Hollyland Pyro H Wireless HDMI System Review Affordable Wireless HDMI

Today we are taking a look at one of the most recent HDMI wireless video transmission systems by Hollyland, the Hollyland Pyro H that we have been testing for the past several months.

Hollyland Pyro H main features

We tested many wireless HDMI transmitters in the past. Here are some of the main (official) features of the new Hollyland system and we will be testing several of them later on in this review:

  • 1 Transmitter & (Up To) 4 Receivers including mobile devices.
  • 1,300ft/400m Line of site range.
  • 0.06s Low Latency (we shall be testing this figure later on).
  • 2.4GHz & 5GHz Dual Band for better signal transmission and efficiency
  • Up to 4K30 Transmission.
  • HDMI Loopout.
  • UVC Streaming (streaming directly into supported devices).
  • Smart Channel Scan for fast connection.

Hollyland Pyro H

In the box

In the box we received from Hollyland we found both the transmitter and receiver units, a single cold shoe articulating mount and 5 antennas (four plus one spare unit) as well as a USB-C to A adaptor. It would be nice if Hollyland would consider making an optional hard case for these units and we would love to get the top locking adaptors like some of their other units come with.

Build and design

The Pyro H is very similar externally to the Mars series that we have tested in the past. It has the same narrow body design with two antennas on the top. Unlike other Hollyland units these are basic plastic ones and we much prefer the thick stubby ones that came with the Hollyland 4K that we tested last year.

On one side of the transmitter, you can find HDMI input and a loop output (in case you want to connect an extra screen), while on the receiver there is a single HDMI out port. There is also DC input although with our kit there was no DC adapter that you can buy separately.

On the other side there is the TX/RX marking, we would have preferred a much larger color marking, a screen, a jog-dial, on/off switch and USB-C connection. We are not big fans of the screen which is tiny and hard to read, the dial and the on/off switch both feel a little cheap.

Interestingly the more expensive Pyro S unit that feature both HDMI and SDI connectors has a completely different design with a much larger color screen, better buttons and nicer antennas so if these are important to you and you are willing to spend extra, you might want to consider that unit instead.

In terms of power, similar to other Hollyland units you can use either NP-F batteries, DC 16V or USB-C on both the TX and RX units.

Hollyland Pyro H – similar design to the Mars series

Performance

Distance

We tested the Pyro H in a line of site scenario walking in a straight line close to our studio between two roundabouts, a distance of around 400m (1300ft) with no dropouts until the last few meters, very impressive.

For us however a much more practical use case is for shorter distances but when the transmission is done indoors with walls in the way. In this scenario the transmission did go through thick reinforced thick concreate walls and 2 doors (one from metal), and up to the second floor with no loss in transmission, again very impressive.

Lag

If you are going to use a wireless transmission system for any type of time-critical action, such as wireless focus pulling, you will need a system with minimal lag. While Hollyland mentions the Pyro H’s latency to be 60ms, this is not close to what we measured in our test.

We tested the unit in both the “faster” HD mode and got around 356ms and in the higher quality Smooth mode and got 427ms. Given that anything above ~100ms is considered “laggy” we will not recommend this unit for any professional work that requires low latency.

Not suitable for time-sensitive work

Pyro-H-lagNoise

The Pyro H does have a fan (both TX and RX units) that is audible when you turn the units on for a few seconds in a low noise environment but then it becomes practically silent and stays this way (at least in our testing).

Connection speed

The unit turns on almost immediately and the unit-to-unit connection speed was just under 30s in our test (this also has to do with the monitor).

Image quality

Just like the Hollyland Mars 4K, the Pyro H includes 4K support. This means that if you have a 4K monitor and your camera can output 4K via HDMI, you can send a 4K image wirelessly. Based on our tests and our experience with the previous Hollyland 4K, seeing the difference in quality in a live picture even on a 24” 4K production monitor is going to be difficult so this is at most a nice to have feature.

Other than that, the image quality is as good as any other wireless system that we have tested in the past.

UVC

We tested the UVC (USB Video device Class) functionality by connecting the unit to a USB port on our computer the USB port on the receiver unit was identified on the PC as a USB video device and we were able to view the transition on OBS without any issues, cool and useful.

Hollyview App

We looked at the Hollyview App in past reviews and it is a great piece of software. All you need to do is connect your phone or tablet to the Pyro H WiFi and you can enjoy wireless transmission to your mobile device along with a large number of useful tools. Just don’t forget to make sure you are on the latest version of the Hollyview otherwise the connection might not work properly.

Please remember that the range of this connection is limited by the range of your own WiFi network/device.

Multi-unit connection (app and monitor connected to a transmitter) 

Conclusion

The Pyro H is a solid successor to the Mars series of transmitters by Hollyland. Its very simple to operate, works out of the box and is basically a plug and play device with a huge range and ability to transmit through walls and work for hours with no overheating or perceptible fan noise. It also has a great app, multi receiver option and newly added UVC support for streaming.

Its main drawback besides its tiny screen and plastic controls is its high latency. If you are going to do any focus-pulling – look elsewhere.

Solid affordable HDMI system – Hollyland Pyro H

Price

Finally pricing, and here is another attractive point as the Pyro H currently sells for between $370-$400 for a TX/RX kit.

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Iddo Genuth
Iddo Genuth is the founder and chief editor of LensVid.com. He has been a technology reporter working for international publications since the late 1990's and covering photography since 2009. Iddo is also a co-founder of a production company specializing in commercial food and product visual content.

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