Can you have more than 3 monitors?

Hi Ryan,

You're right, Eos only supports up to 3 external monitor outputs.  There is, however, hardware available that will split a single video output into multiple outputs, such as this (http://www.clearly-av.co.uk/EXT-MiniDVI-142.html)  It think it will accomplish what you need, but I'm sure it's never been tested on an Eos before...

 

Thanks for the quick repley, I checked out that link and boss said we may order one of those dvi splitters, because he really wants his own que monitor.  But heres my next question we are currently using the DVI to 15 adapters due to the fact when we hooked the dvi cables straight to the monitors the desk or monitors wouldn't see each other until we switched to the adapters the console came with.  Do you still think the DVI spilter would work?  I could just put it in line B4 I plug in monitor?

 Thanks again,

Ryan

Hi, Ryan.

My first time with the console, I had planned to use my laptop as a remote monitor for my designer. Poor planning on our part (The laptop has no Scroll Lock key!!) made that not work, so we ended up doing it old-school. Using the DVI > VGA adaptors, I stuck an old-fashioned VGA Y-splitter to the back of the console, and just ran a 100' VGA cable down to the tech table. It worked. I'm not proud of it, but it worked, and it was cheap.

 Since I'm talking about the laptop, though - if you have a spare computer + client key dongle, you could give your boss a cue monitor right on his PC. I know there were issues of system slowdown using that setup in version 1.2, though, so ymmv.

 Also, just in case it helps, my laptop too doesn't have a scroll lock but (running windows xp) I did Start - Programs - Accessories - Accesibility - On screen keyboard. And I found a scroll lock button on there which works.

Then opened Eos offline and all was good.

Crispy x

Thanks, we tried a splitter on our one of our RVI and it didn't seem to work, i'll have to try it on the console after the run of these shows are over at the end of the month.  When you refer to a slowdown, do you mean from your splitter or when you ran another cpu with the dongle conecting to the console?  We have yet to hook up another cpu to the desk with the dongle as we did not recieve it in time b4 the run of these shows, and as we know not to mess with it during a run.

Thanks for your tips, we'll have to try it at the end of the month

Ryan

The slowdown happened when we had the console and the laptop/client dongle both online. At top of day, it was not noticable, but through the course of each tech rehearsal, it got progressively worse, up to a few seconds. The console's output was never affected, just the displays. I really thought there was a thread about this already, but I can't seem to find it. In any case, I know the EOS team is aware of it, and it's probably been fixed in 1.3.

John Musarra

Philadelphia Theatre Company

John, all of our testing for 1.3 indicates that this slowdown issue should be addressed.   v1.3 will be available next week.  When this is installed, if any of you see any behavior otherwise, please let us know asap.  

Thanks much, as always!

Anne 

Regarding the Splitter:

There are (at least) two different kinds of DVI output on modern systems and PCs:

• DVI-D only supplies the digital signal.
• DVI-I can supply the digital signal OR the analogue VGA signal.
• It can't do both at the same time!
  

Eos provides DVI-I connections so you can plug in an older VGA monitor or a newer DVI monitor.

If you are currently using the DVI>VGA adapters, then you will need to use a VGA splitter (preferably a distribution amplifier)

If you are currently using a monitor with direct DVI input, then you'll need to use a DVI-D splitter.

The Eos Client method is much better though, as it allows you to use a nice thin, flexible Cat5 cable, and gives your boss the flexibility to look at any screen he wants, rather than needing to ask you to show him something!

Just a quick note to correct the DVI information here... There are 5 types of DVI connections, and they are as follows:

DVI-D: Digital only

DVI-A: Analog only (generally only used for DVI->VGA adapters)

DVI-I: Both analog and digital connections -- can only use one at once (most common -- this is what Eos provides)

DVI-D Dual-link: digital only for extra-large displays

DVI-I Dual-link: analog + digital for extra-large displays

Note that often a dual-link connector is used even only a single-link DVI connection is electrically connected to provide better compatibility. 

Each type has a somewhat different connector, just providing the pins for the signals it uses.  Thus, the DVI-I connector is (in a way) the combination of the DVI-D and DVI-A connectors.  Any plug can be inserted into a -I socket, but the -A and -D sockets only accept the matched plug.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVI for more info (including illustrations of each connector).
 

We recently purchased an Ion and without realizing there were different versions of DVI, did not look at what kind the monitor we purchased had. We bought the new monitor as a second monitor for the console, using an older monitor through the VGA output as the first monitor. As it turns out, the new monitor has a DVI-D connector. I know that it is not possible to use a DVI>VGA adapter, on the Ion, but is it possible to use a DVI-D>DVI-I adapter?

Thank you for any info.

Aaron

That's not necessary.

There are only three kinds of 'input' connector for computer monitors:

• DVI-D
• DVI-D Dual Link (for monitors with a higher than 1920x1200 resolution)
• You can ignore this standard!
• None of ETC's consoles will go that high and it's hard to get monitors that big.
  
• VGA

(I'm ignoring the various kinds of TV connector, as that gets confusing.)

The various kinds of DVI connection only matter on the 'source' equipment - it basically lets you know what kind of adapter you can use.

Eos has DVI-I single-link outputs, giving you two options:

• A DVI monitor per output.
• A VGA monitor via a DVI-A to VGA pin adapter per output.
  

Ion has two DVI-D single-link outputs and a VGA output, giving two options again:

• Two DVI monitors in the DVI-D outputs.
  
• One VGA monitor and/or one DVI monitor, using one DVI-D output and the VGA output.

Just to try to clear up the DVI debate as Matt seems to have managed to confuse everybody completely:

There can be three kinds of signal down a DVI cable:

1. DVI-D Single Link (up to 1920x1200 resolution)
   
2. DVI-D Dual Link (up to 2560x1600 resolution)
   
3. VGA, sometimes known as DVI-A

DVI-I contains both 1 and 3.

DVI-I Dual Link contains all of them.

And finally, the Executive Summary:

• All DVI monitors under 1920x1200 resolution should work with:
• Eos
• Ion
• Congo Jr.
• All VGA monitors should work with:
• Using a DVI-A to VGA pin adapter (as supplied):
• Eos
• Congo Jr
• Using the rear VGA port(s):
• Ion
• Congo Fullsize

 I say 'should', because some older monitors can't cope with the resolutions the consoles are capable of. Always check the resolution when choosing a monitor.