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This topic comprises 3 pages: 1 2 3
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Author
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Topic: Pro hardware video players 2016!
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Marcel Birgelen
Film God
Posts: 3357
From: Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands
Registered: Feb 2012
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posted 04-18-2016 04:26 PM
quote: Javier Plano
also, through PlaybackPro I can use the SDI as a dedicated video output, so I only send video to the projector, instead of an extended desktop
In order to work with playback software, the BMD device you're envisioning will also publish itself as another "Screen" in your Operating System. Those mechanics are deep at the core of most Operating Systems and are needed for things like application compatibility and hardware acceleration (needed for decoding and scaling, if applicable) to work properly.
Ideally, what you want is a pure frame-buffer device, but those things are hard to use and usually do not come with any hardware acceleration.
In the past, I've built a pre-show machine, which used two video cards running Debian Linux. I would manually start two X Servers, one for each card. The first card would run a fully featured X Windows including a Window Manager, the second one would not run anything other than X Windows itself. I even made sure the mouse pointer wasn't displayed.
The control software, which was a bunch of Python scripts and essentially just big hack, would run on the fully featured X Server and content would be played using an mplayer, which was bound to the second X Server. This way, I would never have a BIOS, boot screen or even an X Windows starting on screen. It worked quite nicely, but was inflexible as hell. Also, a simple system upgrade would ruin the whole system.
quote: Javier Plano
SDI uses BNC connectors, wich are safer than a hdmi plug (I never really liked it, I think it's a bad, unsafe design for non home configurations)
You can buy a Thunderbolt to HDMI converter for just a few bucks (around USD 15). You can use an HDMI to DVI cable and plug the DVI side into your projector. DVI plugs can be properly fixed. On the MacBook Pro side, you'd stuck with Thunderbolt anyway, which is also just another "home standard" made for easy plugging and unplugging, not improving much on HDMI in regards of connector design.
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Javier Plano
Film Handler
Posts: 13
From: Ramos Mejía, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Registered: Apr 2016
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posted 04-18-2016 05:30 PM
quote: Marcel Birgelen
In order to work with playback software, the BMD device you're envisioning will also publish itself as another "Screen" in your Operating System. Those mechanics are deep at the core of most Operating Systems and are needed for things like application compatibility and hardware acceleration (needed for decoding and scaling, if applicable) to work properly.
sorry Marcel, but are you saying this from real life experience with the SDI port? or are you just guessing?
I have used dedicated video outputs (firewire, for example), that the software (any video editing, like vegas or premiere) treated like exactly that: dedicated video output. the program would show just the video you were editing, for monitoring. and anything else. not the desktop or anything else.
from what am I reading (here, and elsewere), not all software can use the SDI output. VLC and most non-professional players can't use it. it's not another monitor, you need software that can manage that output. Playback Pro can, for example.
I appreciate your thoughts about this, but please talk from experience, and not just what you think a technology is or can do without specific knowledge, because that produces confusion and doesn't really help.
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