Basic Media Computer

[WORDpictures]

May I ask your suggestions of a reliable & cost-effective PC for basic media. Run projection software, basic video edits, video playback from files or DVD. My experience & associates are all in the Mac platform. So I'm looking for initial direction toward what does the job best in PC terms for proposal options.

[[Admin] osborn4]

It really depends on what you are doing with the projection software, but by and large, put your money into the video card and ram and the rest will sort itself out.

At church, we run a machine from GoFishMedia.net, but they aren't cheap (but I think worth it). Not had a lick of trouble with it.

Personally, I'm not a fan of Dell or the Compaq side of HP.

I, personally, like Lenovo and Asus. I've not tried Lenovo for a media machine. I like it because I'm very familiar with them at work (we have about 5000 or so).

And I've never had trouble with my Asus laptop at all and I have used it for some very heavy projection duties at conferences and such.

[ruikuanli]

Agree with investing on the video card and RAM,
in terms of video card, iprefer a video card that can be extend two or more display and has a video-in functionality.

[sempei13]

I'd get the fastest computer you can afford. Upgrading ram and HD are cheap and easier to do that upgrading the MoBo. Win 7 for sure.

I do have a question. If you only know Macs, why not get an iMac? There's a learning curve in switching OS. ProPresenter is a great presentation software, so it's not like you need to be PC for that.

One thing I'd say is keep the presentation computer for presentations. Keep it off the internet if at all possible so it doesn't get viruses or malware. If you do that, you might be able to get away w/o antivirus and the performance hit it could cause.

Paul

[WORDpictures]

Any particular brands? I do use PC's for non-media use & the church & its membership as a whole seem PC-oriented here. (Though I would be happiest to never work with a PC again in my life quite frankly). My non-media encounters are only with Dell and the church uses Acer because a member has access to donate these. The computer we have available for Powerpoint isn't designed for media thus there have been issues I'm trying to work around to get us into capability to process video of the sermon for the web. But I'm also considering a switch to MediaShout to help with DVD & video file playback issues.

I love the iMac with ProPresenter and use it regularly elsewhere, but this church already uses PowerPoint for PC so there's another cross-platform expense right off the bat. I would insist "this is a Mac operation" if I saw this as a long-term role for myself where video production beyond sermon trims were a factor. I admit, it's very difficult for me to even consider going non-Mac.

[northerntech]

We use an HP Quad-core Win7 with MediaShout. We considered ProPresenter and a Mac, but decided the learning curve was too large for a staff familiar with PC's. Factor in the cost and the more robust PC hardware and it was a no-brainer. Our new pastor uses a Mac and we've had some issues getting it to play nice with our video system, but we're getting there.

I'd second the earlier point about not connecting whatever you get to the 'net or at least password-protecting it. Our computer problems have all but ceased since we started keeping the Youth off it. No Facebook, no e-mail, no viruses, no unsavory content appearing when you least expect it, etc.

[[Admin] osborn4]

I don't have much experience with Acer, but it should be fine. At least it's not a Dell.

Just jack up the RAM and the video card.

And I hope by "donated" you don't mean 5 years old.

But it they've already go Acers in their infrastructure, that could be a good way to go.

[fbcsburg1]

If you know someone who knows how to custom build you one I would go that route. It will save you a lot of money and you can pick the most reliable brands for your build.

[Gracetech]

I second the roll your own method. I tend to shy away from most pre-built name brand workstations. That said you can get some places to piece a computer together or even PC boutiques roll their own.

Key features for a PC
Dual core(fastest speed you care to go with) Quad cores+ are nice but not necessary.
Minimum of 4 gigs of ram
Video card with over a 200 bit bus with a gig of vram(the bus speed isn't really important, it's just a way of telling the better processing cards from the others)

Nice add on's
SSD boot drive
Mirrored drives(helps prevent down time from drive failure)

You could put a beast of a computer together for 800 bucks and a tank for about 500 more.

It's always good to future proof as much as possible. A solid Hex core or better with 8 gigs of ram could last 10 years at the slow rate of software improvements. Only thing you may need to change out every 3 to 4 years is the video card.

crt

[EricE]

Originally Posted by WORDpictures

But I'm also considering a switch to MediaShout to help with DVD & video file playback issues.

If you are already familiar with ProPresenter, version 4 supports Windows and PP5 for Windows is pending.

We got our first Mac and ProPresenter after a copy of MediaShout was donated to us. After a month of trying to get used to it's interface I asked where the copy of MediaShout came from. Turns out it came from a former member of our congregation who felt called to plant a church in another state. I emailed him and asked him why he sent us the copy of MediaShout and he replied because he now had ProPresenter and didn't need it any more I had never heard of it, downloaded the demo and then decided to donate a Mac Mini and the ProPresenter license since I'm the one who does the majority of our media. I haven't looked back. For those who are comfortable and have been using MediaShout for a long time - I'm happy for you. It was complete greek to me, and while I'm still learning stuff about ProPresenter, I'm far more functional with it than I ever was with MediaShout and it's far friendlier to others who we've gotten involved as well.