Robert Davis
June 3rd, 2010, 05:37 PM
Can the various multiple monitor output technologies be used to drive a 3D screen?
There are solutions to connect more than 2 (two) - e.g. three (3) triple screen conventional 2D displays to a Mac or PC Desktop or Notebook. The displays each display different things - i.e. NOT mirrored duplicates. So this means that a desktop display can be extended over the multiple screens.
There are three kinds of solution:
USB to DVI: plugs into USB port of computer - display signal generate from this and output via DVI, e.g.: Universal Multi-Display Adapter - K33928US - Kensington (http://us.kensington.com/html/17534.html)
For 17" Apple MacBookPro laptops/notebooks Full desktop PCI Express card installed in an enclosure box which then interfaces to the ExpressCard34 (only available on the 17" Pro out of the April2010 3 MacBookPro models): Magma - PCI & PCI Express Expansion Solutions (http://www.magma.com/expressbox1.asp)
Custom hardware that attaches to the standard DVI output of the desktop or notebook: Matrox Graphics - Products - Graphics eXpansion Module - DualHead2Go (http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/products/gxm/dh2go/)
To me, the Matrox solution looks the best (third listed above) on grounds of cost and performance - using the DVI directly may provide the best sync performance between the display outputs - vital for left and right eye 3D.
So I was thinking, is there a TV, projector or monitor display that accepts two simultaneous DVI inputs: one for left and one for right eye, to provide the 3D? If so, then the matrox solution could be used to generate 3D images from a standard Mac, perhaps some software to send the correct images would be necessary too. Something like: Cineform Neo3D (http://www.cineform.com/neo3d/index.php) but perhaps cheaper.
Other techniques that could be adapted for this hardware are here: http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/3d-stereoscopic-production-delivery/109177-stereoscopic-3d-editing.html
And some people have reported more than 3 multiple monitors attached to their Macs: Now Running Three Monitors on MacBook Pro (http://www.cartoonbarry.com/2009/07/now_running_three_monitors_on.html)
And here: My MacBook Pro Goes Multimonitor: 4 Monitors At Once! (http://daggle.com/macbook-pro-multimonitor-4-monitors-at-once-1577)
Thoughts? Discussion?
Primarily looking for a solution that works with a MacBookPro 17", but other readers may also want thoughts on a PC based system.
There are solutions to connect more than 2 (two) - e.g. three (3) triple screen conventional 2D displays to a Mac or PC Desktop or Notebook. The displays each display different things - i.e. NOT mirrored duplicates. So this means that a desktop display can be extended over the multiple screens.
There are three kinds of solution:
USB to DVI: plugs into USB port of computer - display signal generate from this and output via DVI, e.g.: Universal Multi-Display Adapter - K33928US - Kensington (http://us.kensington.com/html/17534.html)
For 17" Apple MacBookPro laptops/notebooks Full desktop PCI Express card installed in an enclosure box which then interfaces to the ExpressCard34 (only available on the 17" Pro out of the April2010 3 MacBookPro models): Magma - PCI & PCI Express Expansion Solutions (http://www.magma.com/expressbox1.asp)
Custom hardware that attaches to the standard DVI output of the desktop or notebook: Matrox Graphics - Products - Graphics eXpansion Module - DualHead2Go (http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/products/gxm/dh2go/)
To me, the Matrox solution looks the best (third listed above) on grounds of cost and performance - using the DVI directly may provide the best sync performance between the display outputs - vital for left and right eye 3D.
So I was thinking, is there a TV, projector or monitor display that accepts two simultaneous DVI inputs: one for left and one for right eye, to provide the 3D? If so, then the matrox solution could be used to generate 3D images from a standard Mac, perhaps some software to send the correct images would be necessary too. Something like: Cineform Neo3D (http://www.cineform.com/neo3d/index.php) but perhaps cheaper.
Other techniques that could be adapted for this hardware are here: http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/3d-stereoscopic-production-delivery/109177-stereoscopic-3d-editing.html
And some people have reported more than 3 multiple monitors attached to their Macs: Now Running Three Monitors on MacBook Pro (http://www.cartoonbarry.com/2009/07/now_running_three_monitors_on.html)
And here: My MacBook Pro Goes Multimonitor: 4 Monitors At Once! (http://daggle.com/macbook-pro-multimonitor-4-monitors-at-once-1577)
Thoughts? Discussion?
Primarily looking for a solution that works with a MacBookPro 17", but other readers may also want thoughts on a PC based system.