Re: N:Vision CFL's

[Marc_F_Hult <MFHult@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Sun, 25 Mar 2007 17:17:55 -0400, "Robert Green"
<ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
<wtmdnSruJahHmJrbnZ2dnUVZ_sSmnZ2d@xxxxxxx>:

> [ ...]  mythical beings who possess with two,
>vertically oriented, specially oversized monitors running side by side from
>a dual head graphics card.

Dual monitors is my standard setup for all desktop or rack-mount PCs. For
coding or photoshop or general multitasking or home automation, having two
monitors is invaluable.

Linux, XP Media Center and XP Pro easily support two screens simultaneously.
One does not need a dual head graphics card to do so. One can recycle an old
PCI card if needed, but many/most modern graphics cards do indeed have two
outputs.

Having two screens is exceptionally helpful in home automation in my
experience. Having dual video outputs from one HA PC can avoid needing
running multiple PCs.

Using a splitter allows me to send the same signal to multiple HA PCs or
"televisions" or the surveillance cameras over Cat5 or RGx in multiple
synchronized locations.

So for example, the HA engine screen can be displayed using one video signal
and the desired output including TV and(or) security monitors can
synchronously display on other screens throughout the house.  So folks
watching TV don't need to see the HomeSeer log scrolling by.

When physical space is at a premium, one can use the dual input feature of
many/most modern monitors to toggle between display outputs using a single
monitor. This is especially handy for being able to quickly switch (eg)  to
viewing the security monitors. Picture-In-Picture (PIP) features of many
newer monitors are also invaluable

The possible combinations are many but typically require two or more
electrically different sources which is where the second video output on the
HA PC usefully comes into play.

... Marc
Marc_F_Hult
www.ECOntrol.org