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[Tim Barber]

Hi all

At my church we have a nightmare of a legacy video system that needs to be simplified. The projector is good (recently donated) but the upstream setup is a mess. We have a VGA output from a PC, a line from a video camera, a DVD player, and an ancient, malfunctioning VCR as input sources, and on the output side the video signal is Y-split (I assume - everything is a tangled mess shoved behind a wall) to the projector and to an overflow room TV. Selection is handled by a combo of selecting sources on the projector remote, and selecting inputs on the VCR, which is also being used as a switch box.

I'd like to eliminate the VCR and have one box that lets me select between all the sources, and send the video both to the projector and TV. I've spent some time browsing online retailers for video switchers, but I don't really know what I'm looking at. I would welcome any recommendations. It does not need to handle audio; that feed is separate.
 

[TJ (Tom) Cornish]

Hi all

At my church we have a nightmare of a legacy video system that needs to be simplified. The projector is good (recently donated) but the upstream setup is a mess. We have a VGA output from a PC, a line from a video camera, a DVD player, and an ancient, malfunctioning VCR as input sources, and on the output side the video signal is Y-split (I assume - everything is a tangled mess shoved behind a wall) to the projector and to an overflow room TV. Selection is handled by a combo of selecting sources on the projector remote, and selecting inputs on the VCR, which is also being used as a switch box.

I'd like to eliminate the VCR and have one box that lets me select between all the sources, and send the video both to the projector and TV. I've spent some time browsing online retailers for video switchers, but I don't really know what I'm looking at. I would welcome any recommendations. It does not need to handle audio; that feed is separate.

Kramer, Extron, and Roland have products that will meet your needs.  Note that there are three functions you need to understand:  Input conversion (e.g. VGA to HDMI), scaling (e.g. 720x480 -> 1920x1080), and switching.  Not all devices do all functions.  The most flexible devices have scalers for each input (Roland V-40HD), but these are more expensive.  Some devices have multiple inputs but only one scaler, which are cheaper but may create other issues when switching - either significant delay or breaks in the video.

Two other concepts for you to research - EDID management and HDCP.

If at all possible, go to a digital output from your switcher to your projector - either HDMI if the run is short (HDMI splitter to your TV), or HDbaseT or SDI if longer.

[Tim Barber]

Kramer, Extron, and Roland have products that will meet your needs.  Note that there are three functions you need to understand:  Input conversion (e.g. VGA to HDMI), scaling (e.g. 720x480 -> 1920x1080), and switching.  Not all devices do all functions.  The most flexible devices have scalers for each input (Roland V-40HD), but these are more expensive.  Some devices have multiple inputs but only one scaler, which are cheaper but may create other issues when switching - either significant delay or breaks in the video.

Two other concepts for you to research - EDID management and HDCP.

If at all possible, go to a digital output from your switcher to your projector - either HDMI if the run is short (HDMI splitter to your TV), or HDbaseT or SDI if longer.

Thank you Tom, that's helpful information.

[ProSoundWeb Community]