I was thinking about moving the preview window to a second monitor for a better (larger) view during editing. Can this be done? If so, should I use the SLI capability of a video card to accomplish this?

Chris, you're going to like this setup!

Any "windows secondary display" can be addressed by Vegas (7 or later, I think, or was it 6?).

This can be as simple as the second VGA or DVI port on a two-headed video card. SLI is used with two cards in a system, providing four ports.

In display setup in windows, you want "extend my desktop to this monitor".

A buddy has gone this route - he has his timeline across two monitors, with a third 24" for preview, and still has other windows open on a fourth for windows stuff and other apps. Very impressive.

***edit*** clarification - the route my friend has taken is sli, allowing two video cards in his system, therefore 4 monitors. I just have two, so far.

Seth,

To make sure I understand, I just connect the second monitor to the vga connector on my video card (the present monitor is connected to the DVI connector) and then go into the display setup and set for multiple monitors?

Yes, correct. In XP etc. it's Control Panel > Display > Settings then look in the letterbox half way down the window and some of the tick boxes and go from there.

You may have to play around a bit with the settings of each display to get it how you want but when you've got it up and running you will NEVER want to go back to just one "tiny" little monitor!

Even my 3 year old work laptop supports 2 displays and I frequently use two screens now even for "normal" non-editing stuff too (when I'm not on the road.) You can have e-mail up and the web/WMV playing/word doc etc. all at the same time! ....and, hey, I thought someone said us blokes are n't able to multi-task!!!

I will be attaching another display when I get home from work.

Thanks again,

Chris

Yeah, 2 monitors is the way to go. You'll love it and wonder how you lived without it.

2 x 24" is wonderful..

Seth,

To make sure I understand, I just connect the second monitor to the vga connector on my video card (the present monitor is connected to the DVI connector) and then go into the display setup and set for multiple monitors?
Right. What Andy said, and...
Then in Vegas, go to Tools | Preferences | Preview Device | Device and select "Windows Secondary Display". Now, when you're ready to look at it, click the little TV-like icon above the preview window.

Now is the time to try out Best-Full previews. Not all display cards support all the preview modes, but most do.

Additionally to using the second monitor as a preview device, it is also extremely useful as a way of spreading all those tabbed windows around.

I use a production monitor over firewire, so my main display is on that monitor, but I also have a preview window on the second pc monitor (usually set to good/auto or full), along with the undocked tabs I use most, like project media, track motion, pan/crop etc. That frees up space on my primary monitor for the timeline/tracks and means my most used function are always diaplayed.

I have three monitors and thought how I could never go back to two -- until this morning when I lost one monitor; it just went dead on me. I was horrified but within minutes discovered that having just two monitors isn't so tragic. Probably anything above two is mere luxury but there is a world of difference between having just one or two!

FWIW, I am using a 37" Samsung LCD TV as secondary display.
The EVGA 7800 had choice of component or HDMI in addition to a primary 24" LCD monitor driven at 1920x1080.

I started with component, but saw ghosting due to the el-cheapo cables I had that were not all the same length. I didn't a have anymore so went to HDMI (via cheap DVI-HDMI adapter).

It took a bit of fiddling to get the resolution to the native 1366x760 (not 768).
I got it to work by uninstalling the Nvidia driver [reboot] and then installing the absolute latest one... [reboot, ensure everything is plugged in/ turned on beforehand] it came up just fine after that.

You pros may want to opt for a 42"++ 1920x1080 display, but it's pretty darn nice for amateur hour here.

i like using my 24" Samsung LCD HDTV as a 2nd monitor plugged into my i-mac for previewing my HD footage.. however.. every year or so I lose an extension... and FCP forgets how to send the preview to the second monitor.. Looking for where or what the extension, or preset of what ever file it was to throw out.. then it will work again.. unless anyone here remembers.

thanks

i like using my 24" Samsung LCD HDTV as a 2nd monitor plugged into my i-mac for previewing my HD footage.. however.. every year or so I lose an extension... and FCP forgets how to send the preview to the second monitor.. Looking for where or what the extension, or preset of what ever file it was to throw out.. then it will work again.. unless anyone here remembers.

thanks

I hate it when I answer my own question 5 minutes after I post.. anyway, if anyone loses the ability.. throw away the fcp preferences. (Mac HD, Users, (your computer name/profile), Library, preferences, Final Cut User Data, then the delete the Final Cut Pro 5.0 (6.0) Prefs and might as well delete the Cache as well... then start FCP, then the 2nd monitor works again. it seems to happen to my macs about once a year.. and I never found an answer on APPLE, but when all else fails with any program, throw away the preference files.. and 99% of the problems go away.