Jim Brown
Forum Replies Created
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Today’s technology makes it possible for today’s churches to have very sophisticated presentation of media and do it on a tight budget.
Some recommendations:
1. Do a detailed analysis of what you have and exactly what you want to do. for example, do you have projectors? Model Nrs, input types supported.? Screens aspect ratio? Audio board, available send channels? Cabling accessibility and type?
2. Video sources and types. Cameras? If so, models and interfaces supported? Graphics (PPT, Easy Worship or renewed vision? Video projectors? If they have some age they are probably analog VGA or even composite inputs which will require adapters and cabling or even better replacement.
3. What format and resolution of video will be common to all components. This is essential to understand as it will impact the level of quality expectations. Remember that most of your church attendees watch tv of an HD flat panel set with very good quality. A lot of people cannot judge video quality, but everyone can judge the difference in an HD and an SD program.You can build very sophisticated graphics with lyrics, backgrounds and video file support with a computer and software from Renewed Vision (https://renewedvision.com/propresenter/). No switcher needed. If you want to add cameras, you need to explore switcher options.
You can see there are many questions which need to be answered before you purchase the first piece of equipment. I would recommend you find someone very knowledgeable and enlist their assistance. It will be money well spent.
Jim Brown
M&M Productions USA -
I would try a Decimator convertor/scaler. They regenerate a clean signal better than anything we have found.
Jim Brown
M&M Productions USA -
I believe that board is actually an analog board so the rules for gain and noise floor apply.
Jim Brown
M&M Productions USA -
What you are questioning is commonly referred to as “gain structure”. While absolutely essential for analog equipment, the new generation of digital components can reduce the impact of a poorly tuned system with it’s resultant “hiss”. Analog or digital equipment though, the rules still apply. Here is an excellent article and instructions from Front of House magazine. This will help tremendously.
https://www.fohonline.com/current-issue/74-tech-feature/10445-back-to-basics-gain-structure.html
Hope this helps.
Jim Brown
M&M Productions USA -
Dittos to above posts. When you are forced into a pan, a rubber band can be your best friend. Tie a rubber band to the pan arm and pull the rubber band with your hand instead of moving the pan head directly. Longer ones are easier to grasp and you can loop multiples together if you do not have large bands. The rubber band will dampen the any jerks and provide very smooth slow movement.
My $.02 worth.
Jim Brown
M&M ProductionsUSA -
We used Playback Pro from DT Labs to do this every week both in our broadcast group and events group. It does run on a Mac and uses Quicktime player. If Quicktime will play the file then Playback Pro will.
While not free, it is: 1) Extremely reliable. 2) Easy to Use. 3) Plays well with ATEM switchers. Works with Mac minis, laptops and towers. You can adjust geometry and trim clips while playing. You can link multiple files together for running a block of sponsors ads.
Did I mention it is reliable? In high pressure events and broadcasts you simply want something that works! It is used by meeting and events producers around the world for that reason. Worth the $400.
Jim Brown
M&M ProductionsUSA
Oak Ridge, TN -
There is a product that addresses this need perfectly. I don’t know if it is still available somewhere. I used back in the FCP7 days and it really worked great. It was called Presto by Red Giant (Plural Eyes) software. In it you would make a video of the presenter, a separate video of the PPT screen (only for transition reference. Can be low quality). You then lay down a track of your speaker video and your PPT video. The software then takes the XML of the project and combines it with the original PPT slides to create a great looking high quality video. It also employs recognition software to track the speaker and keep them in frame. Here is an old tutorial that describes the process.
https://support.redgiant.com/hc/en-us/articles/219074367-Presto-w-Premiere-Pro-Getting-Started
Don’t know the current status of the software. I could not find a reference on their web page. Might be worth a call to them.
We went to live switching as I previously indicated.
A couple of other cautions. You stated you do not know about projector interfaces and that people may want to use their own PPT computer. Two big red flags. You can get interfaces from laptops from VGA to DVI to HDMI. Switching computer interfaces in real time can be problematic. You will need as assortment of adapters and cables to accommodate all of them. And from experience, presenters show up 5 minutes before they go on stage to give you their laptop. And they want to play embedded audio from a video clip embedded in their presentation. ….and their video cards output a low resolution or older video resolution and aspect ratio. Nothing worse than a speaker providing a laptop with a 4:3 video and then complaining when it letterboxes on the screen. …or vice versa. We insist on providing the PPT computers for these reasons. We can match displays (cable interface, resolution, aspect ratios, and audio requirements. These contribute to professional, seamless, and successful conferences. It greatly assists the post event processing, also.
Jim Brown
M&M Productions USA -
I have tried every approach mentioned and they all have their limitations and issues. The biggest issue is that most clients do not have an appreciation for what it takes to create a faithful retelling of their story. It is critical to understand what the expectations are. This is reflected in budget!
If the client wants the best quality in the shortest time frame possible then the best option is to switch it live. We use a Blackmagic TVS switcher and record it on a Panasonic HMR10 (recently discontinued be Panasonic). You must use a PC or Mac that can output at television resolution and thus is recognized by the switcher. We normally split the HDMI from the computer and route one feed to the switcher and one to the projector. Caution here as some projectors will confirm an EDID with a resolution that is not supported by the switcher. We prefer to convert the HDMI to SDI and send to switcher and convert back to HDMI at the projector if it does not accept SDI. In other words make certain the source determines video resolution and not the display device.
The HMR10 is ideally suited for such an exercise in that it records AVCHD and yields 3 1/4 hours of high definition video on a single 32 GB SD card. You can still rent these from VER. We also use the Blackmagic recorders, but they record extremely high quality modes only and thus consume media at such a rate that they are unacceptable for long form projects.
The biggest drawbacks to this approach are it requires someone to switch the video sources and thus watch all of those boring powerpoint slides as well as finding a client who will pay for a quality product. Most clients seriously underestimate what is required. The biggest benefit is the material is available at the conclusion of the event. Oh, and if there is a missed que these can be addressed in post much easier that inserting all the material in post.
Jim Brown
M&M Productions USA -
Oops. Left off note about the optional Teranex Mini Smart Panel that cost $85. Very smart addition.
Jim Brown
M&M Productions USA -
Take a look at this.
“Blackmagic Web Presenter
Now you can make any professional SDI and HDMI video source appear as a USB webcam for high quality streaming on the internet!”We have a couple of these and they are working fine doing what you describe. We have used a similar previously from Vaddio, however it is $1500 vs $495. New product from Black Magic so don’t know how current shipping is doing.
Jim Brown
M&M Productions USA