Hi there

trying to find out what the easiest way would be to do overlays (similar to station logos and such) to a live video feed

This could either be an image or text or a combination

This should preferably not be too expensive as it is only for preview video

Thanks

a small video mixer would do the trick - just run a laptop with the logo into it and key the background out. I'm sure there's an easier way, but that's the first thing that came to my mind.

Andrew

thanks for the idea

Any suggestion on a mixer that doesnt break the bank ?

I took an old laptop that actually has a video out and s-video out and hooked it up to a monitor but the quality wasnt amazing

Did you ever do this and how did it look ? Was the quality good ? Did the laptop have a video out or did you add something to do it ?

I may post a new question with this with a better subject line

thanks again

B&H has two mixers around $500, but I'm sure I've seen some for less. Maybe look on ebay and other places.

Keith

thanks. I guess what i am asking for is experience with doing this with one of the lower cost mixers. This would i guess involve spitting out an image from the laptop and then using the mixers chromakey feature to key out the background of the laptop image and show the video

i am watching ebay for a while on stuff like this but i am not sure what would be a good buy

another thing i was thinking is maybe just get a standalone video titler. it wouldnt allow me to do graphics but at least the text

now i tried another thing with my laptop. i played a DVD and the video output is very clean in that case. Maybe i should make a DVD with all the things i want to show and then use a mixer with chroma key to mix it. This would also allow me to do motion stuff as well and i could also have material on the DVD to show in breaks

thanks

If you want advice on mixers, I can't help you. I've never had the need for one... yet. There are several designs, so each one might be radically different than the next. So, you would need to play with it and see for yourself what it can do.

I've used mixers from both Panasonic and Videonics. I'm assuming you'll want a videonics one since they're much cheaper. Also, there is a really small one made by Edirol that might be of interest to you but I've never used it so I can't really comment on it.

In terms of connecting the laptop, keep the text you're tryng to display simple and keep it large since the resolution is pretty low. It won't look as nice as a computer display when you use the video out, but if you're just displaying text, it shouldn't really be an issue.

Andrew

thanks

not sure. I really have no experience whatsoever

i dont want to spend a ton of money but i want it to work as well

Which mixers would you recommend ? Trying to find somethin g maybe on ebay

thanks

Videonics MX-1 was the first low-cost mixer, and you should be able to find mixers like em on eBay.

The Panasonic MX-50 is another good mixer... I believe it can be modified for more resolution.

Just be aware that not all mixers can easily do an overlay. I know that the Videonics one I have (I think it's the MX-DV) does not let you do an overlay like a lower third. It has PIP and chroma key.

You could sort of do it with a partial transitions (you stop the transition midway through) - assuming the transition would start at the bottom and move up.

Hmm. Just remrebr that you definatly get what you pay for with video mixers.

I've never really been a fan of the Videonix MX- series, dont' liek teh feel, interface or responsiveness (and occasional tendancy to freeze). But on the other hand I know of one that that was in continous (24/7) use non stop for 5 years with only occasional crashes.


For this thoguh I'd sugest a Scan Converter like this one: http://www.tvone.com/cs-450-460.shtml
I use it, and it's predecessr the "Delta Scan" (which I prefer), regularly without trouble. Only problem is that setup is usign an on-screen display, but as it's for preview video this shouldnt' be a problem.
It takes a VGA signal from your computer and luma (black) keys it over a Composite or S-video signal. I normally run powerpoint (Slides with a black background) for graphics, simple and really effective thanks to the power of PPT. I've also used it with custom websites for dynamic graphics.
Only catch is that you are limited to VA overlay sources only, flip side to that is that you don't have any computer video card issues (some built in s-video outputs have trouble with certain graphics and video playback).
NOTE: Not all Scan converters have this overlay feature, be sure to check first!


Chepest way thoguh is probabaly to pick up an old video mixer off e-bay, this one will do the tirck (with luma key) at preview quality: http://cgi.ebay.com/Panasonic-WJ-MX10-2-Channel-Video-Mixer_W0QQitemZ7615280904QQcategoryZ21169QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


- Mikko