Looking for a video card that can support two monitors DVI and a 1080p plasma all at the same time. Any one have any suggestions on a good one? How much memory on the card is needed for them? I am running Vegas on a dual core AMD 64x2 and working with XHA1 HD 60i and 24F files. I have a PCI express slot which I figure is good to use if thats an issue.

Thanks for any help.

Stephen Eastwood
http://www.StephenEastwood.com

While there are some cards that support output to three monitors, most are quite expensive, and some of these options cost a great deal more than the computer that you are editing with (Matrox is a company that has advertised three monitor solutions a great deal). Is the PCI-Express slot 16x? You might be better off buying a mid-level nvida graphics card, then buying a second for reference output. The quadrafx line pro cards all have component out that you could hook up to your hd monitor. Most of us are either using a deck for reference views, or a dedicated input output card like an AJA kona. I would surf nvidia, ATI and Matrox websites and figure out what models might fit your needs and then post model numbers to see what kind of luck people have had, if any with the models you are looking into.

I have available a PCI express 16 PCI express and PCI slots, I have a second firewire card in the PCI but do not actually need that if I needed the PCI slot.
Matrox Parhelia APVe my concern with this one is its only 128 megs is that enough for HDV editing? Also a geforce 8800 GTS or GTX if either does handle three at once, again I would be happy if the 1080i signal was a mirror of the second monitor or a third independant signal, both are fine for what I want, I only want to see the full size image on a real TV, LCD or Plasma, 40-42inch without losing my dual monitor setup. I was also thinking of using the card I have which is a 256, 8600 dual DVI and HDTV output too run a DVI monitor and HDTV and get another 128 videocard to run the second monitor either pci express or pci as that second monitor was only for tool palettes and extras so it need not be anything outrageous, but will Windows Vista recognize dual graphics cards?

Thanks for any help.

Stephen Eastwood
http://www.StephenEastwood.com

I have the Matrox Parhelia APVe card. First, the RAM is adequate, largely because PremPro and Vegas do not use it for GPU assist. The other issue is two DVI + HDTV. It will not support two DVIs if the desktop resolution is 1050x1680 or above. You will need to make one or both analog to do that. It's no problem for me since I have two Gateway 21" 1050x1680 screens, one for desktop(DVI) and one for HDTV using its component HD in. I edit HDV with Production Studio (PremPro 2.0) and Cineform Access HD.

Another problem is Vista. As I understand it, Vista comandeered the "overlay surface" for the Aero interface and it is this surface the various Nvidia and Matrox cards use to "scrape" the monitor portion off separately. I'm sure something will be worked out eventually, but for now stick with WinXP.

I have my PNY Nvidia 7900GS connected to two monitors via DVI and also connected to an HDTV via the component breakout box. You just have to really play with the nvidia driver software.

I have my PNY Nvidia 7900GS connected to two monitors via DVI and also connected to an HDTV via the component breakout box. You just have to really play with the nvidia driver software.


Marco,

Are you getting full 1920 x 1080 resolution output via the component breakout box to your third display device though? How well is this working out for using the HDTV as a preview device?