Non-traditional usage for CCTV (looking for help and ideas)

[pootwaddle 0]

Hello everyone. My group is a group of Fire Safety Educators

We are a very small group and we travel from elementary school to elementary

school (all the elementary schools in our city) and teach the students fire safety

like having 2 ways out, stop drop and roll, call 9-1-1 in an emergency, etc.

 

And I think that we can use CCTV to help us in our education programs.

 

We want to use CCTV to "broadcast" an image on a whiteboard

to a hi-def TV on stage, "live" in real-time.

We are wanting to look like an old-time Television broadcast, complete

with some snow and a vintage test pattern at the beginning, then

"tune in" our whiteboard.

 

I would like to broadcast in black and white, if possible.

 

If we can go direct from camera to the TV that would be great (cheapest option

since we don't really have much of a budget)

 

My plan is to build a bracket to hold the camera at a given distance from

the whiteboard (it is only 11 x 14 inches in size) along with some lighting to try

to keep the lighting even.

 

Please help me with some suggestions for cameras and other equipment

to set this up with as little "fuss" as possible since we have to set it up each

morning in less than an hour, and take it down after the program as quickly as possible

as well.

 

Am I completely crazy to think this may work?

 

Thanks for reading this, and any suggestions you may have.

We have just a couple months to build and implement this.

 

Bryan

[groovyman 0]

I'm wondering if something like a document camera could serve part of your purpose.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Document_camera

[pootwaddle 0]

Very interesting idea - almost exactly what I need.

I need to do some searching to see if the document camera will

feed directly into the HDTV or if there is an adapter that will

make it work.

 

The document cameras I see so far all are usb, presumably to

a computer.

At least you have given me a good starting point for searches.

 

Thank you!!

[ak357 0]

How about

for example

1.3MP camera to ---->network SW to -------> couple hundred bucks comp-----> to HD Tv

then your comp will play whatever u want and then you activate your HD cam.....

whole project can be done for about $450-600 or less

depend how fancy u want to be

[groovyman 0]

Different document cameras come with a variety of connections such as HDMI, VGA, SVideo, etc. They can also interface with a PC and give you more control over the video before being broadcast to a TV or projection screen, such as broadcasting in B&W and allowing you to record.

 

I don't know if the software will give all the effects you're looking for, but check out ManyCam http://www.manycam.com/ . It's visual effects software (free) used with webcams. I see no reason why it wouldn't work with a document camera. I'm thinking you could even use a webcam for your project, but maybe something with a stable, moveable arm would work better - that's why I suggested a document camera. If you consider going this route make sure to look at FPS as some do not go up to 30fps because they're mainly intended for use with still images, such as documents & objects.

[pootwaddle 0]

Thanks for the ideas. I will definitely check the frame rate.

 

What we are attempting is a live-action 2d puppet.

The image on the "whiteboard" will actually move and our puppeteer will

voice the interactions with the characters onstage with the

Television. Rather than a pre=recorded "show" this character on the tv

will be able to speak directly to people on stage.

 

I would hate to go through a network switch and PC if I don't have to. However,

I see the coolness of the special effects processing that a PC would bring to the

table.

I guess we can see as we rehearse. We would have to find the PC since

our only PC is currently used during the program for sound effects and other

music.

 

This was done in the 70's using a process called aniforms.

here's a link to some information about that process...

 

http://www.mindspring.com/~barneysarmy/aniforms.html

 

Thanks again. I feel this is putting me closer to the right

process!!

[Dipol_CCTV 0]

I'd say You should go and invest in some hand camera for personal use. In the end, it will be cheaper and might already have implemented functions like You need.

If You want to use CCTV equipment anyway, my belief is that You should use HDSDI technology with HDMI converter. Then some hardware to render the effects You need.

IP - no, because of delay You might get, and is there really a sense to use networking to broadcast the picture only few feet away?

Analog - no, because resolution You might get will be 'retro' and it wont get better. It might not look good on big whiteboard or HD screen.

[Razer_SE 0]

I would look to try to use a basic laptop or desktop webcam if I were you, it seems simpler to me and then there is no cabling at all, just place a webcam phone call and go. Hook a computer to an external monitor or TV onsite and place your "call back in time" or whatever.

 

The transmitting end can use software to make that end look old film like, add text over the video, change voices, animated backgrounds that you then move the whiteboard to see, in all kinds of cool effects. Just use Skype to call each other, it is free and a good HD web cam like the Logitech c920 is only about $80. Then whatever in software if it costs at all and you are set. There are a ton of webcam / Skype effects software packages out there, do a Bing search and download some trials and you should be able to find something that will work. Setup the whiteboard in front of the web cam, lots of options. The c920 even has a tripod attachment option! Would make it easy to setup for looking at the whiteboard.

 

You could also connect the laptop directly to the TV, but then location for setup could be an issue. HDMI or VGA directly to the TV. Cheap and easy, with great results.

 

Another solution would be to just wire a normal camcorder to the TV directly, set the camcorder to black and white and you'd be set for the basic shot. I like the web cam idea better as it gives you more options and you can set up your transmission anywhere giving you more options for locations once you are on site.

[Rockvilleash1976 0]

Parts List for basic video camera to TV.

Camera: VDC-250F04-20

Good image for the money and it has an on board menu that changes to B/W only. Without knowing how far away the camera will be from what you want to broadcast it is hard to tell you what lens so this is a wide angle lens.

Camera Power: UPA-2450-60

Use 18/2 wire for the power.

Video cable: NV-215J-M

Qty 2 & find a cat5 patch cord whatever length you want. You can find cheaper but the NVT will hold up to connecting & disconnecting over and over. You could use coax instead of this set up but cat 5 is much easier to handle and easy to replace at any electronic store.

From NVT to RCA on TV:

http://www.samash.com/p/Hosa_NB271%20BNC%20Female%20to%20RCA%20Male%20Video%20Adapter_-49981398?cm_mmc=Froogle-_-Adapters/Transformers-_-NB271%20BNC%20Female%20to%20RCA%20Male%20Video%20Adapter-_-HNBR271&gclid=CObi-eCxiLECFcHb4Aod2TNPDw

 

I used a set up like this just a higher level camera to broadcast in a church so they could see services in the basement on a HD TV. This is not an HD option but it worked well for the limited budget they had.