multiple HDMI graphics cards and MCE IR Recievers

[robomonkey]

Hi all,

I want to run a couple of HDMI screens (lounge and bedroom), I'm currently waiting for a nice GPU card to come out with HDMI and S/Pdif passthrough.

Currently I'm thinking of buying two GPU's,but never done it before, does anyone know what happens when you install two GPU's in one machine, will it let me clone the cards to output to two screens?

Also the second problem is the sound would it be possible to rig a cable to run two cards from one pinheader on the mobo?

Lastly has anyone used two MCE IR recievers on one PC?

Failing all that I know there are HDMI splitters around but they're really expensive (1x2 approx £250) and messy as they sit outside the PC.

Ta

[Callifo]

You should be able to clone one screen to both displays no problems, as long as they both have the same resolution. If you want to do this though, you must buy a SLI or Crossfire solution; you cannot run it from a single slot.

[waveslam]

re: "you cannot run it from a single slot."

If you are lucky, you might be able to find a PCI video card with DVI output, which you can then use via a DVI-to-HDMI adaptor cable. That would let you have 2 HDMI-out video cards, one via your existing AGP or PCI-e video card, the other via PCI.

The only other thing to worry about is how long HDMI cables can be before the signal degrades or gets too weak to be useable.

Cheers
Brett

[Brocklander]

What about a graphics card with dual DVI out? As for HDMI cable length, I'd be more worried about how much it would cost!

[robomonkey]

I want the HDMI lead to carry the audio as well though, so I think using DVI or VGA is a no go as they're video only?

[Smirnuff]

Lastly has anyone used two MCE IR recievers on one PC?

If the Microsoft drivers support it then you should only see one problem and that relates to the handling of TGB (the green button). On non-MCE platforms TGB notifications are not sent in the same way as other button notifications. Both MP and mptray use code that talks directly to the USB device in order to handle TGB notifications and both implementations only open the first discovered instance of an MCE compatible receiver, so neither will support the 2nd receiver's TGB notifications without code changes.