Welcome And What’s Launching

George Blitch 0:14

Mark Ollis, welcome to the Son of a Blitch podcast. How are you doing today, sir? I'm doing well. Thanks for having me on. Man, I'm glad you're here. You are the senior brand communication managers for Multry. We are on the edge of the release of the Edge 4. I've been using your cameras for well over 10 years on both my ranches. Absolutely love them. And today we're going to be, you know, talking about the announcement, the Edge 4, Edge 4 Solar. And we'll get into the Pro and the Pro Solar that are coming out next month. But I'm really excited to talk about this, but I kind of want to rewind. Give a little uh background to listeners about uh your role, how long you've been with Moultrie, and then we'll dive into the Edge 4 conversation.

Mark’s Moultrie Background

SPEAKER_01 0:50

Yeah, absolutely. Well, I'm uh, you know, big time deer hunter. Uh Moultree, we're headquartered here in Alabama, so we're in the southeast. Uh, and and and I've been uh like you using Moultrie for well over 10 years. I've been on the the cellular system since 2016 when it first came out. So, you know, that's been 10 years now, which is kind of crazy. But yeah, uh before Moultrie, I worked as a outdoor editor uh on magazine, hunting magazines, whitetail hunting magazines, things like that. But uh I came over to Multry in, I think about 2018. So been here eight years or so, and uh man, it's it's been amazing to to watch the company grow. Uh, you know, I was here right at the start when when the first cellular option was just that modem that you would hook to your your original SD Multri camera. Yeah, uh so we've we've come a long way now that we're talking about the edge four uh from where where we started. So it is, it's very exciting.

George Blitch 1:52

Well, yeah, I mean, I remember when it was like you kind of had the two megabyte, you know, SD cards like way back in the day, or you had to put a quarter in it to take a picture. I mean, you know, dating it a little bit there. But no, I I remember all those days. I mean, I've been it's probably like 15 years or so, even more, but uh, I'm really excited about all the features and just all the edge line from the two to the three and now the four. There's been so much advancement. The app is absolutely incredible. Uh, and and there's so many different features and interplay and and you know, these partnerships you guys have with Onyx and being able to see you know everything on on camera where your pictures are being taken on the boundary maps. It's just really incredible. And uh it's a a lot of features there. So, you know,

Edge 4 Core Features Explained

George Blitch 2:30

let's just kind of dive in. We got the release now today of the Edge 4 and the Edge 4 Solar. What would you like to let uh you know potential customers know about those two cameras and the new features that uh those have?

SPEAKER_01 2:42

Yeah, so you know the they're the the fourth generation of our edge camera. Um, so it'll have the the same things that make all the edge cameras uh so popular. It'll have that auto connect, so it's gonna find that strongest signal, automatically connect to it. Uh no SD card in the camera. So that really what helps to make that camera work flawless and getting you those images you want. Um, so you know, you you're gonna see those, but then you know, some of the new stuff added to it, um, to add to the durability of the edge, uh all four models are gonna be they're waterproof now. So so they do carry that, you know, IP67 waterproof rating. So, you know, if you've got a camera that gets submerged with uh high rainfall, you know, in a in a storm creek drainage or something like that, you know, you you don't have to, you know, worry as much like, oh man, is my camera gonna be fried? So so we put we add that waterproof to it. Um, and then you're you're gonna find some uh new features exclusive to the camera itself, uh, you know, outside of the waterproof. But uh we've got a feature called Buckshot.

IP67 Waterproofing And Durability

SPEAKER_01 3:55

So uh what Buckshot does is you know, when you can enable Buckshot, and basically it's like you getting an image of a buck. What's the first thing you do? You pinch the screen and and zoom in on his rack, right? So buckshot is gonna kind of do that for you automatically. So if when your camera takes a picture of a buck, it's gonna detect that that's a the a buck on there, and it's automatically gonna uh go ahead and crop that image and zoom it in and send that to you so that way when you get it and click on it, you don't have to zoom or anything like that. You got all your antler details, so it's that quick notification, like, oh, I know what buck this is, I know which one this is. So, you know, that's kind of one of the new

