Projector on the Podium

I've always wondered how other Stakes deal with this, so I thought I'd just post this general inquiry:

We are often asked (as I'm sure you are) to play video clips or slides during a meeting while someone is speaking. But the typical "projector-on-the-pulpit" setup has always bugged me. The way these buildings are designed, the projector wants to be sitting right in the middle of the pulpit in order to get the proper throw and keystone. This obviously doesn't work when someone is standing there talking into the microphone, so we do what I think most people do, and place it off to the side.

It has always bothered me because I'm kind of a freak for a clean installation, and equipment and cords sitting right on or next to the pulpit can be ugly and distracting during a meeting, especially if your projector fan gets noisy. Also, putting it off to the side adds some horizontal keystone to the image, which drives me nuts.

I'm wondering if anyone has done anything to deal with these problems. Has anyone tried using a projector with horizontal keystone correction? Or has anyone found a projector that can do a short throw, so the projector can be positioned behind the speaker without sacrificing image size?

We actually have one building in our stake that has a built-in projector, which is very nice. But we're moving into another stake center, and I'm sure we will never have the funds or permission to do that again. So I'm trying to figure out the most professional setup we can pull off in the new facility.

Or maybe I'm just being obsessive, and nobody cares about the projector on the pulpit & a little horizontal keystone...

Just curious if anyone has any thoughts.

-Shane

SBankhead wrote:But the typical "projector-on-the-pulpit" setup has always bugged me.

Or maybe I'm just being obsessive, and nobody cares about the projector on the pulpit & a little horizontal keystone...

We put the projector just to the side of the pulpit, and noticed that one side is better than the other. Our pulpit is older, and has a rather large "shelf" where we can put things like tissue boxes and squish them when the pulpit is lowered all the way.

And when it comes to a little keystone, we are so happy to make the equipment work and be able to see the picture that we worry about little else.

SBankhead wrote:I'm wondering if anyone has done anything to deal with these problems. Has anyone tried using a projector with horizontal keystone correction? Or has anyone found a projector that can do a short throw, so the projector can be positioned behind the speaker without sacrificing image size?

I've seen reviews over the past year on projectors that have throw distances less than 10 feet. They tend to be pretty pricey, but a throw distance of eight to ten feet would solve your problem.

Google will find them (short throw projectors) and you'll have to spend some time reading through the various reviews.

Our setup is probably worse, but I'll mention it anyway We put the projector in the pews, in the middle about 3 rows back. W/ our equipment this gives us the biggest possible display, but it does present it's own set of problems. Whenever someone wants to speak and show slides or something we end up moving them away from the pulpit and give them either a lavalier or a hand mic.
I'd love to ceiling mount our projector, but it's not really possible given the construction of our Stake Center. Good luck!

kylejhunt wrote:Our setup is probably worse, but I'll mention it anyway We put the projector in the pews, in the middle about 3 rows back. W/ our equipment this gives us the biggest possible display, but it does present it's own set of problems. Whenever someone wants to speak and show slides or something we end up moving them away from the pulpit and give them either a lavalier or a hand mic.
I'd love to ceiling mount our projector, but it's not really possible given the construction of our Stake Center. Good luck!

Try having a member of the ward/stake with carpenter skills make you a small wooden cart with a lid that can be tilted to accomodate the projector. That's what we have and it works like a charm.

We place the projector on top of this cart and place the cart right next to the pulpit. It's probably about 2 feet to one side, which is enough to permit someone to still stand at the pulpit and speak and still use the projector.

When we're done the cart gets put away in a closet behind the choir seats.

techgy wrote:Try having a member of the ward/stake with carpenter skills make {...}

Oh, that brings back memories of when the projector was the size of a small coffee table. Worked great. I'm just glad that smaller, better projectors made that unnecessary.

Of course, you might want to check into ordering a portable podium and just have the speaker work from the side. We have a few of them we use in the classrooms. Unless you can really get your image up high, having the speaker in the middle is likely to block the audience's view of the presentation.

RussellHltn wrote:Oh, that brings back memories of when the projector was the size of a small coffee table. Worked great. I'm just glad that smaller, better projectors made that unnecessary.

Of course, you might want to check into ordering a portable podium and just have the speaker work from the side. We have a few of them we use in the classrooms. Unless you can really get your image up high, having the speaker in the middle is likely to block the audience's view of the presentation.

