Playback advice for budget-limited exhibitions

[Joshua McGillis]

Hey, folks! Saw this forum recommended in a couple spots and am very excited to be here. As a very new exhibitor (about a year), I've enjoyed lurking and searching through a lot of different posts, but was hoping to get some advice from anyone willing to offer some! My needs are probably a bit of an edge case because I'm a "pop-up" exhibitor, in that I do not have a permanent theater, so I set up my rig before each monthly event. I'm partnered with an events venue, so they have / provide all the audio tech and I just need to get them a signal. So, no DCP, obviously.

My current obstacle on the Tech side of things is my playback method. Currently, I'm able to run a slideshow on my projector prior to showtime, and then just clumsily back out and play the film. This has worked for the last year or so, and probably could indefinitely, but I would prefer something a bit more professional. Thinking long-term, I would like to attempt a festival at some point, and so I would like something that could support that as well (this is just in an idea stage now, though).

I'd love to be able to queue some slides, maybe trailers or other pre-show videos, and then transition into the actual screening without a big dumb Play symbol, menu, mouse pointer, etc.

Can anyone offer their insights or advice? Does anyone have some experience and thoughts on some of the stuff below? Most of these have trials of some kind, but they're usually like an hour, and I'm not really convinced that's enough time to monkey around and learn the basics well enough to decide if it's the right thing for me. Paying for a daily license to preview/familiarize myself with something isn't the end of the world, but every dollar counts when it's DIY.



Proludio -- I was actually turned onto Proludio by a film studio (funnily, they said that you can do all your booking through Proludio, which the sales rep then implied was not the case [I'm sure I'll have some booking questions in one of the other channels...]). The monthly fee is too high for me, but could be worth it if it's truly an all-in-one system or has some other benefit I'm unaware of.

QLab -- Recommended pretty much everywhere. Rent-to-own licensing is great (if still superfluous) for someone my size. Daily license is much easier to manage than $150/mo. Seems to be more theater-centric, which may be desirable down the line. I impulse bought a Mac Mini thinking I was for sure going to go with QLab, but I'm not married to this. Originally I wanted to get a Linux server together, but I didn't find much for Linux-based or open source cue/playback software (and the Mini is going to be more portable than a custom small form factor server anyway).

Isadora -- Frequently recommended as an alternative to QLab.

OBS -- Recommended sometimes as a free solution, but in an outside-the-box kind of way since it's made for streaming?

VLC -- Could maybe work, but just kinda feels like a variation of what I'm already doing.

Plex -- Surprisingly, I saw someone recommend Plex in a different thread. I've been running a Plex server for what feels like ages now, but I dunno that I'd want to use or rely on it for a public exhibition! (I'm also not really sure how intense studios or licensing agencies might be about the technicalities of screening from a disc vs a file sourced from a disc? But that's probably another topic...)

Thank you!

[Randy Stankey]

It sounds like you might want a seamless switcher. A switcher takes two or more inputs, for example, a computer and a DVD player and funnels both of them to your output, (e.g. your projector) so that you can switch between them and make nice, professional looking cross fades without the hiccups you describe.

You can find switchers that cost a few hundred dollars up to a few thousand. It all depends on your budget and what your expectations are.

You can look on websites like Sweetwater or B&H to find the cheaper versions or you can look at sites like extron.com for the more professional versions.

I have used a couple of the Extron switchers. They are expensive but they do exactly what it says on the box with no BS. I'd suggest something from Extron if your budget permits.

[Joshua McGillis]

Interesting, thanks. I'll take a look at the switchers. Appreciate the tip on specific brands.

Would you have any recommendations when running from a single source? Edit: which is to say, I wouldn't expect to always be using a disc source, so I would like to prioritize something that could (possibly?) do both.

[Ed Gordon]

...
VLC -- Could maybe work, but just kinda feels like a variation of what I'm already doing.

Plex -- Surprisingly, I saw someone recommend Plex in a different thread. I've been running a Plex server for what feels like ages now, but I dunno that I'd want to use or rely on it for a public exhibition! (I'm also not really sure how intense studios or licensing agencies might be about the technicalities of screening from a disc vs a file sourced from a disc? But that's probably another topic...)...

You might try out JRiver Media Center (https://www.jriver.com/ ). It plays every file type I have encountered. It is easy to build playlists for seamless presentations. You can download the full version to do a 30 day trial. It runs on Windows, Mac and Linux. It costs less than $100 and never expires (they offer upgrades for new versions at reduced price for currently licensed users.

I have used Plex, but it seems to be very limited in what file types it supports.

[Randy Stankey]

I used to use the Extron switcher to play satellite feeds from the Metropolitan Opera. There was a satellite receiver, a DVD player, a computer and a "spare" input for whatever random thing somebody wanted me to display.

