How do i connect 2 monitors ? at DVinfo.net

Paul Kellett · February 21st, 2008, 08:34 PM

I want to add another monitor,nothing fancy,just another one so my preview window in vegas can have it's own screen,how do i connect.
My pc has nvidia gs8400 graphics card,which has 1 DVI ouput and 1 analogue output.
Do i need some sort of DVI splitter lead and if so can i just plug a second monitor onto that lead and drag my preview window onto the second monitor,then resize it.
In vegas there's a setting for previewing on an external monitor,how does that work,i can't try that yet because i haven't yet got a 2nd monitor.

Paul.

Glenn Chan · February 21st, 2008, 08:48 PM

I don't think a DVI splitter will work*.

What you can do is to hook up one monitor via DVI and the other via VGA. Some video cards can support either DVI or VGA on the DVI port... you'd need a DVI-VGA adapter in that case.

*There is a Matrox product that sort of splits a DVI signal... it appears as one really long monitor, which gets split into two monitors. But I don't think it'd make sense in your situation.

Paul Kellett · February 22nd, 2008, 05:49 AM

Thanks Glenn,won't that show both monitors show the same screen though ?
That's not what i want,i want my timeline,tools etc on one monitor and the preview window on the other monitor,full size.
Thanks,Paul.

Andy Wilkinson · February 22nd, 2008, 06:45 AM

Paul,

It's very easy. I run Vegas 7 and have 2 monitors on my editing PC with preview typically on the second monitor (which like your's will be) - nothing fancy.

My graphics card has 2 outputs, DVI and VGA. The digital goes to the main Dell Ultrasharp 17 inch LCD 4:3 monitor and VGA (i.e. analogue) to the second 15 inch Dell LCD monitor that I got given last year. When I feel flush I'll upgrade my primary monitor and relegate the (3 year old and still superb) 17 inch Dell to secondary.

On XP, in Control Panel > Display > Settings you just have to set it up for two monitor display with the appropriate resolutions for your monitors and that's it. Tip! Click the 'Identify" tab when you do this and it puts a big number 1 and number 2 on the relevant monitors screen as well so you correctly set up the resolutions on each. Then, when you click the external preview monitor icon in Vegas it sends the picture to the second monitor whilst you main Timeline etc. display remains put. You can still choose to have a small preview window on your main display which plays in sync. I do as this sometimes helps - see below.

You can also drag windows like Pan and Crop etc. across onto this second monitor's area when you need extra space but, certainly in my case, they are then hidden behind the external preview video if you do it at the same time as having that external preview activated (even if video playback is paused.)

Also, sometimes when I'm following someones tips here on DVinfo I simply enable my internet connection, drag the Explorer window over onto this second monitor and I can read it right there as I follow the tip on my main Vegas project on the primary monitor....it's a luxury as I could just as easly plonk one of my several laptops down on my editing workstation desk and do it that way but why make life hard!

I NEVER want to go back to editing on one screen and neither will you when you set it all up!!!

Also, some other info in this earlier link about same subject.

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=112657

Paul Kellett · February 22nd, 2008, 07:46 AM

Thanks Andy
Very well explained.Excellent tip about being on net at the same time.
Cheers mate.

Paul.

Paul Kellett · February 22nd, 2008, 08:04 AM

I just looked at my graphics card again,a nvidia 8400gs turbocache.
It's got 3 sockets,DVI,Analogue s-video,and HDMI.
Which socket would be best for preview screen and which socket for main screen,ie timeline,tools,etc ?
Paul.

Paul Kellett · February 24th, 2008, 08:13 AM

Andy.
Thanks for the advice,i got another monitor,followed your instructions,and all is good.One monitor on DVI,the other on HDMI,got a proper HDMI-DVI lead from Maplin,£30.Thanks.
However,my vegas preview window is super smooth,but when i switch the 2nd monitor preview on,both preview windows loose the smoothness slightly,very slightly juddery.
Could i do with a beter graphics card ? I'm using a nvidia 8400gs turbocache,256mb ram.
Thanks,Paul.

Andy Wilkinson · February 27th, 2008, 11:37 AM

Hey Paul,

Glad it's working well with 2 screens!

I'm no expert on graphics cards so best let someone who knows better to advise you on whether or not an upgraded card will make it smoother or not.

Apart from obviously tweaking the settings options on the preview window (Draft/Preview/Good or Best) and all the options within each one of those (Auto/Full/Half/Quarter), depending on the level of complexity of specific projects you're working on, it might be worth having a quick look at this thread also for good tips on speeding up previews to full frame rate in Vegas. These methods work for me.

