HD monitor

Bill Ravens · December 5th, 2008, 09:16 AM

Bob...

I went thru the same process you are now dealing with. I haven't used the intensity card, but, those I spoke with who did try it were not happy. As I recall their problem was just to get it to work.

I'm using a Quadro FX1700 in one slot and a 7800GT in my second slot. Since you don't have a x16 slot available for your second card, you'll have to search for a standard pci card. I would stay with nVidia if you already have a quadro. Look for the best performing card(highest memory capcity) you can find with DVI outputs. I think you'll discover that there aren't many pci cards available, which will limit your choices. Both the cards I use work with the same driver set, which I think is useful to avoid driver conflicts.

The recommended setup is to drive monitor 1 with output 1 on the quadro, the HDTV with output two in the Quadro, and monitor 2 with the output 1 on the second card. The philosophy, here, is that monitor 2 just shows text with no video output.The DVI output can be converted to HDMI with a simple hardware adapter, readily available anywhere.

Robert Bobson · December 5th, 2008, 09:25 AM

thanks for the info.... I'll start searching.

Surely there must be others out there who have worked out this dilemma???

Bill Ravens · December 5th, 2008, 09:31 AM

there are two workable solutions, that I found.
1-matrox makes a box called head2go, or something like that. It takes a single input from the dvi port and splits it into two displays. the problem with this device is that it takes your digital dvi input and tuns it into analog before it splits it. not good for quality.

2-the "studio" approach is to use a true hardware solution, like avid mojo HD, aja/xena with HD-SDI out to drive a real production monitor. great solution, but, very, very expensive. the HDTV approach will only approximate HD, only the production monitor will give you a calibrated HD monitoring solution.

Alex Brown · December 5th, 2008, 10:46 AM

I too am exploring this subject right now. Sorry for the half hijack, but I think it might help you solve your problem also.

I have an Nvidia 8800 GTS 640mb card, it has dual DVI out and s-video. Currently I run it dual screen (extended desktop) with Sony Vegas. I want to add a third pannel which needs to be HD, either screen, monitor or TV.

Resolution & Refresh

* 240 Hz Max Refresh Rate
* 2048 x 1536 x 32bit x85Hz Max Analog
* 2560 x 1600 Max Digital

These cards can be linked, Nvidia SLI. That would give me 4 DVI ports. So is this card good enough for HD out?

Robbert, maybe look into this card, its not too expensive, but is not a cheapo, EVGA 8800GTS SSC 640MB Edition Dual DVI HDTVOut PCI-E Graphics Card - Ebuyer

Cheers, Alex.

Alex Brown · December 5th, 2008, 11:02 AM

OK ive done some reading, apartently, on my card I canget the DVI - HDMI jack and plug it all together. The card sets the resolution to a low setting so the HD output has everything on, and then you go into the Nvidia control pannel to adjust the settings you want for your HD output.

This does mean 2 graphics cards SLI'd together however. But, you can get cheaper Nvidia cards that support HD out, these cannot be SLI'd toghether though.

SLI is something Nvidia have done to add the power of two identicle cards together. I know this is gaming focused, but the cards are so powerfull (this one in particular) they throw the video onto the screens with no lag. Rendering is also very efficient.

So now I know this card does the job, how accurate is it for HD calibrating, i.e colour correction? Or is that more of a question as what your output is, TV, monitor, LCD screen...

Robert Bobson · December 5th, 2008, 12:35 PM

unfortunately I only have one PCIe x 16 slot. I could get a single high-end quadro card that will feed 3 monitors, but they cost $2000 +.

For my immediate project, I think I will be stuck editing with 2 LCD monitors, and then swapping one out for an HDTV monitor occasionally to double-check the quality.

Robert Bobson · December 5th, 2008, 12:41 PM

I just received this response from Blackmagic. I had asked them if their Intensity card supported PPro CS4:

"Adobe just released an update to support third party hardware outside of
firewire, so we are working on drivers that will allow plugins into CS4. We
should have CS4 support soon (we have full CS3 support right now, just
working on CS4).

Adding intensity should not affect the output of your graphics card. You
should still have your two monitors from your DVI out and if you add
Intensity Pro's HDMI or analog out to a TV, the footage in your timeline in
Premiere will be played full screen out to that TV."