I'd run a PowerePoint, show from the computer during walk-in. I could fade to a DVD if I wanted to do a pre-show video and fade back to the computer when it's over. Then, when it was time for the opera to start, I could fade to black for a few seconds before switching to the satellite receiver and fading back in for the main feature. It was all pretty easy, once you get things set up, and you can even control the thing from your iPhone if you have your equipment on a computer network.

I could play movies from DVD/Blu-Ray just as easily.

I don't suppose you have to have multiple inputs. You could have just one input and use the switcher to fade in from black and again, at the end, to fade back to black.

If all you want to do is fade-ins and fade-outs, you should probably look at some of the pro-sumer items on Sweetwater.com or B&H. Extron makes more professional grade equipment and it can get pretty pricey.

As your project grows and you have the opportunity to bank some money, you can consider getting better equipment.

[Leo Enticknap]

I would suggest that a scaler/switcher would be preferable to just an HDMI switcher. If all you have is a switcher, switching will not be instantaneous if the two sources do not have the same resolution, color space/encoding, and frame rate: there will be a short pause while EDIDs are negotiated between the source, the switcher, and the projector. If the device has scaling capabilities, changing between input sources should be instant and seamless. We would usually recommend Kramer for this sort of application, e.g. the VP-732. Cheaper alternatives are available if 4K support isn't needed.

As for presentation software, in addition to the above suggestions, I know a few Macophiles who swear by Playback Pro, but it's only available for the Mac, and is quite pricey.

[James Gardiner]

The old dCine software would be perfect for this, but its too finicky to get running right, and needs a dedicated Windows PC. Tho, I always wanted to make something like it on more modern technology, and Linux based. (More stable and reliable than windows)
Maybe one day. Working on other free tools right now. Plus updating my own software to use a new front end framework. A lot of work.
Was considering writing something on top of VLC, turn it into a cinema type functionality. Scheduler, triggers etc. But for mp4 (h264/h265/AV1). That would be very useful to smaller places learning and setting up to grow into a full on cinema with DCI equipment.

[Joao Lopes]

You can do everything on VLC Media Player (Free).

Make a play list (see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzlcq69yOLA). Import any file (picture(s) and/or video(s)). Save it. You can make a slide with your logo or message. Play it and stop it with space bar on your computer (image freezes). When time comes, it again space bar and it starts playing. Then it goes to the end. You can ad your logo at the end of the movie too. At this point you can it space bar (again), if you want your slide to stay longer on the screen, otherwise turn off the projector lamp and end of the show.

This way you can make a clean show without showing anything other than what you want on the screen.

You can reuse this play list or update it for the next show.

If your preshow has more than still pictures, convert it to an movie file.

Allways test your playlist (image and sound) before the show.

Keep your VLC updated and you will be surprised with it!

[Ryan Gallagher]

VLC “can” do everything if you can get all your sources unto a video clip or more, but can get cumbersome in a hurry when content updates start arriving late etc.

I’d second the notion that a budget switcher still gains you some features even when dealing with a single source machine. Fade to black, Still-Store/Static slides you can ditch to while switching apps etc.

But note that all the budget friendly swichers will demand all sources be the same format/rate etc. They are affordable because they lack a scaler per input like the fancy ones.

Qlab is great once you get familiar, as is PlaybackPro. We use OBS here a lot cause it is free and we are on PC, and it can be forced to do most things. Where you run into problems is it will not “mix” audio during transitions using the audio monitor outputs. It only mixes on program, which is by defacto the stream/record outputs. Not designed for live in that regard.

Mitti is one you did not mention, and was an alternative to playback pro during the period it was not updated for Apple silicon.

Tons of ways to tackle this, much of it determined by your film source format and what OS you prefer, and how ready you need to be for late changes.

[Joao Lopes]

In a booth we should only play content that is ready to be played. We don't have to apply effects and/or fades. If some content arrives late, there is no “best software” to overcome it. That's why anyone should use simple software like VLC or whatever else they like.

As an option, you can try this player (shareware; Windows only): PowerDVD 23 (The World's '#1' Blu-ray & Media Player).

[Ryan Gallagher]

In a booth we should only play content that is ready to be played. We don't have to apply effects and/or fades. If some content arrives late, there is no “best software” to overcome it. That's why anyone should use simple software like VLC or whatever else they like.

As an option, you can try this player (shareware; Windows only): PowerDVD 23 (The World's '#1' Blu-ray & Media Player).

Those are lofty ideals. I would suggest that only applies to strict film venues that don’t do anything “extra” with live events connected to film, and also don’t operate as a traditional live venue too. I have to transcode and live mix content here all the time, edit slides, etc etc.

The feature is sacred, we try to get those all delivered “as intended to be played”, but everything else has the potential to be a moving target.

