Slideshow presentation in a shop - equipment required?

5tephen · 17 May 2006 at 15:45

I have a little job to spec up, the company wants a TV (say 30" - 40", not HD) inside their shop that displays a series of screens indicating latest offers in their store while customers browse around.
I'm assuming this would be hooked up to a computer somewhere in the store - what type of cable connection would be required between the two? S-Video, composite or whatever? Does cable length affect the quality of output in any way?
In terms of software, Powerpoint is the only program I really know of that would fit the bill. It's between £150-200 from a very quick search, which is a tad steep but not the end of the world. I'll probably go ahead with using it, but are there any other programs dedicated to this type of thing that would be easy to use?
Suggestions appreciated.

earlyflash · 17 May 2006 at 16:13

I *think* that openoffice has a presentation package, which will be free.

In terms of connection to a PC, the SVideo output on any decent gfx card will probably be the best choice. If the TV has a VGA input, obviously that's the better choice.

You'll also need something to change the display mdoe on the PC, since TV's have different shaped pixels and screen resolutions.

semi-pro waster · 17 May 2006 at 16:18

earlyflash just got there before me but Open Office is free and has a product called Impress which might do the trick

If memory serves the limit of VGA cables without repeaters is roughly 10m before it is out of specification i.e might suffer degredation. I don't know about s-video but VGA ought to offer better quality if you can use it.

The PC itself will be a fairly small outlay I'd imagine as almost anything anything could output Powerpoint or equivalent all day long providing you have a suitable graphics card.

split · 17 May 2006 at 16:18

Ever looked @ Impress?

Part of openoffice.

5tephen · 17 May 2006 at 16:25

Thanks for the quick replies.
I might check out OpenOffice, I've been meaning to for a while. Impress, at first sight, does indeed look impressive

I've been looking around, 20m S-Video cables are pretty cheap and there is no indication of loss in quality but I will read into it more. Is the VGA input on a TV the same as that on a normal PC monitor? And the same question - does length affect quality of this type of connection?
Regarding "something to change the display mode on the PC" - would this not be provided in something like the ATi Catalyst software?
All questions questions here!

split · 17 May 2006 at 16:28

source...

Q: What is the distance a video signal can be reliably sent before an amplifier is needed to boost the signal?

A: There are many factors which can affect a video signal, such as the quality of the cable being used, the output characteristics of the video signal, and the horizontal frequency or resolution of the signal. In some cases the signal can be extended for a long distance with very little visible degradation. In other cases the distance must be very short. Some guidelines to use for determining the need for an amplifier are: PC and Mac: 10-15' -- use an Extron RGB interface or DA to increase distance. Sun and SGI: 6-10' -- use an Extron RGB interface or DA to increase distance. Composite video: 100' (30 m) -- use an Extron CVDA 6 MX to increase distance. S-video: 50' (15 m)-- use an Extron SVDA 6 MX to increase distance. It also recommended that any time a signal is split, it should be split with a distribution amplifier. With computer video signals of 48 kHz and above, we recommend the use of a MBC buffer (instead of an MBC Y cable) for the input to an interface. This will assure that the signal is of the highest quality possible.

fini · 17 May 2006 at 16:38

You don't need powerpoint installed on a computer to play a powerpoint presentation. Make the presentation on another computer and then use the 'package for CD' menu option and that'll give you the powerpoint viewer app to install on another computer to view it on.

fini

Johnnyboy · 17 May 2006 at 20:34

Or why not simply use the Windows Picture and Filmviewer that is bundled with XP? It has a slideshow function (F11).

[J]

Energize · 17 May 2006 at 22:56

5tephen said:
Thanks for the quick replies.
I might check out OpenOffice, I've been meaning to for a while. Impress, at first sight, does indeed look impressive
I've been looking around, 20m S-Video cables are pretty cheap and there is no indication of loss in quality but I will read into it more. Is the VGA input on a TV the same as that on a normal PC monitor? And the same question - does length affect quality of this type of connection?
Regarding "something to change the display mode on the PC" - would this not be provided in something like the ATi Catalyst software?
All questions questions here!

A tv has the same vga connection as a monitor, however you wont find one on a normal tv. Component is your next best option if the tv has it.

5tephen · 17 May 2006 at 23:29

Johnnyboy said:
Or why not simply use the Windows Picture and Filmviewer that is bundled with XP? It has a slideshow function (F11).

[J]

The staff in the shop will be making their own slideshows, I don't know how many different people will be doing so but that would still involve making pictures to show in the slideshow in the first place. E.g. actually using a separate imaging program, saving as jpg, ordering things... while cheaper it would be much harder for a noob to work with. Powerpoint or Impress will definitely be my choice because of that, they do what they do so well

Thanks for the suggestions people, an S-Video connection and Powerpoint/Impress at the software end should get things going.