

• Massive Switcher Compatibility Matrix: The back of the Tally Station houses DB25 and RJ45 connection ports designed to hook natively into the tally outputs of the industry's most widely used video switchers, including Blackmagic Design ATEM series, vMix, Roland, Panasonic, Sony, and NewTek Tricaster setups.

Hardware Breakdowns

1. The Wireless Tally Station (The Base Hub)

The main hub acts as the brain of your communication infrastructure. It sits right next to your technical director's video switcher at the broadcast desk. It sucks down tally status data via a direct hardware link, converts that data into an encrypted wireless signal, and flashes it across the venue to the individual camera operators instantly. It can be powered via a standard DC power supply or a built-in Sony NP-F battery plate for fully mobile control hubs.

2. The Wireless Tally Lights (The Camera Nodes)

The individual light blocks mount directly onto each camera’s hot shoe or cage. They feature a dual-sided LED layout: a large, ultra-bright front-facing indicator for the on-camera talent to look at, and a smaller rear-facing status window for the camera operator behind the rig. Each light housing features an internal rechargeable lithium battery that delivers over 8 hours of continuous operation on a single charge.

Technical Specifications Matrix

Supported Video Switcher Routing Compatibility

The base station features pre-configured wiring layouts or software assignment profiles that match up perfectly with various switcher pin-outs:

• Blackmagic Design: Directly interfaces via the ATEM GPI and Tally Interface box.

• vMix Systems: Integrates via an external USB-to-DB25 tally converter block or network connections.

• Roland / Panasonic: Standard connection through the dedicated DB25 parallel tally ports on the rear of the physical hardware switchers.

On-Set Setup Protocol: When routing your tally station for the first time with a Blackmagic ATEM switcher, always ensure your GPI/Tally Interface module mapping matches the camera inputs in your ATEM software box. For instance, if Camera 1 is mapped to Pin 1 on the DB25 cable, ensure the corresponding Hollyland wireless Tally Light is set precisely to Channel 1 using the dip-switches or digital display on the side of the pod. Testing this sequence before your operators break away to their tripod spots prevents troubleshooting delays once the cameras are completely built and balanced.