[jgrif08]

Hey all,


I am helping a friend out who runs a production company here in LA. He has a modest edit bay set up at his office. Older mac G5 (not sure about the video card right off hand), feeding 2 20" lcd monitors. He would like to mount a 42" panel above the edit station so that clients sitting in the back of the room can view the content that the editor is working on. He would also like to send another feed upstairs (roughly a 50' run), to another panel in the conference room.


I am assuming he has the factory video card, and I am also assuming that this card only has 2 outputs. So my plan was to leave one of the outputs running straight to the main monitor that the editor uses to work in final cut. The other output will run into a Gefen 1:3 HDMI dist amp (using adapters of course). I will then run the outs of the DA to the second computer monitor, the panel in the edit bay, and the conference room panel respectively. I may need to use some baluns to get the feed up to the conference room.


I was planning to use an actual monitor (as opposed to a TV) in the edit bay, so that I would get the higher resolution. However, the panel upstairs has to be a TV, as the client wants a 65", and doesn't have 8-grand to spend on a monitor. I am assuming the the output on the computer that is being split will have to be set to the lowest common resolution correct? What about the other output? Can it be set separately?


Has anybody worked on a setup like this before? Any pitfalls you would worry about? Or perhaps any general advice?


All thoughts and suggestions are greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance,

JG

 

[Joe Fernand]

With a MAC you can set the second Monitor Out independently - though as you say all three of the Display's your planning to connect are going to have to be able to support a common signal.


I would have thought that not messing up what the Editor is working with is top priority - you won't get much thanks for leaving him/her with a downgraded Image on one of the workstation Displays!


MAC's don't always play nice in a Distributed system - you can tun into intermittent or no picture problems due to low output voltage on the MAC.


What about audio in the second Zone?


Joe

 

[jgrif08]

Nice catch Joe! To be totally honest I hadn't even thought about audio

We are considering a mac mini for the AV cabinet of the conference room. This would be for presentation purposes primarily. They will have a shared folder on the network with any content that they might want to display on the 65" panel. It will simply be controlled with a blue tooth mouse and keyboard. I have done this for a couple clients, and personally think it's much cleaner option than power and AV wires to deal with on the conference table. But I digress...


That got me to thinking about a screen-share with the g5 downstairs. This would take the 65" out of the lowest-common-resolution equation. Then we could put a 42" monitor above the edit bay, as opposed to a TV. Now the editor doesn't have to deal with a degraded image right?


Supposing the screen share will work, audio will have to be addressed separately. Perhaps just an RCA balun with an adapter off the 1/8" out will suffice? Although this will obviously limit the sound options (i.e. analog not digital) hmmmm.


Also, I'm not sure that I've ever screen shared into a computer with multiple monitors. Not quite sure how / if that would work.


I have another friend who works in a post-production studio in the area. I have seen their setup, and it includes 2 24" LCD monitors as well as a 50" sony bravia. I'm going to try and pop in there sometime and see how it's wired. The fridges are always well stocked with beer over there, and this will give me a good excuse to stop by

Thanks again Joe


Any other thoughts?

 

[jgrif08]

Consulted a bit with my friend who has a similar setup in his studio. Although i haven't been over there to witness it in action, he says they have a BlackMagic video card in their computer.

http://www.blackmagic-design.com/pro...linkhdextreme/


Just spoke with the guys over at BM, they were very helpful. Sounds like if we are going to do this install, this is the route to go.