# Consulting for Art Installation



## hcproductions (Sep 14, 2010)

Hey everyone,

So I'm consulting a Museum in DC on an art installation project they have in mind. It seems easy enough, they just want a dvd to play on however many televisions they have. I was just going to take a dvd player and split the signal up to them. 

Basically, I was wondering if this was the "normal" way to do it. I know that's kind of a subjective question, but seeing as this is my first time doing any sort of consulting work, I just wanted to know what other options would be. I only know of the simplest way to do it based on my previous experiences, but I was just curious if anyone else had any other input, or possibly any other tricks in a consulting kind of world. Maybe even some resources that might provide me with a little info to know what I'm going in to.

It seems that it would be a good second field to get into in order to try and support myself for doing projection design for theaters.


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## museav (Sep 14, 2010)

hcproductions said:


> It seems easy enough, they just want a dvd to play on however many televisions they have. I was just going to take a dvd player and split the signal up to them.


What kind of video signal are you working with and by "split the signal" did you mean just physically hardwire split it, use a Distribution Amplifier or convert it to RF and distribute the RF signal using splitters and taps?

For example, if "DVD" is potentially Blu-Ray or a computer and you want to distribute an HD signal, then that pushes you into working with HDMI and HDCP, which can have numerous implications. In comparison, if it is composite video out of a DVD player going to eight or fewer displays then a simple, inexpensive DA may work.


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## metti (Sep 15, 2010)

For now lets assume that when he says DVD he actually means DVD. If this is the case than you aren't dealing with HDMI and a simple and relatively inexpensive component video (and audio?) distribution amplifier will work fine. In theatre applications, I have done the convert to RF and distribute over coax with $5 passive splitters with relative success on a couple of occasions when there was a super low budget but in both of those cases we were feeding intentionally low quality video to small beat up CRT televisions so quality didn't really matter. In a museum application with, I can only assume, larger LCD or Plasma televisions the DA setup is going to work better. Of course this all assumes that you don't need HD video distribution which is obviously a somewhat different game. As an aside, it sort of feels like we're the consultants here. In general, isn't the point of hiring a consultant that they know enough about the field they're consulting in that they don't have to turn around and relay your questions to an internet forum.


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## museav (Sep 15, 2010)

metti said:


> For now lets assume that when he says DVD he actually means DVD. If this is the case than you aren't dealing with HDMI and a simple and relatively inexpensive component video (and audio?) distribution amplifier will work fine.


However, what if DVD means DVD off a computer and what is the displays don't have component inputs? This is the kind of information that should be confirmed before developing or offering any specific recommendations.


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## metti (Sep 16, 2010)

museav said:


> However, what if DVD means DVD off a computer and what is the displays don't have component inputs? This is the kind of information that should be confirmed before developing or offering any specific recommendations.


 
You're absolutely right but I was making an admittedly unfounded assumption for the purpose of beginning to offer possible solutions.


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## hcproductions (Sep 19, 2010)

Right. Again, I haven't even begun to meet with the people yet, just purely doing a preliminary idea.

The post wasn't meant to get a bunch of responses to solve my problems. I haven't even met with the museum to begin evaluating what _exactly_ I would do.

I suppose it was meant to be more of a general discussion on possible resources in free lance consulting for media design. I wasn't sure if there's any references or articles to look for. 

Thanks for the various responses on what I could possibly do though, for the record I was planning on using a DA to split the signal, and was thinking composite for all of them. But again, I don't know much about the situation yet. So this could make more sense in asking: what would be the kind of preliminary "pre-production" consulting things you would do? Do you attack the situation with a plan prior to meeting? Or wait until the initial discussion, then take it from there?

Thanks


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## derekleffew (Sep 19, 2010)

hcproductions said:


> ...what would be the kind of preliminary "pre-production" consulting things you would do? Do you attack the situation with a plan prior to meeting? Or wait until the initial discussion, then take it from there?



"What comes first, the music or the lyrics?"

"The contract."



(Extra points to anyone who can name the show...)


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