User profile for user: jesusfreak42
jesusfreak42 Author
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External Monitor via Firewire 400

I have searched through forum after forum and I guess that means that this is an unsolved problem. I am running a MP on 10.4.8 with the ATI Radeon X1900. I am currently supporting dual-Dell monitors, so both DVI ports are occupied. My goal is to be able to sit in my living room, one room away, with my wireless keyboard and run Front Row on my MP through the TV and stereo system. I have already completed the plist edits to allow Front Row to recognize my wireless mighty mouse as a remote control. I was under the impression that I could take Firewire 400 out of my MP and through my ADVC-100 for a conversion on the way to my television. I realize that Firewire video out is supported through programs like FCP or Motion, and, while I have those, what I need is a mirroring of my main monitor. I did have one success in splitting my audio line out so that one line ran to my computer speakers and the other line went to a 1/8" conversion cable to RCA plugs. This brought the audio to the stereo system. I have looked into the option of the DVI to Video cable for the Mac Pro, but I was wondering if there was a way to simply allow the system to send a mirror of my main monitor continuously through Firewire. haha complicated I know. I would appreciate any assistance

Mac Pro Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Posted on Dec 31, 2006 3:35 AM

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8 replies
User profile for user: jesusfreak42
jesusfreak42 Author
User level: Level 1
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Dec 31, 2006 1:03 PM in response to jesusfreak42

I work for a production company and my bosses use Firewire out of their iMac through a Canopus ADVC-300 to route it to an external monitor in Final Cut. And you can also record back to tape with a video camera via Firewire, so it's not a one-way street. I just need to know how to turn the video feed on all the time or forcefully tell my MP that there is an external monitor that it needs to be sending signal to. I would like to do this without buying another video card as my current setup cost me about 6 grand. Thanks.
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User profile for user: dreed2
dreed2
User level: Level 7
25,730 points

Jan 1, 2007 1:56 PM in response to jesusfreak42

You wouldn't want to use FireWire for a monitor connection.

Check out the specs on that ATI Radeon X1900 here: <http://www.apple.com/macpro/graphics.html>

copy/paste:
"A Pair of 30s — or More?
The GeForce 7300 GT comes with one dual-link DVI and one single-link DVI port, allowing you to connect one 30-inch Apple Cinema HD Display to the dual-link DVI port and one 20-inch or 23-inch Cinema Display to the single-link DVI port. Or connect two 30-inch displays to either the ATI Radeon X1900 XT or the workstation-class NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500. Both feature two dual-link DVI ports.

Like even more screen real estate? Thanks to the new double-wide PCI Express graphics slot, no matter which card you have installed as your primary graphics card, your Mac Pro still provides room for three additional PCI Express expansion cards. In all, Mac Pro lets you install up to four PCI Express graphics cards. Providing support for up to eight displays simultaneously, Mac Pro offers an ideal solution for advanced visualization projects and large display walls. You don’t need a clear day to see forever. You just need a new Mac Pro."
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User profile for user: jesusfreak42
jesusfreak42 Author
User level: Level 1
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Jan 1, 2007 2:21 PM in response to jesusfreak42

Alright, I thought that someone would have found a way around the system, as they did when they discovered the firmware upgrade for the superdrives, or the plist edit that allows the MP to run Front Row. If the firewire could send a DV stream in Final Cut, why can't we tell it to send a monitor signal out the same way? Anyways, if this isn't possible, can anyone suggest a quality analog video out PC card for the MP? Thanks.
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User profile for user: Malcolm Rayfield
Malcolm Rayfield
User level: Level 7
28,153 points

Jan 1, 2007 2:47 PM in response to jesusfreak42

Video sent via Firewire is compressed in DV, MPEG-2, or H264, depending on the resolution. Doing that compression (especially the high resolution) takes a lot of computer power, but more importantly, you need access to the video. The video going to the screen is the output of the graphics card. A lot of what is on the screen is generated there and sent out the DVI ports It is a very high data rate stream, and is not available to the main CPUs, even if they had enough time to process it. There are programs (such as Snapz Pro X) that can capture part of the screen from the video card, but they need a lot of CPU power to get just part of the screen at full speed. You would then need to run that output through a real-time compression program to get it into a format to stream over FireWire. It's a lot easier to add a video card.
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External Monitor via Firewire 400

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