Multiple Monitors - Getting movies to play while you game!

Just wanted to see what people have working and dont in terms of using multple monitors, software, hardware

[UPDATE 04.06]
Games i will test this with as i go:

Civilization 4
Gears of War
Cyrsis
Need for speed pro street
Counter Strike Source <- Already tested below.
Frontlines
The witcher

Briefly i tried NFS Pro Streets and it seemed to black out VLC while playing an h.264 file, so it seems some of the control lies in the games as well.





I see now and then people asking how to watch a movie in one monitor and play a game in another, seems varying responses from people, so perhaps

here we can calrify what works and what doesnt, or at least for some


My hardware

• Vista Ultimate 64
• Nvidia 7.15.11.6925 drivers
• Asus 8800GT
• Dell 24' LCD - DVI
• Dell 19' CR - DVI 2 VGA dapter

Codecs installed:

• DivX 6
• FFdshow v 1846
• Xvid v 1.20

Programs installed

• Media Player 11 for Vista
• Media Player Classic
• vlc-0.8.6f win32
• Cyberlink PowerDVD Ultra Deluxe v7.3

How i tested:

I started counter strike source - joined a map, between deaths i alt+tab out, and attempt to open a movie with choosen application. AS i play

other games i shall try it, perhaps diff games may affect an application, or not ? so far it seems more application based.




What i found so far?

• Using Media Player 11 sucessfully played movies (.avi /.xvid / Retail DVD's [does not play h.264 files for me at all) full screen
  
  on the 19' CRT while counter strike source ran on the LCD full screen
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Using Media player clasic to play a h.264 / avi / dvd file - does not work, the video screen goes black, showing nothing, how ever
  
  sound is still there, but as soon as you alt+tab out of cs:s, the video shows, once you full screen the game, the video goes black
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Using VLC i can sucessfully play h.264 / avi / xvid / Retail DVD's full screen on the 19' CRT while counter strike source ran on
  
  the LCD
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Using CyberLink PowerDVD 7 i can sucessfully play Retail DVD's full screen on the 19' CRT while counter strike source ran on
  
  the LCD
  
  
  
  

P.S - i also had winamp also playing the entire time music (yes i like sensory overload.)

Please anyone else if you have the time or know already, share with us what has worked and not worked for you, include your video card specs, drivers, codecs installed and such, the more details the better.

Hope this can be useful to someone.

What the holy heck!? hehe I wentt through trying anything and everything I could think of to get movies to continue playing when I started a game. My setup is slightly different than your's though... I have:

My hardware

* Vista Business 32Bit
* Nvidia 169.25 drivers
* eVGA 8800GT
* Dell 17' CRT - DVI 2 VGA adapter
* HD Switchbox to 27" old CRT - SVideo


Codecs installed:

* DivX 6.8
* FFdshow v1.0.5.1885
* AC3Filter v1.4.6.0

Programs installed

* Media Player 11 for Vista
* vlc-0.8.6f win32


I use VLC because I can set it to use a soundcard other than the system default. I normally have my X-fi as the main PC soundcard and then the onboard Soundmax as the one that is connected to the living room sound system.

I really would like to get it working because we use my PC as the main and only DVD player and also to play any other videos to the TV (I've ripped many of my DVD's to DivX).

But it seemed that no matter the video mode I set VLC, I could not get it to work properly when the game's 3D engine kicked in.

Heck, I even had a 6600GT in the second slot figuring that I could use that as the second display and then it shouldn't turn off....nope it still did. Didn't make any sense to me since it wasn' even the same card, but I just couldn't get it to work.


I wonder if it is possibly not working for me because I'm doing SVideo out whereas you, Mr Guv, are doing DVI out.

Lets get some more info and possibly work towards a sticky? I might post some information in the morning. Great post Mr. Guvernment!

OMG!!! I was asking a friend about this just yesterday.

I can get the videos to play while I game no problem, but when they play they flicker purple, its really annoying.

Specs:
XP pro SP2
A64 3500+
XFX 7600GT XxX edition
latest K-lite codec pack installed
pretty much always use winamp, but have tried vlc and media player, all do the same

I will be trying with my 3870hd tomorrow (later ) if I think about it

Cant give you nVidia multimon success stories, as my nVidia stories gerneally end in heartache.

