HD Video Playback Device for Lobby TV

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HD Video Playback Device for Lobby TV

Posted by Chris Mason on August 3, 2009 at 6:02 pm

I am installing a 55″ HD display in the lobby of a friend’s office. The content will be updated on a semi-infrequent basis, less than once a month, and just needs to be able to loop a video file. The TV will be mounted on a wall without any computer or playback device easily accessible, so I am thinking that a small SSD/HDD media device that can mount behind the TV would be best. I am looking at the WD TV from Western Digital as an option, but wanted to see if anyone here knew of something that might be better suited for this type of scenario. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Chris

Walter Soyka replied 16 years, 9 months ago 3 Members · 4 Replies
4 Replies

Mike Golding
August 4, 2009 at 2:00 am

what kind of budget are you playing with?
what resolution are you looking for- 720p/1080i/1080p
what input on the 55″ are you using- hdmi/dvi/component/vga/hdsdi?

MBP 2.4 4GB Ram/FCS2
Power Mac Dual 1.8 G5/5.5GB Ram/Radeon 9600/FCS2
Aja io hd for MBP/ Aja io LA&LD for G5
Chris Mason
August 4, 2009 at 4:58 am

Budget is low, ideally under $500. I would like to connect with HDMI, but component would be ok if I had to. The display is 1080P, so again, that would be my preference, but the content is not anything spectacular or breathtaking, mostly just graphics, pictures and text type of things. So 1080i or even 720p would be alright if need be. Thanks.
Mike Golding
August 5, 2009 at 12:56 am

don’t laugh but there are a number of easy solutions to this…just off the top of my head-

mac mini- dvi out to hdmi in…looping video no problem and update over network

apple tv- looping QT video clip and controllable over wifi or network

any netbook running flash/quicktime/windows media..etc…vga to hdmi connection

small form pc/windows box

zune hd- does 720p playback with external dock connection

xbox360/playstation consoles- being used as media pc

ce labs- compact flash card based hd player
roku- same concept as ce labs

there are many ways to do this all under 500

MBP 2.4 4GB Ram/FCS2
Power Mac Dual 1.8 G5/5.5GB Ram/Radeon 9600/FCS2
Aja io hd for MBP/ Aja io LA&LD for G5
Walter Soyka
August 5, 2009 at 1:04 pm

I’ll second the recommendation for a Compact Flash player. They are small, consume little power, and are built for 24/7 usage. The office staff won’t have to do anything but let it run.

Updating the content simply means updating the CF card; you could send a new card with fresh content for the office staff to swap out with next to no training.

Walter Soyka, Principal
Keen Live, Inc.
Presentation, Motion Graphics & Widescreen Design
RenderBreak: A Blog on Innovation in Production

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