zvezdah

HI All,
Just joined and hope someone here can answer this question. At my hospital we have monthly meetings with cardiologists, I'm the lucky soul who gets to run them. At any rate, at these meetings we review cardiac cath lab films. Normally these viewed individually on one 19" flat panel monitor.

For purposes of the meeting, I'd like to attache 5-6 19" flat panel monitors to work off the same computer. I would operate and manage the images at the one workstation, the docs can view at the others.

Is this possible to do? Does anyone have a link to something like this? What components do I need?

Thanks very much for ANY help, please keep in mind I'm marginally computer literate.
Chris

Cromewell

I'm not sure I understand exactly what you are trying to do. If you want to display the same image on every display, it could be done with several video cards (you'd have to find PCI cards with dual DVI unless the PC has 5 free PCI slots + an AGP card). A better solution would be to use a projector.

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dragon2309

Yes a projector would be more cost effective aswell. Anywho you can buy monitor Y splitter cables that can come up to 6 monitors off one port. I have only ever seen this equipment on the stock trading floor in London Canary Wharf. This amy not be available for commercial users, im not sure.

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zvezdah

HI,
Thanks very much for the reply. Cromwell, you're correct, I basically want the same video images to run off one computer on 5 or 6 monitors.

I have been using a projector, unfortunately, as doctors are known for doing, they complain about the loss of detail using the projector. The other option I have considered is to get an XGA resolution projector, which I've been told will have better image clarity, just would hate for our hospital to shell out the dinero for it and it not be significantly better than the projector we already use.
Thanks again
Chris

diduknowthat

If your computer has 3 pci slots then you can hook up 3 fx 5500s with dual monitor supports and you'll have 6 monitors hooked up.

691175002

That would be the best way to do it. The Nvidia drivers support clone view which copies the image to each monitor. Just be aware that this could cost a huge amount.

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zvezdah

Thanks guys, so these fx5500s are around $100 each (cdw). plus the 5 flat panel monitors. To not sound like a total moron, what does the pci port look like, so I can determine if I have 3, or can these be added?

Also, would this "clone view" function displaying video, as that's what the cath films are, they're images recorded in dicom format and a basically a radiographic film of the heart cath.

What else would need to be done for this to work?

Thanks again for all your help guys!
Chris

dragon2309

If you are smart with ll your wiring you can also use the S-Video outlet to attatch TV monitors to the cards, this may be of use or may not, not sure. I have my PC hooked up to my PC monitor and my TV through S-Video.

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691175002

http://www.cyberresearch.com/images/...837685.600.jpg
The pci ports are the 4 yellow ones to the right. They are normally not yellow but you get the idea. The black one just to the right of them is a pci-e x16. Your motherboard probbably has one AGP (the old version of pci-e) and 3-4 Pci.

Clone view will display exactically the same thing on every monitor so you will be fine.

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zvezdah

Thanks for all the helpful tips everyone, I'll print these messages out and give them to our IT people at the hospital and see if they can get me set up.
Chris