Opinion on Wedding Show Demo Playback at DVinfo.net

Steven Davis · August 14th, 2006, 12:41 PM

Well, I'm getting a little annoyed with my laptop-lcd playback quality, which I'm sure has something to do with either the laptop with a 64 meg video card, and/or the monitor which is pretty nice, but still.

So I was thinking of taking my production monitor which is 15 inch, or possibly going to a CRT television for playback of my demo.

Any suggestions would be helpful.

Nick Weeks · August 14th, 2006, 01:13 PM

What NLE are you using?

Steven Davis · August 14th, 2006, 01:25 PM

Vegas latest version.

Nick Weeks · August 14th, 2006, 01:32 PM

I wish I could help, I use Final Cut Pro, and I'm a little familiar with Premiere. I know FCP 5 has the "RT Extreme" that reduces image quality in order to playback the timeline in real time without rendering. Maybe Vegas has a setting similar to this?

Steven Davis · August 14th, 2006, 01:37 PM

I just notice from shows that people play video back on various methods such as LCD televsion, computer monitor (which is what I've been doing) or just a regular CRT Television.

I was just wondering if anyone had a good workflow for regular DV material to be shown at a show, portability is the key for me, that and decent quality.

Jason Bowers · August 14th, 2006, 02:17 PM

Hi,
We use a Toshiba 37" lcd screen with built in dvd. It works great and clears up room for other items on our table because of the built in dvd. A crt television will take up som much room and also look unattractive to clients. A nice big display catches the eye of the clients.

Nick Weeks · August 14th, 2006, 02:21 PM

Well, through FCP I playback on a video monitor. I use a firewire cable to my deck (cheap mini-dv cam) and take the output from that deck through a composite video cable to my monitor, then FCP has a playback setting to output timeline playback to firewire.

When I used the Vegas demo a while back I got it to output in the same manner as FCP, but I couldn't tell you how to do it.

I know there are some devices you can use to convert Firewire video to composite or S, one that comes to mind is the Canopus device:

http://www.canopus.com/products/ADVC55/index.php

But I've been using a cheap JVC mini-DV camera that basically does the same thing and it's been working great.

BUT, I use it just as a preview for my benefit, and to show some clients a simple preview of their video before being transferred to DVD so they can make any last minute editing decisions. I've never tried playing back at full quality or projecting the image, and I don't know enough about Vegas' settings to tell you whether it will look good or not.

Steven Davis · August 14th, 2006, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jason Bowers

Hi,
We use a Toshiba 37" lcd screen with built in dvd. It works great and clears up room for other items on our table because of the built in dvd. A crt television will take up som much room and also look unattractive to clients. A nice big display catches the eye of the clients.

So you just use a normal workflow for DVD or do you render it progressive to match that LCD?

Jason Bowers · August 14th, 2006, 03:52 PM

We just produce a 10 - 13 minute of our work on dvd, and play that out to the lcd. Most clients don't know what progressive means, all they want is a beautifully clear picture with an artistic touch. When we setup next to the other guys using either a 13" or 20" crt we look like Speilberg. In my opinion the larger nicer screen and newer technology also makes us look light years ahead of the competition. I first went to a local tv sales shop and borrowed one from them for the first few shows, and put their logo next to the tv. They recieved the advertising and I had the new tv.

Steven Davis · August 14th, 2006, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jason Bowers

We just produce a 10 - 13 minute of our work on dvd, and play that out to the lcd. Most clients don't know what progressive means, all they want is a beautifully clear picture with an artistic touch. When we setup next to the other guys using either a 13" or 20" crt we look like Speilberg. In my opinion the larger nicer screen and newer technology also makes us look light years ahead of the competition. I first went to a local tv sales shop and borrowed one from them for the first few shows, and put their logo next to the tv. They recieved the advertising and I had the new tv.

I was asking what is your workflow for the video, since your tv has a dvd player, that would give you a better picture rather than playing that lcd television from your laptop, correct?

Good idea about borrowing a tv

Jason Bowers · August 14th, 2006, 04:12 PM

Sorry,
Yes the workflow is much better than using your laptop. You can set the dvd to repeat and just concenetrate on talking to as much clients as possible. Also some laptops hiccup some times and you get glitching, with the dvd you don't.

Waldemar Winkler · August 18th, 2006, 10:32 AM

For wedding shows I make two DVD's specifically for loop playback. One plays on a 24" CRT, the other projected onto a high gain 24"x30" screen mounted. One DVD contains a lot of titles. It is designed to answer what I think are them most common questions clients have about wedding videos, the production process, and limited information about cost. The other video is a full screen presentation structured exactly like the videos my clients receive. It contains clips from my master copies. The first video runs about 7 minutes, the second around 12 minutes.

For client meetings I have a chaptered version of the 2nd video mentioned above that plays on a 13" CRT TV in my sales office, which is a small office space I share with a photographer, DJ, and a wedding planner. The sole purpose of the office space is to have an appropriately decorated meeting area with good public access.

Steven Davis · August 18th, 2006, 11:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Waldemar Winkler

For wedding shows I make two DVD's specifically for loop playback. One plays on a 24" CRT, the other projected onto a high gain 24"x30" screen mounted. One DVD contains a lot of titles. It is designed to answer what I think are them most common questions clients have about wedding videos, the production process, and limited information about cost. The other video is a full screen presentation structured exactly like the videos my clients receive. It contains clips from my master copies. The first video runs about 7 minutes, the second around 12 minutes.

