Hollyland Mars M1 and Mars 4K Wireless Video Solutions Announced

by Jeff LochSeptember 10^th, 2022

During IBC 2022, Hollyland announced a new 3-in-1 monitor/wireless video receiver/wireless video transmitter: the Hollyland Mars M1. The Mars M1 supports resolutions up to 4K at 30 frames per second; it has HDMI and SDI input ports and an HDMI output. Also, the company released a new wireless video system called the Mars 4K, with HDMI and SDI input/output ports, a 450ft/150m line of sight range, and it supports a maximum resolution of 4K UHD at 30p. Let’s take a closer look at all these new products!

Chinese manufacturer Hollyland is famous for its Mars series of wireless video systems that offers an excellent price/feature ratio. However, their COSMO C1 series will get you covered for professional filmmakers who don’t want to make any compromises.

During IBC, the company updated its Mars lineup of products with new wireless transmitters/receivers – the Mars 4K – and an all-in-one wireless video system: the Mars M1.

Hollyland Mars 4K: features

The Hollyland Mars 4K is a new series of wireless video transmitters/receivers and the company’s first 4K system, as the Mars 400S PRO was limited to 1080p60 maximum.

The form factor of the Mars 4K is relatively similar to the Mars 300 – with a more traditional “vertical” shape – which is usually easier to attach to a camera cage or rig. Without further ado, here are all the Mars 4K key features:

• The transmitter has one HDMI and one SDI input port. The receiver has the same output ports.

• The system supports video transmission up to 4K UHD at 30fps (HDMI only). However, the SDI ports are limited to 1080p60.
• The line of sight range is 450ft/150m with a latency of 0.06s, according to Hollyland.
• The data rate varies from 8 up to 20 Mbps, with 12 Mbps as the default.
• It comes with new bullet-styled antennas that are disassembly-free.
• You can power the units via the USB-C port, the 6-16V barrel DC input, or Sony NP-F style battery.

On the side of the units, you’ll find a color LCD display and a new rocker-styled button to navigate inside the menu.

The Mars 4K will automatically select the best available transmission channel when you power the units. Furthermore, you can use the smart channel scan to help you determine which channels are occupied and selectable.

Lastly, one Mars 4K transmitter is compatible with up to two receivers or four mobile devices – iOS and Android – with the Hollyland app installed. Also, the Mars 4K is compatible with the new Mars M1 monitor/transmitter/receiver.

Hollyland Mars M1: monitoring features

The Hollyland Mars M1 is a 3-in-1 product: a 5.5″ monitor with a touchscreen LCD, a wireless video transmitter, and a receiver. It weighs 13.5oz/380g without antennas, and Hollyland told us that the casing is robust and could resist a 1m drop, which is a bold claim!

Let’s take a quick tour of the monitoring features:

• The monitor has one HDMI input, one HDMI output, and one SDI input port.
• The display has a maximum brightness of 1.000 nits, so it should be daylight-viewable. According to Hollyland, the Mars M1 is professionally color-calibrated out of the box but has color temperature adjustments if needed.

• You can power the Mars M1 via a Sony NP-F style battery, an external battery via the 7-16V locking-barrel connector input, and dummy batteries to D-Tap.
• Monitoring tools include 4x zoom, focus assist, freeze frame, exposure assist, 3D LUT, and waveform display.

As you can tell, the Hollyland Mars M1 has all the features you need out of a professional on-camera monitor. Also, Hollyland told us they spent a lot of time developing the Mars M1 because they built the display themselves to get total control over it and for better performance.

Hollyland Mars M1: wireless video transmitter/receiver

Now the great thing with the Mars M1 is that it also triples up as a wireless video transmitter or receiver. So in the menu, you can select how you want a specific unit to act.

For example, if you connect your camera’s video output to the Mars M1 HDMI/SDI input, you can use it as a transmitter. Then, the signal can be transferred to another Mars M1 unit, or a Mars 4K, Mars 300Pro, or Mars 400s Pro receiver.

The same goes if you want to use the Hollyland Mars M1 as a receiver, it can get the video signal from another Mars M1 or a Mars wireless video transmitter.

The Mars M1 has a line-of-sight range of 450ft/150m and an ultra-low latency of 0.08s, according to Hollyland. In addition, it comes with custom-designed capsule antennas that you don’t need to disassemble each time. Also, the maximum range can be extended if you switch the antennas for optional bigger/longer models.

Pricing and availability

The Mars 4K kit with one transmitter and one receiver is available now for $699. The Mars M1 is also available now for $549. The price/feature ratio is still very good with these new units; we can’t wait to get our hands on them to see how they perform in real-life shooting scenarios.

For more information, please visit Hollyland’s website here.

What do you think about the new Mars wireless video systems? Did you ever use one of Hollyland’s wireless video systems? Don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments down below!