Buckshot Auto Zoom For Antlers

SPEAKER_01 4:40

features we're gonna add. And and then, so right now we're releasing the edge four, but uh when we do launch our pro model, um what you'll see in that is um our pro model has true 4K video, so you're gonna get that highest quality, highest resolution video out of that camera. So for the guys that I love running video personally, so I'm really looking forward to that camera. Um, you know, that's gonna be kind of one of the big differences you see. But um they're they're all the all the fours are Bluetooth connected, so that means when you run them with our multi feeders, they actually communicate with each other. Uh, then you get your all your feeder info right there on the app too. So your feed level, all your feeder settings can be handled remotely. You can feed on demand. Um, so that's gonna be built into all these. Um, you've got the GPS built in, so it's gonna pin it right there on your app uh in the map section on your app. Um, and then you know, one of the things that to me uh is the biggest deal is this camera's battery life is is tremendous. Um, I mean, we're talking, you know, all season battery life uh without swapping batteries. So, you know, those are those are some of the things that we're really excited about the four. Um it wasn't just that we threw in new technology to throw it in. It's like, how can we actually make this better for our customer at the end of the day? And you know, the longer battery life, the you know, those those 4K videos and things like that, you know, we're really excited to get that out there.

George Blitch 6:19

Well, and and and I can speak to that as well, too. And the idea that you guys have, you know, the the last solar iteration that was out, I think it was about nine or ten months ago, I put that out on our property, yet to have to change the battery or recharge it. And that's something that when you can set it and forget it

Edge 4 Pro True 4K Preview

George Blitch 6:35

in that sense, you don't have to go in and disturb that area. I know, like, you know, there's people like Steve Ronello who talked about this on a recent quote about this kind of thing too, and like the the excitement of being able to just set something out there, not have to disturb that area, whether it's the peak of the rut season or whether fawns are on the ground, you don't want to scare anything off your prop, you want to keep everything there, but you're able to get year-round uh ability to have just the best pictures of your taking, the notifications, the enhancements that you guys have on the app. It's really exciting. And even like I think another thing that was new that I read about was the night clarity and the enhanced like IR LED images, just being able to deliver those pictures night and day and and have it the best quality and being able to have that as a tool. I'd love for you. Do you want to talk about that a little bit and that that kind of enhancement you guys have as well?

SPEAKER_01 7:21

Yeah, no, I you might you brought up a great point. Uh so yeah, on all the fours, the the IR lighting has all been redone. Uh, so you know, on past edge cameras, you might kind of have an area that was really bright, right? It was almost that spotlight, you know. So the stuff on the periphery wasn't as detailed, it wasn't as clear. So our engineers, they they

Night Image Clarity IR Upgrade

SPEAKER_01 7:45

went back and and so now those images are evenly lit. So even if you've got like say that vegetation that's close up and it gets that bright light on it, it's still backlighting everything behind it where you still get that clarity. And the first uh the first edge four that that I got to run and test, uh, I put it next to on a mineral site, uh, next to an edge two pro. I really like the two pro models, great video. But I I wanted to see that difference in the clarity, right? And man, like literally it's night and day difference on that night image, and having them both side by side, getting the two pros look and that four, I was just blown away because like I said, I I've always thought the two pro had had incredible uh night images, and and just that even lighting is amazing. And and then the detail, there's an oak tree, and on that oak tree, it's got different moss patterns on it. So some are lighter in shade, some are darker, and the trunk's kind of grayed. And you know, on that two pro, I I never really noticed that as much, but with that four next to it, I was like, oh man, look at all this shading on this tree. It's truly incredible. The clarity in those images uh is amazing, and and the pro is is is even more so.

George Blitch 9:12

Well, that's what's I think the determining factor for me is always being able to have the best resolution, the best quality for like for us, we're we're taking a lot of these images, you know, from now up until September in Texas here to send in to our wild game biologists to be able to kind of get these survey data. And so being able to get like a a pick of a of the bucks to be like, oh, here's a close-up, here's this buck, here's that buck, because you got to list each one you have, and you send it in, and it's part of this kind of you know, getting that that survey and that demographic of what's on the land. But that quality that you can be able to have enhanced each time you guys have a new iteration of that edge. And I've been able to see it over the years, being like, wow, that is something now, something that was kind of blurry in the background now is absolutely clear as day, even in the IR and I time images, which is the clarity is just is paramount. Uh, you know, when we're talking about the idea of the edge and you know, the edge solar now, every single one of these new edge fours has the capability of the new external solar attachments, which kind of convert them all into that solar camera. So even if you get one of the edge fours and you later on say, you know, I want to have that solar, you guys have some of the best panels out there to be able to turn these into something that's uh set it and forget it. Hey, we'll come back next year and maybe recharge if we need to, kind of thing. So I love the ability that you have that uh that compatibility. And I'd I'd

Solar Add On With No Cords

George Blitch 10:30

love for you guys to talk about that and how that's something that, you know, past users of even the three or whatever it is, being able to have your solar attachments to uh give that kind of extra tool in the toolbox.