For client meetings I have a chaptered version of the 2nd video mentioned above that plays on a 13" CRT TV in my sales office, which is a small office space I share with a photographer, DJ, and a wedding planner. The sole purpose of the office space is to have an appropriately decorated meeting area with good public access.

That's great info, I was considering doing two displays. I've been debating on what to use as my laptop/lcd is much lower resolution that my TV would be. Heck I might just load my 32 inch tv in my truck and bring it.

Eric Hansen · August 18th, 2006, 11:32 AM

We've always used my 52" JVC along with a little 20" LCD that works great... I love having the bigger TV there, it's a great way to present your product...

Eric Hansen
www.ehansenproductions.com

August 14th, 2006, 12:41 PM	#1
Steven Davis Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Richmond, VA Posts: 3,065	Opinion on Wedding Show Demo Playback Well, I'm getting a little annoyed with my laptop-lcd playback quality, which I'm sure has something to do with either the laptop with a 64 meg video card, and/or the monitor which is pretty nice, but still. So I was thinking of taking my production monitor which is 15 inch, or possibly going to a CRT television for playback of my demo. Any suggestions would be helpful. __________________ What happens if I push the 'Red' button?

August 14th, 2006, 01:25 PM	#3
Steven Davis Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Richmond, VA Posts: 3,065	Vegas latest version. __________________ What happens if I push the 'Red' button?

August 14th, 2006, 01:37 PM	#5
Steven Davis Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Richmond, VA Posts: 3,065	I just notice from shows that people play video back on various methods such as LCD televsion, computer monitor (which is what I've been doing) or just a regular CRT Television. I was just wondering if anyone had a good workflow for regular DV material to be shown at a show, portability is the key for me, that and decent quality. __________________ What happens if I push the 'Red' button?

August 18th, 2006, 10:32 AM	#12
Waldemar Winkler Major Player Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Durango, Colorado, USA Posts: 711	For wedding shows I make two DVD's specifically for loop playback. One plays on a 24" CRT, the other projected onto a high gain 24"x30" screen mounted. One DVD contains a lot of titles. It is designed to answer what I think are them most common questions clients have about wedding videos, the production process, and limited information about cost. The other video is a full screen presentation structured exactly like the videos my clients receive. It contains clips from my master copies. The first video runs about 7 minutes, the second around 12 minutes. For client meetings I have a chaptered version of the 2nd video mentioned above that plays on a 13" CRT TV in my sales office, which is a small office space I share with a photographer, DJ, and a wedding planner. The sole purpose of the office space is to have an appropriately decorated meeting area with good public access. __________________ Waldemar

August 14th, 2006, 01:13 PM	#2
Nick Weeks Major Player Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Birmingham, AL USA Posts: 722	What NLE are you using?

August 14th, 2006, 01:32 PM	#4
Nick Weeks Major Player Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Birmingham, AL USA Posts: 722	I wish I could help, I use Final Cut Pro, and I'm a little familiar with Premiere. I know FCP 5 has the "RT Extreme" that reduces image quality in order to playback the timeline in real time without rendering. Maybe Vegas has a setting similar to this?

August 14th, 2006, 02:17 PM	#6
Jason Bowers Major Player Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Thunder Bay, ON. Canada Posts: 374	Hi, We use a Toshiba 37" lcd screen with built in dvd. It works great and clears up room for other items on our table because of the built in dvd. A crt television will take up som much room and also look unattractive to clients. A nice big display catches the eye of the clients.

August 14th, 2006, 02:21 PM	#7
Nick Weeks Major Player Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Birmingham, AL USA Posts: 722	Well, through FCP I playback on a video monitor. I use a firewire cable to my deck (cheap mini-dv cam) and take the output from that deck through a composite video cable to my monitor, then FCP has a playback setting to output timeline playback to firewire. When I used the Vegas demo a while back I got it to output in the same manner as FCP, but I couldn't tell you how to do it. I know there are some devices you can use to convert Firewire video to composite or S, one that comes to mind is the Canopus device: http://www.canopus.com/products/ADVC55/index.php But I've been using a cheap JVC mini-DV camera that basically does the same thing and it's been working great. BUT, I use it just as a preview for my benefit, and to show some clients a simple preview of their video before being transferred to DVD so they can make any last minute editing decisions. I've never tried playing back at full quality or projecting the image, and I don't know enough about Vegas' settings to tell you whether it will look good or not.

August 14th, 2006, 03:52 PM	#9
Jason Bowers Major Player Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Thunder Bay, ON. Canada Posts: 374	We just produce a 10 - 13 minute of our work on dvd, and play that out to the lcd. Most clients don't know what progressive means, all they want is a beautifully clear picture with an artistic touch. When we setup next to the other guys using either a 13" or 20" crt we look like Speilberg. In my opinion the larger nicer screen and newer technology also makes us look light years ahead of the competition. I first went to a local tv sales shop and borrowed one from them for the first few shows, and put their logo next to the tv. They recieved the advertising and I had the new tv.

August 14th, 2006, 04:12 PM	#11
Jason Bowers Major Player Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Thunder Bay, ON. Canada Posts: 374	Sorry, Yes the workflow is much better than using your laptop. You can set the dvd to repeat and just concenetrate on talking to as much clients as possible. Also some laptops hiccup some times and you get glitching, with the dvd you don't.

August 18th, 2006, 11:32 AM	#14
Eric Hansen Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Eagle Mountain, Utah Posts: 97	We've always used my 52" JVC along with a little 20" LCD that works great... I love having the bigger TV there, it's a great way to present your product... Eric Hansen www.ehansenproductions.com