Right, here's my deal;

I have a PC with stock on board gfx - I don't need fancy 8800GT gfx cards etc as I don't game. My rig is purely for net surfing and media usage.

I have two TFT screens - 1 is hooked up to the PC, the other is hooked up to a Freeview box, so I can sit on PC and fuck around and watch TV on the other.

Now, what I would like is the ability to connect the second screen from the PC aswell.

What I want I tho is the ability to continue using screen 1 as a single desktop, and use screen two to open a video file in full screen - I don't really want or need a split screen desktop stretched over two screens. This is so I can have my desktop as normal on screen 1 and a video playing from the PC in full screen on screen 2. Obviously I need to be able to use the mouse on screen 2 to control video playback (stop, play, pause, skip etc)

Lastly, I need a device to allow two VGA inputs to be plugged into one monitor (so I don't have to unplug the Freeview box to plug in the PC to watch a video)

What do I need guys?

 

Well exactly wots in your diagram, to allow you to connect the two monitors to one PC invest in a suitable dual head graphics card. Nothing fancy as you've send its not for games anyway. You couldn't use a splitter here because this would give you the same display on both screen so you'll def need dual head so you can have something different on each.

Has monitor 2 got two inputs (some have a VGA connection and a DVI) so you could connect the PC to the DVI and the freeview box via the VGA. If it doesn't then you'll need to get a vga splitter, sure maplins or somewhere would sell something suitable.

 

I have this very setup on my work pc using a DVI splitter cable and a single output ati 1300 card. The computer runs windows 2000 and on the left screen (screen 1) I can have normal operation and on the right screen (screen 2) I can display what I want.

You will still set your screen to; extend my windows desktop onto screen two, but it "does" not combine the two screens into displaying 1 massive image. Each screen works independant of the other.

If I open a window on screen 1 and click the fit to screen option it will fit to screen 1, I then open another window anddrag it onto the second screen and click fit to screen and it fills screen 2.

I this is what you want to do then I would recommend a PCI express ati 2600 if you want HD playback.

 

Thanks guys - don't think I have a PCI-e slot in my machine tho. Sadly the monitors only have single input (1x VGA each) hence wanting a switch for one of the monitors to allow use of either the PC or the FV box on it....

It's only really so I can have video playback on the 2nd monitor from the PC for times when I am not watching Freeview, and also for times when not watching anything I can have windows open in both screens (that I would want to be able to drag from one screen to another with the mouse, but keeping the 1280x1024 5:4 res on screen one, not stretching it over two screens.....

Any reccomendations on cards for this? Would this do it?

http://www.techforless.com/cgi-bin/t...FMDHA32DB.html

Get em for a tenner on ebay.....

 

Love your diagrams

 

That card in your link will support what I listed above, but why dont you just buy a cheap VGA splitter cable and try the method I mentioned above. The problem you are going to have is that your monitor supports only one input method.

Why not buy a digital freeview dongle for your pc? I have one in my computer and its ok as long as I use a proper aerial. I bought a hauppage nova-t USB 2 version for £20.

 

get urself a dual vga/dvi gpu, get urself a tv card bin the digi box. job done

 

Tony - in your first post ou mention two different cards, and with the single output 1300 with the splitter cable, I pressume it's card software and features that allow desktop on one screen and anything else on the other. I doubt my built in mobo head gfx will support this - so a VGA splitter cable from my single output will probably only result in two screens showing the same thing...

As for a freeview card for the PC, I deliberately went the route I have with a standalone box cos I want it to be independant of the PC.

 

Thrush, my work pc has an ATI 1300 fitted which only has a single DVI output fitted to it so we use the splitter cable to turn one DVI socket into two VGA sockets. I watch SKY Sports news most afternoons on one screen while working on the other

The other card I mentioned is just a better spec card, the main difference apart from having two outputs is it has an internal HD decoding chip which takes the strain of the CPU. I know you are into this sort of stuff so I thought it may be a better option.

If you could get a 2nd monitor with a dual input, say DVI and VGA or even component then you could connect your freeview this way.

 

Tony - I understand that, but the ATI 1300 must have software/drivers to do what yours does, as when I have seen PC's running stock on board gfx like mine has, with a splitter cable, it's just two versions of the same screen (ie, one on the monitor and the other showing the same thing on a projector, or LCD/plasma screen) I doubt my onboard GFX has the capabilities to do what yours does, so I would need to get this 1300 card to do it I should think.

My PC spec isn't really good enough to playback HD content anyway, so not too fussed about it to be honest, and I realise I'd need a switch to connect both the 2nd VGA output AND the FV box to monitor number 2.

At some point I would like to get one of the older Dell 20" widescreen monitors that have both VGA, DVI and analogue inputs (s-vid and composite) so with that monitor it wouldn't be a problem and the switch would need to be redundant then.

Now, I guess I would need a card like this;

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PNY-VCQ4200NVS...QQcmdZViewItem

to achieve the "different-screen-output" using a splitter cable, as opposed to just this;

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VGA-SPLITTER-C...QQcmdZViewItem

That states on it "same picture on both screens"