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Mac Book Pro + Cinema Display + LCD TV

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07 Mar 2012 03:39 #5439 by Reng
Hi all,

Haven't seen anything recent regarding multiple displays on this forum, so thought I'd ask:

I'd like to have a 3 display set up:
1 - Macbook Pro - library/media
2 - Apple Cinema Display - timeline (thinking of purchasing)
3 - LCD flatscreen TV - monitor

Is this possible and do any of you have a setup like this? I wanted to use my existing TV as a monitor - NOT a broadcast monitor.

I'm assuming I would daisy chain the Thunderbolt cables. I have a Thunderbolt adapter to HDMI that I currently use to hook up my MBP to my TV. I'm seeing posts about broadcast monitors, but wondering if this would work with an LCD TV. I was going to purchase a Cinema Display, but if this setup won't work then I don't think I'll bother buying one.

Thanks :)

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07 Mar 2012 14:26 - 07 Mar 2012 14:28 #5459 by BenB
I don't know if the adapter will work in a daisy chain situation. You may need something like an MXO box to use that extra HDTV monitor. BUT, what you're talking about is Broadcast Output, so you'll need something that FCP will recognize for it's broadcast output. I think the MXO qualifies.

The issue would really be what stress the multiple monitors would put on the MBP's grahic chip. FCP wants to use the GPU and it's VRAM. Putting two monitors on one GPU actually causes the VRAM to be split between the two, and FCP will only access half of the total VRAM for it's processes.

See if you can borrow a Cinema Display from someone to test out your biggest, most demanding project in FCP X. Or take your MBP to the local Apple store and try it out there. See if you experience any performance degradation.
Last edit: 07 Mar 2012 14:28 by BenB.

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07 Mar 2012 16:43 #5466 by Scrubelicious
Well if you going with Thunderbolt you might want to look into a Thunderbolt solution from AJA for example.

We have some mini's hooked up with the AJA Io XT.

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