Dual, unmatched monitors (1x interlaced, 1x progressive)

Hi,

My coworker here is using a 2.66 Quad core tower, running 10.5.8, with 3 GB RAM.
Vid card = NVIDIA GeForce GT120, 512 MB VRAM.

Anyway, they are running 2 monitors (neither being Mac) and they're having flicker problems. The master monitor is 1920 x 1080 interlace, and the 2nd monitor is 1920 x 1080 progressive ? when they use both monitors, the main/ interlace monitor flickers & drops in resolution by 1/2.

Is there a way to output both a progressive and and interlaced signal in a dual monitor set-up - or maybe some other work-around? Swap out for a higher-octane video card?

Thanks, genuses (Genii? )

We're thinking it would be cheaper to just buy a 2nd interlaced monitor?

What are your monitors? Are you saying that one monitor is a CRT and one is an LCD or LED?

What monitors are they? How are they connected?

Not to stray into the obvious and verge on the sarcastic but there are literally 1000s of monitoring options you could be running and I for one won't be trying to guess what type and make of monitor you have.

Try to be a bit more expansive in your descriptions - more is more on the LAFCPUG forums.


As a rough guess though (if they are the same monitor) - its probably nothing to do with interlaced vs progressive but rather a dodgy connection - most likely the MiniDisplay port connector and the adaptor connected to it thats causing the flickering.



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An INTERLACED computer monitor?


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Listen to THE EDIT BAY Podcast on iTunes
[itunes.apple.com]

Its not unheard of...

I used to have a CRT TV/Broadcast Monitor used as a second monitor for Broadcast Photoshop work via Mac FireWire through the magic of Echo Fire [www.synthetic-ap.com]



For instant answers to more than one hundred common FCP questions, check out the LAFCPUG FAQ Wiki here : [www.lafcpug.org]

Hi, thanks for the feedback -

project is HD ProRes422...

both are flat screen LCD monitors - no CRT's...

Master monitor: the Westinghouse L2610NW (only supports 1920 x 1080i /interlaced in HD - it does support other resolutions, but only in SD)

Second/viewing monitor is also an LCD, Hannspree model# HF257, which supports 1920 x 1080p in HD.

Ideas?

Thanks!!

Ah, I meant to say:

both are flat screen LCD monitors - no CRT's...

Master monitor: the Westinghouse L2610NW (only *supports* 1920 x 1080i /interlaced in HD - it does support other resolutions, but only in SD)...

Ok well both are 1080p so its a connection/adaptor problem or a faulty monitor or GFX card.

How have you got them connected? VGA or HDMI?

I will assume you have them connected via VGA which is an Analogue connection and also problematic with adaptors and prone to interference and certainly (unless a fault with the unit) what is causing the "flickering" that you are assuming is interlaced.

Also you should be running both these monitors at the native resolution of 1920x1200 via VGA NOT 1920x1080.

Since neither of your monitors are capable of interlaced I have no idea why you thought that either could be.

If you want to use HDMI then you need to get 2x DVI-D to HDMI and a Mini Display Port to DVI-D.

Belkin DVI-D to HDMI [catalog.belkin.com]

Apple Mini Display Port to DVI-D [store.apple.com]

This however will undoubtably limit your Screen Resolution to 1920x1080 as this is the maximum resolution that single HDMI handles on most consumer monitors (HDMI 1.3 has increased bandwidth to offer up to 1440p but I've not seen any TV monitors on the market that handle this).

If you want to use 1920x1200 or more (without using VGA) you need to get two proper monitors with DVI-D inputs and not consumer TV monitors with the wrong connections.



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Apologies - the Westinghouse should be in 1920 x 1200 and the max res for the Hannspree HF 257 is 1920x1080

Try the 1920x1200 in VGA and the 1920x1080 via HDMI

See how that works.



For instant answers to more than one hundred common FCP questions, check out the LAFCPUG FAQ Wiki here : [www.lafcpug.org]

Thanks Ben (& friends!) we'll try that!

Just one last note - you should work in the native resolution of LCD or LED monitors when using them or you will get a soft or approximated picture when viewed full screen or a cropped (letter boxed) picture in the case of 1920x1080 1:1 (1pixel from the video card to 1 pixel on screen) when displayed on a 1920x1200 native LCD.

CRT monitors didn't suffer as much as they could adjust the frequency and the line height to display pixels in a variety of sizes and refresh rates - LCD and LEDs however have fixed pixel sizes and as such you should stick to displaying 1:1.



For instant answers to more than one hundred common FCP questions, check out the LAFCPUG FAQ Wiki here : [www.lafcpug.org]