gdavey Posted September 20, 2013 Share Posted September 20, 2013 So I am aware that this topic has been covered before, but this one is slightly different. I have a MAC running Q Lab which has one visual output on it. I want to send 4 separate feeds: 2 separate feeds to some old CRT TVs, all different resolutions 1 to a flatscreen monitor Sometimes I will need to send the same image to all screens simultaneously, and sometimes not. I was considering using a Matrox TripleHead 2 Go, but having read up on them a bit on here and other sites, I am concerned about the different resolutions causing problems. I then considered using a datapath X4 processor. What are our opinions on these solutions? Any other alternative ideas? All suggestions greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian H Posted September 20, 2013 Share Posted September 20, 2013 Datapath X4 --- no competition Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lite_lad Posted September 21, 2013 Share Posted September 21, 2013 Datapath X4 --- no competition Totally agreed, I have found it a bit faffy before with Qlab trying to line bits up but theres a good chance that has now been fixed with V3! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareth A Posted September 21, 2013 Share Posted September 21, 2013 Datapath X4 - very good unit. One thing to be aware, is that (unless its changed) that you need a windows to be able to set it up if it wasn't before hand. We did this for 2 years using a single output to 3 screens and 1 projector and it worked really well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdavey Posted September 23, 2013 Author Share Posted September 23, 2013 So it seems the general opinion is that the Datapath X4 is the way to go. Just a few more questions - I spoke to the local distributors and they didn't seem to know many details about it! How will my computer see the X4? Will it see it as 1 large screen or 4 individual outputs? Will it cope with sending different resolutions to each output? How do I set it up? I presume there is a dedicated bit of software? If so, does this run on a MAC? These little details are all important before I buy. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shez Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 The manufacturer's website is actually pretty informative - all your questions are answered there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdavey Posted September 23, 2013 Author Share Posted September 23, 2013 Looking at the user manual for Datapath, it seems to me that once I have chosen whether to duplicate the image on each display or to scale it on each screen, then it is set. What I want to be able to do is choose for each cue in QLab whether to duplicate the image on each display, or to display different things on each display. Does anybody know if you can do this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shez Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 I would probably look at doing that at the content level rather than the display level. EG. you have a canvas that the computer is outputting that is, say, 2048 x 2048 pixels. One quarter of that canvas is sent to each screen. If you want Q1 to have the same content on each screen, you program that cue to to have the content duplicated on all four quarters of the canvas. If Q2 has a bigger picture split across the displays, you arrange its content to fill the full canvas. Probably easier to explain with pictures... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdavey Posted September 23, 2013 Author Share Posted September 23, 2013 The difficulty with approaching it in this way, is that it leaves very little flexibility in a time tight tech. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shez Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 Assuming you're on Qlab 3, have you looked at what you can do with surfaces? That's ideal for this - they're a bit like layers in a traditional media server. You can define a surface as being the whole canvas or just a part of it. Then you can play back your content on whichever surface is appropriate. Quicker to change things there than messing about with the configuration of the Datapath. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareth A Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 For Peter Pan, we did it in QLab 2, was really quick and easy. Once you set your co-ordinates for the 4 1/2, just save them as dead cue, then you can copy the geometry and paste the relevant one. When your finished - delete the dead cues. It took no more time than standard doing it. Datapath see's it as 1 screen, but then you can set the outputs at your required resolution, and set it to DVI / VGA, scales, rotations etc. It really is quite an easy unit. Agree however - QLab 3 surfaces, does indeed make it much easier if you have upgraded, if not - honestly its almost as fast using 1/4 screen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbini Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 if you're using CRTs then you're analogue, more than likely composite. I would advise using a v8 to distribute your signals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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