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=115843

February 21st, 2008, 08:34 PM	#1
Paul Kellett Trustee Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Bristol UK Posts: 1,273	How do i connect 2 monitors ? I want to add another monitor,nothing fancy,just another one so my preview window in vegas can have it's own screen,how do i connect. My pc has nvidia gs8400 graphics card,which has 1 DVI ouput and 1 analogue output. Do i need some sort of DVI splitter lead and if so can i just plug a second monitor onto that lead and drag my preview window onto the second monitor,then resize it. In vegas there's a setting for previewing on an external monitor,how does that work,i can't try that yet because i haven't yet got a 2nd monitor. Paul. __________________ Round 2 GH5,FZ2000

February 22nd, 2008, 05:49 AM	#3
Paul Kellett Trustee Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Bristol UK Posts: 1,273	Thanks Glenn,won't that show both monitors show the same screen though ? That's not what i want,i want my timeline,tools etc on one monitor and the preview window on the other monitor,full size. Thanks,Paul. __________________ Round 2 GH5,FZ2000

February 22nd, 2008, 06:45 AM	#4
Andy Wilkinson Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Cambridge UK Posts: 2,853	Two monitor Display in Vegas Paul, It's very easy. I run Vegas 7 and have 2 monitors on my editing PC with preview typically on the second monitor (which like your's will be) - nothing fancy. My graphics card has 2 outputs, DVI and VGA. The digital goes to the main Dell Ultrasharp 17 inch LCD 4:3 monitor and VGA (i.e. analogue) to the second 15 inch Dell LCD monitor that I got given last year. When I feel flush I'll upgrade my primary monitor and relegate the (3 year old and still superb) 17 inch Dell to secondary. On XP, in Control Panel > Display > Settings you just have to set it up for two monitor display with the appropriate resolutions for your monitors and that's it. Tip! Click the 'Identify" tab when you do this and it puts a big number 1 and number 2 on the relevant monitors screen as well so you correctly set up the resolutions on each. Then, when you click the external preview monitor icon in Vegas it sends the picture to the second monitor whilst you main Timeline etc. display remains put. You can still choose to have a small preview window on your main display which plays in sync. I do as this sometimes helps - see below. You can also drag windows like Pan and Crop etc. across onto this second monitor's area when you need extra space but, certainly in my case, they are then hidden behind the external preview video if you do it at the same time as having that external preview activated (even if video playback is paused.) Also, sometimes when I'm following someones tips here on DVinfo I simply enable my internet connection, drag the Explorer window over onto this second monitor and I can read it right there as I follow the tip on my main Vegas project on the primary monitor....it's a luxury as I could just as easly plonk one of my several laptops down on my editing workstation desk and do it that way but why make life hard! I NEVER want to go back to editing on one screen and neither will you when you set it all up!!! Also, some other info in this earlier link about same subject. http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=112657 __________________ Andy K Wilkinson - https://www.shootingimage.co.uk Cambridge (UK) Corporate Video Production Last edited by Andy Wilkinson; February 22nd, 2008 at 07:26 AM. Reason: typos

February 22nd, 2008, 07:46 AM	#5
Paul Kellett Trustee Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Bristol UK Posts: 1,273	Thanks Andy Very well explained.Excellent tip about being on net at the same time. Cheers mate. Paul. __________________ Round 2 GH5,FZ2000

February 22nd, 2008, 08:04 AM	#6
Paul Kellett Trustee Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Bristol UK Posts: 1,273	Another socket I just looked at my graphics card again,a nvidia 8400gs turbocache. It's got 3 sockets,DVI,Analogue s-video,and HDMI. Which socket would be best for preview screen and which socket for main screen,ie timeline,tools,etc ? Paul. __________________ Round 2 GH5,FZ2000

February 21st, 2008, 08:48 PM	#2
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	I don't think a DVI splitter will work. What you can do is to hook up one monitor via DVI and the other via VGA. Some video cards can support either DVI or VGA on the DVI port... you'd need a DVI-VGA adapter in that case. There is a Matrox product that sort of splits a DVI signal... it appears as one really long monitor, which gets split into two monitors. But I don't think it'd make sense in your situation.

February 24th, 2008, 08:13 AM	#7
Paul Kellett Trustee Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Bristol UK Posts: 1,273	Andy. Thanks for the advice,i got another monitor,followed your instructions,and all is good.One monitor on DVI,the other on HDMI,got a proper HDMI-DVI lead from Maplin,£30.Thanks. However,my vegas preview window is super smooth,but when i switch the 2nd monitor preview on,both preview windows loose the smoothness slightly,very slightly juddery. Could i do with a beter graphics card ? I'm using a nvidia 8400gs turbocache,256mb ram. Thanks,Paul. __________________ Round 2 GH5,FZ2000

February 27th, 2008, 11:37 AM	#8
Andy Wilkinson Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Cambridge UK Posts: 2,853	Hey Paul, Glad it's working well with 2 screens! I'm no expert on graphics cards so best let someone who knows better to advise you on whether or not an upgraded card will make it smoother or not. Apart from obviously tweaking the settings options on the preview window (Draft/Preview/Good or Best) and all the options within each one of those (Auto/Full/Half/Quarter), depending on the level of complexity of specific projects you're working on, it might be worth having a quick look at this thread also for good tips on speeding up previews to full frame rate in Vegas. These methods work for me. http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=115843 __________________ Andy K Wilkinson - https://www.shootingimage.co.uk Cambridge (UK) Corporate Video Production