Hi and welcome to the forum!

Well it all depends on your budget which you didn't mention. You said "simple" I'll assume it means cheap... ;o)

I suppose you already checked the recommended hardware page on vMix website, right ? Just in case : http://www.vmix.com/prod...x-reference-systems.aspx

The PC should be at least an i5 based CPU with an nVidia GTX graphics card. i7 is better but it could be an upgrade option later on.
2/3 things are important (at least):
- the number of PCI-Express slots and their type. These will determine which capture card you can use
- the number of hard disks or preferably SSDs. For example it's better to have 3 small/medium SSDs than a single big one
- USB3 support, as you might also use USB3 devices for capture

Try to find a motherboard with at least 4 PCI-Express slots (rev 3.0), being preferably x16 or x4. That means don't go for Mini-ATX

For the capture cards, you have several options:
- a single card with multiple inputs like BlackMagic or Magewell etc...
- multiple single input cards
- usb devices

Here again your budget will matter.

One cheap solution could be this:
- 2 PCI-Express Blackmagic Decklink Mini Recorder with SDI/HDMI inputs
- 1 USB dongle able to do HD or SD
That gives you a potential for 3 simultaneous inputs, one being able to ingest old equipments for about $550/600



Nope the GTX will have at least 3 outputs connectors you can use at the same time. Newer models have 4.
An extra monitor for fullscreen is very important.

I think you can now make your shopping list. If you're not sure, just come back.

Hope this helps
Guillaume

The latter requirement of analog/HDMI is taken care of by the Intensity Shuttle, so you're just looking for a SDI input device, of which the BM Mini Recorder PCIe card is one of the cheapest, and has the option of taking SDI or HDMI (but like most multi-connector cards is only a single channel device). For all its faults, like poor compatibility with some USB3 host chipsets, the Intensity Shuttle is quite a versatile device for the money, having both analogue & HDMI connections, handling SD & HD signals, and being able to act either as an input or an output device (although not both at once).

What is "presentation" PC for you? And presentation GUI? Something like Powerpoint?

Hi

very interesting use case! When I look at the todo list I think you slightly under-estimated your needs, not really in terms of power but rather in terms of ease of use and independance for each task.

First I'm gonna answer the easy questions and try to express what I would do based on my experience of such workflows. This won't be the absolute and unique "truth" about it, there are always alternatives, simply what I would do if I had to deal with this project.

I am missing important information:
- what type are the auditorium screens? TV sets? LED wall? Beamer? Because you said "screens", I assume you're talking of multiple big screens TV. This has to be confirmed.
- local remote rooms? TV sets? computers? Do you have a decent ethernet network?


I guess not. NDI is the best way to go for this


Potentially yes, but it's not a good idea anyway


It could work but I wouldn't do that anyway. I'd go for a 128 or 256GB for system and a 512GB SSD. Recording is important. Streaming might go wrong, you could be asked for a recording in order to do post-production. It's better to be able to record.


As long as it sticks to hardware requirements, no. I use home-made and prebuilt PCs for vMix.

Ok, now my proposal!

Considering your project needs, I would go for a 3 computer setup (a 2 powerful computer setup is certainly possible but it depends on your constraints and context and things have to be confirmed first):
#1 one powerful i7 for vMix (you said you already have this one)
#2 a decent laptop like i5 or better for presentations
#3 another laptop or desktop for multiple use. I'll explain this later

I think you also need vMix 4K or Pro to take advantage of EXTERNAL2 (virtual or physical) output.

Before I explain further, please answer the questions I asked above and tell us about your network infrastructure in the auditorium. Each detail is very important. Also indicate distance between the control room and the stage.

Thanks
Guillaume

So taking into account the suggestions, I ordered up the components instead of doing a prebuilt. Based off the Sample System specs I ordered the Gigabyte GAZ270X motherboard, i7-7700k, and the GeForce GTX 1060 vid. I'm also going to try using a Blackmagic Intensity PCIe card with the breakout cable instead of the Shuttle.

I'm going to test the loads and see how it handles...I may keep the second system as the presentation system and use NDI to send it since that does seem to work well.