Viewing racemanagement software on tv

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GILLS
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Viewing racemanagement software on tv

Post by GILLS »

We had a church member to donate to us an older laptop to use in running racemanagement software. We do not have any projectors to display it for all to see. Is ther any way we can hook it up to a tv for viewing during our upcoming race? :idea:
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Re: Viewing racemanagement software on tv

Post by Stephen's Dad »

There probably is a way. You might look into borrowing or renting an overhead projecter since even a cheap one still costs $800 new. Up to $3000 just a few years ago.

I would stop at a Radio Shack if no one has a good answer here.

What type of race mgmt software do you have? I tried a free download but this laptop won' open it.

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Cory
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Re: Viewing racemanagement software on tv

Post by Cory »

GILLS wrote:We had a church member to donate to us an older laptop to use in running racemanagement software. We do not have any projectors to display it for all to see. Is ther any way we can hook it up to a tv for viewing during our upcoming race? :idea:
NTSC-capable video cards for PCs are available at pretty reasonable prices. www.pricewatch.com shows quite a few in the $30 to $40 range.

Note that the standard NTSC resolution is 648 by 486. Your image will not look nearly as crisp as it does on a typical PC monitor.

HDTV resolutions are more comparable to today's PC resolutions. I think HDTV-capable PC cards are available for less than $150 if you have an HDTV to use.

Of course, all this assumes that you have a desktop and can swap in a new video card.

I did find this link from a Google search:

http://www.starkelectronic.com/pi4925.htm

Borrowing a projector would be my preferred route.
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Re: Viewing racemanagement software on tv

Post by volzjr »

The clearest, biggest image is going to be obtained with a projector (using the VGA output), so I would make an effort to find a projector to borrow for the race. The prices are coming down quickly, and a lot of places have them now. In the past we have borrowed them from the high school, and from local businesses. If that doesn't work, you'll need to convert the signal down to an NTSC (TV) signal. First, have you checked to ensure that the laptop doesn't already have a TV Out jack? Most older ones didn't, but I have a Sony laptop that I purchased in '99 that has TV Out capability. Look for an RCA jack or 1/8" jack that says TV Out, or is yellow in color. No?, well, since it's a laptop, you most likely can't swap video cards with one that has TV Output. You then have two options.... You can get a scan convertor than plugs into the PCMCIA slots, or you can get a scan convertor that plugs directly into the VGA (monitor) jack in the back of the laptop. Most current PCMCIA convertor cards need to be used in a cardbus II compliant PC, and you may not know what the specs are on your laptop, so you should probably just get type that plug into the VGA Output. This type can be used elsewhere in your church, on both laptops & desktops, so it's a better investment. There are a number of them out there, from $60 up into the thousands, the difference is in the quality of the TV image. You may be able to get by with one of the really cheap units if your race software displays really large characters and basic colors. We use Derbymaster, and I know the listing of racers names at the bottom of the page is in really small fonts, which could be difficult to read with a fuzzy image. Of course, if you're using the laptop display to read the fine print, and only need the TV display for the race results (which are usually in a pretty big font) this could still work for you. We have a scan convertor that we recently purchased, and can recommend based on our experience with it. It's the Focus Enhancements TV View Gold. http://www.focusinfo.com/products/tview ... w_gold.htm We have been pleased with the quality of the output... very stable, no "squiggles" or moire pattern, and colors are rendered nicely. we found it online for about $150, IIRC.
Sorry this is so long, but I hope it's been some help to you
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Re: Viewing racemanagement software on tv

Post by GILLS »

Thankyou guys, this is good quality information. We will either be running Derbymaster or GP race management programs. I am not sure if the laptop is a 95 or 96 model, I know that it's operating system is windows 95.I bought the microwizard finish line system this past year during the off season, and sometime in the next three weeks I would like to see if I can borrow a projector or find some of the converters that you are talking about. TV's are plentiful in the church, but the projectors unfortunately are'nt. Thanks again for your input.
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Re: Viewing racemanagement software on tv

Post by glaforge »

I have an AveryKey IMicro that sits between my PC and my monitor. It intecpts the traffic that goes to the monitor and splits it off to both the monitor and and RCA or S-Video jack.

I plug the rca jack into a VCR's input and send it out the back of the VCR over coax (to boost the strength). From there I simply split the signal with standard splitters and send it to 5 different TV sets positioned around the facility. This keeps people from getting bunched up around on TV set.
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Re: Viewing racemanagement software on tv

Post by Stan Pope »

Neat plan, Greg!

I can see a pair of these setups ... one off the computer and one the cam looking up-stream from the finish line!

And maybe even set those VCR's to "RECORD" (SLP?) Pack fund raiser ... sell copies of the finish line tape? :)
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Re: Viewing racemanagement software on tv

Post by glaforge »

We did a camera feed to one TV set last year and it worked well. The kids themselves still migrated towards the finish line and blocked the view as they had in the past. But with the camera feed to the TV nobody really minded because they could all see the finish.

Last year the camera was stationary and pointed up the track as you described. This year I'm toying with actually having somebody run the camera so that we can get a better view of the start and finish, along with some reaction shots.

Hadn't really thought about the fund raiser part, but that's a good idea too.
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Re: Viewing racemanagement software on tv

Post by kcobb »

We did the same thing back in the beginning of February. We wanted more than just the norm, so we came up with this idea. Great to see others are thinking along the same lines! (GET THE KIDS EXCITED!)

The video projector I brought in broke the morning of, so we ended up connecting to a big TV the church had and also brought in a large monitor for the Race Manager Software results to be displayed on. The crowd loved the opportunity to see the finish line from their seats! We got lots of comments on that one. However, it was of the finish line only. It would be really nice to have the full race on Tape for the next event.

Might look into two cameras next year, and then just "edit-in" the finish line tape for each race on the computer.
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Re: Viewing racemanagement software on tv

Post by Mike Parrish »

kcobb wrote:Might look into two cameras next year, and then just "edit-in" the finish line tape for each race on the computer.
We actually ran 2 cameras this year (first try). One got a view up the track from the finish line, and the other was suspended above the finsh line to pick up the finish from above. We had a remote operator in the crowd switching between cameras to view most of the race from the finish line camera, and then switch to the overhead for the finish.

Kind of rough at first, but as the night went on, the remote operator got good at the switch.

I like the idea of running 2 cameras and editing the footage!
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GILLS
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Re: Viewing racemanagement software on tv

Post by GILLS »

WOW! What great ideas! Wheels are already turning!
Do you know where you could get this AveryKey IMicro, and do you know how much it would cost?
Great input guys!
This is probably one area that has been discussed the least on this forum in my short term memory. I'm thinking how I could possibly do something like this on my associational RA derby, 5 tracks and 200 plus kids. This is going to be great for my own church group, or our pack. Has anyone done this with a large group already?
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Re: Viewing racemanagement software on tv

Post by Stan Pope »

I think that this is the box under discussion: http://www.aver.com/products/averkey_imicro.pdf
Googled "averykey imicro" and it suggested "averkey imicro"
Says "under $100" (MSRP)
Stan
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Re: Viewing racemanagement software on tv

Post by glaforge »

I pulled the hardware out of the closet it is Averkey...sorry. Seems like I spent about $80 on it.

I use this for far more than my PW. I use this same setup at my Blue and Gold banquet to show pictures from the past year.

I have also used it at my roundups for the same purpose (but with fewer TV's).

So it has been $$$ well spent.
Greg
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Re: Viewing racemanagement software on tv

Post by GILLS »

This is great informantion! Thanks guys!
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