mac.calder

Yes* The common standards for hoists in the entertainment industry are the German BGV-D8, D8+ and C1 - that have basically been codified into other countries standards since then. Despite what other countries have codified as (UK IIRC has "Category A" and "Category B", Australia has "designed for special lifting applications" and "not designed for special lifting applications" the D8, D8+ and C1 monikers are what you will see on an entertainment hoist. D8+ is considered suitable for suspending loads above people. C1 is certified for actively moving loads above people - and is an entire system of safety, not just a motor classification. If you are looking to get an off-the-shelf, non "entertainment" hoist (chain or otherwise), a minimum 5:1 safety factor and double brakes are what you are looking for.

Then they should stop using those winches immediately and check their rigger/flyman in for a refresher on rigging. There is no braking arrangement on that type of scaffolders winch - the one you referenced, on Page 15 of the manual explicitly states the following: Those safety precautions are essentially "Remove the load from the winch or apply some form of secondary suspension/load arrester" - because if the winch fails, the problem is probably not going to be the bar being stuck up there... it is more likely that it will just let the load go. They they also "Put up with a lot bend" is pretty atrocious as well. There is a reason electric hoists for suspending loads above people cost significant money. Hoists should be double braked at a minimum, ideally should have upper and lower limits as well as absolute upper and lower limits, should be maintained and installed by a competent person. Because when you screw up a hoisting arrangement, the results can be catastrophic.

Be careful in a counterweight situation tying a load off part of a load to the grid. You are going to end up cradle heavy - in fact you can end up EXTREMELY cradle heavy very quickly if it is a heavy bunch of drapes - especially if you are also letting some pool onto the ground. Using 580gsm IFR wool (which is on the lighter side IMO), an 18m x 8m drape with 50% fullness comes in at around 125kg - add in your pipe weight - you are looking at another 50-100kg and maybe 15kg in rigging.... We are not talking nothing loads here. You can also end up with some swing on load as well - basic trigonometry there. It is all very doable - but you need to be aware of how your load is shifting. On a powered system you can drop literally all the weight off the bar and do a really controlled re-build - on a counterweight system... be very careful.

The "lamp life" is generally how many hours to half brightness. 20k hours is 10 years at 5 hours a day - good chance you will be replacing before you get even close. I know the larger projectors will often have replacable light sources, but I would be surprised if anything under 12k did. The 85% thing on the Panasonic is a setting - just like lamp based projectors often have an "ECO" mode - it then regulates the power to the light source. Below is from a Panasonic 27k projector to give an idea how power/brightness/lamp life correlate.

Not so much any more - at least under 20,000 lumens, laser is cost-comparative (and in some cases, with some brands, your only option). Light output with laser is linear - at 20,000 hours, most lasers are at 50% brightness, and their decline is a nice gently slope... Some brands (like Panasonic) have started running lasers at 85-90% power, which allows it to pretty much coast along at that 85% for most of the life of the projector.. Contrast that with a lamp projector, which will have a quick drop at around the 2-300 hour mark to around 75%, then potter along and then hit another cliff and drop further.

Off the top of my head, I would look at the following - they are all around the same price Epson EB-L1495UNL 9000 lumen projector Panasonic PT-RZ970BE 10,000 lumen projector Barco G60-W10 10,000 lumen projectors

Ungerboeck is probably the most prevalent "Performance Centre" management platform out there.. That said, it is not a a magic bullet and it is not cheap and is designed for a venue or theatre company and not a specific show. For a single performance - knowing your MS suite is probably the best advice. Especially if your company puts everyone onto office365. MS teams is great for collaboration - you can do shared production calendars and the like, share documents, etc. Costing and Budgetting... Excel would be my recommendation - however it does depend on how granular you want to get. Do you want to budget down to the last screw - or do you tend to apportion funds in lump sums to various departments? Individual productions run on spreadsheets. I would say that most theatre companies also run on spreadsheets - it is just that they might have a financial system sitting there in the background to help with the accounting side of things. I know my old events company (annual turnover for our venue, which was the largest, was $5m in events, and we had about 40 other venues at the time) did all of their budget forecasting in excel. Sure, prior year data was pulled from our ridiculously over featured, expensive and clunky accounting package - but at the end of the day, the actual forecasts and budgets were in Excel. Regarding scheduling - depending on how re-usable it will be for you (ie if it is a one off show with a week of rehearsals and a cast of 5 people, don't bother), you can do some awesome lookups in the latest version of excel which would allow you to have an actor/scene breakdown - so that when you add a call on the main page and select the scenes that are being rehearsed, it automatically pulls in all the names/roles associated with that call. There are tonnes of other bits of automation you can do in excel without needing to delve into macros and programming.

