Stage Monitor Solutions

[museav]

Erm when you are paying the sorts of dollars that [user]ruinexplorer[/user] would have been paying knowing his venue, production cost is no reason to not offer an option...

It is also quite common on higher end projectors to have some common inputs and then have other input options.

My $0.02 worth, at some of the pro AV events and shows a few years ago people were talking about about HDMI likely being replaced by DisplayPort. However, DisplayPort did not rapidly displace HDMI as expected and people may still be reticent to integrate DisplayPort or Thunderbolt until related devices they are more prevalent and until there are other devices (routers, switchers, DAs, etc.) available to support them. The simple reality is that the pro AV world would probably prefer to have never had to deal with HDMI, DisplayPort or Thunderbolt, but they are what the consumer electronics world, and especially the computer industry, elected to use and we are stuck working with them.

 

[CleverDream]

In our theater, we run our presentations off a Mac, back in the booth. Our "confidence monitor," a ~27" flatscreen mounted at an upward angle near the ground (awkward to describe, I'll try to get pics if anyone's interested,) (actually, it almost loos like a wedge audio monitor.) This is plugged into an Apple TV, connected to our facility wifi. (Secured, of course!) When we run a PowerPoint (or Keynote, etc) we just use AirPlay screen mirroring on the mac to the Apple TV. This way, the presenter can ever see the "presenter view" we can see back on the mac in the booth as well! This seems to really work well for our purposes!

 

[CBR372]

What we ended up doing for now (In planning stages of an A/V upgrade) is putting some free software (join.me) on the presentation computer and then on an iPad. Powerpoint slides look great, video playback... ehh not so great.

 

[lwinters630]

In our venue I have a computer in the booth with a DA that sends VGA to a switcher. and a second VGA w/stereo jack off stage so a presenter can bring his own laptop to the podium. The off stage jack goes to a box (name escapes me) that has a monitor out port and sends it via cat5 (200') back to the booth to another box and to the switcher. Switcher then goes to the projector (long throw in the BOH booth).

Therefore I can run video from booth or the stage by pushing a button on the switcher. This allows the presenter to control their own powerpoint (or whatever) or me to run everything from the booth. I could also run a monitor from the off stage box to a flat panel at a FOH floor position.

 

[AlexDonkle]

Unfortunately that's due to the economy of the high tech. If you don't have the pieces (chips and boards) then you don't make it. Displayport and Thunderbolt are still new, and possibly proprietary.

Just wiki'd/google'd... Thunderbolt actually includes DisplayPort (and PCIexpress) developed by Apple/Intel. Displayport was developed by VESA. (Royalty free if wikipedia is to be believed).

You are correct DisplayPort is an open standard with no royalties, but HDMI requires royalties to use (which I'm sure helps gives them the resources to keep pushing it onto everyone else). Both technologies are built on TMDS which is why adapters between the two aren't too expensive (granted DP carries much more data, and can carry 4, 1900x1200 video streams on one cable).

Personally I don't see thunderbolt making its way into much pro AV gear. HDbaseT solves a lot of the HDMI issue people have been having, and eventually AVB (if they can ever finish the standard) could hopefully replace that as well.