I need help with monitors...

[Snipekon]

I have a problem. The only way I think I can explain it is with a picture, but I'll try. I have 6 old CRT monitors that have RS-232/DB9 connections as well as BNC connection I think. I need to use them to display one image across all of them say from a DVD player or PC. Is there box I can buy kinda like a video distributor amplifier thing? Or, what do I need to have to do this?

 

[Blazkowicz]

if you can drive the displays with a video card there's the option of a PC with three video cards. I guess the monitors have three BNC? (RGB, sync on green). try getting one hooked and working, with a VGA to BNC cable. Powerstrip on windows, or modelines in Linux may be needed, and probably some hardware circuitry, try do do some search on that topic. Obviously the first, road-blocking step.

The PC could have a motherboard with at least three PCIe 16x slots (AMD 790FX, nforce 780a, 680i, or Intel P45 chipset. that's a bit expensive), a cheap CPU and three geforce 8400GS. you can also stuff an older motherboard with PCI cards, for instance a PC with a dual head AGP or PCIe card and four single VGA PCI cards would do it.

Linux is suited to make such a display wall, try finding out about such setups. Again, not the easiest thing on earth.

the PC then can plays DVD or media files on its own, or you could stream content from another PC with vlc or something.

 

[RussSchultz]

Search google for 'video wall controller'.

Be prepared to spend $$$, unless you can find something old on ebay.

 

[Blazkowicz]

so that's the term

here's an exemple of a video controller :
http://www.datapath.co.uk/vision100.html
as you can see it's a fancy PC with fancy graphics card.
now I could find a linux DIY solution : (supporting four displays per PC, using multiple PC for more than that)
http://gstreamer.freedesktop.org/apps/videowhale.html

 

[Snipekon]

Thank you guys!! I'm director of media at my church and we've had these forever. We have a few ideas for them. Here's some pics of the inputs/outputs. I'm assuming these are BNC, but its not a RGB. There's just one input.
This is the "BNC" plugs ins with the selectable RGB or NTSC

This is the DB9 for controlling something maybe video input. not sure.

 

[Frank]

AFAIK, Matrox still sells videocards with 4 connectors. So any SLi/Crossfire capable MB will do the trick. And their drivers are likely to display the picture without needing any other software.