[jersey]

Hello all,

Without getting into too many specifics, I need my old Sawtooth (which is currently doing duty as my web server) to run 4 monitors, with 1 video running full screen on each.

So, I come here (as usual) to seek advice and wisdom.

What hardware and or software upgrades do I need?

Currently it has: 512 mb ram, stock video card and 10.3.

I'm sure I'll need to max out the ram, and put 3 additional cards in it to connect the monitors (card suggestions appreciated), but I think 10.3 will be o k. Do you guys think I should run all 4 videos off of the internal hd, add an additional 1 or 2 internal, or go firewire drives? So you know the specs for 2 of the videos are 720 x 480 2gb total size. The other 2 are 720 x 480 about 300mb each.

I am thinking about going with 4 Dell 20" widescreen.

Thanks for any help or suggestions.

-j

[SSharon]

I'll let some other people confirm this, but I believe the Radeon 7000 should help you out. The card has VGA, DVI, and S-video but I'm not sure if you can use all three (or even 2) at the same time. I have the card and would test it but its boxed up at the moment.

Assuming it can drive two monitors, I'm not sure if those 2 can be huge 20" widescreens (great monitors btw).
If quicktime can play the 4 videos at the same time tiled on your screen it can likely display them all fullscreen on their own monitors. I have found that QT uses more processor to display windowed videos than fullscreen ones.

More ram is always useful but I don't think you need to max it out, another 512 chip would probably be enough. Another HD will make a significant difference if its on another channel (so it can read both drives at the same time).

You shouldn't need any software updates of any kind, and you can probably find someone in the marketplace forum with a Radeon 7000 to buy.

[OreoCookie]

Thing is whether your computer can actually play four video streams at once. If it is a codec which doesn't require as much cpu horse power, you should be fine, but I would check beforehand if you can actually play back all video streams before investing anything. I remember that sometimes divx did not play back smoothly on my iBook Dual USB 500.

[SSharon]

Yes, for sure check to see if the videos will play right now tiled. http://www.macworld.com/news/2002/05...7000/index.php that old article implies that you can use all three outputs at once but it will split the ram (so you may want to find the 64mb version of the card). Assuming the videos will play you best option would probably to get two of these cards and use the VGA and DVI from each and not use the stock card at all.

[SirCastor]

First, you will need a) A faster Processor, if you don't have one. and b) A LOT more ram.

I can tell you the Radeon 8500 can do dual monitors quite nicely. My brother has the 9800 on his machine and it does it even better. So first shot I'd replace whatever you've got in your AGP slot with one of those. 128mb or 256mb.

If you've got money to throw away, you could buy two 7000's and run one monitor off each, or as others have mentioned, you could run both off the one.

10.3 will be fine, but 512mb won't cut it. Even if the video cards are high in vram. I would max the ram if you can. video is intense.

my 400 G4 chokes occasionally on DVIX (until it's the only thing doing anything) so get that processor up.

[Spliffdaddy]

I'm guessing that only one monitor at a time will be able to display a fullscreen QT video. At least that's the way it works with WinXp on x86. Only one monitor can be the 'primary' monitor - and that's the one that gets the 'overlay' for video and 3d games.

I could be wrong, but if you can manage to get just 2 monitors to display a fullscreen QT video, then 4 monitors should theoretically be able to do it as well. I wouldn't think your Sawtooth would have the necessary CPU power nor the required PCI bandwidth to handle it smoothly, however.

[jersey]

Thanks to all of you. Looks like I have some investigation to do.

When I have another monitor hooked up to my powerbook (1ghzTi, 1 Gig if ram), QTPro will only play full screen on the powerbook, not the connected monitor. However, DVD player will play full screen on whichever monitor the window is sent to.

DVD player using a video_ts from a disc image in full screen, according to Activity Monitor, uses 20% Cpu, 30mb of real memory and 300 mb of virtual.

Maybe multiple instals of dvd player, or vlc may be the way to go, not QTP. Hmm....

I guess one of the first questions is which codec / app are the most processor friendly? I know a 450 mhz sawtooth is not optimum. If I must, I'm not against dropping a few hundred on a processor upgrade. I would love to use a mini, but there is no way (at least not that I know of) to run 4 monitors off of the thing.

I should also mention I have access to about 4 other sawtooth units I can pillage for parts, as I teach at a university, and am good friends with the IT guy.