SPEAKER_01 10:40

Yeah. So so that was, you know, as we build out each generation and we we listen to our customer feedback, that that's our best resource for finding out what's working, what's not working, you know, where where are the friction points, where can it improve? That's where we learn all that. The the customer is absolutely the best at letting you know what they like, what they'd like to see better. And so when we we've we've always had great solar options for our edge cameras, uh large 10 and 11 watt solar panels, they're amazing. Um, you know, but they do they have a cord, so you got cording management, uh, which is a thing. You've got it, you've got to get that tight. It can't just be loose. You got animals that want to pull on that.

George Blitch 11:26

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:27

So, so we developed a system where, to your point, like say you just want the edge four. I just want to try the edge four, you get it. And then later you're like, you know what? I don't want to go back and and swap batteries. Um, I want to make it solar. You can go buy that solar kit, and right on top of the camera, it's got a little like a piece that slides out, and then you've got two connectors in there, and the attachment literally just slide dovetails right in, and and it's connected. It locks in place, and now you have no cord management. There's literally no visible cord. Uh, it fully articulates up, down, left, right. So you can you can pretty much almost get that thing pointed the opposite direction that you have the camera pointed. Um, and it's just the the features on it, the locking mechanisms, um, you know, that solar panel, it's it's very uh rigid. It's a it's a nice stable platform, it's not floppy and loose. Uh, and and it's uh, you know, the largest integrated solar panel, you know, on the market. So that thing, if you've got it at any kind of direct sunlight for, you know, at least get an hour or so on there. I mean, you're gonna be running that camera without worrying about power consumption at all.

George Blitch 12:44

Sure. Well, and and like I said, I can I can attest to that. It's been you know nine or ten months, and it's everything is just absolutely perfect. I'd I'm curious to see how long it's gonna last, maybe another year or two. Who knows?

SPEAKER_01 12:55

I was gonna it, you know, being over here in the east in Alabama, we get a lot of rainfall. I find that uh I've got to go about this time in the summer, and I gotta go with my machete and clear vegetation that has grown around.

Power Mag Plus Battery Strategy

SPEAKER_01 13:10

So I don't even my camera's still running, yeah. I gotta go, you know, the it lasts so long, the vegetation fills in around here, and I have to go clear my sunlight area again.

George Blitch 13:21

No, I I absolutely I know exactly what you're talking about. Uh I've had to use the same uh tools in that toolbox to clear that up. Um, you know, one thing that that I think a lot of folks, when you know, a lot of game trail cameras that that people are are using, they come with, you know, your your typical trays for your double-A batteries. But one thing that I have been using uh a lot more in this last year is getting that power mag, the different types of lithium batteries that you guys have, because that's another thing that that's another set and forget it thing. I mean, there's some that I have lasted a good six months, and I'll just kind of as good proper maintenance. I've scheduled the time, we're going around the ranch, we're gonna pick these up, we're gonna charge them overnight, and we're gonna put them back out there to have it full charge. But there's some that, you know, there's still juice in them after that kind of amount of time, and it really is another enhancement and being able to manage your property where you're not having to take as much time out to do your maintenance that you did back in the day, where you know, double-A batteries uh every few weeks or a month, you know, the technology and yawl specifically having these type of lithium batteries that last so long. And I love that you guys are enhancing that experience instead of cheapening it like some companies have, where you know, they want you to have to buy more batteries or have you know a lithium battery that doesn't last as long, but y'all's are are the longest lasting in the market that I found. I'd love for you to talk about that in that kind of technology and and why you guys care about having that as an end-user experience, having such good quality uh lithium batteries that last so long.

SPEAKER_01 14:51

Yeah, so you know, when when we built the the original Edge series camera, um that entire line, we we looked at it uh entirely different. Uh our general manager went to our engineer team and he said, Look, guys, I don't want the latest and greatest. I want you to build a camera from the ground up that serves the customer, that causes the fewest friction points, um, easiest on the you know, out there to run. And so that's what we did. And and we've accomplished that and it's been successful. So what we look at nowadays is okay, we've we've got this system uh that that the customer loves, that works. And then now it's all about how can we how can we enhance that that end user's experience? And and we find, you know, the biggest way you can do that is if you can have them put that camera on a tree and they don't have to go back to mess with it. That is the best thing we can do for our customer to have that camera sending in those images every day like clockwork, and you never have to do a thing. That is uh the the the peak of customer experience. And so battery life plays such a huge role in that. So our Power Mag Plus batteries, um, they're they are they're lithium batteries. I always recommend the Power Mag Plus. We have a Power Mag, so it's like half the storage capacity. But in my book, like if I'm buying something like that, I I want max storage capacity. Um, so so I really love the Plus, the Mag Plus. And it is a lithium battery, so it's gonna work in those cold weather climates up north or whatever. Um, but the the power on those is is unbelievable. So when I when

