Projection programs and Cabling problems

[mcdubs]

I have two problems that I'm trying to solve and I can't find a solution in the rest of this forum. (If the answer to one of them is there, let me know and I'll go read the information in that thread!)

I'm in a theater with very irritating capabilities. I want to use projectors on the stage, but there's no good way to run cable from the stage to the booth. The windows of the booth don't open and the only ports on the stage are mic XLR, audio twist-lock speakers, headset, lighting stage-pin, and something labeled "Video" that looks like a circle with a pin in the middle of it - may be a BNC connector. (I've rarely seen that type of connector and I'm not an A/V person usually). And obviously power outlets. The computer I'd be controlling the projectors with would be in the booth (also controlling sound through QLab - I want to control both from the same program, which I sort-of know how to do).

My first question is is there a way using those connections and the wiring already in the walls of the theater to connect the projectors to the booth? (I don't know what projectors I'll be using yet, exactly, but they'll hopefully have all the standard ports: RGB, VGA, HDMI,...any other ports that I'm forgetting).

My second question is about programming. I want to have 5 screens and 3 different images at one time. (1 screen in back, 2 screens mid, and 2 screens downstage with different images at each level). I was wondering what you all thought a good program would be to connect to QLab to be able to control the 5 projectors together but with different images. I only plan on projection still images.

As for budget: we have a budget and it's not a ridiculous amount of money but it is enough to buy and/or rent equipment if we need to.

I know this is a lot of questions and probably a huge amount of information. I'm mainly trained on electrics and stage management and am in charge of everything technical at a community college theater and want to do very digital things for our spring show and have no idea how to accomplish them. I've worked with theaters that have done this so I know it's theoretically possible but I have no idea how to implement it.

 

[afreeradical]

Sounds like you'd be better with a bunch of carousel slide projectors and a Dove Unit

 

[Amiers]

A picture of the Video connector would help. I would start with trying to find the mating connector in the booth just to make sure it is there. Then I would talk to an employee that has been there the longest to see if they have any knowledge of the building.

After that you still only have 1 video run so you will have to split that up with a something that is 1 input to 5 outputs and convert the connection from the wall port to fit the hardware from there you would have normal cabling going to said projectors. It is definitely a big project and if you look back on any thread that talks about projections there is a lot of info on all of them.

 

[Drew Schmidt]

First you have to ask, how to I get QLab -> 3 distinct stills. There are a few ways to do this, the best is to use a Matrox Triple Head to Go (TH2G). This will split your second monitor into three distinct monitors. You can then use QLab's surfaces feature to split this up accordingly. If you have 5 projectors, but only 3 individual sources, then you simply need to split from one to the next.

Next, getting to the stage. You would be surprised the number of holes you might find above your ceiling tile. Go exploring. This might open up a world of possibilities. The most common then would be HDMI or VGA over Cat5 cables. But obviously that might not work for you in this case.

The next option would be to use "those video connections", (Called BNC) this is the type of connection that is used for SDI. The amount of traction you'll get from this depends on the length of your run and the type of cable used to make this run. Of course, back to the 3 individual sources; you'll need three individual connections. You can then use HDMI to SDI converters to get there.

Or, you could *not* purchase / rent all this equipment and instead purchase / rent 3 Mac Minis. You could put a Mac Mini at each projector (of course splitting for the other 2) and connect them to your network over Cat5 (not WiFi). Then do a Qlab rental ($7 a day will get you a license on all 4 computers). You can then control all three computers from your master Qlab via OSC cues.

This gets to be a little more of a headache because you'll need to transfer content over the network and access the Mac Minis over Screen Sharing (called VNC), but if you had no other choice because of connections and walls, this would certainly do the trick. It would also relieve your main system from having to control 3 individual sources (which shouldn't be a problem if you're only doing stills).

 

[dbaxter]

When we did Tommy at our theater, we used two computers on stage to drive 2 video outputs each (4 images), plus 2 projectors from the booth to achieve this. The on stage computers were controlled via the wireless network and there were no connection issues during the run. So I wouldn't dismiss a wireless solution out-of-hand. All the computers were Windows machines, however. You will need to PM me as to the software due to the forum rules.