PeiccoPro Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 Does somebody have any knowledge of matrox products in use for W5. Would it be possible to use Matrox DualHead or TripleHead to extend displays? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJ Myers Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 We've actually used those with v4 to accomplish the same thing that v5 already provides. Now that v5 supports the ability to accommodate multiple heads recognized at the OS level, the need for Matrox cards in v5 is actually completely unnecessary (IMHO). You would be much happier acquiring a GFX card that has 3 or 4 heads and would spend less $$ as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeiccoPro Posted August 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 Ok, Thanks for the answer, I'm just trying to maximise the outputs, and 4 displays would not be enough. Those cards which have 6 outputs are not too common nowadays, so that's why the guestion. But thanks for the info JJ, appreciate your input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJ Myers Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 It sounds like the proper solution would be more displays. Unless you are not using any video, I would think that 4+ heads per machine would be overload on the system resources. Otherwise, you end up spending more money trying to make a single super computer vs. splitting up the horsepower across more machines. However, if you insist on over 4 heads - I would think that you could put a triple head on the 4th head of a 4-headed GFX card to extend it. On your WO stage, you would then have 3 displays @ one standard size and 1 display at a really wide size. Assuming all your outputs are 1920 x 1080, you would have 3 displays @ 1920 x 1080 and 1 display set to 5760 x 1080. If you run into any trouble, it would probably be Matrox driver related - but I would think you should be able to accomplish the setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfk Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 ...then have 3 displays @ one standard size and 1 display at a really wide size. Assuming all your outputs are 1920 x 1080, you would have 3 displays @ 1920 x 1080 and 1 display set to 5760 x 1080. ...Actually, in WATCHOUT 5.0, you can not do that.v5.0 requires all outputs from a single multi-headed computer be the same resolution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJ Myers Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 Ahhh... I did not know that. Learned something new today So I guess you would have to install 3x 2-headed Matrox cards on 3 DVI heads.... which I'm not sure you can do from a Matrox standpoint. Peicco, you may be out of luck on this one.... so sorry... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfk Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 Ahhh... I did not know that. Learned something new today So I guess you would have to install 3x 2-headed Matrox cards on 3 DVI heads.... which I'm not sure you can do from a Matrox standpoint. Peicco, you may be out of luck on this one.... so sorry... I am not sure I understand the Matrox part of that correctly.WATCHOUT 5 only supports one graphics card per computer, with up to six outputs on that one card. There is no support for multiple graphics cards. (SLI / Crossfire acts as one card, so that could be a little confusing). If that Matrox thingy is working outside the computer on high res outputs and not in the machine, then I assume those can be fed from a single card with three outputs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJ Myers Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 Jim, These Matrox boxes pipe off a single head from the installed GFX card. They are external devices that support super large pixel spaces from a GFX card and then splits that space across multiple heads on the box itself. The box provides the GFX card the EDID info for the custom resolution. To the GFX card and Windows, the Matrox box is a single display that supports a super large amount of rez. For instance, on a "Triple Head To GO" Matrox box, it is capable of supplying the GFX card with a 5760 x 1080 EDID and then splits that space into 3 - 1920 x 1080 feeds at the box. It was the method for supplying multiple GFX outputs from a single WO display before v5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfk Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 Jim, These Matrox boxes pipe off a single head from the installed GFX card. They are external devices that support super large pixel spaces from a GFX card and then splits that space across multiple heads on the box itself. The box provides the GFX card the EDID info for the custom resolution. To the GFX card and Windows, the Matrox box is a single display that supports a super large amount of rez. For instance, on a "Triple Head To GO" Matrox box, it is capable of supplying the GFX card with a 5760 x 1080 EDID and then splits that space into 3 - 1920 x 1080 feeds at the box. It was the method for supplying multiple GFX outputs from a single WO display before v5. Got it, thanks. That method still retains the same restrictions as with earlier versions. i.e. since you are spoofing WATCHOUT by using a single display object to output multiple displays, you lose blending, independent geometry, no compensation for mullions, tier functions are lost, etc. FYI That is different than Display Port 1.2 ... In 2011, systems with DisplayPort version v1.2 will start to appear, offering additional capabilities. This will include higher resolution support, enhanced stereo 3D capabilities, [strong]multimonitor support from a single connection[/strong], and other enhancements. ...Compared to data communication standards like Ethernet and USB, DisplayPort uses a smaller packet size that is optimized for display and audio content; these packets are called “micro packets.” [strong]DisplayPort transports particular display content to a specific display device using micro data packets assigned to arrive at that destination.[/strong] DisplayPort v1.2 enables the support of up to 53 display streams using different micro packet streams. Multiple audio streams are also supported. Additionally, DisplayPort assigns other packets that are used to convey content type, display timing, provide content protection, control display devices, and do other housekeeping functions. ... Display Port 1.2 essentially runs independent streams over one connection. So WATCHOUT will still see individual displays in the stage window. [strong]D[/strong]isplay [strong]P[/strong]ort 1.2 displays will be able to set an address, and will likely include a DP In and a DP Out. Multiple displays can then daisy chain the single connection, each extracting its stream and forwarding on the rest to the next display. Seems there are mechanisms to retain synch when doing this too. Also would be great for handling left eye / right eye 3d steams on a single connection. To accomodate existing DVI infrastructure, q4 this year, ATi/AMD plans to release a DP 1.2 MST hub, extracting and converting the DP 1.2 feed to three DVI outputs. That would allow a GPU card with two Display Port 1.2 outputs to drive six DVI displays and appear as six unique display object on the WATCHOUT stage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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