App Controls Smart Zones And Patterning

SPEAKER_01 16:40

we first came out with those, I always love to personally test stuff, right? I'm I'm like you. I'm you know, I believe our engineers, don't get me wrong, those guys are awesome, but you know, I I can't, it's hard for me to tell someone a real world story if I don't have a real world story. And so I put three cameras with fully loaded power mags up, put those out in early October on these very steep mountain ridge where they parallel the tray, they run parallel on these like benches. And so they were there was no feed, it was it was all travel corridor. So, you know, you're not getting uh a hundred images a day, right? So so you gotta you're you you know, but you you're probably getting a dozen. Uh you're getting morning and evening movement, and I had those running on video mode, those ran from early October. I didn't even go and get them until after season in mid-April, and I was still running 50 to 75 percent battery life. Now, the trick is I didn't have it set to immediate mode, right? So I had like my uploads were like twice a day. So that's the one thing for guys to consider when they have cell cameras. Man, you can run it on immediate, uh, you can get every image, you know. Um, but it's at a cost to your battery life. Um, if you set that thing on, like, hey, maybe three times a day, send me my images, maybe twice a day. I I can't tell guys how much longer batteries will last when you uh when you use it in that kind of function. And and we do have feeders here on the Land I Hunt. So we have cameras on feeders. So obviously we got feeders where does just hammer it. You know, we're getting a ton of images. You know, on those scenarios, I'll even set up like a minute delay between images to really cut back on those redundant dough images. Um, that I don't, I just don't need all those, frankly. Um, that those camera batteries, I mean, I I'm not going in to mess with those uh much at all. And if I can, if I got any sunlight, I'm putting a solar something on there, and I'm just not messing with those cameras. I mean, I truly don't have to go maintain or mess with anything.

George Blitch 18:58

Well, and I think that's like you kind of touched to it there too. The multi app that you're able to kind of pinpoint exactly what you want. Like we keep ours on every 24-hour image. We're we're trying to save the battery life as much as possible. But then we always have the notification hey, we're going out there to the ranch and we're gonna be going ahead and doing some work, or maybe we're trying to figure out exactly when the hog's gonna be there, get a notification. Like, you know, we'll set it to immediate, or if it's hunting season and you just kind of want to see what's moving during that day, or whatever it is, you're scouting out that, and that the technology that's there to be able to pinpoint to what you want for user experience. Because sometimes, you know, if you're gonna be out there, you want to see everything as you're leading up the assignment to season, right? So you might be doing the immediator more times a day, but there is that kind of management, and there's also the management too that uh included in the app, but like you know, we've got game plan, you've got ideal wins, you've got like the property line, the the infusion of working with on X and being able to have all these key features or there's an area, maybe there's a limb that's coming down that's and it's triggering, being able to uh you know offset that that image to where that thing is not going to be setting it off as much. The way that you can utilize this app, I think is just it, it's it's bar none the best app out there for any any kind of end user in mind. And I love that you guys are not just putting in the focus on getting these cameras to be the very best, but you guys are putting so much infrastructure into the app to be able to have it be a toolbox, like a tool in the toolbox that is invaluable.

SPEAKER_01 20:28

Well, and and so in the way we look at those things, so the camera is hardware, you know, we work really hard on that. That gets all the excitement, that's the launch stuff, you know, it's exciting. Um, but you know, once you take that out of the box, you strap it on a tree, you walk away from that camera, your interaction with that camera is done. Uh, it's it's all everything you do from that point on is through the app. So the app has to be the most powerful tool because that's where you're gonna do everything. And and that's what we want to we try to build everything easy, easy to use. So if a guy wants to use a couple features, he can use a couple features. If a guy wants to get in depth and geek out on the stuff, we the the end user has the ability to use the system like they want to. And we give the end user a lot of controls, like uh to control that camera. To your point, you know, talking about the smart zones, like if you've got a limb over here that blows in the wind and that thing just, you know, you get false images all the time, you can go in and turn those zones off so they no longer fire. And then that way, you know, maybe it's gonna be weeks or months till you're at your property to actually get rid of that limb. You've bought yourself battery life because you can do that. So we do try to give the end user as much control as possible. But you know, when we think about the app and the power of the app, um it used to just be where. Your images went, right? And that was kind of the extent like here's your images. It's an app, that's where you go to see them. But you know, as we've grown the system, that's where all of our hunting tools go. So, you know, uh, you know, our saying here is locate, pattern, harvest. You know, that camera is going to help you locate that animal that you want to pursue, but that app is where you actually get a pattern that animal. And and like you said, game plan telling you the times that animal is going to be moving, the ideal wind, you know, so you make sure you're hunting the best stand possible for that buck. You know, we're it's it's building in all these efficiencies that really help a hunter put together that plan so they can go out there and attack and harvest that animal thereafter.

