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Multiple Mac Pros to single 60" LED LCD

hayduke

hayduke

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Mar 8, 2005
1,177
2
is a state of mind.
In our work environment we have three Mac Pros each with a 30" monitor. At any "instant" we want to be able to display one of the MPs display output to a common 60" LED LCD so that all heads can turn and comment/discuss what is on screen.

Any suggestions for how to accomplish this? Wireless options are preferred and cost may not be a limiting factor if it is less than ~$1000.
 
You are going to have a hard time crushing 2560x1600 16:10 to 1920x1080 16:9.

There are KVMs that can put different sources on one panel, but it seems a waste to get a dual-link KVM to end up pushing to a resolution that does not require it.

Can you each get a cheap 1920x1080 panel on your machine and then run a duplicate of that output to the main panel?
 
I'm afraid you're going to struggle to do that since screen mirroring always uses the highest common display resolution and the 60" screen's will be 1920x1080.

However, you could just get a cheap three way DVI switch and have the 60" screen attached to each Mac Pro via that and set up as a secondary monitor. You'll have to drag the window over of what you're working on to the screen every time you want to use it but it's the only way I can see that you'll be able to get close to what you want. If your Mac Pros were using 1080p displays rather than 30" 2560x1600 screens then you could just mirror things.
 
What about a 4th Mac (would a cheap used laptop do?) connected to the 60" display then share the screen of one of the other three Macs?

I've read that you can share screen in Leopard. I've never done it and don't know how easy/quickly this can be done.
 
Yeah, the resolution disparity is a bummer. The screen sharing idea isn't bad, but I can't think of how to send the VNC request *to* the remote machine (tied to the 60"), rather than request the 30" display *from* the 60". The point being, that we want to be able to send to the 60" from our desks, rather than slide over to the 60" and make the VNC request back to the 30".

We might be best off with a DVI switch, but then the problem is that you can't place the request to display on the 60" from your own machine, but rather have to be at the 60" and switch the display.

Hmm...any other ideas?
 
You can Screen Share a Screen Shared computer. It makes for funny tunnel images, but that can be remedied.

Try it this way:

From the 30" start Screen Sharing of the 60", so that you see the 60" contents on your 30". Then via this remote control start Screen Sharing on the 60" to the 30", meaning you can view the 30" from the 60", which creates this tunnel effect, but now you can close the Screen Sharing from the 30" to the 60", but the Screen Sharing on the 60" of the 30" is still active.

Confused?
 
I still think that three cheap 1920x1080s, three one-to-two port DVI adaptors, and a single-link KVM would do it best. You all get a little extra desktop space and some privacy... It would definitely come in under $1k.
 
hayduke said:
Yeah, the resolution disparity is a bummer. The screen sharing idea isn't bad, but I can't think of how to send the VNC request *to* the remote machine (tied to the 60"), rather than request the 30" display *from* the 60". The point being, that we want to be able to send to the 60" from our desks, rather than slide over to the 60" and make the VNC request back to the 30".

We might be best off with a DVI switch, but then the problem is that you can't place the request to display on the 60" from your own machine, but rather have to be at the 60" and switch the display.

Hmm...any other ideas?
Click to expand...

I guess in theory you could either have a mac mini attached to the big screen with nothing but a mouse (or three) connected to double click on a screen share link on the desktop.

Your other options would be to use it as a secondary monitor for all three machines like I suggested but either:

a) Make sure to buy a 60" screen with at least three hdmi inputs and then use the remote (or the remote + two universal remotes, one on each desk) to switch inputs.

b) Get a three-to-one DVI switch that can be controlled via remote control (I've definitely seen them around) and then again control via remote or via a remote + a couple of universal remotes.
 
What about this? Kind of clever.

http://www.screenrecycler.com/ScreenRecycler.html

The window that needs to be viewed collectively could be dragged over and maybe everyone has a TV remote to switch the HDMI input to their machine.

Funny how VNC etc. gets around the resolution disparity by interpolating the screen and there is no similar means by which you can mirror a display without VNC...that I'm aware of.
 
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