Jonas Dannert

"Unexpected Display Reconfiguration" is very often due to connection loss of one or more outputs, could be intermittent. The way to handle it is to use EDID Managers, like DVI Parrot, on all outputs. /jonas

I have the same doubts for a W600, discussed here on the forum a couple of times earlier: (earlier post by Jim Kellner) http://forum.dataton.com/topic/1420-coming-back-after-3-years-need-advices/?do=findComment&comment=5693 "As for those tempted to use the FirePro W600, beware, the GPU is a bit weak for WATCHOUT. The W600 is targeted at home video applications, not so much for DirectX 3D accelerated apps. If all you are doing is video playback and very little with tween tracks, no masking, no keying, etc. you might get away with the W600. That implies you have control of the content and its programming. ;)". /jonas

As mentioned several times before, here for example: http://forum.dataton.com/topic/1538-cant-go-online-if-show-has-wav-file/ Please turn off Windows Media Center Features as per the Tweaklist. http://dataton.com/downloads/watchout/support/tweak/Windows_7_Tweaking_list_2.1.pdf /jonas

Awesome Matthew!! Tnx, /jonas

I would highly doubt alternative 2's DirectX/Direct3D-capabilities for WATCHOUT use. /jonas

The dual AMD D500'sin MacPro are used in SLI-mode, I believe, ie as one, faster card for all the available outputs. /jonas

That looks like a capable setup, similar to the setups in the Dataton lab, running these kind of files without any issues. All tweaked as usual, no problems. So in theory it should work well. Cannot see that the tweaking would do things worse in this scenario. Any other codec packs installed? Windows Media Center Features turned off? /jonas

And the codec used is? Bitrate? Framerate? Exactly which hardware are we talking about? /jonas

Dear friends, collegues, customers and partners! As some of you may have heard, am I today leaving Dataton to take up a new position with Barco Sweden on 19/1, as Customer Service Engineer in the Nordic countries. Want thus like to say a big thank you, to all of you that I have been privileged to have contact with during my almost five years on Dataton. Time flies when you have fun! If you want to reach me, I will remain at +46-70-275 69 09 , although for a transitional period I can be reached at +46-73-562 31 35, my private email is jonas@dannert.se and from the 19/1 I will also be reached at jonas.dannert@barco.com. Facebook, Skype and WATCHOUT Forum details will remain the same as before, albeit I will not be part of the Moderator team any longer... You are very welcome to visit me at the office on Kyrkvägen 3, Sollentuna, Stockolm, Sweden, if you are passing by on the way from or to Arlanda airport! I really hope we run into each other again in new contexts to come. For the time being , I say thank you for this time and wish you all the best for the future ! kind regards /jonas

I would guess that for a 6-core setup, a X99/Core i7-5820K is cheaper than a X79/Core i7-4930K. /jonas

Hi Sasami, Please see my inline comments below, /jonas I've been doing some research in this forum and in different PC forums. This topic helped me: http://forum.dataton.com/topic/1512-new-watchout-display-computers-hardware-config/?hl=%2Bdisplay+%2Bcomputer I saw that the X79 Chipset is a bit old, do you still think this chipset is up to date to build a pro PC Display? Yes, it sure is. On the other hand Z97 is newer but not as pro, and its cheaper. I builded 2 configurations (Z97 and X99). Is the X99 way better? Than the Z97? Yes. It gives you the choice of 6- and 8-core i7 processors vs only 4-core with Z97. Any other suggestions? Thanks in advance. X99: CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor CPU Cooler: Corsair H80i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler Motherboard: Asus X99-DELUXE ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard Memory: 2 X Kingston 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory (32gb total) 16 GB is quite enough. Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (system) Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (Data) Video Card: AMD FirePro W7000 4GB Video Card Power Supply: Corsair 860W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply Seems OK. Capture Card: Blackmagic Intensity Pro Or maybe a Datapath Vision AV-SDI capture card? http://www.datapath.co.uk/products/video-capture-cards Z97: Changes from above in RED: CPU: Intel Core i7-4790 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor CPU Cooler: Corsair H80i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler Motherboard: Asus Z97-DELUXE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard Memory: 2 X Kingston 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (32gb total) Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (system) Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (Data) Video Card: AMD FirePro W7000 4GB Video Card Power Supply: Corsair 860W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply Seems OK. Capture Card: Blackmagic Intensity Pro Or maybe a Datapath Vision AV-SDI capture card? http://www.datapath.co.uk/products/video-capture-cards

Sorry, but we're not verifying WATCHOUT on Virtual Box. Most likely their DirectX/Direct3D support is not there. Please use VMware Fusion or Parallells Desktop on a Mac instead, if needing a virtual solution. /jonas

Is this on the same computer, but different WATCHOUT-projects? Is Windows Media Center Features turned OFF under Programs and Features/Windows Features On/Off? /jonas

Through DMX or MIDI Notes, according to your link... But this is a console designed for the AI Media Server, right? /jonas

Yes, WATCHOUT supports 4K/UHD-outputs, and has since the capable hardware been available. Currently up to 3 4K/UHD-outputs work simultaneously, on a proper hardware platform. 2 4K/UHD-outputs per Display PC will give you more headroom and is recommended. A X99-based 6- or 8-core platform and a hardwarebased RAID-setup is highly recommended. /jonas

Either AMD FirePro W7100 or W9100. /jonas

For that, one can use almost any laptop. A discrete graphics card, ie not a integrated graphics card and a SSD will be a plus. /jonas

It's not EDID that crashes WATCHOUT and/or the Display PC, but the loss of EDID or connection to the display device, that causes Windows to re-arrange the number of graphic card outputs. This in turn cause a WATCHOUT Display software crash. Even an intermittent glitch, can set this off. There's no good way for us to stop this from happening. Using software or hardware EDID Management will remedy this, however. This is distribution 101, in my opinion. /jonas

No, there is no specific software in use. This is a question for your hardware supplier to verifiy playback performance, on their hardware platform, IMHO. /jonas

Eyefinity and DisplayPort are not directly related. Eyefinity is an AMD graphics technology, DisplayPort is a VESA connector standard. 4 HDMI outputs is quite possible for graphic card manufacturers to make availabe, albeit they have not, at least yet. AOpen did however. We do not use Eyefinity for WATCHOUT. /jonas

ALL settings up OR down of pixel density, will be a scaling and affect the perceived output, this is natural. As is if you scale content, for example from 720p to 1080p in WATCHOUT. All this is done by the graphics card in the Display computer, which is, as JFK describes above, pretty dam good. And usually a lot better than the screens built-in scaling, which is then not used, since you feed them all natively. "I presume the pixel density of the stage does have an affect on the performance of the production computer" No, not really. "That would be why Jonas suggest a smaller stage" No, it's because then you also can make your content smaller in size pixelwise, for all the physically smaller screens vs the biggest one. That is if you intend all screens to behave like one, ie a circle is a circle of the same size when moving over the stage. Saves production time in my book. If the scaling is visible or not, will be more dependant on viewing distances, I think. /jonas

"a lot of trouble that initially gets blamed on WO can actually be external cabling." You can usually count on that. One do need to do the homework here. Always try with short, direct cabling first, circumventing Cat5 extenders etc. Then, I always use EDID Managers, like DVI Parrot's, on all outputs... /jonas

It's Eyefinity-capable alright, but that has less to do with WATCHOUT. A small box, in essence a WP2 in a bigger case with 4 outputs, but with no more power, ie you have to be careful with what content you put upon it and how much. /jonas

I would use the pixel density of the largest display, resulting in a smaller stage. But your mileage may vary. /jonas