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Did my external monitor issue get forgotten?
I don’t mean to be pushy but you guys are usually so fast. Here is a question I posted on Dec. 1:
I recently switched from my G4 PB to a 15″ MacBook Pro. Since that change, the Video Preview settings in the View menu, which formerly gave me a choice of my monitors to preview full screen on, now only provide me with Cinema Desktop Main, no external! Does this have to do with the new port (that has changed, since I had to buy new adapters)? I tried all screen arrangement possibilities, with FCP as well as in my MBP display preferences options, to no avail. I also tried Jaap’s trick (from a previous thread) with turning off FCP, the MBP, unplugging, turning back on and FCP on and off and replugging and all that… no use. I even tried connecting my monitor with the analogue connection – same same. It worked fine and was very useful with the G4. Why not on the MacBook? Thanks for your invaluable help.
Michael
Michael Brown
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17 Replies
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If we knew, we’d answer. Might be that you have a newer MBP and none of the rest of us have that, so we can’t see what to do. I have an older model, so no new monitor port so all is fine.
Generally if you don’t get an answer, we don’t know. Sorry about that.
Shane
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
Okay I have a newbie question, but it’s related to this. I have a brand-new Mac Pro with FCP and am trying to get dual LCD monitors working – one for editing & the other for previewing. Sounds simple, right? Both monitors are hooked up via DVI and are set up as dual screens (not mirrored) in System Preferences and the 2nd monitor is working fine.
In FCP, I keep hitting “Refresh A/V Devices” to no avail. When I go to “Video Playback” I’m only given the option of “None” or “Digital Cinema Desktop – Main.”
So now I’m wondering: is this even possible via a straight DVI hookup, or do I need a Matrox or something similar? Wouldn’t that still hook up via DVI though? I did get external previewing to work by hooking up my camcorder via firewire to my TV but I can’t hook that up every time I want to edit! That’s why I have 2 monitors!
I can get this very thing to work in Premiere Pro in about 5 seconds, so should I just return my new Mac and switch back to PC? Please tell me I’m just missing something…
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Do you have mirroring on in your display preferences? I guess if you have an extended desktop in normal use, the answer is no – but I thought I’d check.
If it’s nothing so obvious, perhaps it’s to do with copy protection? I think I read somewhere that the new displayport supports HDCP – which prevents some media being played if it thinks it’s not legit. Perhaps this is causing a problem with the full screen preview mode, as it could be used to play pirated movies? Bit of a shot in the dark – I would have thought Apple support was the way to go.
As Shane says, not many people have the new MBPs yet (I’m waiting for 10.6 and quadcore next year – yum), but if there is a genuine issue here, and not a settings problem, do report back here, so other people can benefit from YOUR wisdom…
Ben
Edit Out Ltd
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FCP Editor/Trainer/System Consultant
EVS/VT Supervisor for live broadcast
RED camera transfer/post
Independent Director/Producer -
DIGITAL CINEMA PREVIEW is what you use. Does that not work?
Shane
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
When I set to that, it does a full screen preview on my PRIMARY monitor (the one I’m editing in), not the secondary.
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Mike
just happen to glance at your post AND glance at some e-newsletter i got and made this connection:
There seems to be an issue with trying to get HD material out of the external monitor port on the MBP’s
it has to do with DRM (of course)
apple just released a patch to address it! try software update, or go to the QT site to get more info!
hope this helps
“I like video because its so fast!”
Bob Flood
Greer & Associates, Inc. -
Gentlemen, in response to all: I just purchased the MBP a month ago, but the previous model, just a week before the new one came out. I only have 1 DVI port.
Marc, does the new one have 2, in order to hook up 2 external monitors? Your A/V Devices, as far as I know, have nothing to do with the previewing. They only apply to hardware like a camera, a recorder or disks. PS: Don’t go back to PC!
Shane, just like Marc, I have it set to Digital Cinema Preview, but only ‘main’, the primary laptop screen, is available in the dropdown menu. That’s the whole problem.
Ben, I even tried to see if it would work with mirroring on. It doesn’t. The problem is really that FCP does not want to recognize the second screen in the drop-down View menu, whereas it does for the rest of the program. The dual screen layouts work fine. It ALL worked fine with the same screen and my G4 Powerbook. I suspect it has something to do with DVI port, but Shane says his works fine… I also thought about my old 4.5 version, but why yes on the G4 and no on MBP? Your shot in the dark about HDCP sounds rather dark to me, but I have yet to check that out.
Everyone: Thanks for keeping thinking!
Michael Brown
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Bob, thanks for your input, but I haven’t even tried HD yet. I’m only confronted with SD for the time being. Is your idea still relevant?
Also, in the longer run, as soon as I get this menu to show me my other screen, I’ll also want to look into hooking up an additional screen, i.e; a 2nd external monitor. I hear bits and pieces about a Matrox. Are they referring to the MXO2? Would a DVI splitter (very cheap) only provide me with a mirrored image on both externals? My Mac shop here in Hamburg (very efficient, actually), claims additionally that in order for my MacBook Pro to handle 2 external screens, the screens must be identical in model and size. Anyone know about that?
Greetings from Hamburg and thanks again.
Michael Brown
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Thanks for the clarification Michael. I’m using a Mac Pro desktop, not MacBook – and it has 2 DVI ports. I have a 22″ Samsung LCD as my primary and my 17″ Dell LCD for a secondary. If I drag the individual program windows into my 2nd monitor (browser, viewer, canvas, timeline) then set Video Playback to Digital Cinema Desktop-Main, it will preview full-screen on my primary monitor just fine, but I want to do the opposite! I want the big screen for editing and the small one for previewing. Why is it so hard?
I am using Final Cut Pro HD 4.5 – Is this just maybe an older-version issue? With Premiere, there’s just a small button in the preview window that brings up the settings, then just a check box for the external monitor and it WORKS! Argh…
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“MacBook Pro to handle 2 external screens, the screens must be identical in model and size.”
Totally false, at least with the immediate last generation of MPPs. I have a 15″ MBP 2.4 ghz and I’ve run several different size monitors off the DVI port. I just set them up like any monitor with a tower, open System Prefs, arrange the monitors as I like and work away. Never had any issue at all. BTW, if you don’t have a FireWire device connection for FCP you will not have FW DVNTSC (Or in your case PAL) show up under view options.
Also, for some of the others in here, there are four settings for Digital Cinema Desktop Preview:
Digital Cinema Desktop Preview – Main
Digital Cinema Desktop Preview
Digital Cinema Desktop Preview – Full Screen
Digital Cinema Desktop Preview – RawOn my setup, when I select number one (Main) it takes over my laptop screen.
Two and three go to my external monitor.
Raw puts it in the external monitor only small.
Have a wonderful day.
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