HD Video Distribution in New Meetinghouses

Discussions around receiving, originating, and holding Church broadcasts and conferences in meetinghouses including schedules, setup, equipment, and support.
CalS201
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HD Video Distribution in New Meetinghouses

#1

Post by CalS201 »

I remember reading several forum posts asking what the Church is doing to distribute HD video in new meetinghouses. I found some info here http://aec.ldschurch.org/aec/ on the "What's New" link. If you drill down you find the answer on the last page of this PDF file http://aec.ldschurch.org/aec/standard_p ... _6_1_15_17
Hagothsen
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Re: HD Video Distribution in New Meetinghouses

#2

Post by Hagothsen »

I've been able to get a solid 1080i 59.94 over the existing RG59 coax, running nearly the length of the building.

Ours is a 'Legacy' Stake Center, with the library in the back, next to the Relief Society room. From the satellite rack, three RG59 cables travel together ending first - in the chapel overflow, second - at the foot of the rostrum, and third - 3 rows from the front in the floor. At this past Stake Conference, I had two Sony HDR-SR11 camcorders (older consumer cameras) which spit out 1080i 59.94 via HDMI. They were connected to the terminations in the overflow and the foot of the chapel. I used cheap Monoprice HDMI to SDI adapters and was able to mix these two camera feeds into my computer running Vmix. The third cable (terminating at the foot of the rostrum) carried the HD video mix to the TV placed in front of my Stake President. The rest of the building was down-converted to 480p and distributed over the installed system. I'm fairly confident, I'll be able to send an HD signal to the Primary and Relief Society rooms, also using the existing cable and Monoprice SDI to HDMI converters. The gym should be easy to convert as well, save for the lack of HD projectors. Monoprice has an SDI to VGA adaptor, but I'm worried about latency in the conversion.

Before I took everything down, I tested the HD signal in the chapel. From my computer in the library, through Vmix, I streamed an HD session of General Conference and directed the 1080i output to the foot of the rostrum. I separated the audio and sent it through the building system to play in the chapel. If I focused really hard and looked closely, I could detect a slight delay in the video, with respect to the audio, but otherwise, it looked fine. I had tried to replace the existing cable with good 3G SDI cable, but I couldn't get it to budge. I should be able to have everyone in HD by our Stake Conference in the fall.
CalS201
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Re: HD Video Distribution in New Meetinghouses

#3

Post by CalS201 »

If you limit the SDI video to 1080i you should be able to go 150-300ft over the existing RG59/RG6 coax in the bldgs, and as far as 250-500ft using expensive coax made for SDI. With 1080P you must use good quality SDI coax for anything over about 50ft.

We have been doing the same as you for several conferences now in both our transmitting bldg and all receiving bldgs. We learned that successfully running SDI/1080i over existing coax has a lot to do with the F-style-feedthough connectors (used on existing wallplates) and the F to BNC adapters that you have to use. Most F connectors and adapters are not designed for use with a 1.5gbps signal rate. We had to change ALL the F-style feedthrough connectors on all the wallplates to get dropout-free operation. The connectors are available at Lowes/HomeDepot/Amazon and are designed specifically for satellite (higher frequency) receiver installations. Also, instead of using F to BNC adapters on the patch cable that connects to the SDItoHDMI unit, we would simply build our own cables with F connector on one end and BNC on the other.

One interesting thing we determined was that power for the MonoPrice SDItoHDMI units can be obtained from the USB port that is on most TVs and projectors - so there is no need for a wallwart-style PS! Just permanently attach the SDItoHDMI unit to the TV/projector and plug power cable into the TV/projector! You can also power the units from any USB BatteryPack - which is great when using it with a camcorder.

The prices at MonoPrice are outstanding right now ($15), 50% off.
Hagothsen
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Re: HD Video Distribution in New Meetinghouses

#4

Post by Hagothsen »

I had thought about re-terminating everything to BNC. However, given the fact that it still works with F/BNC adapters I think it best to leave things as is. I make sure the building is completely back to its original configuration. In my 'General Conference' test, I did try 1080P, but it didn't work so well. It would work for awhile, but periods of pixelation and frame loss would occur. I would have been content to leave it at 720P, but the consumer camcorders I'm using don't output at that resolution. I figure it better to keep everything at the same resolution and refresh rate to eliminate latency stemming from unnecessary conversion, therefore I keep everything at 1080i 59.94 / SMPTE A. Once I get everything on SDI converters, I'll use our Decimator MD-HX as the DA, and finally be free of that ancient Blonder Tongue modulator.

I've discovered that at each termination point, lies a splitter/tap three-way combo behind the plates. The primary room will have THIS, with the HDMI port going to the local TV, and the loop-through port going to what I believe is the line leading to the Relief Society room. The series ends in the RS room, wherein I'll use another of the same. I realize there is a cheaper version that doesn't have the loop-through port, but I want to keep it all the same. I'm not sure about the gym because there are three in the series, gym left, gym right and the Young Women's room. No better way to find out than to spin it up and give it a try.
CalS201
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Re: HD Video Distribution in New Meetinghouses

#5

Post by CalS201 »

We also considered re-terminating everything to BNC, but didn't for the same reasons you mentioned. We limited our use of HD-SDI over coax to just the chapel projector/monitors. We did not try to run HD-SDI to perimeter rooms & gym because there wasn't enough improvement in picture quality (on 32/47" TVs) to warrant the cost/setup/technical knowledge needed - especially since we do it in all 4 bldgs.
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johnshaw
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Re: HD Video Distribution in New Meetinghouses

#6

Post by johnshaw »

I've pulled out my cultural hall pieces and found the same splitter/tap three-way combo's behind them.
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russellhltn
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Re: HD Video Distribution in New Meetinghouses

#7

Post by russellhltn »

johnshaw wrote:I've pulled out my cultural hall pieces and found the same splitter/tap three-way combo's behind them.
I'm pretty sure that's a common way to distribute a signal. Pump in a high signal level at the head end and at each tap, there's an attenuator that drops it to a "normal" level. The amount of attenuation is calculated based on how much is lost in the cable. Taps near the amp will have a lot of attenuation while the ones near the end will only have a little.

Works great for one-way RF and minimizes the labor of running the cable. Doesn't work so well for other uses.
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johnshaw
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Re: HD Video Distribution in New Meetinghouses

#8

Post by johnshaw »

I had my own little part doing audio/video support for a temple open house. There are a TON of these in every temple, usually hidden behind pictures to support the Temple Dedication and putting people in every room to view the dedication. Just a fun FYI...
“A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in defense of custom.”
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randysteck
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Re: HD Video Distribution in New Meetinghouses

#9

Post by randysteck »

Since SDI equipment is pretty expensive, we tried a different approach to video distribution throughout a "legacy" building. (Our stake center dates to 1974). We used these units: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0107 ... UTF8&psc=1.

These do a very nice job of 1080P/30 throughout the building.

They relay an incoming HDMI signal over existing coax on one of 99 selectable channels. Multiple receivers work great with just one transmitter. We're using these now for overflow areas for stake conference piggybacking off the webcast to other sites, and satellite projection in the chapel. Interestingly, the satellite receiver only gives us SD for the chapel, but if we pull the signal from the HDMI port we get 720P. Using this in the chapel is MUCH better than the SD, plus it allows us to remove the antiquated SD modulators from equipment rack.
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Re: HD Video Distribution in New Meetinghouses

#10

Post by russellhltn »

randysteck wrote: We used these units: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0107 ... UTF8&psc=1.
Nice. Any noticeable delay?
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