1) Pinnacle 10 Moviebox(PCI) – $165

2) 256MB Quadro NVS 440 Graphic Card (2x double DVI output) – $909

For testing, I think the only option is to order from the U.S, it is more expensive. But if we order more than 10 (which we will when we get the other 30 screens), it will be cheaper.

Cost for ordering 2 screens (including shipping): SGD$482 (approx)

Standalone computer: SGD$600 minimum

Video Capture Card +GFX Card: $1400

Camera: $200

For using Quad graphics cards, we would need a special motherboard so that each motherboard can support 2 graphics cards each.

That would mean. 2 computers, 4 graphics cards (each with 4 outputs). A total of 16 outputs, multiply it by 2 using splitters.

This is probably the best in terms of quality and value for money

Asus P5Q

Went around Sim Lim and got some good quotations as well as a feel of what exactly is available.

Graphics Card (Quad output)

ATI HD3870×2 – S$559

Leadtek Quadro NVS440 – S$899

Matrox QID LP - S$1699

PNY NVS440 – S$899

(The most expensive)

Leadtek Quadro FX3450 – S$2399

I also found some VGA to RCA converters (about $70 each but there should be a cheaper one), VGA Splitters – 1 split to 4 ($90). There are RCA splitters as well.

Detailed information on analog cameras.

A high resolution Sony CCD Camera (Dome shaped) has 2 models, one for $149 and one for $199. The most expensive one is for $500, but that is probably too high end.

We have to bear in mind that with a quad graphics card, there might be potential issues of heat buildup in the computer as well.

a list of video capture cards for pc, reasonable prices between S$150 and S$300
main brands are pinnacle, viewcast, and canopus. some basic information about video capture cards available here

Pinnacle Studio AV/DV Deluxe
Pinnacle Studio MovieBoard PCI Video Capture
Viewcast Osprey-100 rca input
Viewcast Osprey-230 only BNC and s-video input
Canopus ADVC-55, or bigger.

a list of more capture cards, brands, etc. with pricing and rating.
video capture card list

here comes a solution with a quad video card. the 4 video outputs from one computer would need to be multiplied or split by a multiplexer or splitter to a vga or bnc/rca/composite video signal which will then feed each of the mini lcd screens.

quad video cards
(1) fireMV 2400 PCI 128MB PCI architecture, 128 MB memory, dvi-v and vga connectors. ~US$400
(2) Matrox G200 MMS Quad VGA Sgram PCI 32MB cheap but i am not sure if strong enough. ~US$120
more matrox and ati quad cards.

i tried to find an equivalent form nvidia but they seemed to be more expensive see the following overview for a lots of quad monitor video cards, with my favorite being the ati 2400 card.

an overview of multimonitor multi head video cards.

usb to vga
this usb to vga adapter looks interesting but seems a bit experimental for what we have in mind. any thoughts about this approach? (Maximum: 6 units USB 2.0 VGA adapters on one PC (not suggestion for playing, can arrange monitors in a 2 x 3 matrix found at ebay)

video splitter
a nice overview of different splitter techniques at smartvm.com.
what we would need is a dvi or vga to rca splitter. splitter here can be a multiplier of the same image of a “box” that can split an image into 4 parts and feed component video (rc or bnc).

I found this link that seems to be a better solution. It is quite similar to the previous one. Still have not received a reply from the other site, so will drop these guys an email as well. I am pretty sure these are available in Singapore, just have to scour around a bit. Once my cast is off on Friday I’ll be a bit more mobile.

Just did a bit of research on facial recognition software and how it could possibly be tweaked, depending on the conditions of the outdoor location (i.e, lighting, angle, etc).

Facial recognition software generally looks at certain “nodal” points which are found on a face. These might include points between the eyes, ears, nose and the head. So for example, a situation arises where a person’s face “merges” with the background in terms of, say colour or brightness, the software might not work as efficiently as it should. In such cases, it might be possible to just tweak the parameters of the facial recognition software to compensate for certain external factors.

Links:

http://mambo.ucsc.edu/psl/beymer.html

http://mambo.ucsc.edu/psl/ntt.html

adding more to the list:
ems-digitalmedia, see the Multi-Screen Graphics Adapters.
mosaic-sq16

I did some research on some CCTV cameras, they have some decent ones. A good budget would be at least $200 for a decent quality camera. Better quality ones would cost a bit more for sure. But what is the budget for the camera? Maybe it would be good to get the camera first before doing anything else.

Also, it might be good to get a camera that is slightly wide angled.

Any thoughts?