Switching between VGA & s-video (low budget)?

[audioman42]

Hello all,

I recently installed two projectors at my church. They are connected to a desktop computer via VGA & work great for displaying song lyrics during praise & worship, or notes during a sermon. Since the projectors are located down at the front of the sanctuary, they must be turned on before service and left on the entire time.

The projectors are connected directly to the computer, so whatever is visible on the computer screen is also visible on the projectors during the service. This means we have to create a single PowerPoint for the entire service and insert black slides for those times when we don't want an image on the screens. It also makes the computer unusable during the service because any editing/opening of files will be plainly visible by the the congregation.

Is there a cheap solution to this problem? I just want to be able to switch (fade would be nice [to keep it professional]) between one or two VGA inputs and maybe an s-video/RCA input for the camera. I came across a Videonics MX-1 video mixer on craigslist, but it has no VGA inputs or outputs. If I went with this one, I would have to convert from VGA to s-video to send it to the mixer, & then from s-video back to VGA to send it to the projectors. It would work, but I want to maintain the high-quality VGA signal.

Thanks

[waynehoskins]

I'd say it's not worth it. The MX-1 is nearly 20 years old and crappy; most of the ones that were still running five years ago have been dropping like flies. Plus you're downconverting to 525 lines, just to re-upconvert later.

Two basic options come to mind, and if possible I'd do both:
- Get a presentation switcher (Extron IN1508 comes to mind) that will allow you to bring in additional sources, such as a DVD player, all upconverted to XGA or better.
- Upgrade projection software. Any of the "worship software" packages will allow you to edit while in performance, unlike Powerpoint which is modal. Propresenter, Songshow Plus, Mediashout, Easyworship, etc. They're all in the about-$400 class and well worth the investment.

[technikfreak]

Hello together,

i think you need just a 2nd monitor Output, like on the laptop and there you could close and open the powerpoint search files ect... on one screen, the other is black because you have a black background, so there i didn't see a need for a video mixer.
As you want play sometimes a clip, than use vlc it would plays when you set in the settings directly on the 2nd monitor out.

Best regards,
Martin

[Arlin]

Like said, converting vga to s-video then back to vga results in a loss of quality, and I would recommend against it (although there are a lot of churches that do this).

The easiest and cheapest and quickest option would be to use PowerPoint's "Presenter View." This requires the PC have dual monitor capability (most PCs do today) with the video options properly set (generally, the option 'Extend my Windows Desktop onto this monitor' should be enabled).
Set up the PC so that the projector output is your secondary display with no icons and a black background. Thus, when you are not showing a PPT, the projector output will be blank and black. You can continue working on the PC monitor without anyone seeing what you are doing... like playing solitare .
For video, some video card drivers have a "Theater Mode" (ATI/AMD term, I think). Enabling this will automatically play videos full screen on the secondary display while the player and player controls can still be seen on the PC screen.

That covers the quick, easy, and cheap method of doing what you want, I think.
Beyond that, I would look at getting a video switcher like the Extron IN1508 or Kramer VP-729 for an entry level switcher. I think a switcher like these would be about $1,000. That would add the ability to easily switch between different video feeds or blank the screen with a touch of a button.

[natedj]

What yo need to do is to invest in a dual head graphics card for you PC. You can get a very nice one for under $100 at newegg.com and then set your display to "expand your desktop" that way you can work independently on each screen.
Using a laptop without a dual head graphics port will not work. it will cost too much to up grade a laptop that its worth (probably not possible)