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Mac for HD Character Generator?
I’m putting together a small HD studio & am trying to figure out the Character Generator. At this point I’m thinking the Panasonic AV-HS400AN would make a nice switcher. Questions follow:
– I’m considering the Datavideo CG-300 as its <$2K & is HD. Any other CG in that price range I should be considering? - I'll either need to add the optional Panasonic DVI board to input from the CG computer or add HD-SDI output to the computer. Opinions as to which option would be better? cheaper? - I'd like to do my CG on a Mac (the rest of my facility is Mac) if at all possible. Most of the CG software I see is for Windows. Any problems running CG on the WINtel side of the Mac? I realize that the 3 issues are related & how one is answer will somewhat determine the rest. TIA, Frank Wiewandt Medina Co. Career Center Video / Imaging Instructor
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3 Replies
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You could do basic CGs with PowerPoint/Keynote and a scan converter, and key it over the video. I’m not sure about a more CG-specific solution.
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Thanks Tim,
I’m really looking for a more traditional solution & not so much a “work around”. I guess what I’m really looking for is advice from current users on available HD CGs. I’m very close to having my Equipment List ready for the bean counters & the CG is one of the few things I’m still undecided about.
Take care,
Frank
Frank Wiewandt – Medina Co. Career Center – Video / Imaging Instructor
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We’ve been using Keynote as a CG for several years, particularly weather and driving a big screen background at the University of Georgia. The ‘howevers’ here are that it’s SD (because of our system) and full screen only. Keynote doesn’t export an alpha and fill… so you can’t really plug it into a switcher.
You can use it as a great full screen character generator though. My students pick it up in a second and the weather screens it does look like a ‘real’ CG because it has SEMPTE effects built in. We display Keynote on a second screen,which is a composite monitor and loop through and put that on our router. Then use that as the key fill for weather, changing screens with an iMac remote.
I’d love to do the same thing exporting out HD-SDI.. but better, having ‘something’ that would allow a fit and fill neeed to downstream it into a switcher as well.
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