Hi guys,
Been lurking around here a little over a year. This is my first real post.
I've been working with a community theater for just over two years now. I've designed and/or engineered 11 shows for them. When I first started, all I had was a Mackie 1604 VLZ, a CD player and a mini-disk player. Summer of 2011, I was given a 6 year old PC, running XP with a decent Creative Labs card capable of 7.1 output. I made unbalanced 1/8" stereo to 1/4" cables to get into the Mackie. I bought a copy of SCS and off I went. We do suffer through slight, occasional noise that has been narrowed down to the playback computer and/or cables (probably the internal D/As). It's noticeable sometimes but not obnoxious.
We also do a lot of fundraising events like sing-a-long Sound of Music or Wizard of Oz and also an interactive Rocky Horror. We license and screen the material and actually do a fun interactive plan. I'm sure you guys know what I'm talking about. We didn't invent it... At first, I only had an old DVD player with RCA stereo outs to the Mackie. Over a year ago, we bought a new Blu-Ray player (when we replaced the projector) and continued using the RCA stereo outs. We also do collaborative events with local filmmakers where we show their film, then have a Q&A afterwards.
Last May, we had the old FOH stereo system replaced with E-V L/C/R/Subs, amps and processors. It was a huge improvement! But we were still driving it with the Mackie or a rented console for musicals, usually a Venice 320. Last November, a nice elderly lady approached the theater wondering if we were in need of any equipment, large or small, to "make the experience better". Was she kidding? We asked for a new console and got a Pro1! I rewired the patch cables for my setup with XLRs and there I was.
Last Summer I discovered QLab. I was blown away. I love it! But it's Mac only. This past Christmas, my uncle gave me his old MacMini (Mid-2010, core 2 duo) when he bought 2 new ones. Now I have a Mac! My dad's willing to help me put a QLab system together (meaning help pay for it. He's lucky to find the on/off button on a computer =P ). Sooo...
I've decided on an Echo AudioFire12. It maximizes my channels while skipping mic pres, etc. I have a Pro1. What do I need Echo's pres for? I seldom do any recording anyway, beyond maybe a recorded announcement, etc. This gives me a basic QLab system, with 12 outs!
About 10 of us have been getting together at the theater to watch SAG screeners and it got me thinking... I'd really love to do something different with A/V playback. I have a good L/C/R/Subs system. Why not use it for screenings too? For the last film, I popped the DVD into the old PC, configured the Creative driver for 3.1 playback. I'm assuming the driver decodes the audio stream and intelligently down-mixes the 6 channels to 4. Please correct me if I'm understanding this wrong. It sounded really good, except for the occasional noise that was much more apparent while watching a movie. I'm not looking for surround sound. I've got 4 wedges that I can use for surround. But I don't think they're enough to cover all 400 seats. So, I'm looking for 3.1 sound.
Wow. This is getting long. I just wanted to share some background...
After reading endlessly through forums on the net, I think I've answered some of my questions:
The MacMini will not be a good playback device, especially for Blu-Ray material. I don't think an external USB optical drive is reliable enough. And I don't think any Mac software will decode DVD and Blu-Ray audio and down-mix it to 3.1. A Blu-Ray drive, even with 7.1 analog outs, I don't think will down-mix the audio to 3.1. Besides, commercial Blu-Ray drives are really pricey.
I can take the old PC (originally dual-core, 2 GB ram), which I've already upgraded to 4 GB and Win7, pop a new video card in the PCIe slot (like a Geforce 640) for HDMI conectivity and swap a Blu_Ray/DVD Combo drive for the DVD drive. I can pop a good 1394a card in the PCI slot to move the AudioFire over. But that will bypass the Creative driver, meaning, I don't think I'll have anything to decode and down-mix the audio stream. And I don't know of any video playback software that will both decode and down-mix audio.
Questions:
Is there PC video software that will decode and down-mix 5.1 & 7.1 audio to 3.1?
Maybe I can use the SoundBlaster, using the S/PDIF (coax or optical) outs, bypassing the on-board D/As?
Will the Creative driver still decode and down-mix the audio using the S/PDIFs?
Is there an inexpensive, external S/PDIF D/A I can use to connect to the PRO1?
If I go with the EchoFire Pre8, losing 8 analog channels (4x4) but gaining a S/PDIF I/O, will I be able to pass a 3.1 audio feed onto the PRO1?
My HS TD keeps telling me that mixing consumer and commercial equipment will only give me headaches. At first, I didn't believe him. What does he know? He's a lighting guy. ;-) But my head is spinning about now. And I need to give my dad a realistic total for this playback system.
Any suggestions?
Thanks!