To complete the story, the projector cart we have WAS actually made when the projector was much larger. However, there's more to the cart than just a surface to support the projector. There are two shelves on the cart that we can use to support a DVD player or whatever else is needed for a broadcast.

We keep a spare DVD and VHS player on hand and the cart has come in very handy.

Another thought would be to move the projector completely away from the speaker and project it onto a portable screen. Most of the presentations I see in chapel meetings are poorly authored and include way too much text that is much too small to read anyway. Putting a screen closer to the congregation, say down in front of and to the side of the speaker, brings the images much closer to the viewers and avoids keystone problems.

Just my $.02 worth.

I'd like to see the use of ultra short throw projectors as permanent installations in chapels with good connectivity and an a/v cabinet with dvd players. Hitachi make some nice ones.

It has got to the point where conference is no longer the only times a projector is used and in fact they are now used at nearly all training meetings. They can be a great aid to teaching and they should be more accessible.

Try having a member of the ward/stake with carpenter skills make you a small wooden cart with a lid that can be tilted to accomodate the projector. That's what we have and it works like a charm.

We actually have a guy in the stake with a metal shop who built us a very nice steel projector pedestal with a small platform at the top tilted just the right amount for our projector. It makes for a nice clean installation, but still doesn't fix the problem that the projector wants to sit right where the speaker is standing in order to get good framing and keystone.

I'm liking the idea of getting a good short throw projector, so the projector can be placed behind the speaker, where it won't be distracting.

I'd like to see the use of ultra short throw projectors as permanent installations in chapels with good connectivity and an a/v cabinet with dvd players. Hitachi make some nice ones.

It has got to the point where conference is no longer the only times a projector is used and in fact they are now used at nearly all training meetings. They can be a great aid to teaching and they should be more accessible.

I hear you. We are regularly asked to do slide shows, powerpoint presentations, DVD clips, etc.- often from multiple sources during one meeting. Our stake presidencies are often businessmen who are used to giving multimedia presentations, so they expect a basic level of technology capabilities in the meetings they conduct.

It gets even more complicated when you're trying to distribute that video to rear screens, building TV modulators, and your broadcast encoder. We are moving into a new stake center next month, and the system they're installing is very crude, so we have a lot of work to do in order to do the kind of meetings that our stake leaders are accustomed to...

Now that they are incorporating video clips and slides into General Conference and other church broadcasts, it is changing the way that our leaders are planning their meetings and presentations- especially these large local multi-building broadcasts that we are doing now.

With our new stake center almost finished, I'm a little frustrated with the fact that the church building department is clearly not on the same page with our needs and the technology that the church is instructing us to use. As a result, most of the stakes I have seen in our area (including ours) are forced to take a very unprofessional "duct tape & bailing wire" approach to meeting our technology needs. Anyway, that's my rant- no disrespect intended, but it sure would be nice to see some simple improvements to the "standard" building plan just to bring us into the 21st century...

I'm curious to hear anyone elses solution to the main chapel projector. I'll update this thread when we make a decision on our own installation.

-Shane

SBankhead wrote:It has always bothered me because I'm kind of a freak for a clean installation, and equipment and cords sitting right on or next to the pulpit can be ugly and distracting during a meeting...
-Shane

Just to add my 2 cents to the thought process (I'm only referring to the quoted part): A potential low-tech solution to a high-tech problem could be to hang a piece of fabric (maybe a dark-colored bed sheet) across the back of the projector stand to cover the cables from view by the audience. You just have to make sure you don't block the airflow for cooling fans. I have done that at home in some instances and it can be a quick and easy solution.

Our stake places the projector in the pews for broadcasts and next to the podium on a stand if a speaker needs to use it. Most members don't care about a little keystoning as long as it doesn't distort the image too much.

Interesting discussion. I've also hated the asymetrical keystone caused by putting the project off to the side. I think I'll try putting it between the seats behind the speaker, even when there isn't a speaker. From the podium I have to zoom quite a ways in to get it to fit on the screen, so a little closer won't be a problem. The biggest problem I see will be the angle. The severe keystone required will affect the focus as well as the resolution. Broadcasts aren't very good quality anyway, but presentations I would think would be noticeable. We have a projector table with adjustable legs that we use when we're projecting in the cultural hall. This could give it a little more height.

