Dual video from same PC Questions

LMTC · Aug 26, 2008

I'm attempting to help a local church set up PCs (and so far so good

), and am down to the final issue. One PC has a standard vga video output and a dvi card. The plan is to plug the overhead projector (used to project lyrics, and eventually DVDs) into the dvi card, and the monitor on the AV room counter to the vga plug. I know from experience that I can, within Powerpoint, switch to the projector display by setting up a show from the PP menu and still keep the display on the monitor. Is there a simple (or even moderately complicated) way to switch outputs via the keyboard, or some other method for other programs (like Media Player when using DVDs)? What I'd like is to have no video feed to the projector until they're ready to show a DVD, etc and then for the monitor to continue to show the output as it is shown by the projector. Thank you for any input or suggestions.

CinderSchnauzer · Aug 26, 2008

Some years ago I purchased and A / B / Both switch to run two monitors off one video card. That might work. You did not mention what operating system you are using. Go to OS Help and key in "Dual Monitor" or "Multiple Monitor" or similar phrases and see if anything comes back that might help.

LMTC · Aug 26, 2008

XP Pro is the OS.

aczlan · Aug 26, 2008

assuming you are running Windows 2000 or XP there is a way, but it isnt simple (see here: . Windows XP: Learn how to expand your workspace with multiple monitors ) what I have done in presentations is to turn the projector on and put a blank (black background) slide as the first slide, then the congregation wont see anything, but when you hit the clicker to advance the slideshow you see the background.

also some projectors let you put up a black screen and take it off with one button push... read the manual and it may say.

Aaron Z

MicroPilot · Aug 27, 2008

I'd also check to see if there is a utility from the video card manufacturer or chipset folks that let you toggle the DVI port on and off.

KB9UDE · Aug 28, 2008

In the XP OS setup your dual monitors in the properties window and then go to Power Point and select "Show Presenter View" This will show the slides on the projector and give you a view of all the slides in order for you to select which goes up next on the monitor. The shortcut keys for PP is F5 for start slideshow and ESC for stop slideshow.

I use PP for all my church presentations. Good program for little money.

John

OKnewguy · Aug 30, 2008

I have a couple suggestions. First, I would highly recommend going with a seamless switcher like this SWITCHERS VP-23DS, they will take your multiple inputs and consolidate them to one output. This will keep the projector on the same computer input at all times. You never have to switch the projector for anything. You can run your video sources (dvd's and vcr's ) directly to the switcher and they will be upconverted to a computer signal. There are numerous styles of switchers, but get one that is "seamless" and one that upconverts.
Second, run your video (from dvd's, etc) thru a dvd player and not the computer. I have seen to many computer crashes, at critical moments. What is even better is to go with a dvd/hard drive unit (simular to a tivo). This will allow you to load the dvd on to the video units hard drive and play it at will. It is instantaneous, and most of these have an invite pause feature.
3rd, Try EasyWorship (EasyWorship Church Presentation Software). It is superior to Power Point, it will interegrate to most online song databases, has a site license (which is great because you can have it on many computers for one price). This program is easy to edit and use, plus it has the ability to track your usage for song licensing. You do pay for the songs don't you? (I know most small churches do not pay for the songs, but it is the law)
You can also check out churchmedia.net. They have a forum for church media directors. It is an okay site, but sometimes the info is a little incorrect (just like all forums).
Hope this helps, I was in the a/v biz for 15 years, with 5 of those being the media director at a "mega church"

Good luck, and watch out for church politics.
Dave

LMTC · Aug 30, 2008

Yes, they pay the copyright fees. This is not my home church (it is 35 miles from where I live), but I have enough knowledge to try to help them, and no one currently attending there has any PC knowledge. There is no budget for a seamless switcher or additional software, nor will there be anything (for a while anyway) more complex than either lyrics or playing a DVD on the projector. The first video card I had (old, salvaged card) is apparently bad, as I get vertical green dotted lines when connected to it. The projector and the monitor are each fed by a vga cable. Most video cards I look at have at least one, and some two, dvi outputs. Can I use such a card and simply use this adapter? for each output? The PC we are using is a Dell Optiplex GX280 with one PCI express 16 (I think) slot and two PCI slots open.

MicroPilot · Aug 31, 2008

LMTC, Yes that adapter will work.

It sounds like you are also shopping for a new video card. Try to make sure that whatever you get supports "cloning" the main video. Most nVidea and ATI based cards support this.