Choosing a computer for projection.

[mediafunfan]

Looking for advice. In the process of choosing a computer equipped to run SongShow Plus, PowerPoint, dual monitors, video clips with or without sound and all controlled in the same work station and output to projectors, what would be good recommendations for hardware? We want to stick with computer signal only to the projectors and avoid switching the projectors. The longest cable run may be as much as 100ft. Should we use VGA monitor cable or Cat5 cable with Cat5 to VGA converters at each end? Can we have an Ethernet jack from the video card? We would like to use projectors with native resolution of at least 1024 x 768 (XGA). Am I shooting for the moon or is any of this in reason? How would we connect a switcher/scaler to this system?
Thanks for any help
Marc

[Tony Kanago]

First, what is your budget for this? What switcher/scaler do you have or what are you looking into?

The switcher/scaler will be connected, unless you get one with other features, simply by your video output from your video card. No, you cannot get an Ethernet output directly from the video card; however, you can get converters/handlers to run video over Cat5. This just won't be a part of the card.

Well, you can start by checking out the recommended system requirements for SongShow Plus here. That will be your most demanding piece of software.

Now, since those requirements are for a computer running only SongShow, you'll want to upgrade a few things. Stick with a processor that runs at more than 2.0GHz at least, and make sure it doesn't have HyperThreading. You'll definitely want to go all out on your RAM... Personally, I'd cram as much into it as possible, but that's just me.

As far as video cables, I've never had any need to run Cat5 in place of standard VGA. I'm sure someone else will chime in with that advice. If you're using a switcher/scaler, the output from the computer will go into the VGA input of the switcher, your other video sources will go into the other inputs, and your switcher will output VGA to the projectors.

[mediafunfan]

We don't have a budget yet, may be a moderate on though. I'm trying to check all the options for a system that can be upgraded later.

[mediafunfan]

Alex, How are your VGA cable runs?

[mediafunfan]

Excuse me Alex, I meant how long are the cable runs?

[twj]

Hyperthreading is now OK with SSP. We have been using it for months. Buy the best pci express video card and power supply you can afford. If you have to make cut backs avoid cutting back on the video card. Mr. Lightman's link is to a page that is a little outdated even though it's on SSP's web site.

http://www.ssplash.com/Support/Knowl...c/Default.aspx

Ah well, guess I haven't been keeping up with the times as well as I thought I had.

I've used standard VGA in multiple cases in which the cable runs well exceeded 100 or even 150 feet.

[twj]

Put a vga distribution amp after your switcher and you can run long vga cable runs without problems. I haven't tried converting to cat5 but for runs under 200 feet you're just adding more converters that can fail. Failures never seem to happen after the service.

[Sysmom]

Don't forget to get PLENTY of discrete Video Ram on your video card(s). None of this 'shared' stuff. You're going to be asking your video card(s) to do a lot. Get the extra VRam on them. And double check your DirectX compatibility. I don't know if Sunday Show Plus uses that or not, but some things do.

Big fat hard drive .... because media eats storage space, and it isn't like you want to delete it. We re-use ours, even if it's only once a year for the Annual XYZ event.

One of the things on our computers that has saved my bacon several times wasn't something we spec'd out - it just sort of came with it. Card reader slots. Once every other month or so, someone's got a picture that just HAS to get up on screen from their digital camera. I never imagined that having those slots on the front of the computer could be so useful.

In the convenience column:

Internet Connection

Front headphones jack
Front USB ports
Front Card Slots
(Media booths are notoriously crowded. When you need any of those thing, you don't want to go digging around, pushing equipt, etc)

Our projection machines get used for last minute image editing, video editing, audio editing and other various and sundry tasks, as well as projecting things.

Bottom line: Buy as much computer as you can afford, and then some. Don't go on minimal specifications at all. Don't scrimp on RAM, Video Ram, Video Card(s), Processor Speed, or hard drive space.

deb

[COURTYARD]

you need a very very good dual video card and lots lots of its own ram

[waynehoskins]

I may have gone slightly overboard on mine, but I got two video cards, both nVidia, a PCI card with 256 MB for the control screen, and a PCI-E card with 512 MB for the program screen. I was going to just use the 512 and the onboard video, but my stupid logicboard bankswitches the onboard controller with (at least) the PCI-E slot, so you get A or B, but not both. So I got a second card.

Yep, build it as screaming fast as you can. And then put a fast, light OS on it ( = not Vista, grumble grumble) and it should be plenty fine.