Display DP video full screen on dedicated DVI-TV?

[kestudi]

I'm in the process of setting up a new rig, and I'm hoping to get an answer for one video question.

My MacPro video card has two MiniDisplay ports and one dual-link DVI port. I'm converting the mini displays to dual-link DVIs for the computer monitors, and sending the native dual-link DVI to a 40-inch samsung LCD TV. MacOS sets up an extended desktop across three screens automatically.

What I'm wondering is: Can I use the TV as a dedicated display for DP video? I don't need to see the Mac Desktop on the TV; only DP video. Formerly, we were using a Canopus D/A box that sent DV video to an analog set. Hoping to achieve the same result with the new setup.

Thanks in advance for any tips!

[MIDI Life Crisis]

You should get better timing from the new setup. I guess the question is can you use the third output for the Movie Window? Yes?

I don't see why not. I believe the Mac will still use the 3rd screen real estate regardless when DP is not active. I do a similar thing with three screen but only 2 feeds (on my lowly G5). The 2nd screens are mirrored and because of the video splitter, and the different resolutions of the mirrored screens, I have to change resolution every so often to do various tasks. But if that works on my system, you should be fine. Once Sandy Bridge is released, I'll be diving into a new Mac Pro (or whatever they might be calling it) and doing exactly what you're planning, so I'm interested in your results.

Let us know how that works out, but I suspect you'll be just fine. I dropped the Canopus box as it introduced about a 1/3 second delay. The other nice thing is no more needing DV streams to see the video. simple (smaller!) Quciktime files are just fine.

[kestudi]

I should be able to drag the DP video window to the 3rd TV display without a problem. What I'm hoping for, however, is to keep the DP video window as a small reference window in my main 2-screen workspace, and then mirror the video full screen on the 3rd TV display for client display, etc.

(we just upgraded from the lowly G5, btw

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Ah! I see! Even better. So you would, in fact, be sending out a DV stream to the third monitor, but presumably directly from the Mac output? Hadn't considered that as a possibility but if it doesn't add a delay, that would be excellent!

[kestudi]

From our perspective, it doesn't matter if the video is in raw DV format or any other format (.mov, etc). We just need to display the video full-screen on the TV! If DP requires .DV files for sending video to an external display, then so be it.

I'm just wondering if I can send video to a DVI monitor instead of to a firewire Canopus box.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

I guess that's also my question for my future system. Will DP see the port as a DVI for the purposes of sending the signal? It should, IMO, but that's only my opinion... I do know that under the current version, it does have to be a DV stream to send it to a DV port, but as you said, no big issue there. Introducing a .33 second delay to the signal is a problem for me and hopefully with faster internal buss speeds, that won't be an issue as it was with the Canopus devices.

[groove]

Basically, you are still better to output your dv stream via the Canopus, as the decoding is done by the card and not by your computer. Even tough Mac Pro are now more than caplable of handling the decoding of a dv stream to whatever output, it is still resources that are better used for the audio. Using a Canopus -or whatever other box -your Mac manage just another Firewire source.

If your work is critical and sync is a issue - i.e. dialogs editing, sfx, final mix - your are better with the resolution a dv stream offers when output to a TV screen.

Best

[MIDI Life Crisis]

I've yet to use the AVDC-100 without seeing an unmanageable delay. Game changer for me.

[groove]

MLC,

I'm sure you know this, but here is my workflow:

1. Set movie start time in the Movie mini-menu
2. Set Chunck start time accordingly
3. Copie movie audio to sequence
4. Mute audio track from movie window
5. Output movie to Firewire card (I disable the Echo video option)
6. Set video output playback offset to whatever your system needs (this will be constant to all your sessions and will not be influenced by the frame rate, Time code format or sample format of your sessions. The video output offset is related to the speed of the Firewire chips of your system and to the decoding card - in my case a ADVC-110. You can save your offset as a preset. Mine is 5 fr. 40 tc bits.
7. Work.

I never experience sync delay with that workflow, the ref audio track is played in sync from the chunk and my work is delivered without problems.

If you have problem with your Canopus, you might want to check the status of your card dip-switches. I remember I had to change something in mine, but it's been a while.

Cheers

[MIDI Life Crisis]

I've tried this under the direction of MagicDave and went over it a million times and I cannot seem to get rid of the delay. Drives me crazy!

Thanks for the info. If I attach a TV monitor to my system again, I'll give it a shot following your instructions. I'm pretty happy with the three monitor setup at the moment.

[martian]

those canopus cards are great - got 2 of them...

my offset varies - if I am recording foley I use a TV as its quieter thats a 5 frame offset.

If I use the LCD projector for mixing it seems to need 8 frames - must be the LCD doing that..

[HCMarkus]

Which Canopus box/card do you guys use, and how are you connecting to your display (Component/Composite/HDMI)? Thanks!

[martian]

mines a Firewire ADVc110 have 2

also I have great success with sony DV cams.. used an old (ten years old one ) for about 4 years - it died when the assistant some how dropped it..... then used a "HD"/ mini DV one for another couple of years too..

they can be quite good - and if your tight on space and no TV anyway using the camera fold out LCD has worked for me - just balanced in on top of my mon LOL..

[pencilina]

This usb to vga thing works perfectly for my 3rd (.mov) monitor. I use vga but it has hdmi and dvi out as well

http://www.newertech.com/products/viddu2dvia.php


I had a firewire box but it had a lag this works great

[bralston]

If you have the ATI 5770 or 5870 video card, the only way for it to use all 3 digital video outs is to use 2 of Apple's Dual Link DVI Mini-display port to DVI adapters. Then the third monitor can be the regular DVI out. These are $99 each. Regular DVI adapters will not allow 3 similtaneous DVI outputs to happen. Then you have a third monitor up top where the DP video can be put up there and expanded to be big to fill you display and it will not be delayed.

These Dual-link DVI adapters also require a USB port each for more power. But Apple give you an open UsB port on the adapter as a pass through. So you get them back.

This is why Monoprice's cheaper adapters don't work well because they do not have USB ports on the to reclaim those used ports.

But even this is not really full screen video. Until DP8's new video engine, FireWire non-HD is the only way to do that.