Target Display Mode...half baked?

[woodbine]

Is it only me who feels that TDM is only half-way there?

Here's my setup, one MP that does an awful lot of Compressor renders (NTSC HD to PAL HD at best quality). Each render takes around 6 hours at 100% CPU, so any other work I need to do takes away CPU cycles and increases the render times.

Other work includes loading drives with video files, very simple editing in FCP, laying down subtitle files and mail/internet.

So when I read about TDM I had this 'brilliant' idea, buy a top iMac for all the FCP, Mail, Safari stuff...the day to day running of my empire and use the MP for all those 24/7 renders. Then using TDM I can hook up the MP to the iMac and see everything going on with the renders. That is the problem, I can only 'see' what's going on, I cannot send commands to the software, I have no keyboard/mouse control.

I think TDM is a brilliant idea, but just not properly thought through. I don't see why it should not be possible to 'hand over' the keyboard/mouse to the other computer when the command is sent to display the other computer screen.

I know I could have multiple screens, multiple keyboards/mice, but I don't have the space and I resent using more energy than I have to.

I would still have to address the where's and how's of all my storage, which is currently mainly inside the MP and via an esata box. My video editing doesn't require huge bandwidth.

I'd welcome any constructive comments.

 

[r0k]

I know screen sharing would add some burden to the MP but it would allow you "normal" keyboard and mouse control of the MP from whatever computer you are controlling from. You could even run the MP screen in a window so you could watch it and only interact with it when necessary. You could shut down your screen sharing connection and only open it when you want to do something.

From the little I've read about "Target Display Mode" it sounds like the keyboard and mouse of the iMac should get sent to the machine being controlled, but having to use option F2 to toggle out of TDM so you could work locally seems like more of a hassle than simply using screen sharing.

Another way to remotely control OS X is ssh. You could ssh from one Mac to another and use terminal commands to stay abreast of what was going on remotely and only open screen sharing when you really need it. I don't have any newer Macs with display port but even if I did, I doubt I'd bother with TDM over screen sharing and ssh.

 

[redsteven]

I've used screen sharing successfully for troubleshooting both over a wireless router and over the internet. Sometimes images on the screen can take a second or so to clear up (they start off blurry).

But over a WIRED connection with the two macs that were right next to each other? It would probably be pretty flawless (correct me if i'm wrong)