Lozza Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 Hi all, sorry to the av wizards, I dont know much about vid and projection. (probably here that enough) I am asking for some suggestions for my mate who is in charge of cameras for a school show, I am lighting it so I dont interfere on the days. Basically, how would you link 2 cameras via phono rca yellow (no sound needed) with a way of selecting which camera goes through further into the imac and then onto projectors etc need to be able to switch 'channels' if you like during show from cam 1 to cam 2 using only what might be available at college or home or media depo ????? any ideas would be great, sorry for stupidity cheers - Laurence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 The obvious thing missing is the switcher? Don't you have one available at school? You can switch between sources with a cheap switchbox, or even make one, but the cut won't be smooth. At best, you'l get a flash, a flick and then it will lock up on the projector, but looks pretty naff - at worst, the image will stutter and hunt, maybe even fading to black before coming up on the new picture. I would guess somewhere in the school you'll have a mixer, even a simle one will do. Do you do media studies - they normally have that kind of kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozza Posted November 7, 2006 Author Share Posted November 7, 2006 ah, thanks, I thought it may be something like that, no I dont do media but he does, ill have to scout the departments. are there no other ways, like using a computer or can you change inputs on a projector with the projectors remote control itself? thankyou again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
broadcast_techie Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 if you have a PC with 2 video cards and some VJ software.... think £££££££ switching the input on the projector will usually take a couple of seconds. Maplin do AV switchers from about £12, the pic will always jump with a mechanical switch. the only solution is some form of vision mixer. out of interest, what are you running on the mac? Kris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozza Posted November 7, 2006 Author Share Posted November 7, 2006 Hi Kris, ever so sorry mate but if you were talking about a martin moving head mac I would talk for days, however I am naf at software and video projection so I wouldn't know the next thing about what program Ben is using on his imac. I will find out for you though and PM you... sorry again cheers - Laurence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
broadcast_techie Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 ta, sorry, so many bits of kit with the same name. gotta love the english language... also if you have trouble finding what you need at school there are plenty of places who hire simple vision mixers, it may even be an excuse for the school to invest... good luck Kris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundo26 Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 I don't know of anything that can do this cheaply. Unfortunately, switching video signals is not as easy as swiching audio.As pointed out in an earlier post you can use a switch box of the type available from Maplin etc. but the problem is that if you crash switch in that way there will be a big glitch on the screen until the sync sorts itself out, this can take a couple of seconds or so, which, although it doesn't sound much, seems like eternity on a big screen. You will need a vision mixer such as a Panasonic WJ-MX50 which contains some form of timebase correction. This is a fairly basic vision mixer and there were some There are some cheaper versions designed for the home video enthusiasts market which might do the trick within your budget. The other option would be to look at hiring one in. these units often come up relatively cheaply on Ebay. But without knowing how long you need it for and what sort of budget you might have it's difficult to give any other helpful advice. MX50 will probably cost about £90 a day or £270 a week to hire although, because they are old tech now can probably be picked up cheaper than that. I've seen them go on ebay for a couple of hundred quid or so. A company called Hama make a domestic version, but don't know how much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lxkev Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 If you can get a pc with dual graphic card. Two capture cards from ebay £25 each1st output on graphics card to pc monitor, 2nd to the projectorUse screen monkey - A free software which works like a video switch, can also switch in movies, power point, pictures, colour This will let you select which camera goes to the projector. What is he doing with the imac? recording the show?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
broadcast_techie Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 MX50 useage warning: don't 'hot cut' between sources on the 'live' bus. (it will momentarily freeze the frame) always use the 'auto trans' set at 0 frames for cutting. Kris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete McCrea Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 The MX50 is still out there, but slowly being replaced by the MX70. Expect to pay around £1k for a decent one on ebay. Even damaged ones have gone for £750. Other options include the Edirol products, I believe the V4 is a 4 channel mixer. I have no experience of them, but I'm led to believe they are half decent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryson Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 I have a V4. It's perfectly serviceable, and about £500. It doesn't do anything too clever, but for mixing back and forth between 4 sources, it's fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferret219 Posted November 17, 2006 Share Posted November 17, 2006 Try looking at hiring an MX30. They are cheaper than the 50 and easier to use. I don't know of any hire companies near you but just try a google search. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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