Re: Multiple Screens, One Computer

[info_at_cabling-design_dot_com@xxxxxxx (Dmitri(Cabling-Design.com))]

E. Lee Dickinson wrote:




> A few questions in this thread. The first:

> I've been reading Dean R.'s posts about Charmed Quark, and I think I'm
> leaning that way. Both because the software looks great, and because
> the
> developer is obviously very active in the HA community.  But I would
> like
> some opinions of the strengths and weaknesses of CQC vs. HomeSeer?

> The real question of this thread, though:

> 8" touchscreens for the automotive market are flooding Ebay for
> between 2
> and 300 dollars (Unless someone has a line on a more economical
> screen?).
> I've been thinking of a few of those -- kitchen, bedroom, living room.

> What I want to know is, will the USB touch screen drivers and either of
> the
> software packages (above) allow me to use multiple screens with one PC?

> HomeSeer seems to use a web interface, so I figure I could just open
> multiple browsers, one on each video card. But then there's the
> question of
> the touchscreen drivers. I've had mulitple (3) screens on my PC for
> years,
> but never a touch screen?

> Am I making this more complicated than need me? I was thinking about
> some
> Audreys as stand-alone interfaces, but the fact that so many people
> have
> sold theirs and moved on to better interfaces makes me wary.

> Thanks for any answers, advice, and commentary.


One of the things you should also consider is distance limitations: you
cannot just simply hook up a monitor and especially a USB 2.0 device to a
computer hundred feet away. Some sort of conversion to balanced signal and
a network of CAT5e UTP cables should run to the screen locations. They
actually make KVM-over-CAT5 switches, but in this case all your screens
except one that's currently active, will be dark until you switch to that
screen by pressing a sequence of buttons (which seems almost impossible on
a dark touch-screen to me)
--
Dmitri Abaimov, RCDD
http://www.cabling-design.com
Cabling Forum, color codes, pinouts and other useful resources for
premises cabling users and pros
http://www.cabling-design.com/homecabling
Residential Cabling Guide
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