We even occasionally do some overlay effects on our house preshow content during the holiday series. :-). Lower thirds is liable to become a request on any show that adds imag cameras etc, unless the video component is entirely subcontracted by the visiting production.

Even the ability to seamless switch to a backup source is “best practice” on high profile shows. DCPs aside, unless you run a full backup DCI projector, which has also been a thing on occasion.

[Joshua McGillis]

You might try out JRiver Media Center (https://www.jriver.com/ ). It plays every file type I have encountered. It is easy to build playlists for seamless presentations. You can download the full version to do a 30 day trial. It runs on Windows, Mac and Linux. It costs less than $100 and never expires (they offer upgrades for new versions at reduced price for currently licensed users.

I have used Plex, but it seems to be very limited in what file types it supports.

Excellent, thanks for the tip. I will definitely give this one a look!

[Ed Gordon]

Regarding your specific requirement:

I'd love to be able to queue some slides, maybe trailers or other pre-show videos, and then transition into the actual screening without a big dumb Play symbol, menu, mouse pointer, etc.

JRiver does all that. You can play slides (with or without audio), videos (on the hard drive or on a disc). Play video segments (set start and end points).

Regarding:

Most of these have trials of some kind, but they're usually like an hour, and I'm not really convinced that's enough time to monkey around and learn the basics well enough to decide if it's the right thing for me.

The trial period for JRiver is 30 days. If that does not work, the purchase price is not a budget buster

JRiver Media Center licenses available:

Purchase Master License $89.98 (recommended, since it is valid for Windows, Mac, and Linux) Purchase from the Help Menu of the latest version.

If you previously purchased MC for Mac or Windows, and it is installed and licensed, you will see a reduced price when you purchase a Master License.

Purchase Windows only for $69.98 (Works only for Windows)

Purchase Mac only for $69.98 (only for Mac)

Purchase Linux only for $69.98 (only for Linux)

I would recommend the $69.98 option. If you later want the Master License, you can upgrade to it.

[Joshua McGillis]

VLC “can” do everything if you can get all your sources unto a video clip or more, but can get cumbersome in a hurry when content updates start arriving late etc.

I’d second the notion that a budget switcher still gains you some features even when dealing with a single source machine. Fade to black, Still-Store/Static slides you can ditch to while switching apps etc.

But note that all the budget friendly swichers will demand all sources be the same format/rate etc. They are affordable because they lack a scaler per input like the fancy ones.

Qlab is great once you get familiar, as is PlaybackPro. We use OBS here a lot cause it is free and we are on PC, and it can be forced to do most things. Where you run into problems is it will not “mix” audio during transitions using the audio monitor outputs. It only mixes on program, which is by defacto the stream/record outputs. Not designed for live in that regard.

Mitti is one you did not mention, and was an alternative to playback pro during the period it was not updated for Apple silicon.

Tons of ways to tackle this, much of it determined by your film source format and what OS you prefer, and how ready you need to be for late changes.

Thanks. I hadn't heard of Mitti, so I'll definitely look into that one too. Looking over some the recommended products, the scalers did sound useful, but I didn't fully jump into pricing them out yet.

For the most part, I have the skills/equipment to encode the source to whatever I need. If I did start working towards a Fest, I would think that filmmakers should be able to submit using whatever specs are outlined, but I'd probably be delusional to think there's not another layer of last-minute changes, technical issues, etc. I'm not as knowledgable on containers though, and don't know the nuances between Matroska vs QuickTime, but I'll probably need to learn at some point anyway.

I'll probably end up sticking with MacOS as there just seems to be more options compared to Windows or Linux (and portability). Source preference is definitely an H264 mkv, but my mileage may vary, I suppose.

[Joshua McGillis]

Those are lofty ideals. I would suggest that only applies to strict film venues that don’t do anything “extra” with live events connected to film, and also don’t operate as a traditional live venue too. I have to transcode and live mix content here all the time, edit slides, etc etc.

The feature is sacred, we try to get those all delivered “as intended to be played”, but everything else has the potential to be a moving target.

We even occasionally do some overlay effects on our house preshow content during the holiday series. :-). Lower thirds is liable to become a request on any show that adds imag cameras etc, unless the video component is entirely subcontracted by the visiting production.

Even the ability to seamless switch to a backup source is “best practice” on high profile shows. DCPs aside, unless you run a full backup DCI projector, which has also been a thing on occasion.

The venue I'm working with is something of a "collective," so they're always running all kinds of different events, from music to theater. So, while it's not a hard requirement, something that's a bit more flexible for live events, multi-media or otherwise, does have value, even if only for the future. And while probably not "high profile," suddenly needing to switch to a backup source in the middle of an exhibition has been nagging at the back of my mind since I started.

Lots of great suggestions and options from everyone, thank you. Will definitely allow me to weigh immediate and long-term needs, and hopefully set a budget.