Sean
Been lurking around here a little over a year. This is my first real post.
I've been working with a community theater for just over two years now. I've designed and/or engineered 11 shows for them. When I first started, all I had was a Mackie 1604 VLZ, a CD player and a mini-disk player. Summer of 2011, I was given a 6 year old PC, running XP with a decent Creative Labs card capable of 7.1 output. I made unbalanced 1/8" stereo to 1/4" cables to get into the Mackie. I bought a copy of SCS and off I went. We do suffer through slight, occasional noise that has been narrowed down to the playback computer and/or cables (probably the internal D/As). It's noticeable sometimes but not obnoxious.
We also do a lot of fundraising events like sing-a-long Sound of Music or Wizard of Oz and also an interactive Rocky Horror. We license and screen the material and actually do a fun interactive plan. I'm sure you guys know what I'm talking about. We didn't invent it... At first, I only had an old DVD player with RCA stereo outs to the Mackie. Over a year ago, we bought a new Blu-Ray player (when we replaced the projector) and continued using the RCA stereo outs. We also do collaborative events with local filmmakers where we show their film, then have a Q&A afterwards.
Last May, we had the old FOH stereo system replaced with E-V L/C/R/Subs, amps and processors. It was a huge improvement! But we were still driving it with the Mackie or a rented console for musicals, usually a Venice 320. Last November, a nice elderly lady approached the theater wondering if we were in need of any equipment, large or small, to "make the experience better". Was she kidding? We asked for a new console and got a Pro1! I rewired the patch cables for my setup with XLRs and there I was.
Last Summer I discovered QLab. I was blown away. I love it! But it's Mac only. This past Christmas, my uncle gave me his old MacMini (Mid-2010, core 2 duo) when he bought 2 new ones. Now I have a Mac! My dad's willing to help me put a QLab system together (meaning help pay for it. He's lucky to find the on/off button on a computer =P ). Sooo...
I've decided on an Echo AudioFire12. It maximizes my channels while skipping mic pres, etc. I have a Pro1. What do I need Echo's pres for? I seldom do any recording anyway, beyond maybe a recorded announcement, etc. This gives me a basic QLab system, with 12 outs!
About 10 of us have been getting together at the theater to watch SAG screeners and it got me thinking... I'd really love to do something different with A/V playback. I have a good L/C/R/Subs system. Why not use it for screenings too? For the last film, I popped the DVD into the old PC, configured the Creative driver for 3.1 playback. I'm assuming the driver decodes the audio stream and intelligently down-mixes the 6 channels to 4. Please correct me if I'm understanding this wrong. It sounded really good, except for the occasional noise that was much more apparent while watching a movie. I'm not looking for surround sound. I've got 4 wedges that I can use for surround. But I don't think they're enough to cover all 400 seats. So, I'm looking for 3.1 sound.
Wow. This is getting long. I just wanted to share some background...
After reading endlessly through forums on the net, I think I've answered some of my questions:
The MacMini will not be a good playback device, especially for Blu-Ray material. I don't think an external USB optical drive is reliable enough. And I don't think any Mac software will decode DVD and Blu-Ray audio and down-mix it to 3.1. A Blu-Ray drive, even with 7.1 analog outs, I don't think will down-mix the audio to 3.1. Besides, commercial Blu-Ray drives are really pricey.
I can take the old PC (originally dual-core, 2 GB ram), which I've already upgraded to 4 GB and Win7, pop a new video card in the PCIe slot (like a Geforce 640) for HDMI conectivity and swap a Blu_Ray/DVD Combo drive for the DVD drive. I can pop a good 1394a card in the PCI slot to move the AudioFire over. But that will bypass the Creative driver, meaning, I don't think I'll have anything to decode and down-mix the audio stream. And I don't know of any video playback software that will both decode and down-mix audio.
Questions:
Is there PC video software that will decode and down-mix 5.1 & 7.1 audio to 3.1?
Maybe I can use the SoundBlaster, using the S/PDIF (coax or optical) outs, bypassing the on-board D/As?
Will the Creative driver still decode and down-mix the audio using the S/PDIFs?
Is there an inexpensive, external S/PDIF D/A I can use to connect to the PRO1?
If I go with the EchoFire Pre8, losing 8 analog channels (4x4) but gaining a S/PDIF I/O, will I be able to pass a 3.1 audio feed onto the PRO1?
My HS TD keeps telling me that mixing consumer and commercial equipment will only give me headaches. At first, I didn't believe him. What does he know? He's a lighting guy. ;-) But my head is spinning about now. And I need to give my dad a realistic total for this playback system.
Any suggestions?
Thanks!
Sean