There are decent black(ish) projection materials (designed as such), but the viewing angle is fairly acute. Rosebrand make their "Darknet" range of scrim fabrics which are front projection.

Then you are in luck. A composite DA can be split using either a composite DA, a Component DA or an RGBHV DA - in fact component and RGBHV DA's will give you multiple composite DA's in one - as you can use each colour channel independently.

The SDI distribution amp will do nothing with it. It will not magically convert it back to SDI or anything like that. What type of analogue signal are you converting to? Composite? Component? That will decide what kind of Distribution Amplifier you need.

Maybe quality of your run of the mil video guys is lower over there, but being unable to keep a video system up for 8 days is endemic of people being employed who don't know what they are doing or are working with poor quality gear. Sure, digital systems can be finicky - especially if you try and cheap out on bit and pieces - but once you get it up, it should be rock solid. We ran a test with Crestron NVX - a video over IP solution. We had 3 x 48 port switches and used Long Range 10G SMoF SFP+'s to send 6 x 4k streams on a 10km loop (SWITCH 1 ->5km SMoF -> SWITCH 2 -> 5km SMoF -> SWITCH 3 ) - and there was 1-2 frames of latency

So in a system built incorrectly? Sure, if you treat HDMI like you treat VGA you are going to have a bad time... In this day and age you can do enormous digital video-over-ip matrixes with near-zero (visually imperceptible) switch times covering kilometers that would give VGA system architects a panic attack. But you have to design with the technology. Lack of education and treating it the same as analogue audio is why people have issues with digital. Analogue was forgiving*... sure you might loose some pixels here and there, your clocking may skew, the colours might be slightly off, but if close enough was good enough any monkey could patch together a functioning system* that worked most of the time. *if you don't care about quality of image and colour accuracy.

Regarding the power situation - I am not talking LED wall - I am talking your 65" TV from the local big box electronics shop (or ideally, a decent quality commercial panel). Power draw on those things is relatively small. 165W or there abouts per display. Regarding VGA/HDMI/SDI If you have video delay comparing a VGA signal to a monitor and a HDMI signal to the same monitor, you are doing something wrong. If you have video delay comparing a VGA signal to a monitor and a HDMI signal to the same monitor via a single switcher/matrix type device, you are either doing something wrong or using really crud equipment. There is more active conversion equipment involved in getting an analogue signal to the monitor/projector these days as it needs to be actively converted to analogue, then actively converted BACK to digital. Where you see noticeable delay is in the display technologies - and they will be the same delays whether it is an analogue or a digital signal - the block diagrams for most displays and projectors I have seen literally just add an A->D converter before the switching component used for toggling HDMI/digital connections. Doing ANYTHING video requires some degree of knowledge of the various video technologies involved - just as audio and lighting require knowledge of their respective elements. VGA may be (generally) simpler - but it IS an inferior technology, it is going to die, and people need to adapt.

