deadpixel Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 Hi guys, I am looking for some advice on a project I have comming up. I have to come up with a solution for the following scenario. I need to feed 16 projectors with 16 different video feeds. The feeds would be custom made graphics which would either play back looped or may need to start playing on cue. the projectors would probably be 1280x1024. I have thought of a few ways of doing this but would love to hear your opinions on comming up with a cost effective solution. the system would need to be networked so content could be controled and updated. My original Idea was to use a dataton watchout system which would be great but also the most expensive solution. Thanks in advance! Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgye Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 We did this last year, with 19 projectors. We used BrightSign media players and have found them very easy to use. Depending on the model they can be controlled in a number of different ways, and can easily be locked together if they need to play in sync. PM me if you need more help on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason5d Posted April 4, 2011 Share Posted April 4, 2011 I would build 2 8 channel video servers using pc parts and 4 graphics cards there are a number of different apps that will serve the video Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHYoung Posted April 4, 2011 Share Posted April 4, 2011 All depends on your budget and inclination to reinvent the wheel... for a working solution id use several networked catalyst systems or Herd of hippos and employ someone to configure it all. This will work and you can get on with living your life, but you will pay for the privilidge. same goes for watchout.... One assumes any project using 16 sxga projectors isnt zero budget. If you needs are no more than timed playpack with occasional trigering of cues, the brightsign option will work well, as would any of of the digital view range http://www.digitalview.com/products/viewstream-digital-media-players . you need to look at the specs you need, and choose a model that has the features needed. Assuming that its midrange players you need, its going to cost a fair bit to purchase, so depends how long your installation will last, if its a week, the high end hire will be cheapest and easiest, a few weeks and the media players start to work best... as for the building a couple of pcs with 8 graphics outputs, good luck with that, its not impossible, but its not going to be something that you knock up in an afternoon. if it was green hippo wouldnt manage to get 10k plus for whats effectively a PC with 2 outs... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J Pearce Posted April 4, 2011 Share Posted April 4, 2011 A housemate built a 6 out for around £600 (using used graphics cards from eBay). The hardest bit was the data throughput from storage to screens, we had to setup so that each layer on resolume came off a dedicated drive on it's own sata controller. We only used 4 outs for resolume. 5 and 6 were control and local monitoring respectively. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleepytom Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 I have a custom built mediaserver that could do 16 SXGA outputs - playing back native resolution media would be difficult, though I have a custom software solution that can manage the required resolution. this is the main challenge - retaining native resolution media for your SXGA projectors. Its easier (cheaper) if you could go down to XGA media or even video resolution. the old school way would be with 16 Digibeta decks timecode synced together. You could use old Doremi V1d machines too - either of these options would give you perfect genlocked sync, where most of the modern mediasevers will not. How long is the show? The length of media your using will have a dramatic impact on the choice of technology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian H Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 Easy --- 8 Mac minis running catalyst - all networked controlled via artnet from a lighting desk or a control mac mini plug and play ----> here is one I prepared earlier http://www.techietalk.co.uk/news/snp-productions-supplies-catalysts-roca-video-univisions-world-cup-studio/ Ian H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleepytom Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 Hmm well 8x catalyst is a very expensive solution that still doesn't provide true sync between the screens. few affordable options give true sync, it might not be important for some applications. If you do want proper sync then you need to genlock the players - Extron do a HD media player with genlock that is not insanely expensive http://www.extron.com/product/product.aspx?id=mmp9500&s=0 or the Doremi Nugget Pro would also be a good choice. Either of these machine will give perfect genlocked sync. if you don't need proper sync then the Viewstream 450 machines look like the best value option - $800 per screen is very cheap for a centrally managed playback solution, less than half what you'd pay for a catalyst system, with the bonus of a much easier UI to manage the remote machines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nevbull Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 Catalyst is not actually that expensive, and if synced with a timecode source, is a good option for multi screen playbacks. The flexibility of content manipulation that a media server playback gives vs a doremi or other EVS type machine is worth the cost.If you make a mac mini solution as Ian suggests, the costs are very low. If all you want is straight playback with no ability for content manipulation or change, then maybe a standalone media player is a an option - but rarely these days does a production or installation not have a design that changes at the last minute or require a tweak here or there. Nev. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbuckley Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 If the requirement is sixteen sync'd pre-recorded video feeds, then sixteen timecoded DVRs may well be cheaper than mini macs plus catalyst (or similar) and will be less faffle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleepytom Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 Catalyst is not actually that expensive, and if synced with a timecode source, is a good option for multi screen playbacks. The flexibility of content manipulation that a media server playback gives vs a doremi or other EVS type machine is worth the cost.If you make a mac mini solution as Ian suggests, the costs are very low. If all you want is straight playback with no ability for content manipulation or change, then maybe a standalone media player is a an option - but rarely these days does a production or installation not have a design that changes at the last minute or require a tweak here or there. Nev.You are compairing apples and eggs there. Doremi can handle playlists and scheduling without any problem, EVS well yes it probably could do too if you have the right components but calling doremi an EVS type system is a bit odd (the only thing that EVS and Doremi have in common is they can record and playback video files) you also seem confused about the cost issues - of the three products that you mention (doremi, EVS, Catalyst) Catalyst is the cheapest by a factor of at least 10 (more like 100 times cheaper than EVS). The reasons are two fold, Doremi playback is a LOT more reliable than Catalyst, making it suitable for on-air playback, and Doremi is real hardware meaning that its R+D costs are huge and that it properly interfaces into the broadcast world. Catalyst cannot provide properly syncronised multi-machine playback, timecode or not it simply doesn't have the required video hardware to provide perfect (scaline level) sync. It might do an OK job of faking multimachine sync but don't confuse this with real genlocked synchronisation. We do not know the level of synchronisation required as the OP didn't post any details. The media management issue is interesting, I've not seen the most recent catalyst systems, do they now offer some kind of media manager?- the old system where you had to name files to include their DMX address was not very user friendly. The hippo "zoo keeper" method of networked media management is far preferable. But I'd suggest that the networked media players such as the viewstream 450 possibly will have the easiest media management interface, as these digital signage systems are designed for ease of use by non-technical people from a centrally managed network containing hundreds of players. TBH I was very surprised by the low cost of the viewstream players, they are a very affordable option that would work well for lots of installation type uses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickb12345 Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 At the other end of the scale - the cheap solution would be 16 cheap DVD players, with 1 remote controlling the lot. Press play on the remote, all players start at the same time. Doesn't allow you to update the content over a network, and isn't a proper sync. Just depends how important the sync aspect is, and how low the budget is. There are also plenty of Digital Signage solutions out there that allow LAN updates and syncing different zones and players. May be worth a look. Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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