For ancillary locations around our church, where the audio visual support is primarily PowerPoint, or a video playback, I have been using a Kramer product called the VP-719XL. Here’s what Kramer says about their product:
| “The VP-719xl is a 7-input scaler/switcher with unbalanced stereo audio. It scales any composite, s-Video (Y/C), component video (YUV), DVI Video or computer graphics video signal up or down to a selectable graphics output resolution and provides glitch-free switching between sources through FTB™ (fade-thru-black) switching technology”. |
I have three of these and they have NEVER given me any trouble. You don’t need to have a computer connected to provide sync, and the menu options are easily accessible from the front of the unit. The nice feature of this latest update of the product is TWO VGA outputs on the rear. So one output can feed your data projector and the other can feed either a local display or scan converter for NTSC or PAL video of the switched signal. Also, if you wish, you can have audio follow the switch video signal, but I think it’s a pain because it limits your options for showing a PowerPoint presentation, for example, while also playing a music CD from a connected DVD player. If you’re short on audio inputs, though, it’s very handy.
The only drawback is that if your screen is some distance away, it can be hard to read the small menu.
These can be purchased for under $1,000.
April 26, 2007 at 11:55 AM |
We use the Kramer VP-727 that we use in our Worship Center… it’s a true dual-engine scaler that does the Native Res of our projectors (1360×768)… we’ve found it to be a great tool, and even SD video from S-Video or Composite looks decent. It’s also a great value… it does more than most other sudo dual engine scalers for almost half the price!