There is a reason that projection is not used that much on stage in the concert world - and when it is, it is usually used for orchestrated "stunts" and not as a backdrop - projection was basically skipped for LED walls... The reason is that 99% of lighting fixtures out there will overpower a projected image pretty quickly. When doing on-stage projection for corporate events, generally we would put a fairly big gap between the back of stage and the screen - because even a simple bit of stage wash will completely wash out most projectors - by giving ourselves space we could light the talent and not spill too much onto the screen. In that sort of scenario, it works (ish). Forgive me for saying this - but I can't imagine your budget would stretch to the high brightness projectors that you generally need to do backdrop projection for a band. 3,000-6,000 lumens probably won't cut it. However this is not me saying don't do video... I do not want to discourage creativity in the slightest... instead I will suggest that you look at LCD displays - you can get them relatively cheap, and you can get truss brackets for mounting them to trusses. You can (relatively cheaply) create a really interesting backdrop of various sized LCD's placed 'randomly' in space - or even just 2 or 3 displays placed portrait - and do some really cool media effects utilising the negative space between the monitors. I am pretty sure even qlab can handle that sort of display mapping. Or look at datapath or similar.

HDMI 1.3? 1.4? 2.0? (ie what feature set of HDMI do you need)? What are your latency requirements on the wireless link? Regarding your cabled solution - you want shielded Cat6A not Cat5 ideally - at 100m, any of the "long range" hd baseT products from the usual suspects will get you there - Lightware, Kramer, Extron, Crestron, AMX, Gefen, Atlona ... the list goes on, and will all push 130m down Cat6a Wireless... There are some solutions out there worth looking at - Teradek does a number of them. Cinegear is another. Look for stuff in 5GHz - There tends to be more free space there.

Have a look at MultiVid by Marco Tempest. He is a 'magician'/visual storyteller that uses technology extensively in his acts -- this software was designed to keep videos in sync as part of a performance.

Theatres in Australia will tend to use a standard Australian domestic connector. Some theatres will use 20A or 15A sockets for patchable power, which readily accepts 10A plugs - as the only difference in a domestic 10, 15 and 20A plug is the size of the earth pin - so 10A will fit in 15A and 20A sockets, but 15 won't fit in 10A and 20A wont fit in 15 etc.

Essentially your quote forms an offer of services - a contract - and should have your standard terms and conditions associated with it (payment terms, limit of liability etc). The purchase order is a counter-offer. By performing the work under the purchase order you are accepting their terms and conditions. I don't know about UK law, but Australian law places SOME limitation on what is fair and reasonable in this situation. You can look into an "entire agreement" clause along the lines of "....All parties understand that this quotation and any attached documentation form the entirety of this agreement and supersedes all previous documentation. Where in conflict with other terms and conditions this document shall take precedence unless formally agreed by both parties." but you would need to get a legal-eagle to ensure it is valid in relation to the rest of your terms and conditions.

Do you need to do availability checks and track physical location of the items - ie "check them out" to an exhibit. It is a bit of a bodge, but I have set up a fixed asset inventory sort of system for a small performing arts centre in the past using their PAT testing database software. We created a new test type called "Stocktake". Anything that did not get PAT tested that we wanted to track was in the inventory of the software as requiring a "Stocktake" test. It prompted for a "Visual Inspection" test - which the operator would confirm. When the location of an item that we tracked (generally lighting and sound equipment) was changed - (generally between seasons) - the user selected the correct location in the tester and then tested the relevant assets. It could also be done in bulk from the software. We could run reports to see what was overdue for testing (ie 'has not been seen in 6 months), what didn't work (failed the "visual inspection" or any other test) or was all good. The benefit - it used what they already had - and as shows went in an out, the stocktake generally took care of itself... The downside - It's a bit more tedious than a quick tick and flick.

If you get a video wall display (all the big names do them) - they generally have the ability to loop through the input signal and then choose which section to display - ie you tell it that the wall is 3x3 and that it is monitor #2, it then shows the top centre ninth of the display. That said - LCD monitors are not robust - in fact they are quite fragile. To make it look good you also need the appropriate hanging brackets with multi-axis adjustment and a rigid wall. Generally video walls are not great for theatre. And doing them in a way that looks good will cost far more than a projector.

You might be able to find the manufacturer on somewhere like Alibaba - unfortunately I would not be holding my breath - as many cheap Chinese knockoffs will go through many iterations of design under the same model number. So there is no guarantee that if you were to buy a colour wheel for your fixtures (based on model number) it would actually be the correct colour wheel. I wish you all the best for your search.

