Live camera switching equipment
 

We are looking at getting a Tricaster Pro or a Datavideo SE-500. Now, the tricaster has a lot more features as it should for an additional $6000 (with accessories)... Has anyone had dealings with either of these machines. I know we will get alot more from the Tricaster, but I do not know if it justifies the cost difference. We will be using this primarily for an overflow facility at church.

There's a world of difference between the tricaster Pro and a Datavideo SE500. At our church we've been using the SE500 for 3 months and it's great value for money. We're extremely satisfied by the picture quality. If you have pro cameras, it might be worth considering a high end switcher. What camera's are you using?

Cameras
 

We will be purchasing either pd170's, dvx100's or xl2's. They all have different advantages. I prefer the dvx100's but the zoom is only 10x. The XL2 has the best zoom and the pd170 is the best one in auto mode. Since we will be dealing with all volunteers with practically no experience with this equipment, I am having a little tough time deciding. Any suggestions on this would be helpful as well, especially when combined with the switcher.

Two things:

1) You want cameras that see best in low light.
2) Can you rent a tricaster, or can your vendor point you to a facilty with one already installed and pay them a visit?

In these cases you should try the gear (rental) before you buy. Once the check has cleared the bank, there's no going back.

If you can live without the extra zoom. I would choose the PD170 because of it's low light performance. But if you have lots of light, I would choose the XL2 for the added zoom. We chose a hardware switcher because it would be less likely to crash and it gave us cheaper options when upgrading/adding functions (eg. Titling, Song Lyrics,HDD Recording). Do you use SongShow, EasyWorship or Mediashout to display lyrics?

We are using mediashout to display song lyrics/sermon notes. We were thinking of running a separate feed to a plasma in the overflow...so, we would have the main video running on the projector/plasma (not sure which we are going to use) and the separate computer feed. What do you think about this? Is it wise?

The stage is brightly lit and shows well with the single XL1 we are using so lighting is not a problem.

Your current setup is great.

Considering your lighting is good. Maybe an XL2 might be a good addition!