@av pro's what do i need to connect multiple (10+) screens ?

[benz0]

Hi all,

At my workplace (nonprofit) we use a large meeting room for conferences.

In those meetings we rent a large projector, large screens and some smaller displays (for chairman etc). Basically we're paying through the nose for renting the gear and want to buy a basic set up to use each time instead of renting. We will go through a pro AV integrator to do this but before we begin making appointments i want to figure out exactly what type of gear we need as im not very hot on pro av terminology yet.

We would need to be able to do the following:

1) easily move the gear in and out of the room (fixed installation not possible so i'm thinking screens on trolleys)
2) set up two different groups of screens
3) switch between the two groups of screens showing the same feed or each group showing a different feed (e.g. a video on group 1 and PowerPoint slide on group 2)

Connect easily with variety of different inputs due to attendees bringing their own devices

All feedback gratefully received.

[C70R]

Have you looked into Zoom as a video conference solution? Very flexible, and not super expensive compared with the usual suspects...

[benz0]

Hi there,
VC not required, it's all just in person discussion and presentations.

[hornmeister]

You need a computer (Likely desktop) that can run dual external displays.
Most reasonable desktops can do this with the onboard graphics but I'd recommend getting one with on-board graphics and an add in card to give you more power and flexibility.

I personally have a computer with 2 separate graphics cards The on board graphics can support 2 separate displays and each card can support 2 separate displays so that's 6 different screens in all.

Then it's just a case of getting monitor splitters for the number of screens you wish to drive on each output. Anything more than 2 and I'd recommend an active box rather than just splitter cables.

Assuming you're going HDMI then something like 2 of these 4 way jobs should do.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ports-Powered-Splitter-Su...


I reckon £4-500 for the pc.
£100 for 2x splitter boxes and a load of hdmi cables
and then Amazon are jobbing out Philips 18" monitors at £65 quid each at the moment.

Edited by hornmeister on Wednesday 11th July 12:43

[paulrockliffe]

I'm pretty sure using DisplayPort lets you daisy chain your monitors almost indefinitely, your graphics card capability would then limit how many different things you can have on the various screens, but if you just want to duplicate a signal that shouldn't be a problem.

That said, there must be a software solution where everyone can bring their own device and have your screen mirrored to it, would that be an option?

[benz0]

hornmeister said:

You need a computer (Likely desktop) that can run dual external displays.
Most reasonable desktops can do this with the onboard graphics but I'd recommend getting one with on-board graphics and an add in card to give you more power and flexibility.

I personally have a computer with 2 separate graphics cards The on board graphics can support 2 separate displays and each card can support 2 separate displays so that's 6 different screens in all.

Then it's just a case of getting monitor splitters for the number of screens you wish to drive on each output. Anything more than 2 and I'd recommend an active box rather than just splitter cables.

Assuming you're going HDMI then something like 2 of these 4 way jobs should do.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ports-Powered-Splitter-Su...


I reckon £4-500 for the pc.
£100 for 2x splitter boxes and a load of hdmi cables
and then Amazon are jobbing out Philips 18" monitors at £65 quid each at the moment.

Edited by hornmeister on Wednesday 11th July 12:43

That's not what im after sorry. Picture there being two different attendees both with their own laptops. Each one is outputting their own video feed into (presumably) a matrix splitter/switch

[IanJ9375]

benz0 said:

That's not what im after sorry. Picture there being two different attendees both with their own laptops. Each one is outputting their own video feed into (presumably) a matrix splitter/switch

Have a look at clickshare, we have a pro installation of it here in work, seems idiot proof to use (tested with some live caught ones!)
https://www.presentandshare.co.uk/how-it-works-20-...

Single screen, multiple presenters, split screens, multiple screens and of course the benefit of being able to connect from multiple devices

[hornmeister]

benz0 said:

That's not what im after sorry. Picture there being two different attendees both with their own laptops. Each one is outputting their own video feed into (presumably) a matrix splitter/switch

Ah two different sources provided by a third party, get you now.

Yep switch boxes/splitters and a good selection of different format video cables if you want it done on the cheap. Or as others have posted there are software solutions but this may require installation onto other peoples computers something that is not always possible.

[TheRainMaker]

It won't be cheap to do it properly, below will give you a starting point.

Switcher - Barco E2 Jr https://www.barco.com/en/product/e2-jr#specs
Screens - Panasonic https://business.panasonic.co.uk/visual-system/pro...
Stands - Unicol https://www.unicol.com/Results-html.aspx?w4id=WMR0...
Distribution - Kramer https://www.kramerav.com/Product/VM-12HDCP
Cat 5 extenders transmitter - Kramer https://www.kramerav.com/Product/PT-571HDCP
Cat 5 extenders receiver - Kramer https://www.kramerav.com/Product/PT-572HDCP+
Cables - VDC trading https://www.vdctrading.com

Who you would go to get the training I have no idea

[benz0]

TheRainMaker said:

It won't be cheap to do it properly, below will give you a starting point.

Switcher - Barco E2 Jr https://www.barco.com/en/product/e2-jr#specs
Screens - Panasonic https://business.panasonic.co.uk/visual-system/pro...
Stands - Unicol https://www.unicol.com/Results-html.aspx?w4id=WMR0...
Distribution - Kramer https://www.kramerav.com/Product/VM-12HDCP
Cat 5 extenders transmitter - Kramer https://www.kramerav.com/Product/PT-571HDCP
Cat 5 extenders receiver - Kramer https://www.kramerav.com/Product/PT-572HDCP+
Cables - VDC trading https://www.vdctrading.com

Who you would go to get the training I have no idea

Very helpful thanks. At the moment we are renting the gear and its costing a stack. Based on current rental charges i think we're looking at quite a quick break even point if we own or lease the gear instead.

