Dual monitors - screens, not speakers

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Bobbsy
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Re: Dual monitors - screens, not speakers

Post by Bobbsy »

For any complex job I find 2 monitors almost essential. A bit like Greg in his first post, I tend to have Mixer on one screen and tracks on the other--with the mixer screen the one I switch around if I want an effects menu or something.

Slightly OT but I also do a fair bit of video editing and, again, two monitors make things way easier. I tend to have one monitor mainly for the project video (with timeline underneath) and the other one whatever I need from bins of original stuff to effects controls.
Farview
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Re: Dual monitors - screens, not speakers

Post by Farview »

I've used dual monitors for years. The main one is a 32 HDTV, the other is an old 19 inch monitor. The big one is for editing and such, the small one is for the mixer.
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Bobbsy
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Re: Dual monitors - screens, not speakers

Post by Bobbsy »

Taking this to a ridiculous level...

A few years back I had access to a video projector for a couple of nights (it was rented for a theatre show and I had it at home for a couple of days before it went to the venue) and hooked my laptop into it. I basically managed to fill a whole wall with the output from my Audition. Resolution was only 1920x1080 but, sitting at the back of the room that was enough...and it was a strangely immersive experience compared to normal computer monitors.

(On a normal day I use my laptop monitor plus a 19 inch computer monitor I bought second hand for $20.
Rob Aylestone
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Re: Dual monitors - screens, not speakers

Post by Rob Aylestone »

I'm on 3 screens on one computer and 2 on the other - I'm using computer 2 to do editing, with Cubase on the 3 screen machine. I have the main screen on the biggest screen, and oddly, the mixer on the smaller one. The bigger screen has a touchscreen and the idea was that it would be good for the mix faders - but I just couldn't get on with it at all. I don't know why. We've got 3 on the video edit suite next door too, with 2 on the photoshop machine - so currently with just two of us here, that's kind of 5 each!
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Re: Dual monitors - screens, not speakers

Post by HatfieldCreek »

I've been doing a lot of post production work over the past few years, and I always use multiple monitors, typically three. It's great to have another screen solely for the video.
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miroslav
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Re: Dual monitors - screens, not speakers

Post by miroslav »

I got spoiled with dual monitors at my day gig back around '96-'98 when I was doing first video editing on an AVID system, and then later moved to multimedia work.
Big ass CRT monitors that coast as much as a Hyundai compact, and toook about as much space on your desk...plus you didn't need heat in the winter, the monitors were more than capable of keeping the room warm. :P

Probably been using dual monitors in my studio for about 15 years now....after using them at work, I couldn't deal with anything less.
I initially had a pair of 21" CRT monitors in my studio...but then moved to the LCD screens about 10 years ago.
Right now it's a pair of 21" LCD screens. I would love to get one large 42" screen so I could lose the bezel down the middle shit...but the high quality computer monitors over 30" are still pretty pricey.
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Greg_L
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Re: Dual monitors - screens, not speakers

Post by Greg_L »

I actually went back to one monitor. The two monitor thing is just too much.
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Tadpui
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Re: Dual monitors - screens, not speakers

Post by Tadpui »

miroslav wrote: Fri Feb 24, 2017 12:18 pm I would love to get one large 42" screen so I could lose the bezel down the middle shit...but the high quality computer monitors over 30" are still pretty pricey.
Tell me about it. I went with an ASUS ROG Swift 34" ultra-wide, and that thing wasn't cheap by any means. But LG has an interesting option that's 34" ultra-wide for about $350. Not to shabby considering the cost of comparable size/resolution monitors.
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Tadpui
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Re: Dual monitors - screens, not speakers

Post by Tadpui »

Greg_L wrote: Fri Feb 24, 2017 12:23 pm I actually went back to one monitor. The two monitor thing is just too much.
Seriously? What was the problem?
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Greg_L
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Re: Dual monitors - screens, not speakers

Post by Greg_L »

Tadpui wrote: Fri Feb 24, 2017 3:02 pm Seriously? What was the problem?
Well, first off, I know this is operator error. My first "fuck this" moment was every time I'd turn the computer and monitors on, my icons would be jumbled all over the place. And after that, I realized that one monitor really just doesn't bother me at all.
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Tadpui
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Re: Dual monitors - screens, not speakers

Post by Tadpui »

Oh, I see. That's definitely a pain for people who like to keep desktop icons. Something must have been forcing a screen resolution change, which jacks with the icon placement on the screen. That's been a problem with Windows desktops as long as I can remember. I can't believe that they've never addressed that.

