can you rig 2 monitors for more elbow room?

s k r o o t a y p wrote on 3/5/2006, 11:51 AM
hey, i was wondering if it is possible to get a second monitor and run your your playback/ preview screen to it and let the timeline, media pool, etc. be more spread out on your first monitor. some more elbow room would really be nice, particularly when anticipating the 6.0 update with additional tracks.

everything is so squished together on the one screen right now. i constantly find myself readjusting the scroll bar on the timeline up and down to have all i'm working on in view. yet i like to have the playback/ preview screen always large.

anybody know if it's possible to break it up between two monitors or if the 6.0 update has the advent of this? i'm thinking the preview screen at least should be able to go to another monitor. the mouse wouldn't need to travel to that screen.

this would be great!

Comments

Chienworks wrote on 3/5/2006, 2:56 PM
You've been able to do this with practically any software since Windows 98. Almost all of the dual-monitor tasks are handled by Windows, not the applications. Now, it is true that some applications include panes that can be dragged out of the main window and i've heard that Vegas Studio 6 has this option. Even if it doesn't, you can still stretch the whole Vegas window across both monitors giving you a monster-long timeline and tons of space across the bottom of the screen to spread out all the various sub windows.

Just curious, but what resolution are you using? I consider 1280x1024 to be the minimum acceptable for running Vegas. If you use 1024x768 or less then you're just not going to have a happy time with it.
jimmyz wrote on 3/5/2006, 8:17 PM
Movie studio 6 is the first to
allow undocking the windows.
I have it streched across two 19 inch monitors
and could never go back.
Chienworks wrote on 3/6/2006, 4:15 AM
To be quite correct, Video Factory 1 offered this too, as have versions 2 through 6 of the full Vegas. Why it was removed for Video Factory 2 through Movie Studio 4, i dunno.

But, that being said, even without undocking windows, any application can make use of multiple monitors.
Paul Mead wrote on 3/6/2006, 6:56 AM
And don't forget that you can set your preview screen to an external monitor on the firewire port, . For example, I have hooked up a TV to my Canopus converter and plugged the converter into the firewire port. Very handy. See the doc topic "Using an external monitor".
Spot|DSE wrote on 3/6/2006, 9:08 AM
There is a tutorial on using External Monitor here that will show you how to connect it.
I can't see anyone doing much of a lengthy edit session on a single screen. Moving from dual desktop to laptop is quite painful for me.
rustier wrote on 3/6/2006, 10:57 AM
DSE's link didn't work for me for some reason - if you click
here it should take you to the right place.
s k r o o t a y p wrote on 3/6/2006, 4:58 PM
<<Just curious, but what resolution are you using? >>

checking on that...

<<I have it streched across two 19 inch monitors
and could never go back.>>

whoa! that must rule! now if only flat panel monitor prices could come down a little!

<<And don't forget that you can set your preview screen to an external monitor on the firewire port>>

so when the preview screen goes to another monitor, which thing fills in the space where it was? i'd really like to lay it out so i can get maximum up and down room on the timeline (for multiple tracking) rather than side to side length.

(also in my post i should have clarified i was asking about VMS 6 rather than full vegas)

thanks all.

jimmyz wrote on 3/6/2006, 5:43 PM
i'd really like to lay it out so i can get maximum up and down room on the timeline (for multiple tracking) rather than side to side length.

Try in options, toolbar add auto hide docking area and then the bottom
of the screen will open up when you're on the timeline.
Siby wrote on 3/15/2006, 6:57 PM
Could you please explain how you use the Canopus converter to hookup to an external monitor and what is the model number of the Canopus converter. I am looking for something similar.
Chienworks wrote on 3/16/2006, 5:35 AM
If you want to maximize vertical space, you can use two monitors and stack on above the other. Windows doesn't care what the arrangement is. If you tell it you have monitor 1 above monitor 2 it will automatically arrange your workspace to be twice as tall. This would effectively place all the docked too windows in the lower half of the bottom monitor, leaving you all of the top monitor and half of the second one for the timeline.

If you don't have the ability to stack the monitors vertically and must place them side by side you can still tell windows that they are one above the other, and your top monitor with the timeline can be on the left and the bottom monitor with the docking area on the right. Just remember that you have to move the mouse up and down to go from one monitor to the other instead of moving side to side.
Siby wrote on 3/16/2006, 6:16 AM
Paul, What model of Canopus converter you use for 2 monitors?. I wanted to hook up 2 monitors like you mentioned.
Paul Mead wrote on 3/16/2006, 7:06 AM
I'm using the simplest/cheapest Canopus converter, the ADVC110. There really is nothing to hooking it up. You just run the firewire cable from the PC to the converter, and then connect the converter's video out (S-video or composite) to the TV. Then, in VMS, look at the preview panel for an icon that looks like a TV screen (Preview on External Monitor). Just click the icon and preview is sent to the TV via the firewire. It might take you a minute to set it up, if you have to scrounge for cables or move the TV.
Siby wrote on 3/16/2006, 6:31 PM
Thank you Paul. This is what I tried today. I have a DVD writer and has firewire (DV) input. So I hookup a fire (1394) cable from my PC to the input of the DVD recorder. Then from the DVD recorder analog output to the TV. But my DVD recorder is not getting the signal. Do I need to do anything special in Movie studio platinum edition other than clicking on the TV button. You response is greatly apprecieated.
I was able to capture the video from my camcorder to the TV thru this firewire I/O previously.
Paul Mead wrote on 3/16/2006, 7:08 PM
As far as I know that should work. You might want to make sure that VMS knows it is supposed to use the firewire. Go to the Preferences window and select the Preview Device tab. Make sure the preview device is set to the IEEE-1394 card. I thought that was the default, but maybe it isn't.
s k r o o t a y p wrote on 3/17/2006, 9:09 AM
~what is undocking windows?
Paul Mead wrote on 3/17/2006, 10:09 AM
~what is undocking windows?

I'm not sure what context you are asking about, but I will take a shot. The preview pane (as well as other panes in VMS) is a dockable window. You can undock it by grabbing the vertical ellipses (the dots in the top left of the pane) and dragging it to where you want the pane to sit on your screen. That is handy if you want to look at the full-res of a segment. When you are done you can just pull it back to where it was originally and it "docks" again.

Does that answer your question?
Chienworks wrote on 3/17/2006, 4:10 PM
Note that VideoFactory 2 & 3 (Screenblast), and Movie Studio 4 did not have dockable windows. So folks, if you have one of these versions, don't try this at home! ;)