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Will a 2nd Graphics Card Power my 3rd HD Monitor in Final Cut?

M

messyjesse

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 31, 2008
4
0
I'm getting a new mac pro 3.0 Gb and adding an additional ATI Radeon 2600 graphics card. I will be running 2 monitors, and want to use an HD widescreen TV as my 3rd monitor (out w/ DVI or HDMI input, or adaptor). Does anyone know if this graphics card is suitable, and, more importantly, will Final Cut Pro Studio 2 output to this thing in normal playback mode in sync with my computer monitors from my 2nd graphics card?

It seems like, in theory, it should work perfectly well. If anybody has had issues using a 3rd monitor as a high def viewing monitor, please let me know.

**i plan on getting a total of 6 Gb of ram. hopefully that's enough, what?
 
yes, a 2nd 2600 will allow you to connect a 3rd monitor.... it will not be a broadcast signal (needed for accurate color correction), but it will reflect the Canvas window of FCP.
 
I have this kinda setup with dual 2600's. Final cut works fine... but you can't do any render effects, like caustics, noise, and that sort of thing.

However, this won't "work perfectly" at all. You'll be getting an RGB signal instead of a YUV signal. This means that it'll be much darker than what you'll "truly" see.

If you can spend the money, get a Matrox MXO 2. It's PCIe based and will turn any HDMI device into a broadcast spec monitor with software Proc-Amps. I'd go this route. I have the original MXO which outputs to DVI and I love it, but the new one (not sure if it shipped yet) is much better with surround sound outputs and inputs.

What kind of stuff will you be editing? Format and application...
 
sadly, the MXO2 isn't shipping yet.... It was supposed to be released in July, but Matrox seems to be behind schedule.


edit: it is listed now at NLEsystems.com (based in Glendale, CA). However, there haven't been any reviews or reports from new owners...
 
i will be editing HD footage, (it's actually fake HD, to be accurate and honest), AND, in reality, it's just an offline edit. the footage is going to redig'd by assistants elsewhere for the online color correction, so it isn't 100% necessary for me to be watching the supreme video quality as i work. but, i'm looking at this crap for 9 weeks. i will have all this expensive equipment which is supposed to support it. i would absolutely love it if it could work in harmony -- especially since i normally work at lo-res on an avid where you can barely tell if audio is sync.

okay - so other than this thing:
http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/products/gxm/th2go/

is there any way to get a 3rd out from a single graphics card?
 
from what i can tell, the blackmagic intensity is a video card -- and not a graphics card. i'm less concerned about problems with color than i am with problems with rendered video effects. is there anyone out there using this thing with final cut? otherwise,...i guess i'll be the guinea pig.
 
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