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Question

Best product to plug into LCD Projector & play video files

Nov 12, 2012 6:17AM PST

I am interested in buying some sort of device (media player?) to hook up to an LCD projector and run for 9 hours a day in an art gallery. I would like to plug in a flash drive (that has videos stored on it) to this player, and plug in the player to the LCD projector. I have yet to convert the video files from their current DVD format. Once I burn them to my MAC and edit them in iMovie, I am wondering what I need to format. Ultimately, I want to be able to avoid using a laptop and dvds and just use a device that can stay on all day and hook up to a projector
So, my questions are:
1. What product(s) would be suitable for my needs listed above?
2. What format should I save my video files as (.mov, .mp4, etc.) when I am ready to start using the player?
3. Do I need to reformat the player or my flash drive so it's compatible (because I have a MAC)?

Discussion is locked

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Answer
Re: device
Nov 12, 2012 6:32AM PST

Why shouldn't a laptop be able to run all day?
The nice thing is that it has a big hard disk, so it can store and play a long HD movie without human intervention.

Kees

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re: Kees help
Nov 12, 2012 9:19AM PST

Thanks for replying to my post, Kees! So, to clarify, I'm borrowing 3 2008ish MacBooks and 3 projectors from my university, so they'll have to make the settings so the display doesn't go to sleep or dim during the day. I don't think they're opposed to that, it's just a minor setback they'll hopefully take care of for me.

I like the laptop and DVD option because I'm familiar with them. However, ideally I would have a 9 hours of video, not one file on loop. Therefore, I'd have to change the DVDs multiple times. Maybe I could make a condensed DVD to fit 9 hours on one disk? Or maybe I could save a bunch of files on the laptop and "select all", and "play"? Or maybe I could just put the files on a flash drive and plug that into the laptop?

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re: Kees help
Nov 12, 2012 9:24AM PST
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Answer
Too many easy solutions.
Nov 12, 2012 6:36AM PST

I continue to use DVD and BD players for this. I have ZERO and NO qualms about putting the content on DVD media since it's a nickel. It runs for days in a loop without any concern about blowing the budget or folk walking out with the USB stick or PC.

Why not old school?
Bob

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re: Bob help
Nov 12, 2012 9:23AM PST

Thanks for replying to my post, Bob! So, to clarify, I'm borrowing 3 2008ish MacBooks and 3 projectors from my university, so they'll have to make the settings so the display doesn't go to sleep or dim during the day. I don't think they're opposed to that, it's just a minor setback they'll hopefully take care of for me.

I like the laptop and DVD option because I'm familiar with them. However, ideally I would have a 9 hours of video, not one file on loop. Therefore, I'd have to change the DVDs multiple times. Maybe I could make a condensed DVD to fit 9 hours on one disk? Or maybe I could save a bunch of files on the laptop and "select all", and "play"? Or maybe I could just put the files on a flash drive and plug that into the laptop?

This is the kind of laptop/dvd alternative I was considering. Not totally sure whether or not it plugs into the projector.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008NO9RRM/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&smid=AFKH6OU9WWNFS

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I can do that.
Nov 15, 2012 1:09AM PST

With a better DVD/BD player I can use MKV, AVI and other video files and blow past the usual 2 hour limit on a DVD.

Nice cheap player but as you will rediscover, encoding of content can upset folk that think that an AVI is an AVI is an AVI. They learn fast about "containers" and encoding. Some seem to flame everyone around them at first. You never know how folk will react to this industry's mess.
Bob

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re: Bob help
Nov 12, 2012 9:27AM PST

Also, luckily for me, these projectors will be mounted/secured 8 feet high so I don't really have to worry about people stealing my flash drives...very happy about that!