Re: Multiple monitors

From: Francisco Alvarado (brain_sys_at_jz.cablemas.com)
Date: 10/12/04

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    Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2004 22:52:35 -0700

    The largest assembly line is about 20 meters (67 ft) and the main
    monitor must be located on one end, so I'll need to use some kind of
    extenders and video quality must be good, since they will display diagrams.
    In Mexico we have a saying "Sale mas caro el caldo que las albondigas"
    something like "it's more expensive the sauce than the meatballs..."
    So maybe it's more cost effective to go with 20 basic PCs...
    I need to re-think this

    Loren Pechtel wrote:
    > On Sun, 10 Oct 2004 20:50:03 -0700, Francisco Alvarado
    > <brain_sys@jz.cablemas.com> wrote:
    >
    >
    >> MS says we can use up to ten monitors from a single PC, anybody did
    >>this in a Delphi app?
    >>We need to display up to 20 different visual aids or diagrams in an
    >>assembly line from a single PC.
    >>How I can install ten video cards, or better, 20 video cards in a single
    >>PC? Should I use an external Box? How far can go a video cable? Am I
    >>dreaming?
    >>Any idea is welcome.
    >
    >
    > You need to go with multiport cards. I have no experience
    > with their stuff but I know Matrox (www.matrox.com) has some PCI cards
    > that support 4 ports per card. That would support 20 monitors on an
    > otherwise sparsely equipped machine. The most I've ever mounted is 2
    > 2-port cards (both ATI and PNY. I don't think it's possible with ATI
    > anymore, they don't seem to make any PCI cards.) Such configurations
    > seem tempermental about the hardware--I've found some cards that won't
    > work, some motherboards that won't work. I've yelled at a tech
    > support guy who categorically told me that multi-card operations on
    > PC's were impossible. I ended up tossing his card and using another
    > brand.
    > These days my recommendations: Don't use a cheap MB, use only
    > cards from one manufacturer and which run under one driver. Don't buy
    > more than one machine's worth of hardware until you have tested a
    > configuration and confirmed it works.
    >
    > Note that according to what I've read, the 10 limit is in the
    > properties setter, not an inherent limit of windows. I've also seen a
    > picture of a PC running more than 10 screens. You would need to use a
    > third-party screen property setter if you had more than 10.
    >
    > What you describe sounds suspicious, though. Are those 20
    > screens all close together??? Otherwise you'll end up with some long
    > VGA cable runs and that means expensive boosters to keep your picture
    > quality up.

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