Dual Monitor Pro Needed

[ProfessorU]

Seeing our tests gave me a better idea of what we'll need. Luminance will not be a problem, but I don't think a single HDTV projector will be enough resolution. Fortunately, there is no interlace flicker in any of the projector's resolutions.

Does anyone have a Matrox Parahelia card? I have heard that it supports up to three monitors in fullscreen with 3D. Maybe it could playback video in this mode, too?

[labyrinth]

Professor U: You need to step back a bit. Your system will work
just fine but there's a few things you need to do. Your signal
needs to originate from the vga port on your video card, then
you need to go to a Sony 1024 switcher, and if you are driving
the signal more than 25 feet you will need to boost the signal
with a video DA. (digital amp). You can send the signal, depending on the projector, either vga native, or using a breakout
cable send it 5 wire to the projector. (rgb vh). Depending on what
type of lens you have on the projecter with a 10' wide screen,
plan on at least 1.5 times the width of the screen back to the
projecter. This was written by my Pro. In other words you have all the ingredients to do what you want to do, as long as you have about 15 feet behind the screen to set up the projector., if you can place the computer next to the projector you don't need the digital amp. The cableing will depend on the projectors imputs. The projector should be setup at least level to the bottom of the screen or a little bit higher. If you need any more imput Paul will be happy to answer questions. Just post here.

P.S. The Sony 1024 has the ability to double the signal strength, and the resolution. If you have to use two projectors you'll need to contact for further explainations. You must be aware of stage lighting spilling onto the screen as this will diminish the brightness of the projected image.

[ProfessorU]

Fortunately, we've already tackled the space issue. The screen we built is portable, as is the stage. We have all the space in a massive gymnasium Much of the conceptualization of our gameplan was aided by a professor at UW-Milwaukee who has some broadway technical experience with rear projection.

I spent some time digging around on the web for the Sony DSC-1024. I found places to rent and buy it and I found sony's specs. Unfortunately, I can't talk the talk in the professional video field. I'm having a difficult time understanding what this gadget will do to solve my problem.

Signal strength shouldn't be a problem, since the PC can be placed behind the screen and near the projector(s). Doubling the resolution sounds good, but I'm not sure I understand. My video card already supports more pixels than any monitor or projector I have ever seen. Isn't the bottleneck in a single-projector PC setup always going to be the projector?

Does the DSC-1024 provide a way to turn a single VGA signal at 1600x800 and up into two signals of 800x600 or better?

Thanks for the reply and your patience.

[labyrinth]

Professor: Have you tried to hook-up the projector to your computer and see the image it projects on the screen yet? From what I understand you have everything to make it work. Granted you must be twenty feet back or more to really see the image in focus....to look at that screen close up would be like putting your nose to your monitor. You are doing this for an audience, correct?

[ProfessorU]

Yep. I did my research on the model numbers of the projectors that are available to us, and the max resolution we have is 800x600 each, unfortunately. We've projected onto the screen with two of the projectors. Only 2D stuff, though. We have also projected video one on projector across half the screen. When we tried a single projector for the whole screen it was noticeably grainy and a bit darker than we'd like. We did our tests about 25 feet back from the screen. Since the stage is 16 feet deep, we could probably keep the front row back even further, if we needed to. It looks really good when a single projector doesn't have to get wider than about 12'. We used a video camera to capture a live actor with a digital actor in the background and suprisingly, the shot could be confused with real life. The real trick is controlling the light on the stage, so that the actor is lit with a luminance similar to that of the background, without letting light spill on the screen. I get to comment on lighting, but fortunately, I'm not the lighting guy.

There will (hopefully) be an audience.

All the video we've put together so far has been 2:1. So scaling it would make our fullscreen 1200x600 or we might stretch it to 1400x600, either of which should look fine. So the used screen area would be about 20'x10' or 23'8"x10'. Since the back of the stage is exactly 23'8" we'll probably use 1400x600 as our production resolution.

I did some more research on the matrox parhelia and even emailed a sales representative, all I could get was rhetoric. I should find a forum for their users and post a message there. If I can do this with a $350 piece of hardware, it will be much cheaper than $125 a day for the rental of the DSC-1024. It seems there are some other things available, too. Mostly commercial stuff for displaying something across four, nine, or sixteen TVs, but it doesn't seem much cheaper, either.

Do you understand how the Sony equipment will solve my problem?

[labyrinth]

Professor U: Try this forum:
http://www.eng-tips.com/gthreadminde...ev3/58/pid/386 You'll have to sign up to post, but I think you will get satisfaction.