So the Blackmagic card will fit in a PCIe x4 slot. But it's a $300 + gamble that it will really work...

Bill Ravens · December 5th, 2008, 01:51 PM

FWIW...

you do NOT need to SLI link two nVidia video cards together to get them to work. Linking is only needed if you're a gamer and you want the increased horsepower that linked cards give you.

Robert Bobson · December 9th, 2008, 08:10 AM

If I use a HDTV monitor that has a native resolution of 1680 x 1050, and I'm editing 1080i,

would I set the output of my video card to display 1080i - and let the monitor do the conversion?

or would I set the card to output 1680 x 1050 - if that's even possible? (Or does each video card only have a few set output resolutions available to it?)

Bill Ravens · December 9th, 2008, 08:23 AM

The video card will give you a choice. It is somewhat of a risk of damage to pick a resolution the monitor can't handle, so, I usually set the videocard to only allow resolution the display can handle. The beauty of having two videocards is that you can set one card to match your display's rez, without affecting the available resolutions on your working monitors. Generally, I think HDTV sets will reset the display resolution, anyway.

Brian Tori · December 9th, 2008, 10:56 AM

The issue I am having with graphics card output isn't the problem with getting a second display to work, but rather the poor quality of the output signal. Right now I am experimenting with editing HDV 60i footage and sending the program monitor out of the second port of my graphics card to a SD display. I am able to select 720x480 as the display option and receive a downconverted signal to my broadcast monitor. The problem is the poor quality of the signal. The graphics card appears to be de-interlacing the signal before it gets sent through the s-video port. The colors and resolution look good but the motion is wrong. I've tried several different options with the card settings but no change. I've even tried two different graphics cards with similar specs. I have not yet tried to send the output to a HD monitor as I do not have one, but would expect the results to be the same. This issue is probably why many users support using a Blackmagic card or similar to avoid these graphics card issues.

Has anyone else had these same issues? Any successes using a graphics card for monitor out?

Windows Vista 32 bit
Premiere Pro CS3
Core2Duo 2.3ghz 4GB Ram
SATA HD
NVIDIA 8400GS 256mb
ATI HD 2600PRO 512 mb

Bill Ravens · December 9th, 2008, 11:27 AM

all I can say is that my Quadro FX1700, paired with an nVidia Geforce 7800GT gives excellent results with an 720 HDTV monitor.

Ed Hecht · December 16th, 2008, 05:25 PM

I have a Blackmagic Intensity Pro that I bought for HDMI-out monitoring on a Benq HDMI monitor (using Prem Pro CS3 as my NLE). Granted this was at least six months ago, but Blackmagic told me that Intensity cards are not capable of outputting the Premiere timeline via HDMI (prompting me to sell my 2 Benq HDMI monitors). (I can't currently get ANY analog video signal out from Intensity Pro either, but that's another story...) Is this still the case? Some posts here seem to hint otherwise, unless I am misinterpreting.

Robert Bobson · December 17th, 2008, 01:22 PM

Ed wrote: (I can't currently get ANY analog video signal out from Intensity Pro either, but that's another story...)

I'm leaning toward the Infinity card, even if i have to hook up the HDTV via component.

Can you tell me why your analog signal's not working? something I might encounter, too?

Jeff Pulera · December 17th, 2008, 03:43 PM

If it suits your budget, the Matrox RT.X2 can make a world of difference to your editing with CS3. First off, effects are true real time, no red bars, for SD or HD. Saves hours of rendering. Also allows mixing of SD and HD in same project, realtime upscale/downscale.

Includes analog breakout box for SD and HD capture and playback. This means you can run HD component to a compatible 1080 display and see full results as you edit, no render. LE model has analog only. The "full" RT.X2 includes its own DVI output, and this would drive a 1920x1200 display via DVI for full pixel-for-pixel monitoring of HD content. Leaves your two outputs from graphics card available for Windows screens.

I edit a lot of long-form HDV 1080i events and don't have to render effects and can watch full 1080i display while working, love it!

Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robert Bobson

Ed wrote: (I can't currently get ANY analog video signal out from Intensity Pro either, but that's another story...)