ATI on the other hand.. give me 720P or 1080i detail on a tv monitor while playing 1680x1050 resolutoin gaming with no problem using CCCP on WMP


Dont get too into video settings.. jsut make audio supprts surround (oddly, FFD show does not render Dolby at all though it says it does ) Just amkes nooice on a DTS DDL souncard and receiver.

Know there are setting I should change to get better pics.. but at better then DVD settings default.. what do i need to change???

Hint for nVidia usersa.. DO NOT use nvidia control panel for multimon.. I never use either for doing it.. think thats why nvidia users have trouble. Right click desktop and properties and go from there.


Dude.. cant give specs my stuff changes al lthe time and going back dual 3d mon at least 4 years...

jivetrky, when i can i will try this with my video out to my tv via component (42' rear projection HD tv), i moved around my office so dont have it connected, but that will be next, see if that works or not...

For me, all setting were default as they would be from a fresh install, havent tweaked anything yet no special settings or anything like that.

it does seem weird if VLC works for me, but not someone else, especially when using an nvidia card, as you said it could be the video out port that does something...



~(o)-(0)~ - ditch the k-lite pack and try with the codecs i have specifically, i know some codec packs are good, but most cause more problems then they are worth, with those 3 installed i have yet to find a format that wont play, i assume you dont get the purplish overlay when you play the video on your main screen?

MrGuv, Thanks I await your findings

pending how busy my day is tomorrow i may be able to try it out.

Why would you want to watch movies while playing video games? That seems like you would die a lot.

Sofaism said:

Why would you want to watch movies while playing video games? That seems like you would die a lot.

Click to expand...

Well in my case it isn't so *I* can watch the movies while playing games, it's so the family can watch a movie on the living room TV and I could play a game and not mess it up. Or I could be watching a movie and my daughter can still play a game (which I often have to tell her she can't play right now because Daddy is watching a movie/podcast)

actually...I just looked and it does it even I have the movie in my main screen and the game running, so i guess my problem doesn't apply

Sofaism said:

Why would you want to watch movies while playing video games? That seems like you would die a lot.

Click to expand...

Well if you have a video card that can support it and you have 2 monitors, you're pretty much set already.

On my dual monitor setup I usually run a TV feed to my 2nd monitor though with a hauppage 150 and beyond TV 4 software. It's mainly for watching sports and occasionally movies while I'm surfiing the internet or fooling around, but it's there if you want it while gaming too.

My setup is -

Samsung 20" LCD VGA
Sony 17" DVI -> VGA adapter
XP 32bit
PNY 8800GT

Software -

Media Player Classic
Beyond TV 4 (latest version)

Codecs -

Divx Codec
XP Codec 2.3.4 (big bunch of codecs in a package, I've never tried anything that didn't work with it, might be a newer version around, haven't looked recently)


Right now I've only really tried watching TV + WoW / Bioshock / Sins of a Solar Empire, all worked. Standard Mpeg files and AVI files and divx files also work with those games.

All of those games have window mode, and that's what I play them in.


The only bad thing about the 8800GT is that it doesn't have an HDMI feed, so I can't hookup my PS3 and watch blueray movies in the highest quality through my computer. I would have to either upgrade GPU's or get a tuner card that supports it. I could hook it up through the S video cable, but would blueray movies look as good? (I honestly have no idea about svideo and hdmi, never used either yet)


@ Resolution scaling - My secondary monitor is set at 800x600 and my main monitor is set at 1600x1200. I'm just running a standard COAX cable feed (no digital) for my TV, so the quality really DOESN'T make a difference from 800x600 -> 1280x1024. HOWEVER, your FPS in games will be hurt dramatically if your GPU is only 512MB and you run two really high resolutions on both monitors. Say I had 2 24" LCD's and I wanted to run both @ 1920x1200, my GPU just would explode trying to handle that, so I guess all those 1GB single memory cards have their uses after all.

i dont die alot so much as in CS:s on a large server once you die, sometimes it can be minutes before you get to play again, but i do die alot as well



On that note, any new testing is on hold, last night my house was broken into, computer taken, TV, camera equipment, about $7k total in stuff, security guard apparently didn't see anything... ya right, he is in on it, he is payed to watch 5 places right in front of his security booth, but he conviniently wasnt around when it happened.....

