[Rejected] 1 central HTPC - Multiseat MP2 GUI's (2/4 X HDMI out) (1 Viewer)

[msj33]

I got this idea about only having 1 HTPC for all my rooms - Only connecting all screens with HDMI - Why?

• HTPC Costs
• Software Maintenance
• Power consumption(think green)
• Time!

I assume this actually is technically possible, but needs development to evolve into a 3rd setup option(compared to current single and multiseat setups).

I basically want MePo all over the house......But as an busy man, I can't keep up with the support and maintenance of the installations.

There i want to simplify things a bit............

Hardware Concept:
1 x HTPC installed with a 2 or 4 x HDMI graphics adapter.
Connect to all your displays in the house(Ex. 2 x children rooms + Master bedroom).
Navigation: HDMI-CEC support(Pulseeight adapter - May be a problem - Needs investigations!?)

Software concept
Run 4 x MePo2 GUI on each individualscreen(Video/sound output needs to mapped + HDMI-CEC needs mapping)

Issues
Hardware/software failover - You need backup in a hurry !

Please post your comments and ideas on this? Possible?

/Morten

 

[mbuzina]

I doubt that this is possible - you get input issues (Windows allow only 1 Window to be active), MP2 can probably not run twice on one system atm, etc. I would recommend a test first.

 

[Lehmden]

Hi.
I'm sure this is not possible. Aside the issues mbuzina told about there also is a limited length of HDMI and lots of other things that won't do it the way you want it here.
But the maintenance needed for MP2 is marginal. Nearly all needed configuration is done once at one place for all clients. If you build identical clients (e.G. Intel NUC) you can copy the whole installation incl Windows from one to all to reduce the needed work further on.

 

[4Fred]

The limitation would be only same screen on all tv's at the same time. So if kids are watching you would have to watch that too - and whatever you watch would end up on their TV.
So...
One HTPC with one HDMI out.
One HDMI splitter, 1x4.
One unswitched Ethernet cable to every TV.
Four HDMI Range externders attached to every Ethernet cable, on the range extender make sure you get one that have IR resiever/transmitter included.
Four MCE compatible remotes.
This way you can see the same tv picture at all locations and control it using a MCE remote.
That would work but gets pretty expensive and very limited.
Depending on the length of the cabling you could maybe do without the hdmi range extenders.

 

[kiwijunglist]

agree with Fred . may also need an edid device between the splitter and the pc .. not worth it . mp2 will support extenders via dlna use that

 

[msj33]

Hi.
I'm sure this is not possible. Aside the issues mbuzina told about there also is a limited length of HDMI and lots of other things that won't do it the way you want it here.
But the maintenance needed for MP2 is marginal. Nearly all needed configuration is done once at one place for all clients. If you build identical clients (e.G. Intel NUC) you can copy the whole installation incl Windows from one to all to reduce the needed work further on.

But you still need hardware, and general maintenance and updates as software changes over time........I'm thinking out of the box here......What is possible in the future with MePo - HDMI up to 20 M and/or extender options is common today - So why not look at the options.

@mbuzina
Regarding the focus issue - If you anyways need to configure HDMI input/output-mapping, you also have a possible solution for hotswapping focus between windows, right? just gain fokus, when button is pressed. According to Pulse-eight, there is support for multiple HDMI adapters - So support for more instances, could be solved by further development of the CEC-remote plugin.

Is there anything preventing MP2 from running in multiple instances in Fullscreen except configuration/coding?

/Morten

 

[kiwijunglist]

I don't know but I would guess a splitter wouldn't allow 2 way communication so might not work with cec

 

[mbuzina]

In theory it might be possible, in real life it will be a pain in the ****. I don't know if MP2 can run more then 1 instance, if the CEC remote plugin can be mapped even the focus issue might be non-existent.

The biggest issue I foresee (even if all SW issues can be overcome) would be switching off your TV. Windows will remove the device, any running app on that screen will be moved to a different screen. So you would need active monitor switches in front of each TV to keep the htpc - monitor connection alive. You will be lucky if you find one that lets you pass through your CEC data...

Better use small scale PCs for that, you can use AMD E2 processors or Intel NUC or whatever comes along, that is probably easier.

 

[msj33]

@4Fred & @kiwijunglist

You are both talking about "cloned" display - I'm talking about "spanned" display.

I want a 2 or 4 x 1920x1080P spanned display across 4 screens through HDMI running 4 instances of MePo2.

@mbuzina
Closed HDMI connection might be an issue - Don't know if that can be handled by Windows/software in any way. Maybe @Scythe42 can comment on this?

/Morten

 

[kiwijunglist]

ok, I realized that after your last post , that sounds like an unstable nightmare . better to wait for dlna support and use extender device