George Blitch 22:49

Well, it truly is second to none, man. And, you know, I love the continual development, the things that you guys have as far as you know, the hardware, the software, and then also the the types of work that you guys have done with some other leaders in the industry. I mean, obviously you've done some work with Meat

Partnerships Where To Buy And Wrap Up

George Blitch 23:05

Eater. There's been partnerships, you know, we got some really cool cameras, the first slight, you know, uh uh camo out there. And another one that I just saw yesterday was one that you guys are doing with Field and Stream, because there's a tractor supply exclusive branded multi camera that's available there. Uh, if we can just touch base on that, because I just thought that was a cool thing that you guys are continuing to, you know, work with these leaders in the industry.

SPEAKER_01 23:26

Yeah, no, absolutely. Yeah, the first light, guys, to your point. You know, going back to our first pro camera, it was in Mossy Oak Bottomland. You know, we've got we got partners at Mossy Oak, but the first light has been a fun one, um, you know, and that's it definitely with Meat Eater and the SHIELS stores. Um, and then yeah, so we, you know, we wanted to do something with tractor supply. And uh, so you know, they've got the great tie-in with uh the iconic brand Field and Stream. And and so we just kind of tractor supply, field and stream, moultry, we all got together and and put our heads together, and how can we come up with something? So that's that's where all that's born from is just those relationships and and people wanting to work with Moultrie and we wanting to work with the other leaders in the industry as well.

George Blitch 24:17

Well, that's really great. And so everyone should go check that out. And and you know, we're all I mean, today's launch day, right? So people can go to the Moultrie store, they can go ahead and pick up the one packs. I know there's some two packs, you know, save a little bit of money, get two cameras. There's a few incentives, but all the other different stores are out there. Uh, you know, so is this is this launching nationwide in every single store tomorrow? Where today, rather? So, yeah, tell me a little bit about uh where can folks run out and get their their uh their fours and and the uh solars.

SPEAKER_01 24:43

Yes, you'll you can go into your stores nationwide, they're gonna be on the shelves. You can go to their Bass Pros, the Amazons, you can go to their websites, order them. Uh we'll have them on Multry.com as well. But yeah, the the the the Edge 4 is is available nationwide. And then, you know, about uh mid mid to a little bit later in August, be looking for that Edge 4 Pro model, uh, both the Pro and the Pro Solar as well.

George Blitch 25:11

That's really exciting, man. I I can tell everyone, hands down, this is my favorite camera out there. I've been using it for a very long time, and every single time there's a new iteration that comes out, I'm quick to get it and put it into work. And I'm always so pleased and just amazed at uh the leaps of technology that you guys have. Just when I think, okay, you know, what else you guys can be able to prove upon? You find the things, you put in the time, you really care about your customers and giving them the best experience and the best product, the best software. So, all around, uh, I'm just so honored to you know do some work with you guys and be able to use your products, man. I just absolutely love it. So, Mark, I really appreciate you joining me today. Is there anything else you'd like to share with with the audience, maybe those who have supported Moultrie for all these years?

SPEAKER_01 25:54

No, look, at the end of the day, if if Moultrie, if we can help a guy literally locate, pattern his his buck that he's after, and help him harvest that, we've done our jobs. That that's what we're here, that's what we want to do for our customers.

George Blitch 26:10

Right on. Well, we're trying to put those racks that are behind you on people's hands, they can be able to celebrate that time, share that wild game with all their friends and family, and join the bounties of our amazing uh world out there. So, Mark, uh looking forward to it. Good luck with the launch. I know it's gonna be extra successful, and uh looking forward to having you on again sometime, man.

SPEAKER_01 26:29

Thank you, George. We really appreciate it. Cheers.

George Blitch 26:31

You take care. Thank you. I'm here to tell

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George Blitch 26:35

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