That really sucks about being broken into. Why do you have a guard that watches your house? Is it because you live in a unique location? Have a unique job? It's just not something I see often here in California. Although robbery, I do. I hope you are reimbursed by insurance.

I have one request one testing comes back up. Sometimes when I play a game(usually older games), some of them don't even like multi-monitors themselves, forget about a movie playing... I have found that some of them don't even "lock" your mouse on that screen. For example, if playing the original GTA3 and I move my mouse over to look around in the same, eventually my mouse will appear on the other monitor. There is still control in the game, but if I click while it is visible over there, it'll take me out of the game and into whatever I clicked on. GTA:Vice City however does not have that problem.

Maybe not just that, but a general test to see if the game is multiple monitor friendly. Another thing may be if running the game alters the resolution of the second monitor, or maybe even lessens the bit depth of that second monitor. For example, when I play Age of Empires 2, it turns the second one into monochrome, or at least close to it. Maybe newer games are better, but it would just be nice to have a "Multi-Monitor Friendly" topic. It can even be as simple as Yes or No. If no, maybe say quickly why.

Just my ideas... Sorry again about your robbery.

Mr.Guvernment said:

i dont die alot so much as in CS:s on a large server once you die, sometimes it can be minutes before you get to play again, but i do die alot as well



On that note, any new testing is on hold, last night my house was broken into, computer taken, TV, camera equipment, about $7k total in stuff, security guard apparently didn't see anything... ya right, he is in on it, he is payed to watch 5 places right in front of his security booth, but he conviniently wasnt around when it happened.....

Click to expand...

Wow that sucks man, I'd have that security guard looked into.

ya we told the cops we suspect him

Down here in costa rica security guards are common, thereis crime but most of it is petty crime like breaking and entering stuff, but the people who did my place seeme dto have some idea of what they were doing, pretty efficient, so it was def an insid job they took the most valuble items, well they left my $300 seinnheiser headphones .

Along this street, a few break in have occured apparently talking to neighbors, over the years and people stopped paying security guards, one person almost a year ago went out for for dinner and his place was cleaned at 7:30pm at night.. the security guards hut is right across the street from my house, when we arrived bck here,he wasnt anywhere near here, he was up the other end of the street talking with some other guard.

there was a gaping hole in my gate where they pried back he aluminum to get at the lock, so the guard didnt even call the cops AFTER the people left, with such obvious signs my place had been broken into.


the good part is i get to build a new computer , the here was a work computer, so they had basically paid for it, what sucks is the 5 years of pictures i had on it, including more recent ones of my mother who passed in dec.

Mr.Guvernment said:

ya we told the cops we suspect him

Down here in costa rica security guards are common, thereis crime but most of it is petty crime like breaking and entering stuff, but the people who did my place seeme dto have some idea of what they were doing, pretty efficient, so it was def an insid job they took the most valuble items, well they left my $300 seinnheiser headphones .

Along this street, a few break in have occured apparently talking to neighbors, over the years and people stopped paying security guards, one person almost a year ago went out for for dinner and his place was cleaned at 7:30pm at night.. the security guards hut is right across the street from my house, when we arrived bck here,he wasnt anywhere near here, he was up the other end of the street talking with some other guard.

there was a gaping hole in my gate where they pried back he aluminum to get at the lock, so the guard didnt even call the cops AFTER the people left, with such obvious signs my place had been broken into.


the good part is i get to build a new computer , the here was a work computer, so they had basically paid for it, what sucks is the 5 years of pictures i had on it, including more recent ones of my mother who passed in dec.

Click to expand...

Wow that sucks about the photos, my dad had his IPOD stolen in the airport and it had like 30k songs on it. He wasn't happy.

ya, really sucks ***, but life goes on, what can you do! just glad neither of my 2 cats that were home were hurt or got away, cuase then the security guard would likely be in the hospital and me in handcuffs.


i dont need the pictures to remeber my mom, but they would of been nice to have of course.

already found a new place to move to, moving this week, totally secure, getting a nice alarm system ADT, and insurance, learn from my mistakes.

Wow, Mr Guv, that really sucks to hear about your trouble. I hope those thieves get what they deserve and everything works out even better for you in the end.

well the good part is i get to build a new rig now and i have a reason for getting the canon 40D now also

nothing like this has ever happened to me before, so i am not so hard done by it, as said, life goes on.