editing PCs to HD TV

[Guillermo Ibanez]

Hi,

we produce wedding films and we have recently realized that we probably don't do enough audio/video testing of our products in a similar device to what the final customer will have experience it, ie: HD TV

Therefore I would like to connect out 2/3 editing machines to a single HD TV with a 'switch' to choose which PC signal the TV shows. I guess this is possible?!? what kind of equipment would I need besides the HD TV?

thanks!

[Arnie Schlissel]

take your pick, based on your software and other needs:

AJA Video Systems
Blackmagic Design: Home
Matrox Video

[Guillermo Ibanez]

thanks for your reply

so could i get something like a 'Decklink Mini Monitor' and plug a HDMI to the HDTV? would that give us accurate monitoring over the video?
Blackmagic Design: DeckLink Models
what's the difference between that and going through SDI to a mini converter?

thanks!

[Roger Gunkel]

Do your clients usually watch their wedding video by plugging their PC into their TV? I think it is highly unlikely and I have not experienced it in 30 years of producing weddings. My clients require their wedding delivered on either dvd, Bluray, USB stick or SD card.

I really don't see that viewing your editing PC output on HDTV will give you a realistic idea of what the customer will see, particularly as you will be converting after editing into the delivery format. Why not quickly make up a couple of minutes of a scene from the wedding, put it onto a dvd or USB stick, or whatever you deliver on, and play it on your HDTV. If you feel you need to make adjustments to the editing system, just compare the two until you get them how you want. It should then be straightforward to keep the same settings regarding colour matching, processing etc for further weddings, assuming you are using the same equipment to capture and edit.

The main problem that I always encounter when delivering a wedding though, is that most people have no idea how to set up their tv. If you show your finished work on 50 domestic tvs, you will see 50 different versions of it. It will be stretched, squashed, flattened, over saturated, lacking in colour, high contrast, low contrast etc. etc. depending on how they have set up their tv. All you can really do if you are that concerned is to use a properly calibrated professional monitor for your editing and just accept that you have got it right, but it will rarely look the same when you deliver it.

Roger