Archive for February, 2012

Converters, Cords and Other stuff

Posted: February 7, 2012

Don’t sweat the small stuff.  Catch The Mania is a great program for building business and for generating income for yourself.  It’s designed to be simple, cost effective and easy to produce but with every great service based product there are a few things that can be done in preparation to ensure your success.  One of these things is making sure you have all the right equipment and part of your equipment are the few adapters and cords that will help you to more easily connect from all types of computers to all types of TVs and projectors.

Take a look at the pictures to get a better feel and read the descriptions to see what each adapter does.

Outputs, Adapters, Converters and Cords For PC users:
PC’s generally have either an HDMI output or a VGA output, and some have both.  This makes PC’s one step and one adapter easier than Macs.  Here’s the difference between the PC outputs

HDMI Output – this allows you to plug a straight HDMI cord from your PC into any TV or projector that has an HDMI input.  HDMI is where video technology is going but the thing about it is that HDMI and VGA is only a one way connection, meaning that you can convert HDMI to VGA but you can’t convert VGA to HDMI.  This means that having an HDMI output on your PC gives you the most flexibility because most TV’s accept HDMI and those that don’t usually accept VGA so all you need is an HDMI to VGA adapter and you can plug into 95% of the TV’s out there.

HDMI to VGA Adapter – This allows you to convert any HDMI (digital signal) to VGA (analog signal).  It’s great for making sure you can connect to any VGA TV or projector.

VGA Output – Some PC’s have this output instead of HDMI, these are generally older PC’s and they work great but the only limitation is the TV or Projector you want to broadcast the presentation to, as long as you are connecting to a VGA input on the TV or Projector it’s a very simple, straightforward connection.  All you need is a straight VGA to VGA cord, plug one end into your computer and the other end into the TV or Projector.  The challenge with VGA comes as TV’s get cheaper and more and more do away with the VGA input in favor of HDMI.  If you were going to buy a new computer today you would want to make sure it has HDMI output.

VGA to HDMI Converter – If you have a PC with the VGA output but you need to plug into a TV or projector that only takes HDMI you can pick up a number of different converter boxes that will do the trick.  They are relatively inexpensive and with them you will be able to cover 95% of all TV or Projectors.

Once you have the right adapters and converters it’s simply a matter of getting the right cords.  Ideally if you carry a 20 foot HDMI cable and a 20 foot VGA cable you will be ready for anything.

Outputs, Adapters, Converters and Cords For Mac users:
Macs are great for audio/visual presentations but their hardware and software is generally proprietary meaning that if you want to connect to anything Non-Mac you will need some type of adapter.

The two main outputs are as follows (there are others but these two are the main outputs)

Mac Book (the white notebooks) – This is what a Mini-DVI (digital video) Out looks like on the white Macbooks.
Mac Book Pro (the silver notebooks) – This is what a Mini-Display Out looks like on the silver Macbook Pro.  Notice the slot is smaller and in a different location from the white Macbook.

**NOTE**  There is a difference between the older white Macbooks and the newer silver Macbook Pro’s.  The older white laptops have what is called Mini-DVI adapters.  The silver Pro’s have what is called Mini-Display Port.  Check this link to really see the difference well explained.

Depending on which computer you have you will get the correct sized adapter.  From there it’s a matter of just covering your bases, the same way as with a PC.  Each Mac Mini DV Out has multiple ends to connect VGA, DVI, HDMI and more.  If you want to cover 95% of your TV’s and Projectors simply get a Mini to VGA and a Mini to HDMI remember that depending on your Mac you will need the appropriate adapter, the Macbook White laptops are older and have bigger outputs and Macbook Pro Silver laptops have outputs that are smaller (See pics above).  From there just plug the mini adapter into your Mac and then the VGA or HDMI cord into the adapter and run the other end to your TV or Projector.  Click this link to see what adapters you need for your computer and to order.

The cables are no different for Mac or for PC.

What Kind of Computer do I Need

Posted: February 7, 2012

Catch The Mania is a Microsoft Power Point based presentation that is designed to play on any computer with the right software.  What’s most important about the computer that you choose is reliability and the ability to play media files, like music or movie clips.  If your computer can easily play music and movie clips, meaning they don’t skip or distort when you play them, you should be fine.

As far as other things to consider about your computer is the audio and video outputs.  CTM is designed to be presented on a TV or Projector and therefore you need the ability to broadcast it from your computer to whatever devices you will be showing it on.  The way to accomplish this is to check your computer for the following:

1.    VGA output
2.    HDMI output
3.    Mini Output (Mac)

VGA output is most common on PC’s.  You will see, either on the side or the back of your PC a port that looks like this.  HDMI is the same, most common with PC’s you can look for a port that looks like this.  With Macs it’s a little different.  Most Macs have a Mini-Digital Out port and some are different than others.  This is what a white Mac Book mini-DVI out looks like and this is what a silver Mac Book Pro mini-Display Port out looks like.

With the Macs you will need to get an adapter that will then connect you to the proper cord and proper input to the TV or projector

You can check the links in this article for more particulars but really what you need is the ability to play music and video and some kind of video output port.  That’s it!

Media VS Non-Media Downloads

Posted: February 7, 2012

Catch The Mania is a highly effective business building too.  It has been designed to work across many formats and operating systems and in almost any environment.  One of the greatest aspects of CTM is that it plays on the TV screens at each location.  This projection allows your customers to see as well as hear the questions which is a major difference from many other trivia programs.  Another great aspect of CTM is that we offer media files embedded in the presentation that allow you to play music, videos or both enhancing the experience of the game.  However, as demonstrated by so many trivia nights that don’t broadcast on screens at all, having embedded media is not necessary to having a successful night.

If you don’t have the requisite software or licenses to allow audio/visual playback, have no fear, we have a presentation that will fit your current needs without sacrificing your success and when you begin to see how successful CTM can be, you can upgrade and begin using the media based presentation.

What is Non-Media based CTM?
Non-Media Based CTM is a presentation exactly like Media Based CTM with the exception that the media (audio/visual) files have been removed.  However the questions are all pretty much the same and the answers are definitely the same as in the Media Based model.  For example if you download the Non-Media Based CTM model you will find that the music round (typically embedded with songs) will have written lyrics or written questions about the song title and the artist instead of having a media file of that song.  The answer will be the same, the question will be different.

What is Media Based CTM?
This is the full media package where you will actually hear songs and see videos and then have questions to answer about each.  The answers in this version are the same as the answers in the Non-Media Based version, it’s the questions that are different.

How do I know which one to use?

The simplest way to know is to download the media version and see if the media (songs, videos, sound clips) plays on your computer.  If it does, that’s the one you want.  If it doesn’t you can check a few things like what software you have and if you can’t or don’t want to remedy the situation, choose the Non-Media Based version.  Both versions will give you high quality, fun questions broadcast on the TV screens of the locations.