dual monitor display

way2slo wrote on 5/9/2002, 1:54 PM

hi all
just bought a matrox 550 dual head video card. i m just wondering if i can play full screen video on second monitor while i m editing on primany monitor. i m a vegas 3.0 user. if it does, how do i set up?
thanks.

Comments

BillyBoy wrote on 5/9/2002, 5:00 PM

Short answer is no, you don't want to do that. A dual headed graphics card will allow you to expand your desktop so you could drag the preview window to the second monitor, however the problem is computer monitors reproduce colors differently then a NTSC (TV) monitor does. If you run XP you don't even need a dual headed graphics card, just two graphics cards, each with a monitor plugged in.

So if you want to get better results you are much better off running a NTSC monitor (regular TV, with video in) through your digital camera. Under options, prefrences select Video devices then OHCI compliant. Click on the monitor icon above the preview window. If Windows "sees" your digital camera the preview will be displayed on the monitor instead of in the preview window. The playback will be at the full screen size of your TV. Make ALL your color and level adjustments while viewing the display on your TV monitor and you'll get superior results. Don't forget to apply the broadcast filter to clamp out of range colors. Be sure to set up the monitor to NTSC standards as a initial step. See seperate thread for simple how-to for hobbists.

The hook up is straight forward. Connect your firewire cable between your digital camera and your PC. Plug in a line (yellow) from your digital camera out to your TV's video in. Most cameras have some cable where they have a red, white, yellow RCA plug at one end and a single combo plug at the other that goes into the camera. Do NOT plug in audio to avoid feedback.

way2slo wrote on 5/9/2002, 5:14 PM

thanks. i think i get it.

HPV wrote on 5/9/2002, 7:05 PM

Yes, you can undock the preview window and drag it to the other monitor. You need to click on the thin strip on the left of the window. I run my main monitor at 1152x864 and the second at 640x480. It's a Geforce MX with an Svideo output for the second monitor.
As for the color and brightness not being accurate on a computer monitor, it's true. But you'll get much higher framerate with the graphics card vs. OHCI ext. monitor. That's why I use both. I use the OHCI to check colors and interlace flicker. Everything else I use the graphics card window.

Craig H.

SonyDennis wrote on 5/11/2002, 2:49 PM

Tip of the day: Once you've dragged the Video Preview to the other monitor, double-click on it's titlebar to automatically size it to the project video size. Double-click a second time to make it half-size (for faster performance).
///d@