4 cameras in / 3 projectors out / Matrix Switch with preview

joma

Hello community,

I'm seeking some advise concerning the hardware requirements for one of my next upcoming projects.

In this production, there's a performer on stage, manipulating 4 pencameras and sending the signals to 3 projectors.
To keep his focus on the cameras, I want to give him a simple touch-control-screen, with the life pictures of the 4 cameras
and to each picture 3 buttons to assign them to one of the projectors.
The cameras produce a SD-PAL signal, the projectors are two XGA (1024x768) and one WUXGA (1920x1200).

At the moment I think about...
Input:
4 cameras analog signal
4 BM MiniConverter Analog to SDI
1 BM DeckLink Duo 2 / Thunderbolt enclosure

Output:
3x MiniDisplayPort to VGA
1x Touchscreen

as the production needs the equipment for all rehearsals I thought about setting it up with a smaller machine,
preferably an iMac, but there I'm one output short, missing a connection for the touchscreen.
Would it be possible with an MacBook Pro? Using one thunderbolt for the DeckLink Duo 2 card,
the other one for a MatroxTripleHead and the HDMI-out for the Touchscreen.

Would that work, or is it just too much for the machine?

Thank you all, in advance...

jhoepffner

Hello,

Your proposition is not clear. What do you want is only a switch between cameras and output?

Convert SD analog signal to SDI to decklink to PCIe converter to Thunderbolt is a little bit complicated…

How do you connect the touchscreen? HDMI is only video and sound, not screen information.

I think perhaps a video matrix, like kramer or a video mixer would be more adapted.

perhaps give us more informations to know exactly what you want to do.

jacques

joma

Hello Jacques,

yes, it's a bit boring, but yes I want to create a very comfortable switch/matrix between 4 cameras and 3 projectors.

w
Well, off course a matrix would do the job, but first off all, you need to press several buttons to change the connection between input and output and there's the need for additional hardware to monitor the 4 input signals, so there's quite a bit more hardware involved and the performer really needs to focus on the signal management, which he doesn't like to do.

The DeckLink is just a way to get 4 camera signals in the computer and only using one thunderbolt input, using 4 Intensity Shuttle would be cheaper, but will I get four identical devices to work with Isadora and they either need four Thunderbolt ports or USB ports.

The conversion to SDI is necessary because the DeckLink-Card is SDI in.

The touchscreen will get connectet via the HDMI port and one USB port.

Jochen

DusX

@joma

You can create many types of routers within Isadora.

The questions will be if you can get 4 inputs to work with the hardware of your system.

If the hardware supports it, and Isadora can see the 4 live feeds, you can create very unique switchers/matrices as needed.

A recent forum post dealt with creating a 3x3 router, and the user actors attached are nice examples of how to do so. http://troikatronix.com/community/#/discussion/2758/solved-commutator-emulation-user-actor-which-able-to-route-split-gpu-stream-between-ins-and-outs

I hope that helps.