I've been working on some field production projects recently where budget constraints and the simplicity of the projects have made a dedicated CG not really practical. I was wondering if anyone is aware of a USB or Firewire device that could be fed from a laptop and provide both a fill and key signal from software like Photoshop, Chyron Lyric or another software CG. I know that Black Magic sells some video capture cards that offer this feature. The card can be configured with an SDI Fill and SDI Key signal to perform "Live Keys" with an SD digital switcher from apps like Photoshop.
http://www.blackmagic-design.com/products/decklinkstudio/
Unfortunately, dragging along a desktop with a $600 capture card kind of defeats the purpose of a small footprint. I know that I have seen devices of varying quality that can be fed Firewire signal and produce component/composite/SDI output, but I don't know if anyone sells software/hardware that could accomplish this. For simple graphic needs, it would be so cool to be able to interface a laptop to a switcher and recall graphics in photoshop and use them in a live production. If anyone has any thoughts I would love to hear them.
Thanks
Jim
