Dual Monitor issue

[Neal Broffman]

Try swapping the outputs to the monitors on the back of the computer and then rearranging the monitors in the preferences pane. I had some trouble recently with a graphics card that is a few years old combined with an MXO and this did the trick for me.

Neal Broffman
One Production Place, Atlanta, GA
“Voices of Freedom”, Special Jury winner for Fall 2008 CINE Awards produced for the High Museum of Art in Atlanta as part of a major exhibition of vintage Civil Rights Movement photographs, “Road To Freedom”. Currently on display at The Bronx Museum (through August) after having been on exhibition at the Field Musuem in Chicago, The Skirball Cultural Center in LA and The Smithsonian in DC.

[Andy Mees]

Check your View menu> Video Playback settings. You’ve not inadvertently set that to Digital Cinema Desktop have you? Would assume you’d not be getting video through the MXO2 if that was the case, but it bears asking. What happens if you disable External Video playback altogether (Cmd F12 to toggle on/off). Apart from disabling the MXO2 does that rectify the behavior on the second monitor with a regular dual screen layout?

[Marcial Reiley]

Thanks Andy. My playback settings are not set to digital cinema. I have a wireless keyboard at the moment, and Cmd F12 only turns up the volume. I do get video from the MXO. And as I’m reading this I can see the canvas window displayed in the second monitor. When I move my mouse pointer over I can see the pointer on the second monitor, but when I click on the window, the screen dips and becomes full screen again with no mouse pointer and no controls.

[Andy Mees]

Hey Marcial … you mentioned your “MXO2” in the last post, but in this one you say “MXO” … that may be just shorthand, but the MXO and MXO2 are wholly and complete different devices. Can you clarify with full details of your system and setup.
Cheers
Andy

[Marcial Reiley]

It’s MXO Version 2.1.6.003. I have a Dell E207WFP as my desktop, and a 24″ Dell (I forget the model) as my second display that I run through the MXO 2.1.6.003. I’m running OS 10.5.8, FCP version 6.0.6.

[Marcial Reiley]

Whoa, that was interesting. I shut down, switch inputs, started up Mac, and when I launched FCP the desktop side went dark, not quite totally black but certainly nothing there. Perhaps I needed to switch the MXO 2 inputs as well, but I haven’t tried that.

[Andy Mees]

Hey Marcial

Aha… well, now in that case I’m not entirely sure what you are trying to do. It sounds like you have your main desktop display (Dell E207WP) connected to the primary output of your graphic card; the MXO connected to the second output of your graphics card and your second desktop display (Dell 24″) connected to the DVI output from the MXO … and an external reference monitor connected to the MXO via SDI, Component, S-Video or Composite. Is that correct? It would be helpful if you would describe your setup to confirm/deny?

The MXO has 2 modes: there’s Presentation mode, where it acts as a desktop display passthrough device, passing the incoming extended desktop signal to its own DVI output (and simultaneously a scan converted video signal of that desktop to all the other outputs); and there’s Mastering mode, where it displays a broadcast quality full screen video signal to it’s DVI output (and simultaneously to all the other outputs too). So here’s the thing, when you are working in FCP and you enable external video (Cmd F12), the MXO will switch to Mastering mode and you will no longer see a desktop on your second display, instead it will become a video monitor showing your edit full screen; when you disable external video then the MXO switches to Presentation mode and you see the regular extended desktop on the second display. You can’t have it both ways, it can’t be in both modes at once.

Does that sound like whats happening with your setup?
Post back

Andy

[Marcial Reiley]

Yes, DVI out on the MXO. Yes that’s exactly it. Problem solved. Thanks so much Andy.