Virtual Window in Control Room?

HogansHiro

HogansHiro

Now with 25% more sarcasm
I might be a scoring an old office retail space for a bigger studio. Nice thick cinder block walls and perfect size for control room and three seperate track rooms. problem is...I can't really knock down the cinder black walls for a glass window into what should be the main tracking room.

So.... I'm thinking of framing up a large 106" white screen on the wall in front of my console and use an overhead projector dropped form the ceiling to show me whats going on in the track room. I know I could use a TV but I can't stand staring into a 23" screen trying to see what the prob is when a track goes sour.

Any ideas if this is a good idea or not. You can get a real decent projector for about $800.

Hopefully I'll be able to angle the cameras in the track rooms to get a picture that is similar to a window view.

Whatcha think?
 
Sounds like a cool idea! :)

I used to do something similar in my previous home that had my live room down a hall and around a corner and I used an old, broken camcorder that wouldn't record but would pass video, wired to my control room, playing on a smaller monitor.

It came in handy for telling the talent to back off or get closer to the mic.

Cheers! :)
 
HogansHiro said:
I might be a scoring an old office retail space for a bigger studio. Nice thick cinder block walls and perfect size for control room and three seperate track rooms. problem is...I can't really knock down the cinder black walls for a glass window into what should be the main tracking room.

So.... I'm thinking of framing up a large 106" white screen on the wall in front of my console and use an overhead projector dropped form the ceiling to show me whats going on in the track room. I know I could use a TV but I can't stand staring into a 23" screen trying to see what the prob is when a track goes sour.

Any ideas if this is a good idea or not. You can get a real decent projector for about $800.

Hopefully I'll be able to angle the cameras in the track rooms to get a picture that is similar to a window view.

Whatcha think?
Click to expand...

This will work, but it's definitely not going to look as if you're looking through a window. Unless you've got a REALLY big tracking room and set up everything at the far end of the room, you're not going to be able to get everything in the camera's view. However, it IS better than nothing. That's what I'm doing (but I'm just using a TV instead of a projector--it's not worth $800 to me).
 
With the projector you'll need it to be dark in there to see it clearly and that won't work out very well.

I would say just get a TV or a monitor.

Heck, for $800 you could get another puter monitor, AND get a controllable security cam for in the tracking room. Then you can pan and zoom depending on what your looking at. Would be much more usefull IMO.
 
http://www.avtoybox.com/sg-7380.html
yhst-15414145619064_1849_77069511
 
That's a great idea! I'd probably hang a HD plasma where the window would be. Then I could watch movies or play games on it when I wasn't recording! :D
 
I haven't thought about the logistics of running the signal into the control room. I guess I could try a return channel on the snake for the video signal. I don't know if I'll need a video amplifier or not . As for the 800 bucks for a proector, I plan on making it removable so i can still use it in my basement for big games...two birds with one stone. Oh yeah the one I was looking at had digital VGA inoput so i can also hook it up to my computer so I can have ridiculously big monitor/screen when I'm not tracking. Also with the LUX power of todays projectors it shouldn't wash out much at all. I kinda like my control room a little dim to set the mood and to see the screens better. I'll let you guys know if the wife buys off on it and report back.
 
HogansHiro said:
Also with the LUX power of todays projectors it shouldn't wash out much at all. I kinda like my control room a little dim to set the mood and to see the screens better.
Click to expand...

I cannot urge you enough to test drive this system before you buy it. ALL projectors need dark, not dim. Any even still the picture will seem dim.
 
VSpaceBoy said:
I cannot urge you enough to test drive this system before you buy it. ALL projectors need dark, not dim. Any even still the picture will seem dim.
Click to expand...

We have quite a few at work that we use in conference rooms on a regular basis. I have pretty good idea of their abilities and limitations. Since there's no windows in the control room at all I won't have to worry about natural light and the track lighting I plan on using can easily be aimed away and or dimmed. Thanx for the input though.
 
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