I may be in over my head

[tricky1]

I have been tasked with figuring out how to distribute video to 3 feeds(out of 9) with a $1800 budget. I need a scaler/switcher, VGA Splitter/Distribution Amp, Camera, and Tripod.

I thought I had it figured out until a teacher from the high school I went to which has a very nice class for broadcasting and graphics etc. stopped me this morning and threw some questions at me since he's dealing with the same thing.

He was saying they replaced one SD camera in the auditorium with 3 HD cameras and ran into an issue where the audio was arriving at the displays about a second and a half ahead of the video. Along with that they were stuck with MASSIVE amounts of data to process. They had to purchase an additional rackmount device to delay the audio so that it would sync up. They also decided to cut back from HD resolution to 480p.

Now on my situation. I had spec'd out a low end but what I considered workable system for the budget I was handed.

a Kramer VP729 Scaler/Switcher @ $1066
2x 4 Channel VGA Distribution Amps with audio from Mono price @ $106.74 shipped
a JVC GZHD520BUS Camera @ $499.95
and a Manfrotto 190XB tripod with a 700RC2 Mini Video Head @ $217.62
That puts us just about $90 over budget but I was told that was okay.

However with the issues presented to me this morning I want to be 100% sure we wont run into any issues and to see if anyone has any suggestions besides telling the pastor and his wife that no way it ain't happening on ~$1900

We already have the cabling run. It was run when the building was built 2 years ago. it's all RapidRun cable which is ridiculously expensive. I wasn't in on that discussion but I would have also told them they didn't need a fiber run to link the 2 switches in separate mezzanines about 100 to 150 feet apart. Whoever set them up saw them coming.

[petereit]

Sounds like your teacher didn't do his homework.

If he had run his audio to one of his cameras instead of running it to the studio, he wouldn't have needed the audio delay device.

[petereit]

Only one gotcha I can see: the only output available on the camera is HDMI, which means you are going to be a slave to the limitations of the HDMI specs. The spec limit of an HDMI cable is 35 feet max, so you'll need to install the Kramer scaler close to your camera (the closer the better) and make sure NOONE ever touches the HDMI cable and that there is absolutely no tension on the cable. HDMI cable ends are only too happy to slide right out of their sockets and any tension at all (or frequent plugging/unplugging) quickly leads to "fiddly" connections and unexpected dropouts.

[petereit]

Strike that previous HDMI-only comment. I see that the camera has an optional component video adapter. Running a 3-wire component video cable (or a 5-wire component A/V cable) can get you WELL beyond the 35-foot HDMI limit.

But I also see that the camera does not have any audio input options, which could bring in your teacher's audio/video sync issue, unless you were planning on using the camera's built in mic for audio (which I would never suggest.)

[sien]

Do you want to switch between video and powerpoint/worship lyrics? Or could it be just video?

[Brad Weber]

Originally Posted by tricky1

I have been tasked with figuring out how to distribute video to 3 feeds(out of 9) with a $1800 budget. I need a scaler/switcher, VGA Splitter/Distribution Amp, Camera, and Tripod.

Can you describe in functional terms what you are trying to do? Is it to simply send the camera image to three video displays of some type? What inputs do the receive devices accept? How far is it from the camera to where the distribution gear would be and from there to the end points? What are you trying to shoot with the camera? Are you going to have a camera operator? Are you only distributing the live signal or may you also want to record? Do you need a local monitor in addition to the remote end points? How are you getting the audio, is that a mono or stereo feed from a mixer?

The camera noted appears to be a consumer model. Have you verified whether you would have any warranty and whether it will provide a live video output? The information I can find only references the video outputs in terms of playback of recorded files so if you have not already done so you may want to verify that it will provide a live output.

The product literature for the VP-729 notes that it incorporates an adjustable 0-340ms audio delay. However, do you need a 9 input switcher, in fact do you need a switcher/scaler at all? If all you are doing is distributing the camera output then unless the end points do not support HDMI or component video, I'm not clear why any image processing would be needed, which is also where much of the delay noted as a concern would likely occur.

Originally Posted by tricky1

We already have the cabling run. It was run when the building was built 2 years ago. it's all RapidRun cable which is ridiculously expensive. I wasn't in on that discussion but I would have also told them they didn't need a fiber run to link the 2 switches in separate mezzanines about 100 to 150 feet apart. Whoever set them up saw them coming.

You may be jumping to conclusions based on incomplete information. The RapidRun cable may be excessive but that depends on the situation. What are the cabling paths? Is any of the cable in conduit and did any have to be run in existing conduit? Might any of the cabling have to be plenum, either as run or if it could not be run in conduit? Who installed and terminated the cable? In some situations RapidRun cable can turn out to be less expensive than other cabling options combined with the conduit, labor, etc. associated with using that cable. It can also be a good option in some situations where things may readily change in the future.

Do you happen to know what RapidRun cable was run? There are three different basic 'runner cables'; PC (marked with yellow bands at the ends), Multimedia (identified by blue bands at each end) and Digital (red bands at each end). Which type of runner cable is in place will define what type of connectivity and video signals can be supported.

[tricky1]

Originally Posted by Brad Weber

Can you describe in functional terms what you are trying to do? Is it to simply send the camera image to three video displays of some type? What inputs do the receive devices accept? How far is it from the camera to where the distribution gear would be and from there to the end points? What are you trying to shoot with the camera? Are you going to have a camera operator? Are you only distributing the live signal or may you also want to record? Do you need a local monitor in addition to the remote end points? How are you getting the audio, is that a mono or stereo feed from a mixer?...<snip>

To start with just distribution to monitors/projectors. I found out our RapidRun cable is the PC runner, which after doing some research I realized that I was incorrect to bash it. I did come up with a solution using the Blackmagic Design ATEM Software/Hardware solution and 2 1x4 VGA Audio splitters from Monoprice along with 2 HDMI to VGA Audio converters from the same. The runs are various lengths to various points, not sure on exact length as we have no documentation from the installer on it. We were basically left with a partially installed system due to the financial crisis which hit during construction and cuts were made. To begin with it would be mostly stationary of the pastor but we will probably need a volunteer to run it. I have budgeted in new monitors for the presentation computer and Switcher as we are still 4:3 on everything. Audio will probably be stereo analog converted to digital using Blackmagic Designs Adapter so everything will be in sync and running through the switcher. We want to be able to switch between the Camera and Easyworship feed. I went cheap on the Camera due to budget. I would love to have a bigger budget and go all out on the camera.