Multi Monitors

[bfontes]

Hardy, will PSX support multi monitors?

Regards from Brasil,

Bruno Fontes

[Hardy Heinlin]

It does.

Cheers,

|-|ardy

[Jeroen Hoppenbrouwers]

It does, in three ways:

1. If you have an extended desktop, PSX stretches all the way.
2. If you have separate displays, you can run two or three instances of PSX. This works surprisingly well.
3. And you can always run multiple PSX instances on multiple computers.

Jeroen

[Will]

Jeroen, what would be the main reason for multiple instances of PSX?  Why would someone want to do that, and what would it look like?

[Hardy Heinlin]

- It increases the frame rate
- It allows each PSX instance to have its own window layout freedom
... and a few other advantages ...

|-|

[Michel Vandaele]

Hi Will,
And it can be used for separate PFN/ND - EICAS  - ND/PFD displays in the Main Instrument Panel (MIP) of a cockpitproject.
MCP /CDU  etc also can be separately used , which is sometime useful in a cockpit.
B. Rgds
Michel

[Jeroen Hoppenbrouwers]

Will, don't forget that PSX can be steplessly resized and zoomed such that it can display the full cockpit (needs a portrait display of 3x2 meters to be useful), one single panel, or one single instrument. You can display the PFD larger than real size on a normal monitor if you want. Making multiple combinations, like Michel says, is better served by a few PSXes in parallel than by one large PSX which always is rectangular and has at most four rectangular subdivisions. A PSX slave just driving the PFD consumes a bit less CPU than the same size PFD shared with other things in one big PSX. Within reason, you can think of CPU as being a function of the display area it needs to drive. Graphics is 99% of the required power. Aerodynamics and systems plus network are virtually nil.


Jeroen

[Will]

Interesting.  Thanks for the clarification.  Is there a "standard" set-up that you and Hardy have in mind?  Is there some configuration that you think will emerge as being the most popular?  Or some limited number of combinations  of n1 computers plus n2 monitors that 90% of people will use?  What is the most typical setup when Hardy is doing his alpha testing?

[Hardy Heinlin]

The system is so flexible and the user's so free in his or her creativity, that I think there's no such thing as a "standard".

I do have in mind some examples that I want to explain with illustrations on several pages in the docs. In short words, something like that:

- PSX on a slow notebook

- PSX on a fast desktop computer with one monitor

- PSX on a fast desktop computer with multiple monitors

- PSX networked over multiple computers

- PSX networked over multiple computers and combined with cockpit hardware

- PSX networked over multiple computers for a complete touchscreen mockup

- Mixed solutions etc.

...

|-|

[cavaricooper]

Hardy:

All this talk of multiple instances of PSX running simultaneously interests me immensly...........will this be permitted with one purchase (same user) or will it require multiple copies of PSX?

Additionally, how do the separate running programs "sync" so that every action is network wide?  Sorry if I sound ignorant- I am

Ta- C

[Hardy Heinlin]

Hi Carl,

it will certainly be permitted to run multiple instances of one (legal) PSX copy on a single computer.

How the license will look like for multiple computers is something I'll decide in another year.

The instances are synced via TCP/IP. One PSX instance must be switched to server mode and all other PSX instances to client mode. This is a matter of two mouse clicks. The network start-up can also be performed automatically by some kind of batch file.

For two computers you need a network cable.

For more than two computers you need to add a router.


Cheers,

|-|ardy

[Phil Bunch]

My techno-lust for the hardware configurations described here is overwhelming!  Also, PSX itself, of course!

I just learned that Nvidia has announced a new PC video card, each with 1.5 GB of internal video RAM, capable of operating as a group of 3 of these video cards in parallel, probably with each card operating a separate display.  This might even be enough to run MSFS with everything turned on (grins).  It can feed HDMI, so one could hook it up to a large LCD TV or something like that.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130551&cm_re=nvidia_geforce_gtx_480-_-14-130-551-_-Product

Using one of these video cards requires at least a 600-watt power supply in the PC.