There is a 3rd party program called Fences that lets you create little "corrals" for your icons, so they don't end up jumbling up on you. But I don't suppose that you want to start installing new apps to fix problems that are caused by a setup that you're not interested in keeping :)

I've been too spoiled with the extra screen real estate to go back to a single 16:9 monitor now. If I go back to 1 monitor it'll have to be 21:9. I'm too used to having one screen for the timeline and one for the mixer window (or preview window, for video editing). But there's nothing wrong with doing it all on one monitor. If it works for you and causes less hassle, then run with it!
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Greg_L
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Re: Dual monitors - screens, not speakers

Post by Greg_L »

Well, thankfully the majority of my mixes are pretty neanderthal. I never even thought of two screens until I saw it in person right in front of me on someone else's rig. One screen never held me back before.
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Farview
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Re: Dual monitors - screens, not speakers

Post by Farview »

When you extend the desktop, you have to make sure that you set the resolutions of each monitor to the native resolution of the monitor. You also need to leave the monitors on, so that windows detects both of them on startup. Otherwise, when you are booting the computer up, the resolution changes a couple times as windows accommodates the screens that it sees.

I run into this all the time at work, hooking people's laptops to projectors and such. But once you set the main screen to the right resolution by itself AND when it's extended, it should remember it and just act normal from then on.
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JD01
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Re: Dual monitors - screens, not speakers

Post by JD01 »

Massive TV is definity the way forward.

In reaper I have 24 tracks viewable vertically and 22 horizontally + the master and that's viewable laying on the sofa across the room.
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Bobbsy
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Re: Dual monitors - screens, not speakers

Post by Bobbsy »

miroslav wrote: Fri Feb 24, 2017 12:18 pm I got spoiled with dual monitors at my day gig back around '96-'98 when I was doing first video editing on an AVID system, and then later moved to multimedia work.
My memory of editing with Avid involved 3 monitors...2 showing data from the computer plus another Grade 1 or Grade 2 video monitor showing your pictures as edited.

I agree...with 3 monitors plus a whole rack of equipment, the air conditioning load for our edit suites was substantial.
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rayc
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Re: Dual monitors - screens, not speakers

Post by rayc »

I changed my screens to the two separate things rather than a flow across. I'll see how it goes with my dysfunctional "workflow". I did some automation today & it wasn't better or worse - just different - I had to zoom in a lot more but that's almost a given.
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miroslav
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Re: Dual monitors - screens, not speakers

Post by miroslav »

Bobbsy wrote: Sat Feb 25, 2017 12:03 am My memory of editing with Avid involved 3 monitors...2 showing data from the computer plus another Grade 1 or Grade 2 video monitor showing your pictures as edited.
It was back in '96-'98...and I think there were different system configurations...I don't remember 3 monitors...but....??? :P
I was also up at Burlington, MA at the Avid HQ for training sometime in '97....it's all a blur to me now. The thing I remember most was that they had a fantastic cafeteria with some of the best gourmet food selections...not the usual fast-food shit. :tongue:
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JD01
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Re: Dual monitors - screens, not speakers

Post by JD01 »

miroslav wrote: Sun Feb 26, 2017 4:00 pm
Bobbsy wrote: Sat Feb 25, 2017 12:03 am My memory of editing with Avid involved 3 monitors...2 showing data from the computer plus another Grade 1 or Grade 2 video monitor showing your pictures as edited.
It was back in '96-'98...and I think there were different system configurations...I don't remember 3 monitors...but....??? :P
I was also up at Burlington, MA at the Avid HQ for training sometime in '97....it's all a blur to me now. The thing I remember most was that they had a fantastic cafeteria with some of the best gourmet food selections...not the usual fast-food shit. :tongue:
I rehearsed at a studio in Bristol a few times last year that had free beer on a Friday... I was driving :spacepalm:
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rayc
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Re: Dual monitors - screens, not speakers

Post by rayc »

OK brainstrust, Can I connect my computer (VGA) to a TV (VGA D sub)?
I've spent a few days with the screens sorted with with mixer & Stuff on L and audio tracks on R and I don't like it much but now I don't like the idea of the mis match of screens & the line down the middle in my previous arrangement.
I can get a 32" TV delivered for AUS$199 so might do that.
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rayc
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Re: Dual monitors - screens, not speakers

Post by rayc »

I did get the 32" TV because the receiver/tuner died in the old one. I put the new one in place of the old one & put the old in to replace the two mismatched screen in my little recording space. I've also gone back to my old workflow as it suits me much better.
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