Video Distribution

[tyler.martin]

Hey,

I am a tech at a local theatre, that currently has an old AMP brand video distribution system. Right now, the camera goes through a AMP brand RF converter, which configures it to channel X, then it goes through the attached school's coaxial system. We are in the process of doing some renovations, and we want to upgrade. As it stands, there are three locations we view the image, Booth, Green Room/SM station and in the Lobby.

This is my plan:

1 New Infrared camera running to the booth and the SM station/Green Room through a Cat5 video system, using the built in infrastructure (Which we can do. The School has cat6 running through out it)

2 New HD camera to the two plasma's that are going to be hung in the lobby as overflow seating for certain events. Distributed using a Component to Cat5 Amp/Distribution.


Ideas and Suggestions?

Thanks

[museav]

I'm not sure exactly what you are looking for; is it specific product suggestions, designing it for you, how to install it or what? A search here might give some ideas as far as camera and UTP transmission products, both have been addressed in the past.

I would be careful about assuming that you can use the existing CAT5/5e/6 infrastructure. Audio and video over UTP is point-to-point, not network, communications. If you have CAT cable going direct from the source location to the destination location that's great, but if that runs through switches or routers or is part of a network then it will not work. In some cases you may be able to bypass the network integration and create a direct connection by patching both ends at a patch panel(s) in a MDF or IDF room(s), but I sometimes hesitate to do that if someone else can easily change or undo the patching and especially if you may then not have ready access to those spaces.

Would you run only the IR camera to the SM/Green Room and Booth or would you want to be able to switch one or both between the two cameras? Don't forget that at least the Lobby feed would likely have associated audio. Do you have any other goals or constraints such as a budget?

[SHARYNF]

Typically unmanned HD cameras just fixed on the stage is not going to prvide a very good feed for an overflow seating. Problem is people looking at a display are used to high production values and professional production. Are you looking at a professional HD camera or using a more consumer HD camera for the feed. One of the issues you are going to run into is keeping the audio in sync with the video. In other threads the questions are come up re the issue with too much delay on the video processing. A HD camera feeding out to analog and then sent to a display converted back to digital etc, is typically going to experience noticeable sync delay.

Sharyn

[tyler.martin]

1) What I am looking for is some product suggestions, and some overall advice.
I am not going into pricing now, this would be coming out of a larger capital grant anyway, and i am not sure of the overall funding details and such.

I have only used the overflow in the lobby maybe a dozen times in the past year, and it isnt for theatre shows, its usally a church or a meeting of some sorts. If it is a higher action show i have a camera man come in.
Would be looking for a prosumer camera, preferably a Panasonic, something along the lines of an HVX200 or a HPX170. Both can output 1080p over component, but no HDMI output. The Infrared camera is NOT going to be fed to the lobby.

At my AV job, we use Extron VGA+ Audio to Cat5 systems, and i have run them easily 300ft and not had a problem with sync.

Our lobby is getting completly redone, so we are more than likely to get Cat 5 run to the TV's anyway, to avoid using existing infrastructure.

[avkid]

Please do not let anyone buy plasma displays.

LCD or LED

[SHARYNF]

1) What I am looking for is some product suggestions, and some overall advice.
I am not going into pricing now, this would be coming out of a larger capital grant anyway, and i am not sure of the overall funding details and such.

I have only used the overflow in the lobby maybe a dozen times in the past year, and it isnt for theatre shows, its usally a church or a meeting of some sorts. If it is a higher action show i have a camera man come in.
Would be looking for a prosumer camera, preferably a Panasonic, something along the lines of an HVX200 or a HPX170. Both can output 1080p over component, but no HDMI output. The Infrared camera is NOT going to be fed to the lobby.

At my AV job, we use Extron VGA+ Audio to Cat5 systems, and i have run them easily 300ft and not had a problem with sync.

Our lobby is getting completly redone, so we are more than likely to get Cat 5 run to the TV's anyway, to avoid using existing infrastructure.

The Sync issue is not Video distance issue but rather the audio and Video being in sync with each other.

Here is the fundamental issue, the camera needs to take the digital feed, and convert it over to component format and then the display needs to take the component feed and convert it back to digital. When these cameras and displays are designed, the engineering is not concerned with the delay in processing on either of these feeds, so you wind up in many cases with several frames of delay, the audio does not need the same processing so it is not delayed. SOMETIMES the better approach is actually to use the HDMI output if it has audio with the video since USUALLY both the camera and the display are aware of the delay on this interface and so there is processing utilized to keep the audio and video in sync.

Sharyn