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Selecting a new computer monitor


tonyski

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Well for 2010 I bought my first controller and had an animated sequence for my mega tree and some other lights.

After seeing several displays set to music, I've been bitten by the bug and I'm jumping in with both feet!

I plan on having 224 channels for 2011 and will have music too. I hope to be able to sequence 5-6 songs before November.

At the moment the process is a bit intimidating, and the thought of increasing my computer monitor real estate seems like a good idea so that I can see what some channels or tracks are doing in relation to each other.

My question for you experienced users out there is:

Since I have a 24 in monitor already, would it be better to go with a second monitor and have them side by side, or go with 1 larger monitor like a Dell 30"?

I did the math and the number of square inches is almost the same with the 30" having slightly more.

Any other advice on programming a lot of channels would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Tony

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Congrats on catching the lighting bug and welcome to the end of any spare cash you may have had. :P

Personally I would rather have 2 or 3 monitors side by side to be able to run different screens if I want too. You could run the sequencer screen on one and the animation screen on another to see how your changes are going.

You could also get a second monitor that flips vertically so that you can "see" more of the channels on it for sequencing and use the second monitor in landscape mode to watch things.

More monitors means more options for displaying things and now days there are so many video cards out there that can run up to a half a dozen monitors at a time.

Bill

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While I am in no way an experience LOR user, I got some advise on this one.

I have owned a video production company for 8 years. We specialize in instructional videos but also do weddings etc.

I have two 22" high def Gateway LCD monitors. The dual monitors translates great to LOR. I have my sequencing up on my left monitor and I keep my animation (full screen) on the right monitor. This helps me spot things that are out of place in the sequence as I am viewing it in the animation.

If you go bigger with a single monitor, it is just going to increase the size of what you are seeing for the most part. LOR has a channel zoom feature so you can zoom out and see what other channels are doing. You can see about 34 channels on a 22" monitor.

As far as wearing out your eyes with staring at the monitor (and with that many channels you'll be there for a while) go with two LED monitors if you can afford it. They are much more forgiving and easy on the eyes.

Nick

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Add me to the multi-monitor choir. Since you already have a relatively large monitor, you'd most benefit from a second one IMHO.

But then I do most of my sequencing on a laptop from my couch, so what do I know :D

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I love forums like this and greatly appreciate all of you that are willing to share your experiences and help a novice.

Thanks for all the advice. I hadn't considered the possibility of rotating a monitor 90 degrees. The Dell that I own has that capability. I have never tried it! That would display a huge number of channels at one time. Probably more than the 30 inch monitor.

I'm curious to hear any other opinions but it sounds like 2 side by side is the way to go.

Thanks to all

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Fabian wrote:

Don, I thought we agreed you would NOT share the pictures of my office...

Dang it...

The 'hush money' payment was only good for so long.
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Don wrote:

Fabian wrote:
Don, I thought we agreed you would NOT share the pictures of my office...

Dang it...

The 'hush money' payment was only good for so long.


I guess you didn't buy Don enough monitors!:shock:

I've got a quad 15 inch set up at work. I don't think it would be good for LOR, or at least not unless it was rearranged from 4 wide. But I really appreciate the extra work space.

Once I get everything really set back up, and happy on this laptop, I have a 22 inch LCD to run beside the 15 on the laptop. Both of them are 1680x1050, so I should have some decent pixels to work with.

I do think one rotated screen by a normal one would work well, or maybe a normal pair stacked for the sequence editor, and a normal one for the animation window.
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I use 2 24" monitors, one for the sequence and another for the visualizer, and it works great. I love being able to see my sequence and the visualizer completely at the same time. My computer is only a few months old and I bought it specifically with sequencing in mind.

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I went with this set up.. gives me lots of acreage.. costs were a little high. had to go with my own moutain to house it all.. and I invited some of my friends to come help sequencing.. red, green LEDS on the right screens , blue on the left :D

Attached files 234104=12792-016.jpg

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It's amazing how advice from one's elders can spark creative thinking amongst their minions. There is a monitor in Atlanta that isn't getting much use right now. Plenty of room for lots of channels. I don't know why I didn't think about this sooner!


Attached files 234142=12793-101110-MLB-AM-G12_20101012010141_338_225.JPG

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I also use 2 monitors, one for the sequence and another for the visualizer.
The main monitor is a 24" that can rotate 90 degree's.
This works excellent for about 100 channels top to bottom.
I tried splitting the sequencer across 2 monitors but the split in the middle bothered me.



P.S. Good call on starting with 200+ channels!



Enjoy,



Scott

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well, since almost everyone seemed to think 2 was better than one, I ordered a second Dell U2410 monitor. Right after that, someone gave me an old 19' Sony LCD monitor.

Since my video card supports 3 monitors I thought I'd hook them all up. It's AWESOME!!!

2 24's rotated 90 degrees for sequencing and the 19 for the animation.

Now, would someone teach me how to sequence??? Just Kiddin.

Thanks again and all the best,

Tony

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