My previous stake had a long-throw projector that we could put in the back. Now those are even more expensive. I would especially like one of those when projecting in the cultural hall so I wouldn't have to block the aisle.

I agree, it's really disappointing that the physical facilities are so far behind technologically. It wouldn't cost that much to do things correct right from the start. I would also love to mount our camera permanently for broadcast to other buildings or the cultural hall.

Many of the newer Epson projectors have the ability to adjust the keystone by each corner. It is really pretty neat.

MRK wrote:Many of the newer Epson projectors have the ability to adjust the keystone by each corner. It is really pretty neat.

Cool. We have a new Epson projector in at least one of the wards; I'll check it out. Tonight I'll just try putting the projector behind the speaker.

At my Stake center, there is an old drop down from the roof which held a 50 pound beast of a projector, we replaced it with a small sony provided by the church, the throw was too close so the image was small and everyone complained to me about it. I asked the stake for a better projector, I even spec'ed one out found a good price but still no go. Now our projector lives next to the podium when in use.
Does anyone know if there is a way to play a DVD back in through the church system? It's just a pain to hook up a dvd player next to the podium every time they want to play back a DVD for a training or something.

MattWorley wrote:At my Stake center, there is an old drop down from the roof which held a 50 pound beast of a projector, we replaced it with a small sony provided by the church, the throw was too close so the image was small and everyone complained to me about it. I asked the stake for a better projector, I even spec'ed one out found a good price but still no go. Now our projector lives next to the podium when in use.
Does anyone know if there is a way to play a DVD back in through the church system? It's just a pain to hook up a dvd player next to the podium every time they want to play back a DVD for a training or something.

For those buildings with satellite this is technically possible. The video source can be injected at the satellite cabinet into the appropriate modulator. Then the video is arrives at the podium the same as any satellite broadcast. I am not certain, however, that all modulators can accept the DVD input.

As I think about this I am wondering about the issues created versus just the minor inconvenience of having a DVD player next to the projector (on the floor perhaps or even a small stand next to the podium). There is the issue of lost video quality due to the nature of the additional equipment. Now there needs to be someone attending the video source and cued from the podium. How do you handle that when they are in another room? For some units the policies of the FM group may not permit access to the equipment.

For buildings without satellite I am not sure of any system in place for remote setup of video input to a projector.

jdlessley wrote:I am not certain, however, that all modulators can accept the DVD input.

I don't know why not as long as you use the composite output. Audio levels might be a different story. And this would require some re-wiring of the satellite equipment. Not something that the FM group is going to be happy about since they end up having to fix any problems.

I just play DVDs using a laptop.

We are lucky enough to have room behind the podium to align the projector optimally. A long VGA extension cable (50 feet) lets the presentor have a laptop on the podium and not have the projector in the area. If there is a sound requirement, a 'crab' box connection is moved into position. A network connection is also provided or a wireless connection can be made. An AC power cord is also provided. I feel uneasy running on laptop battery power.

We have one building in our stake where the podium is offset from center by about 24 inches. This was done to make it possible for the Organ and Piano to fit. A side benefit of this is that it provided an ideal perch for a projector.

We can’t do this in our stake center so we shoot over the podium and have the presenter wear a wireless mike.

I think the best solution might be a short throw projector along with a rear projection screen. We replaced one of the screens on a cultural hall stage with one that supports both front projection and rear projection. This has been a wonderful arrangement. This provides better brightness and it allows the projector to be invisible. It would be interesting to see if this would work in a chapel where the projector sits in the back row of choir seats. In the cultural hall, we were even able to use this screen as a very large basketball scoreboard. All you need is a free iPhone app, an Apple TV device and you can score the game from anywhere.

We have a commercial projector stand that sits on the floor and extends about 6 feet up. Visually all you see is a 2" aluminum pipe with a small platform on the top. We position it between the 2nd and 3rd pew just inward from the side isle. We have found that the trapezoid correction feature is good enough to properly fill and frame the entire screen. I'm sure there are differences in focus across the screen but it is not noticeable. This makes it possible for a speaker to stand at the pulpit. I do have a wish for the future and that is that chapel screen's be rear-projection screens. This will make it possible to have the projector completely out of sight. This also would provide a brighter image overall. In some buildings it would even be possible to have the projector be permanently mounted in such way it is not seen but is still accessible without needing to use a ladder.