The Computer-to-Projector Thread

[Carlton Bright]

Hello All,
My system flow for side-by-side projection is:


step 1----- MACBOOK PRO Laptop (2.4Ghs Intel core 2 duo)..... DVI & and the USB to the:

step 2------MATROX Dual Head2go..... Two DVI output to the:

step 3------Pair of PROJECTORS

My question is this:
It logically seems that a Mac Pro Tower with slots for boards would be the next step up..
however, what would be gained?
and also, what boards are recommended, and how would you output to the paired projectors?

(This thread is intended to evolve as the technology and products advance, so it is open
for people to describe thier system flows too.)
Thanks,
Carlton

[Tony Asch]

Would suggest you consider Stereoscopic Player, Peter's great software for any sort of stereoscopic playback... lots of input and output options. Since SP is Windows based, you may want to reconsider the Mac platform. A mid-range (around $100) PCI-Express video card with dual DVI outputs installed in a mid-range PC will suffice. I've found that top-bottom 1280x720x2 plays back fine on my old Pentium D805 machine, and top-bottom 1920x1080x2 works on my 2 year old Core2Duo. We're talking machines that should run you about $500.

[Carlton Bright]

Ah, Thanks, Tony,
and I forgot to mention that I presently have a working 3-D Projection setup working , (and use Final Cut Pro as the software)

and You mentioned:

"1920x1080x2 works on my 2 year old Core2Duo"


This is interesting, because I have found some stuttering and hesitation occurs of the projected 3-D video at this largest size...

I Presumed the bottleneck was the MATROX, unit, and not the FCP software I use, or the
my 2 year old Core2Duo Macbook Pro, but then again, there may be a
specific format/compressor setting for outputting at that size?

BTW-
Do I have it right that a work-flow from start to finish of 1920x1080x2 (i.e., a single file of 3840x1080)
Is the highest and best setting we can presently achieve?

Thanks again,
Carlton

[Tony Asch]

My best guess is that a USB driven video output will have trouble keeping up with this high resolution data rate. Don't know about FCP, but Stereoscopic Player software creates highly optimized Directshow filter graphs for the stereoscopic output. I've also found that many Windows codecs don't like to deal with files that are more than 2k pixels wide, so I tend to stack the two streams vertically, i.e. 1920 horiz. by 2160 vertical.

[Carlton Bright]

Hi Tony,
After doing some research, (starting with the basic computer specs you mentioned), I am going to go ahead and assemble a PC version of a projection system for myself. I have heard that PC based systems has been offering more options, and Apple is certianly going in the consumer direction, and away from the flexable, experimental/creative direction.
Besides, it seems you could have a few projection systems for the cost of an mac based one,
(for shows or installations).

I put a bid , ( a mere $5.00 startup bid ) on this computer on E-bay,
Any comments or suggestions would be welcome of course.
Thanks again,
Carlton


Processor Type:
Intel Pentium D
Brand:
Custom, Whitebox
Processor Speed (per Core):
2.66 GHz
Operating System:
Windows Vista Business
Processor Configuration:
Dual Core

Memory (RAM):
2 GB

--
Hard Drive Capacity:
74 GB

[Tony Asch]

Don't think you'll get 1920x1080x2 out of a Pentium D machine. D's do overclock well, but you'd need a souped up cooler, decent mobo, and a quality power supply, something you won't find in an Ebay white box. Would suggest a higher end Core2Duo, or perhaps an I7-750. You will also need a PCI-Express dual head video card... might as well get one with DVI outputs.

[Carlton Bright]

Continuing the research, it seems the NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GX2
would be an adequate video board, it has both Dual SDI and HDMI connections.
Curious if anyone is familiar with this video card, or know what PC would be able to handle it?

FYI- I heard that the present 1080HDMI will be superseded by 1280 HDMI in the coming months-
I am not sure of the specs involved, but thought I would mention it.

Here is the info on the NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GX2 if anyone else is presently setting up a system:




GeForce 9800 GX2

[Adam Stanislav]

Originally Posted by Carlton Bright

FYI- I heard that the present 1080HDMI will be superseded by 1280 HDMI in the coming months

Sorry, I have not been here for several moths, but what 1280 HDMI? HDTV has two standard resolutions, 1080p/1080i with 1920 columns and 1080 rows (lines), i.e., 1920x1080 pixels, and 720p with 1280x720 pixels. The second one has less resolution than 1080, so if it were to somehow supersede 1080, that would be a sad day for all of us.

There are several versions of the HDMI standard, the latest (1.4) supporting a resolution up to the whopping 4096x2160 at 24p and 36 bits per pixel! As long as your video card supports that standard (and your computer is fast enough to process all that data), you should be fine.

[Pavel Houda]

Actually the latest HDMI is the HDMI 1.4a, which added mandatory support for anamorphically squeezed sbs and ab (above/below). The frame packing is of course also mandatory for the 1.4a. It is almost the same for all practical purposes as the 1.4 though, especially when the max data rates, cables, etc.a re concerned. Welcome back Adam, wish you the best of health.

[Adam Stanislav]

Yes, 1.4a adds the support for 3D. But, as far as I know, it does not change the maximum resolution, so I was talking about 1.4 in general, without specifying the "a". :)

Thanks, Pavle, it's good to be back. My health should be fine now, much better than in a long while. Now, I need to rebuild my desktop computer, as its motherboard seems to have died several weeks ago, so I only have my laptop. Once I have my new desktop and if my health is really stabilized, I hope to start working on some new software I have been thinking about for several years now.

Today I have also ordered an upgrade to Sony Vegas. Apparently it now supports 3D natively. If so, I probably will not need to do anything new with Bororo 3D and will be able to concentrate on that other project. Which will be great because the plug-in interface for Vegas is quite frustrating.

[Carlton Bright]

Thanks for the running dialogue, I am starting to get an idea of the big picture,
between a MAC and a PC based system now.