Re: MCE2005

["gigtekmediacomputers" <stuartmc@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Paul,

You'll have a problem with your Matrox card as I don't believe it has
MCE2005 drivers.

If you switch to a new Nvidia card they come with a
"Dual-Display"
option in the control panel. In this way you can run one display from
the VGA socket and one from the DVI. The problem is that when you
press the green button it initiates the DirectX exclusive mode which
makes it difficult to use both displays. You can window the MCE
interface move it to the larger screen and then continue to use the
smaller screen but you'd need to click on the MCE interface to get the
remote control to function.

Hope that helps.

S.


--- In ukha_d@xxxxxxx, "Paul Gordon" <paul@p...> wrote:
> Want to start sorting out my existing media PC & get it running
MCE2005
> instead of just XP Pro as now...
>
> Is anything happening with the MCE components bulk buy that was being
> talked about a few weeks ago? - Or should I just go ahead and buy the
> bits I need...
>
> On a related note, I have a query about what graphics card to use...
The
> machine currently has a Matrox G400 in it, which I specifically chose
> for its dualhead capability. This is because the media PC is in the
rack
> in Node 0 (which happens to be immediately beneath my lounge floor in
> the cellar). I therefore have a local screen/keyboard/mouse etc via a
> KVM switch for when I'm working in Node 0. The other "head"
is connected
> to the VGA-in on my plasma via a 5m VGA cable. I run the card in
> "dualhead clone" mode, so I have exactly the same display on
both
> devices, and this all works very well...
>
> I'm not sure what will happen when I use MCE though... - I guess there
> will be no change to how it operates when I'm not actually in the MCE
> interface, since then it is just bog-standard XP... but it's what will
> happen when I press that jolly green button that I'm not so sure
> about....
>
> Anyone know if it is possible to run two separate graphics cards in an
> XP machine and NOT use the "normal" way windows treats this,
which is to
> "extend the desktop" over both displays?. - Can Two separate
PCI graphic
> cards be set up as clone displays of each other, to emulate the
dualhead
> clone setup I use now?... Would this be possible if I got a card that
> has both DVI & VGA outputs on it? - Do these cards typically
output on
> both ports simultaneously, or does one normally have to select between
> them?
>
> Even better of course would be the ability to have two graphics cards
> installed, but be able to bind the MCE interface to one of them only,
so
> that when the green button is pressed, the plasma in the lounge
displays
> the MCE interface, but the local screen in N0 stays on the windows
> desktop.. - I suppose that is just a bit too much to ask though?....
>
> Any thoughts/ideas/suggestions anyone? - I really just want to retain
> the ability to have a good quality windows display on the plasma, -
> which by definition means NOT using a TV-out option (Also, I don't
have
> the cables run to the plasma for that option, and it would bugger-up
> some of the remote control labelling, since the "PC" button
on the
> plasma remote selects the VGA input). As well as this, I also want to
> retain the local display down in the cellar for when I'm working on
the
> PC, so I don't have to keep running up&downstairs between the
cellar &
> lounge... - And on top of all this (which I already have), I want to
> switch to running MCE2005 on the box...
>
> TIA
>
> Paul G.