Technology programmes love to set themselves challenges to test out the latest gear. BBC Click decided to use the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, as the perfect opportunity to try out the video and sound capabilities of the latest smartphones and, of course, their accessories. Their challenge - to record the entire programme using mobile devices only.
The BBC Click production team approached us in early February 2015 and explained what they planned to achieve. Their intention was to put aside their usual heavyweight professional video recording gear and equipment and to attempt to record both video and audio using a selection of mobile smartphones and readily available accessories.
The programme shows the BBC Click team visiting the Barcelona Mobile World Congress in early March. We see them trying out the latest phones and gadgets while creating footage for editing and broadcast later. iRig Mic HD, iRig PRE and the new iRig Mic Field were hand-picked as external mics for recording, and they chose iRig Mic HD to provide the background narration throughout the programme.
Despite the technical limitations of some of the smartphones that the BBC team were using - such as devices with no manual control for picture brightness, or audio signal overload (not a problem with iRig Mic HD and iRig PRE due to the built-in gain controls!), the final results are very professional and unless you hadn't been told in advance what gear they were using you would assume that it was their usual broadcast equipment.
This is a fascinating piece by the BBC Click team and we were delighted to be involved with it. We strongly advise you to watch it for yourself!
UK viewers can watch the full programme here
From outside of the UK, view a shorter version here
Learn more about iRig Mic HD here
Learn more about iRig Mic Field here
Learn more about iRig PRE here