Extenders should not be giving you that level of delay - HDBaseT and HDBitT should both be near zero latency. Even AV over IP 1GHz solutions are sub-frame latency. It is relatively easy to check if it is the extender - get a laptop or PC with two outputs. Plug in two computer monitors and duplicate the displays. Run a timer app with milliseconds on it and take a video of the two screens. They should pretty much be in sync. Then put the extenders in line. Take another video. Compare. I would then start to add everything else in the video chain in line as well. If you are getting 600ms of delay from the extenders, return them and demand a full refund, because they are not conforming to the HDBitT spec.

http://www.citytheatrical.com/Products/moving-light-hangers is another alternative. They should work in the inverted position. Regarding smaller Cee style connectors... I mean you can look at Powercon true1 connectors... they work pretty well. IP rated Par36's for architectural use - there are a bunch of IP rated LED alternatives with similar size and beam angles on alibaba and the like White slings - in Australia at least, the colour of the sling denotes the SWL (with an exception that black can be 1T or 2T). It was a pain to get the old guard to accept these new fang-dangled black slings... white might be a bridge too far. What we used for marquees was "Sling Socks". A narrow lycra sleeve that you put on the sling before you rig it, and then stretch over the shackles at either end.

Why assume it will not be sharp? VGA is locking... except when devices don't have binding posts - and binding posts are a necessity because VGA pulls out REALLY easily. HDMI is quite a firm fit connector. The amount of on-axis force required to pull an HDMI is more than I would generally like my equipment to experience. Most modern laptops, no binding posts - most dongles also have no binding posts. I used to decry the same thing, VGA is locking, I need a locking connector. Now I look back at it... VGA used to pull out under its own cable weight between the table and the floor. DVI was the same - and if it was a good quality high bandwidth DVI connector it would usually kill some pins while it was at it... HDMI does have a locking variant, it has a small binding post located above (or bellow) the centre of the socket - you can get little retrofit do-dads if your cables don't have the corresponding screw like this. A couple of zip ties and it will ensure that your projector ends up broken on the floor instead of just having the screen go black for 30 seconds. Guaranteed to play nice... not really. VGA you can generally "get something" out of it. Whether that is good quality or not is another question. Cable length on HDMI... yeah, you are going to need to use active cables. Want to know how much HDMI distribution costs these days? I can get terminated LC fibre - simplex - for about AU$0.90/m which can be tied in knots and be perfectly happy. I can combine those with HDMI optical converters that are about twice the size of an HDMI plug and powered by 5v micro USB for about AU$75 an end (per TX or RX). I can get a 1x8 passive optical splitter that works with these said same converters for < AU$9. And 3 displays and a laptops worth of cabling and distribution fits in a small briefcase and is very light weight. 30m VGA cable of "ok" quality costs me AU$100 and I have to order it in because they don't keep anything longer than 1.5m in stock. And I can get a cheap VGA DA for about $15 - but is has a wallwart that needs to be powered, or a quality one for about $300 that has an IEC. 3 displays and a laptop worth of cabling takes a small crate and weighs about 15-20kg... Provided the OP does not want to use pretty much any TV bought from a retailer as his foldback monitors (say 32in TV's). I just went to 2 different online retailers and checked every TV they had between 32 and 47" and NONE had VGA. Not 1. So now every display device needs a VGA->HDMI converter. Sure in a legacy systems, go ahead, use VGA. No problems. But for new systems, to go VGA is not a wise decision - especially as most people's HDMI issues are more related to education and the misguided belief that since they can plug in their XBox at home they understand how to troubleshoot and use HDMI. Anyone who has been in this industry long enough knows that VGA systems had a LOT of knowledge required to properly troubleshoot and get pixel perfect quality out the other end. HDMI is just a bit less forgiving to those who have not done a bit of research.

DVI to HDMI adaptors will work, but they add a point of failure. The two linked boxes look like they have lived a pretty hard life...