[mythtv-users] Looking for Dual-Monitor Setup Suggestions

[barbex]

> I guess my first question is how hard is this type of thing to setup on a
> Mythfrontend box?  I've played around a little in the past with TV-out, but
> I'm thinking this type of setup to an HDTV would be a little more
> complicated.  Or maybe not?  Beyond just the setup itself, anyone have any
> suggestions for what type of card to use?

Personally I run two screens, one is a monitor on VGA the other one is
a LCD TV on TVout. TV-out is not a requirement for this, dual DVI
would be pretty much the same setup. I run one X-Server with two
screens without twinview or xinerama.You can set this up which ever
way you like and it is really not that complicated.

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/NvidiaTVOut
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/XineramaHowTo

> So, would I be best to go with a dual-DVI card, and then use a DVI-to-HDMI cable to connect
> to  the TV? Or would connecting the TV up via a VGA connection be sufficient, and therefore
> a card with one DVI port and one VGA port be sufficient?

While DVI is signal-compatible to HDMI, it does not carry the audio
like HDMI does so you have to find a way of connecting that
separately.
DVI is better than VGA but depending on your TV and/or eyes you might
not see a difference.

A common problem with a setup like this is "losing focus":
http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/engine?list=mythtv&do=search_results&search_forum=forum_1&search_string=focus&search_type=AND
When you work on the "computer" screen, your "TV" loses the focus and
may not respond correctly to the remote control. There are some hacks
and workarounds for that in existence... personally I just gave up on
it.
Also your system should not be on the low end performancewise. My 1
GHz system begins to stutter in playback if I reload a webpage on the
"computer screen".

Good luck
Barbara