I'm leaning toward the Infinity card, even if i have to hook up the HDTV via component.

Can you tell me why your analog signal's not working? something I might encounter, too?

December 5th, 2008, 09:25 AM	#17
Robert Bobson Major Player Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Bay City, Michigan Posts: 585	quadro FX 3450 + second graphics card? thanks for the info.... I'll start searching. Surely there must be others out there who have worked out this dilemma???

December 9th, 2008, 08:10 AM	#24
Robert Bobson Major Player Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Bay City, Michigan Posts: 585	another resolution question If I use a HDTV monitor that has a native resolution of 1680 x 1050, and I'm editing 1080i, would I set the output of my video card to display 1080i - and let the monitor do the conversion? or would I set the card to output 1680 x 1050 - if that's even possible? (Or does each video card only have a few set output resolutions available to it?)

December 16th, 2008, 05:25 PM	#28
Ed Hecht Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Silicon Valley, CA Posts: 60	Related HD Monitor Question I have a Blackmagic Intensity Pro that I bought for HDMI-out monitoring on a Benq HDMI monitor (using Prem Pro CS3 as my NLE). Granted this was at least six months ago, but Blackmagic told me that Intensity cards are not capable of outputting the Premiere timeline via HDMI (prompting me to sell my 2 Benq HDMI monitors). (I can't currently get ANY analog video signal out from Intensity Pro either, but that's another story...) Is this still the case? Some posts here seem to hint otherwise, unless I am misinterpreting.

December 5th, 2008, 09:16 AM	#16
Bill Ravens Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: santa fe, nm Posts: 3,264 Images: 10	Bob... I went thru the same process you are now dealing with. I haven't used the intensity card, but, those I spoke with who did try it were not happy. As I recall their problem was just to get it to work. I'm using a Quadro FX1700 in one slot and a 7800GT in my second slot. Since you don't have a x16 slot available for your second card, you'll have to search for a standard pci card. I would stay with nVidia if you already have a quadro. Look for the best performing card(highest memory capcity) you can find with DVI outputs. I think you'll discover that there aren't many pci cards available, which will limit your choices. Both the cards I use work with the same driver set, which I think is useful to avoid driver conflicts. The recommended setup is to drive monitor 1 with output 1 on the quadro, the HDTV with output two in the Quadro, and monitor 2 with the output 1 on the second card. The philosophy, here, is that monitor 2 just shows text with no video output.The DVI output can be converted to HDMI with a simple hardware adapter, readily available anywhere.

December 5th, 2008, 09:31 AM	#18
Bill Ravens Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: santa fe, nm Posts: 3,264 Images: 10	there are two workable solutions, that I found. 1-matrox makes a box called head2go, or something like that. It takes a single input from the dvi port and splits it into two displays. the problem with this device is that it takes your digital dvi input and tuns it into analog before it splits it. not good for quality. 2-the "studio" approach is to use a true hardware solution, like avid mojo HD, aja/xena with HD-SDI out to drive a real production monitor. great solution, but, very, very expensive. the HDTV approach will only approximate HD, only the production monitor will give you a calibrated HD monitoring solution.

December 5th, 2008, 10:46 AM	#19
Alex Brown Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Portsmouth, UK Posts: 27	I too am exploring this subject right now. Sorry for the half hijack, but I think it might help you solve your problem also. I have an Nvidia 8800 GTS 640mb card, it has dual DVI out and s-video. Currently I run it dual screen (extended desktop) with Sony Vegas. I want to add a third pannel which needs to be HD, either screen, monitor or TV. Resolution & Refresh * 240 Hz Max Refresh Rate * 2048 x 1536 x 32bit x85Hz Max Analog * 2560 x 1600 Max Digital These cards can be linked, Nvidia SLI. That would give me 4 DVI ports. So is this card good enough for HD out? Robbert, maybe look into this card, its not too expensive, but is not a cheapo, EVGA 8800GTS SSC 640MB Edition Dual DVI HDTVOut PCI-E Graphics Card - Ebuyer Cheers, Alex.

