Paul's Office Hours Questions

RØDE's new Sonaura is a 4×5mm MEMS capsule with 83dB SNR — am I crazy to think a chip-scale element could outperform a small condenser in a treated room, or is this just press-release math? https://nofilmschool.com/rode-nab-2026-announcements

RØDELink II drops 2.4GHz for proprietary UHF with 32-bit float at $1,499 — new wireless sweet spot, or still going Lectro on every paid set? https://www.newsshooter.com/2026/04/20/rodelink-ii-uhf-wireless-system-first-look-nab-2026/

Lectrosonics is putting the RØDE/Infineon Sonaura element inside their L1 lav — what do you read into a top-tier wireless brand using a competitor's mic capsule in their flagship? https://nofilmschool.com/rode-nab-2026-announcements

Schoeps showed a Desert Island Boom Set — CMC 1 U body with MK 41 and a CMIT — if I could only own one boom rig the rest of my life, would you actually pick that combo over a 416? https://www.mixonline.com/blog/seen-on-the-scene-nab-show-2026

Shure's DCA 901 Planar Array is pitched at hybrid meeting rooms — is ceiling-array audio bleeding into the corporate AV gigs you're getting hired for in 2026? https://www.nabshow.com/resources/las-vegas/press-resources/2026-nab-show-new-products/

Shure's SLX-D+ adds AES-256 encryption and longer range at SLX-D money — is that now enough to recommend it for paid work over QLX-D, or is the gap still real? https://www.nabshow.com/resources/las-vegas/press-resources/2026-nab-show-new-products/

Telos's Omnia XII targets FM/HD/DAB — with radio soft, are budgets actually moving toward a flagship FM chain in 2026, or is it all streaming? https://www.mixonline.com/technology/news-products/telos-alliance-launches-four-new-products-at-nab-2026

Axia Pulsar gives 8 motorized AoIP faders for a fraction of a Quasar — is small-market the real buyer, or are big shops cannibalizing themselves? https://www.mixonline.com/technology/news-products/telos-alliance-launches-four-new-products-at-nab-2026

Blackmagic dropped Fairlight Live as free software with SMPTE-2110 and spatial mixing — does free actually move the needle in pro audio, or do clients still want a name on the box? https://www.mixonline.com/blog/seen-on-the-scene-nab-show-2026

SSL Live V6.2 added SolidPitch native vocal tuning at the desk — are FOH engineers actually going to mix with live tuning enabled, or is this a studio feature in disguise? https://fohonline.com/articles/show-report/nab-2026/

KLANG immersive processing is now native inside SSL Live — is in-ear immersive mixing the next thing every touring engineer is going to be expected to deliver out of the gate? https://fohonline.com/articles/show-report/nab-2026/

Insta360 jumped into pro wireless with an E-Ink lav — is a camera maker credible as an audio brand day one, or do you stay clear on paid jobs? https://www.avnation.tv/2026/04/21/insta360-unveils-new-flagship-wireless-microphone-at-nab-show-2026/

AT's SG1 mounts wireless RX in its shoe, routes boom-L/lav-R to one stereo file — elegant fix or a workflow trap waiting to bite you in post? https://www.avnation.tv/2026/04/21/audio-technica-at-nab-2026-a-stereo-plant-mic-and-two-camera-shotguns/

AT showed a stereo plant mic with the new shotguns — does anyone still plant stereo, or has dual-mono lav-on-talent taken over reality and docs? https://www.avnation.tv/2026/04/21/audio-technica-at-nab-2026-a-stereo-plant-mic-and-two-camera-shotguns/

Sonaura claims 83dB SNR and 11dBA self-noise from a 4×5mm chip — at what point does MEMS spec actually beat a small condenser in a real room? https://petapixel.com/2026/04/17/rode-unveils-cutting-edge-tiny-mic-tech-and-new-pro-audio-solutions/

RØDECaster Studio looks like RØDE pivoting podcast hardware to video creators — is the integrated streamer box still a thing, or are people just running OBS now? https://www.redsharknews.com/rode-nab-2026-sonaura-rodelink-ii-rodecaster-studio

NAB 2026 was wall-to-wall AI noise reduction in lavs and mixers — is anyone leaving denoise on during a take, or is it strictly post? https://www.sportsvideo.org/2026/04/13/nab-2026-ai-will-make-its-presence-felt-in-audio-offerings-presentations/

Telos showed four products at once — is anyone keeping up with the broadcast-radio side of NAB, or has it gone fully video and streaming? https://www.mixonline.com/technology/news-products/telos-alliance-launches-four-new-products-at-nab-2026

RØDELink II ships with a dedicated timecode I/O port — does built-in TC on a $1,499 wireless kit kill the case for a Tentacle on top of every camera? https://www.newsshooter.com/2026/04/20/rodelink-ii-uhf-wireless-system-first-look-nab-2026/

Sonaura is made by Infineon in Germany for RØDE in Australia — does that two-continent supply chain make you more or less confident long term? https://petapixel.com/2026/04/17/rode-unveils-cutting-edge-tiny-mic-tech-and-new-pro-audio-solutions/

RØDECaster Video at $1,199 vs the ATEM Mini Pro ISO and YoloBox Ultra — does built-in Neutrik preamps + ISO recording win for a solo livestreamer? https://www.cined.com/rodecaster-video-first-look-an-all-in-one-video-and-audio-production-console/

RØDECaster Video S only has 3 HDMI inputs vs 4 on the full Video — does that one missing port actually matter for a 2-camera podcast setup, or are you better off saving the money? https://rode.com/en-us/products/rodecaster-video-s

The Video S records 4 ISO streams at 1080p30 in H.264 — is that ISO actually editable in a real timeline, or are you still going to ProRes proxies before you cut anyway? https://rode.com/en-us/products/rodecaster-video-s

RØDECaster Video S streams RTMPS straight to YouTube and Twitch over Wi-Fi — has anyone trusted built-in Wi-Fi for a paid stream, or is it Ethernet or nothing for you? https://rode.com/en-us/products/rodecaster-video-s

Auto-switching by audio level on the Video S sounds like a dream for solo shows — does it feel natural during real interview pacing, or do you disable it after one episode? https://rode.com/en-us/products/rodecaster-video-s

Two Neutrik combos with APHEX on every channel inside the Video S — does that really replace a separate mixer for paid clients, or is integrated audio always a compromise? https://www.audiotechnology.com/reviews/rodecaster-video

RØDECaster Video S sits between the Video Core and the flagship Video — is the S the right pick, or does the missing 4th HDMI push you back up to the full Video? https://rode.com/en-us/products/rodecaster-video-s

Video S has automatic chroma key built in — does anyone here trust on-board chroma for a live broadcast, or is it always going to need post-cleanup before it goes out? https://rode.com/en-us/products/rodecaster-video-s

Built-in Bluetooth on the Video S means a phone can dial straight into the show — is that actually a feature you'd use on a real podcast, or a latency nightmare in practice? https://rode.com/en-us/products/rodecaster-video-s

Video S has 24GB onboard storage with 20GB user-configurable — is that enough for a 4-stream ISO podcast, or are you dumping to USB after every episode anyway? https://rode.com/en-us/products/rodecaster-video-s

RØDECaster Video S vs YoloBox Mini for two-camera podcast streaming — which one actually saves you a laptop on set, and which one is easier to sell to a client? https://rode.com/en-us/products/rodecaster-video-s