***edit*** VLC behaves just like QTPro, so it's no longer a contender.

[OreoCookie]

Well, knowing how much CPU power you need to play a dvd is not saying anything about the requirements for the videos you want to play.

[jersey]

Originally Posted by OreoCookie

Well, knowing how much CPU power you need to play a dvd is not saying anything about the requirements for the videos you want to play.

I was using the video_ts directories for the videos I will be showing. I would think this offers some indication.

[OreoCookie]

Originally Posted by jersey

I was using the video_ts directories for the videos I will be showing. I would think this offers some indication.

Yeah, but you didn't mention what combination you would use

[jersey]

New development. With multiple versions of Vlc running you can in fact have 2 files running full screen on 2 different monitors, no hacking or trickery required. Of course this was done on my powerbook, so now I need to test on the sawtooth.

Still very open to suggestions.

[IFLY2HIGH]

I might be missing something here but if you have 4 monitors and want to play one video one each, are we talking about the same video on each monitor or 4 different videos on each monitor? If your just doing one why not just Mirror the other moniters to the one that is playing the video?

[jamil5454]

================================================== ==========

Originally Posted by IFLY2HIGH

I might be missing something here but if you have 4 monitors and want to play one video one each, are we talking about the same video on each monitor or 4 different videos on each monitor? If your just doing one why not just Mirror the other moniters to the one that is playing the video?

Originally Posted by jersey

So you know the specs for 2 of the videos are 720 x 480 2gb total size. The other 2 are 720 x 480 about 300mb each.

================================================== ==========

[jersey]

^^^^^^^^^^

what he said.

Looks like vlc uses up 50% of the processor on the sawtooth when playing a single 800 mb file.


need.....more.....processor......

[reader50]

I have a Sawtooth with an 8500 AGP and a 7000 PCI. 4 video channels used some of the time. It is possible to go fullscreen on each screen at the same time, using different applications. The combination I tested just now:

monitor 1: QT player with the QT fullscreen widget
monitor 2: VLC
monitor 3: Xinema QT player
monitor 4: DVD player

All worked, but my system (upgraded to 1.25 GHz) could not push all the pixels in real time. Also, it would help if only one has sound because there aren't separate sound outputs. If multiple videos have sound, they are played overlapped.

If you need to drive your monitors with digital connections, use a 9000 AGP (ADC + DVI). We don't have a PCI card that gives dual digital out, so you'd need dual PCI cards unless you are ok using a VGA out for one or both of the monitors on the PCI bus.

[jersey]

Originally Posted by reader50

I have a Sawtooth with an 8500 AGP and a 7000 PCI. 4 video channels used some of the time. It is possible to go fullscreen on each screen at the same time, using different applications. The combination I tested just now:

monitor 1: QT player with the QT fullscreen widget
monitor 2: VLC
monitor 3: Xinema QT player
monitor 4: DVD player

All worked, but my system (upgraded to 1.25 GHz) could not push all the pixels in real time. Also, it would help if only one has sound because there aren't separate sound outputs. If multiple videos have sound, they are played overlapped.

If you need to drive your monitors with digital connections, use a 9000 AGP (ADC + DVI). We don't have a PCI card that gives dual digital out, so you'd need dual PCI cards unless you are ok using a VGA out for one or both of the monitors on the PCI bus.

Thanks for the suggestions. None of the videos have sound, which makes it a bit easier.

But you're right, I'll need to upgrade the processor to run it all real time.

I figure 150 for ram 250 for processor and at least 200 for extra video cards.... wonder if I should get to refurb minis instead..... wonder if they can run dual screens individually, or only mirror....

[bourgeoisie]

am i the only one curious about the application of this? what's the purpose of the 4 videos at once? i'm just curious...

[jersey]

Originally Posted by bourgeoisie

am i the only one curious about the application of this? what's the purpose of the 4 videos at once? i'm just curious...

I figured that would come up sooner or later, so here's the deal...

I make art, quite a lot actually. In March, there is a chance I'll be showing at Scope during The Armory show in NYC. This is a huge deal. It's an even larger deal because my work will be this particular galleries featured work. So, I need (want) something nice and clean, and 4 dvd players and 4 monitors dont really fit the bill. Plus, with 2 of my works, you get a better image off of the hard drive than you do off the dvd(no compression, yadda yadda).

[bourgeoisie]

well congratulations, that's awesome!

curiosity killed the cat..