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Richard,
Thanks for the input and sanity check on the computer - exactly the
thing I was looking for. Oops, thought it was a audio/video group.
I'll pay closer attention next time. Thanks again!
Dan

Richard Crowley wrote:
runhaar wrote ...
Newbie on here and am looking for some guidance on setting up a
computer to project multiple movies/slideshows onto screens in a
retail
store. I work at a small retail (start-up) and we're looking to set
up
a system with 3 wall screens and ceiling mounted projectors running
from a single workstation. We'll likely run either 2 movies (from
DVDs
in the machine) and a picture slideshow or possibly 3 movies at once.

You'd be far better off with three cheap DVD players
than any kind of fooling around with some sofware-
based solution on a computer. There are many players
that will automatically do a "slide show" if you insert a
disc full of still images, etc. Also much easier for your
retail clerks, etc. to understand/use.

The wall screen sizes will vary, but won't be bigger than 20' wide.
We want a decent set-up, but price is a major factor.

Spend your budget on good displays (whether CRT, or
plasma/LCD or projection, etc.) Don't blow it on a
computer. It will add no value to what the customers see.
Doing a decent 20' wide picture in a daylight location
(like a retail shop) may be more than your entire (unstated)
budget will support. Even 10' wide will be challenging.

Initial thoughts are that I could set up an XP Pro machine with a
couple of dual output video cards and 3 dvd drives and use XP's
multi-monitor features to split the signals and possibly software such
as Zenview Manager to help manage the multiple screens. What sort of
hardware do you recommend on this machine?
- processor
- video cards
- memory

You haven't made any case for why you need a computer at all?
Sounds like an extravagent waste of $$$, particularly if you are
trying to get maximum quality on minimum budget.

As for the projectors...what is the minimum
- resolution
- brightness
- contrast ratio

There are many online resources that compare projectors
head-to-head. See what is the best performance vs. $$$
within your budget. DON'T waste money on a computer
for this application.

And the cabling to the projectors? It may be as long as 100ft for one
projector. What kind of cable/connection?

100ft is no big deal for video. Component video
would be best, of course. Even $70 DVD players
have component outputs. OTOH, no $70 video card
will likely have component output.

Since you didn't mention audio, any particular reason
you posted this question in an audio newsgroup?