Multiple Projectors

[brema]

I need some advice on how to get three projectors running off of one laptop. There will be one either side of the stage and, I think, will be projecting the same image. There will also be one projector for the back wall projecting a different image. My laptop has 1 vga, hdmi and an s-video out. I don't know how long the cable can be before the signal degrades, especially the hdmi. In terms of software I have been using Screen Monkey but can that cope with more than one additional monitor/projector?

Also what do you think of this VGA splitter for the L+R projectors?

http://www.futureshop.co.uk/gefen-1-x-2-vg...tter-p-694.html

[iamchristuffin]

We used a VGA splitter/booster for 3 projectors for Oh What A Lovely War in December - two runs of 30m, and one of 15m. All three worked great. Don't know what the quality would be like for huge projections though (ours were about 5m x 3m)

 

HTH

 

Chris

[Pete McCrea]

As Chris say's a VGA Distribution Amplifier (DA) with possibly some sort of line driver if your running over 15m is the way forward. Most DA's are unity gain, i.e. reproduce the input on the outputs with no increase in signal level. A line driver will allow you to amplify the signal.

 

Most laptops will drive a maximum of two displays. The local monitor (i.e. it's screen) and a second monitor. Therefore your going to be likely to need a second laptop to drive the central screen. there are probably ways to make the second monitor wide and split this using some sort of device, but could start to become hard to configure and operate in my opinion, so I'd go the KISS (Keep It Sensibly Simple) route and get a second Lappy.

[brema]

Thanks for your help, I think that two laptops would be the best option with a splitter/amp for the longer runs. I'll have a chance to play around with some options in a few weeks so I'll have to see how that goes.

[kitlane]

hdmi is rubbish, forget it. Have you looked at Matrox DualHead2Go or TripleHead2Go?

[Pete McCrea]

hdmi is rubbish, forget it.

 

Care to let us know why HDMI is rubbish?

 

It does have length limitations due to the high frequency and bandwidth signal, but these can be overcome by using re-clocking amplifiers. There is also the problem of HDCP that has been know to cause issues. With the right kit it might give the best signal quality assuming the projector can cope with a Digital signal.

[berry120]

Apart from the length limitations, personally I think HDMI is the best option (quality wise) if you've got the right kit. I certainly wouldn't write it off as being rubbish, though it might not be the easiest of solutions for the reasons little dj outlined above.

 

In my mind, the simplest way would be to grab a second laptop, use VGA for both, and split the output from the first so it reaches both the projectors. Some projectors also have VGA outs as well as ins, so you might not need a VGA splitter if you link the two together. Not sure what the quality will be like, but it should be ok.

 

You probably could run it off the same laptop with a bit of fiddling, but you'd have to find a way of setting the various outputs so that one displayed the contents of screen 1 and the other(s) screen 2. Depending on what software you've got, this can often be surprisingly difficult to achieve - most laptops I've come across seem to have screen 1 fixed as the laptop screen and screen 2 fixed as all the other outputs by default. Might be possible, but grabbing a second laptop just seems so much easier.