In any case, we would go through an AV integrator and contractor to have them maintain and operate the gear.. It's just the rental and time spent wiring up the room thay we are getting screwed on hence the preference to streamline the setup/own or lease the gear.

I'm also now looking at flexible meeting furniture that would have the AV interfaces and cabling built into them. Any recommendations for manufacturers and integrators for that kind of stuff appreciated.

Edited by benz0 on Friday 13th July 20:03

[TheRainMaker]

So many options on furniture etc.

However you could possibly use something like this, then you can move them about as needed and you could possibly use the furniture you have already.

Extron AVEdge - https://www.extron.com/product/product.aspx?id=ave...

[Andehh]

OP - considered gong to Richer Sounds and asking their advice? if they are anywhere near as good as their domestic teams, they could probably help you out no end!


https://www.richersounds.com/business-to-business-...

[VEX]

I doubt Richer Sounds would be able to help, there B2B teams are still very much focused on selling screens and projectors and less about the custom distribution of the video.

From what you have discribed, I would say you really need an IP based system to give you complete flexability throughout the building which will allow you to have both transmitters (PC's sending in images) and receivers (Screens displaying the images) distributed throughout the building, then a central control system to switch which to where etc. They even allow you to display multiple images in a video tile / wall layout with multiple screens displayed in one.

These are starting to appear in larger hi end homes and yatchs now.

Those that come to mind are:
justaddpower (the inovators of the format)
Wyrestrom
BlueStream
also look at CYP and Kramer, but they tend to be a little more pricey.

However, you spec is far to wide / woolly at the moment and you would desperately need to see several AV Integrators or employ a AV Specifier to help you get the kit list together before going out to market.

HTH

V.

[benz0]

VEX said:

I doubt Richer Sounds would be able to help, there B2B teams are still very much focused on selling screens and projectors and less about the custom distribution of the video.

From what you have discribed, I would say you really need an IP based system to give you complete flexability throughout the building which will allow you to have both transmitters (PC's sending in images) and receivers (Screens displaying the images) distributed throughout the building, then a central control system to switch which to where etc. They even allow you to display multiple images in a video tile / wall layout with multiple screens displayed in one.

These are starting to appear in larger hi end homes and yatchs now.

Those that come to mind are:
justaddpower (the inovators of the format)
Wyrestrom
BlueStream
also look at CYP and Kramer, but they tend to be a little more pricey.

However, you spec is far to wide / woolly at the moment and you would desperately need to see several AV Integrators or employ a AV Specifier to help you get the kit list together before going out to market.

HTH

V.

Thanks. To be clearer about what exactly I'm after:

Inputs: up to 6 simultaneous sources (mostly a mixture of laptops and sometimes VC.
Input connectivity: HDMI, VGA, Displayport, weird apple st etc.

Output connectivity: HDMI into HDBaseT or Hd over IP

Output feed: three separate simultaneous feeds to 3 groups of screens (or ability to create groups from the screens on the fly)

Additional options: two input feeds split screen onto one output feed (e.g. video conference and PowerPoint side by side on one monitor)

Displays - probably around 40 x 24" monitors fitted on twin arm mounts on participant's desks, along with a few larger free standing lcds (less than 10).

Resolution: 1080p minimum but perhaps 4k support in the distribution gear might be worth it.

Other notes - will be used alongside an interpretation system. Not sure to what extent the two systems can be combined in terms of reducing cabling when using video over ip etc.

[benz0]

So I've taken a look and our current rental contractor is using the following setup:

- Analog Way mixer/matrix
- HDMI - SDI converter/amplifier
- Kramer HDMI distribution Amplifier
- Mixture of large free standing and smaller screens.

Surprised to see they are even using commercial TV screens instead of professional grade displays.

Next step I guess is to start contacting integrators. Essentially we want to keep things simple but at the same time I am drawn to the idea of having a more sophisticated control solution for the monitors using HD over IP. We would need to have the flexibility that the Analog way box provides though, i.e. allowing us to connect in all manner of video inputs.

[TheRainMaker]

I would avoid anything over IP in a live mobile environment.

Can't go wrong with SDI or direct CAT5 senders and receivers.

I also won't bother with 4K at the moment, the switcher might be able to cope with it, but that will be about it, cable runs will also be a nightmare.

[benz0]

TheRainMaker said:

I would avoid anything over IP in a live mobile environment.

Can't go wrong with SDI or direct CAT5 senders and receivers.

I also won't bother with 4K at the moment, the switcher might be able to cope with it, but that will be about it, cable runs will also be a nightmare.

Noted - thank you. Out of interest - why would the cable runs be a nightmare with 4k? Why would it be different to sending 1080p across something like an SDI system? Is it because of lack of standardisation with 4k?

[megaphone]

OP where are you based?

[benz0]

megaphone said:

OP where are you based?

I'm on the continent (fled the UK a few years ago)

[VEX]

HD over IP won't have any of the issues a HDBT link would have in terms of transmitting resolution as the scaling is done on the fly in the receiver.

However there is the distance limit as with any data transmission, of 90m.

Agree that none of this should be wireless, but with a network of wired points it should be achievable. You will definately need a professional AV Commecial integrator on this given the need to mix, match and merge images. I am confident IP would be the correct way to go though.

V.