Is the DL.2 my solution?

Hi Dave,

Without getting into calculations for the image sizes just yet, one issue that you'll need to think about is the power point presentation. The DL fixtures were never really meant to show power point presentations, so there's not really a clean way of doing it.

About your only two options are to either use the VGA in on the side of the fixtures, or the Svideo/SDI capture to feed a computer running the power point presentation into the DL fixtures.

The problem with using the VGA-in is that it totally bypasses the media server of the DL, meaning you won't be able to collage multiple units. If you use the Svideo capture, which does run through the media server so collaging is possible, the quality of the video will be degraded as the Svideo capture resolution isn't all that stellar. The SDI would be the best option, but you would have to figure out a way to convert the output of a computer running the power point to SDI, and split it three ways to get it to all three DLs to make the collage possible.

Instead of using the power point, could the client create movie clips instead? A movie clip could be created for each award and used to scroll the names at the appropriate time.

Just some things to think about. As far as the image size calculations, do you know what your throw distance is going to be from DL to screen?

Thanks,

Thanks for the quick reply Matt. I was afraid I was going to get that answer.

I can get the client to supply a video file for the scrolling of the names. It would be a about a 5 minute video in total. They are hoping to display the award recipients from the past 75 years during the opening, so the file would be fairly large. Does this seem like the best approach? After the scrolling of the names, we will go back to a logo for the remainder of the program. I don't anticipate much of an issue with the single slide.

As for the distance. We haven't done an official walk through at the venue, but I am expecting to have a lot flexibility there. It could be anywhere between 15' and 40' from what I remember about the venue.

A single file would probably be the best approach, and 5 minutes should be just fine for the DL.3s. Make sure that the DL.3s are networked so you can use the network sync to keep the 3 servers sync'ed up on video playback. This will be pretty essential with a slow scrolling video like you describe. Also, make sure that the video is created to the DL.3 content specs, which can be found here:

www.highend.com/support/digital_lighting/CreatingCustomContent.asp

If the content is not created properly, the sync won't work.

As far as your image size, to get the 10' vertical size you are looking for, I would say you'd want to go with at least a 30' throw. The vertical size at a 30' throw is 12.5', which should be able to cover the overlap of the collaging, as well as any image size loss due to keystoning. If you can, going out to a 35' throw might be even better, as that will get you more flexibility. You can find the image size chart here:

www.highend.com/pub/products/digital_lighting/DL3/Projection%20chart%20DL3%20Standard.pdf

That's for a standard lens, which will work just fine for your set up and keep you from having to pay extra on your rental for alternate lens.


Hope this helps. Please let me know if I can help any further.

Thanks,