Display 2 issue

[specter333]

I have read many post about having the video play on the second monitor but I seem to have a different problem. It’s probably related to my particular video setup but I’ll ask anyway.

I can play a DVD and drag it to either screen and watch it with no problems.

When I check open in display 2 it still opens the video window in display 1 with no picture but when I drag it to display 2 it shows the picture. Does this whether or not I check the video overlay option.

If I uncheck embed in GUI and open in display 2, then no video window shows at all although the icon is in my taskbar for one.

If I open a non embedded video window in display 1 then drag it to display two it shows video. If I use the GUI in display 1 to stop and then restart the video, no video window opens but it shows the icon in the task bar.

I have tried using skins 2 but the player always opens with the original skin.

I don’t know if this make any difference but I am playing DVDs saved to my hard drive. I have a m3u play list for each DVD and have associated m3u to VLC. I have built an HTML interface where I can click the movie title and it activates the appropriate play list which opens VLC.

It’s probably my setup but maybe I’m just missing something. Please let me know if you have any ideas. Thanks

[DJ]

1. Preferences, Video, Output modules, DirectX "Name of desired display device" is required. The Windows display device must be locked. This varies with the video card and the setup utilities. For nVidia cards the "Clone" and "VMR" settings should be off. This is the default if the options are present.

2. It is probably best to set VLC wxWidgets to non embedded mode. This should leave the controls on the main monitor and the video on the secondary monitor. Setting VLC to full screen is a nice touch that I know I appreciate in this condition.

3. Using a skin can also be done, but you must setup the skin first and know that it works. If you go to your start menu, videolan folder there is a shortcut called VLC media player (skins) uses this to open VLC and then go to preferences and press Save. Now make a new shortcut with nothing after VLC.EXE IE NO Options. You now should have the skins 2 module working so that you can choose a skin. VLC will remember that skin so you don't need to do anything more.

[specter333]

Things look like as you describe in steps 1 and 2, and step 3 has it coming up in the correct skin but it still wont open a video window in display 2.

I’m not going to mess with this any further, instead I’ve ordered another monitor identical to display 1 and a video card with two outs. Something I’ve been wanting to do anyway, I’ve just been waiting for an excuse.

Thanks for your help anyway.

[specter333]

Now that I've made it a mute point I have discovered one other thing. DVD files with stagnant menus open just fine in either display. DVD files with animated menus and sound wont open in display 2 but the icon is in the task bar and the audio plays.

This has to be a monitor or video card setup problem. It doesn’t matter now but I thought you might find it interesting.

Thanks again

[specter333]

Ok, now I’m really confused. I’ve installed the new monitor and get exactly the same results but only stranger.

I was using an NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 4000 card for monitor one and the built in port that came in the computer for monitor two, Intel(R) 82845G/GL/GE/PE/GV. Instead of getting a new card I just got an adapter that lets me use the DVI port on the NVIDA card with an analog flat screen LCD monitor.

The computer sees that new port as monitor three. I’ve set VLC to open full screen in monitor three, unembedded. Most video formats work fine but when I try to play a DVD from my hard drive it only works if the menu is a static picture with no audio. If the DVD has an animated menu or has audio the audio plays but there is no picture on any monitor. Only the controls on monitor one. The icon is on my taskbar like there is a video window open but there’s not one.

Now here is the really confusing part. I plugged the old monitor back into the built in port that the computer sees as monitor two. Exactly as it was before, same monitor, same port. But now if I set VLC to open on monitor two it works perfectly. The problem just moved to the new monitor.

On the Nvida properties I clicked set to default on every page. I see a drop down menu with “Clone” in it, nview display mode, but it’s set to Dualview. I don’t see “VRM” on any page.

I’m baffled, any ideas?

[specter333]

And it gets stranger. This may be a little hard to explain but I’ll try.

I’ve discovered a monitor won’t show the DVD video when it’s pictured to the right of monitor one in “Properties - Settings”. I can move the icon of either monitor two or three to above, below or to the left of the monitor one icon and the DVDs play fine. When I move them to the right of the monitor one icon they don’t work. Of course if I don’t have them lined up as they actually are then the desktop background and cursor movement is screwed up.

I don’t understand how this setting could have anything to do with it but it does. How could this be?

[DJ]

Man, this one twists my head even to think about it.

Microsoft talks about various problems with three monitors. Even professional editors have had a problem with this. Most of the time it takes one video card with 3 outputs and the card is dual headed. Two of the monitors should be identical and the third is an NTSC monitor for viewing final output. The drivers are very specific and there are instructions for the setup.This has been the only thing I have seen work, using 3 monitors.

I have also noticed the icon problem changing the way things function in Windows. When Windows boots the lineup of tray icons are random. But I have discovered that if I wait for the sign in until windows has finished initializing the icons are consistent. Then it took me a long time to get the order right so everything worked the same way all the time. The way I wanted rather than the way it wanted. I have never seen Microsoft talk about this one. But is seems to have to do with the boot order of various processes.

The only thing I have run across is some processes don't release the users hive or in simple terms your registry is not closed after the process has finished loading. Microsoft warns about this but then violates it's own directive in MS Office. Printers are the worst offender but not the only offender. There is a utility available from Microsoft that runs as a process to keep this from happening. It's called UPHClean or User Profile Hive Clean and allows all process to be closed properly when you close down your machine. Seems someone discovered this in Windows NT4 and has continued through Windows 2k down to XP. But a fix was not issued until 2004 and still is not commonly known or considered to be part of the operating system.

Personally I consider the whole thing very bazaar. Unfortunately this is not the only thing that I have run across that is real strange about Windows.