December 5th, 2008, 11:02 AM	#20
Alex Brown Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Portsmouth, UK Posts: 27	OK ive done some reading, apartently, on my card I canget the DVI - HDMI jack and plug it all together. The card sets the resolution to a low setting so the HD output has everything on, and then you go into the Nvidia control pannel to adjust the settings you want for your HD output. This does mean 2 graphics cards SLI'd together however. But, you can get cheaper Nvidia cards that support HD out, these cannot be SLI'd toghether though. SLI is something Nvidia have done to add the power of two identicle cards together. I know this is gaming focused, but the cards are so powerfull (this one in particular) they throw the video onto the screens with no lag. Rendering is also very efficient. So now I know this card does the job, how accurate is it for HD calibrating, i.e colour correction? Or is that more of a question as what your output is, TV, monitor, LCD screen...

December 5th, 2008, 12:35 PM	#21
Robert Bobson Major Player Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Bay City, Michigan Posts: 585	unfortunately I only have one PCIe x 16 slot. I could get a single high-end quadro card that will feed 3 monitors, but they cost $2000 +. For my immediate project, I think I will be stuck editing with 2 LCD monitors, and then swapping one out for an HDTV monitor occasionally to double-check the quality.

December 5th, 2008, 12:41 PM	#22
Robert Bobson Major Player Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Bay City, Michigan Posts: 585	I just received this response from Blackmagic. I had asked them if their Intensity card supported PPro CS4: "Adobe just released an update to support third party hardware outside of firewire, so we are working on drivers that will allow plugins into CS4. We should have CS4 support soon (we have full CS3 support right now, just working on CS4). Adding intensity should not affect the output of your graphics card. You should still have your two monitors from your DVI out and if you add Intensity Pro's HDMI or analog out to a TV, the footage in your timeline in Premiere will be played full screen out to that TV." So the Blackmagic card will fit in a PCIe x4 slot. But it's a $300 + gamble that it will really work...

December 5th, 2008, 01:51 PM	#23
Bill Ravens Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: santa fe, nm Posts: 3,264 Images: 10	FWIW... you do NOT need to SLI link two nVidia video cards together to get them to work. Linking is only needed if you're a gamer and you want the increased horsepower that linked cards give you.

December 9th, 2008, 08:23 AM	#25
Bill Ravens Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: santa fe, nm Posts: 3,264 Images: 10	The video card will give you a choice. It is somewhat of a risk of damage to pick a resolution the monitor can't handle, so, I usually set the videocard to only allow resolution the display can handle. The beauty of having two videocards is that you can set one card to match your display's rez, without affecting the available resolutions on your working monitors. Generally, I think HDTV sets will reset the display resolution, anyway.

December 9th, 2008, 10:56 AM	#26
Brian Tori Major Player Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Detroit, MI Posts: 408	The issue I am having with graphics card output isn't the problem with getting a second display to work, but rather the poor quality of the output signal. Right now I am experimenting with editing HDV 60i footage and sending the program monitor out of the second port of my graphics card to a SD display. I am able to select 720x480 as the display option and receive a downconverted signal to my broadcast monitor. The problem is the poor quality of the signal. The graphics card appears to be de-interlacing the signal before it gets sent through the s-video port. The colors and resolution look good but the motion is wrong. I've tried several different options with the card settings but no change. I've even tried two different graphics cards with similar specs. I have not yet tried to send the output to a HD monitor as I do not have one, but would expect the results to be the same. This issue is probably why many users support using a Blackmagic card or similar to avoid these graphics card issues. Has anyone else had these same issues? Any successes using a graphics card for monitor out? Windows Vista 32 bit Premiere Pro CS3 Core2Duo 2.3ghz 4GB Ram SATA HD NVIDIA 8400GS 256mb ATI HD 2600PRO 512 mb

December 9th, 2008, 11:27 AM	#27
Bill Ravens Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: santa fe, nm Posts: 3,264 Images: 10	all I can say is that my Quadro FX1700, paired with an nVidia Geforce 7800GT gives excellent results with an 720 HDTV monitor.

December 17th, 2008, 01:22 PM	#29
Robert Bobson Major Player Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Bay City, Michigan Posts: 585	Ed wrote: (I can't currently get ANY analog video signal out from Intensity Pro either, but that's another story...) I'm leaning toward the Infinity card, even if i have to hook up the HDTV via component. Can you tell me why your analog signal's not working? something I might encounter, too?