garageCube

[JamieHT]

Hi,

I am new to Modul8 and trying to research what is the best solution for doing a 6-8 projector video installation from modul8 (we want to use the sound reactive module - so the dj's mixer would have to come through one machine I'm assuming - we also want to use touch osc on the ipad to trigger video layers). We want to achieve a mixture of layers, some which span across all screens and others that allow other layers to be seen below - so that there are different films playing on different screens. I have been recommended using 2 matrox triple head 2 go's on a mac pro. But I can't find a definitive answer, as in the modul8 manual it say that you can get 8 outputs, but doesn't explain how to. Everyone seems to have different answers and people have said that there have been performance issues using 2 triple heads.

As far as I see it there are 3 options

1. Matrox triple heads:
We get two matrox triple heads (but I don't understand why this is necessary - do they accelerate the performance - as there are two display port outputs and one dual link dvi - so we could perhaps network two mac pro's and have 6 outputs (one for monitor display). Are there performance issues with this? We have a very fast mac pro, but are using syphon to bring processing in for some layers in modul8 aswell. Will it affect resolution? Also we have tested the multi screen output options in modul8, but people are saying that this doesn't work with matrox triple heads - can you still achieve a mixture of layers that span all screens and multiple layers that are positioned so that they are on different screens (different movies playing on different screens)?

2. Network option with 2 mac pro's using native output ports:
We could use the network module to link two mac pro's and use their three native outputs? Can you do multiscreen this way? Can you bring in dj mixer inputs to one computer and have the slave use that? Does the touch OSC work here?

3. Install cheaper graphics cards internally in one mac pro:
We could buy cheaper graphics cards to put into the mac pro? Why would people use the more expensive matrox triple heads when mac pro's have so many outputs? Again is this an acceleration benefit?

Sorry for the long-winded question, but we are really keen to know the answers and don't want to risk buying the wrong hardware as we don't have any money to waste.
Thank you in advance!

I have included my mac pro specs at the bottom of the post in case this makes a difference.

My mac pro specs are:

Mac Pro
Model Identifier: MacPro5,1
Processor Name: 6-Core Intel Xeon
Processor Speed: 2.66 GHz
Number Of Processors: 2
Total Number Of Cores: 12
L2 Cache (per core): 256 KB
L3 Cache (per processor): 12 MB
Memory: 12 GB
Processor Interconnect Speed: 6.4 GT/s
Boot ROM Version: MP51.007F.B03
SMC Version (system): 1.39f11
SMC Version (processor tray): 1.39f11
Serial Number (system): CK04303CEUH
Serial Number (processor tray): J503801SDBH8B
Hardware UUID: C9EAEA45-5085-5337-9886-71284F4CFA92

ATI Radeon HD 5870:

Chipset Model: ATI Radeon HD 5870
Type: GPU
Bus: PCIe
Slot: Slot-1
PCIe Lane Width: x16
VRAM (Total): 1024 MB
Vendor: ATI (0x1002)
Device ID: 0x6898
Revision ID: 0x0000
ROM Revision: 113-C0780C-194
EFI Driver Version: 01.00.436
Displays:

[The Midi Thief]

As far as I know you should look at option 3 but I'm not so sure that you'll get away with cheap graphic cards? This question comes up once in a while so you might find more info if you search the forum. I think you will need 4 graphic cards with two outputs on each. You will need to figure out that they fit together since some cards are bigger than others. Good luck hunting!