help setting up a epson projector for powerpoint in church?

[bignate]

okay so my church pastor and worship leader are wanting to get a projector setup for 2 reasons
1#the pastor is on the mission field and takes alot of pictures and shares them later we usualy set up a epson lcd projector not sure on model # i will get it soon it will be what im wanting to getg setup..anyways pull out the screen hook up there laptop and just do it quickly..so that is one thing it will be used for ..
2#the worship leader woulkd like to put up the words to our songs on it. we currently have a old projector that we put laminate copies on.im not that into the media aspect im mainly the sound guy so i dont even know what the programing for doing such things would be.

mainly my questions are
1#what is the furthest away i could mount this to a ceiling mount of somesort?
2# is there a cordless like serial plug in i can get or do i have to run a 50FT serial cable?
3#what would be a decent program for doing like words with a song? preferably MAC and windows compatible..
i think thats it solet me know what you guys think

 

[DuckJordan]

your first question is dependent upon budget, and projector. It could be as little as 2 foot to way up there to about 100'. So some of the bigger questions are what are your budget constraints.

Powerpoint works great but you would need to have someone run the computer that knows the songs.

As far as a wireless solution for video from the computer to the projector I don't think i have ever seen one. Not saying they are not out there just haven't seen any.

 

[kiwitechgirl]

Powerpoint works great but you would need to have someone run the computer that knows the songs.

No it doesn't! I hate PowerPoint though....there are software applications designed specifically for church usage - I don't deal with any of them, but one which often pops in answer to questions of this sort is EasyWorship. If you use PowerPoint you'll have to design slides for each and every single song you use, whereas EasyWorship has a lot of the work done for you already. Their webpage is here.... EasyWorship Church Presentation Software

 

[cpf]

I've built subtitling powerpoints where you just paste the words all into one slide and when it's running you just click to advance 1/2/3 lines. No need for special software if you have more time than money. Of course, if you're looking at succession planning, some off-the-shelf software with support backing it would be a good asset.

EDIT: Kingcaffeine has suggestions for the RS232C

 

[museav]

1#what is the furthest away i could mount this to a ceiling mount of somesort?

That depends on the projector or projector and lens combination and the image size, which hasn't been discussed.

2# is there a cordless like serial plug in i can get or do i have to run a 50FT serial cable?

What is the purpose of the serial connection? A serial connection could be used to control the projector from a PC or control system if the projector supports it, but you're still going to have to run video cabling to the projector.

3#what would be a decent program for doing like words with a song? preferably MAC and windows compatible.

PowerPoint is probably the most common as many people already have it. In the worship market, EasyWorship (EasyWorship Church Presentation Software), ProPresenter (Renewed Vision - ProPresenter 4, ProVideoPlayer (PVP), ProVideoSync (PVS) - Worship Software for Mac and Windows, Media Server, Church Presentation Software) and SongShowPlus (SongShowPlus - Worship Presentation Software - Home) are probably the most common worship specific presentation software packages. Of those, I believe that only ProPresenter is Mac and Windows compatible.

Another aspect of this is that you need to address licensing since you are copying and publicly displaying the lyrics. From the CCLI web site:

"We only project songs. Do we need a license?
In most cases, yes. Entering and storing copyrighted song lyrics on a computer without permission of the copyright owner is a reproduction copying activity and is a violation of the Federal Copyright Law."

You might also want to look at this, Projecting Excellence. Note that this may not apply to many traditional arrangements or traditional hymns that are legally considered to be in the public domain but would apply to most contemporary music and newer arrangements.

 

[Kingcaffeine]

Belden 9534 cable should work nicely for RS232 serial control (solder your own connectors- from a local Elex shop- cheap!), and any high quality CAT5e with some baluns would be great for video signal if distance and cost are prohibitive.

 

[museav]

Belden 9534 cable should work nicely for RS232 serial control (solder your own connectors- from a local Elex shop- cheap!), and any high quality CAT5e with some baluns would be great for video signal if distance and cost are prohibitive.

If not handshaking is required, which is usually the case for projectors, then I've also often used mic/line audio cable for RS-232 with the two conductors for TX and RX and the shield for ground.

 

[NickVon]

your first question is dependent upon budget, and projector. It could be as little as 2 foot to way up there to about 100'. So some of the bigger questions are what are your budget constraints.

Powerpoint works great but you would need to have someone run the computer that knows the songs.

As far as a wireless solution for video from the computer to the projector I don't think i have ever seen one. Not saying they are not out there just haven't seen any.

Check IOGear's website, they have some video HD wireless solutions that look less crappy then others that i've looked at. Limited mostly to 20-30 feet though and Line-of-sight