• Products
    • Isadora
    • Get It
    • ADD-ONS
    • IzzyCast
    • Get It
  • Forum
  • Help
  • Werkstatt
  • Newsletter
  • Impressum
  • Dsgvo
  • Press
  • Isadora
  • Get It
  • ADD-ONS
  • IzzyCast
  • Get It
  • Press
  • Dsgvo
  • Impressum

Navigation

    • Register
    • Login
    • Search
    • Categories
    • Recent
    • Popular
    • Tags

    [ANSWERED] Basic MacBook Pro playback question..

    Hardware
    7
    7
    664
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as topic
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • mark_m
      mark_m last edited by Woland

      I am not a Mac person, so forgive this basic question...

      I have a gallery installation coming up in Norway. It's two full HD video files encoded as H264 .mp4 files 16Mbps VBR which need to be output to two separate screens. The playback of the two needs to stay within a couple of seconds of sync over the 10 hour gallery day.

      What's the minimum spec Macbook Pro that I would need the gallery to get to make this happen?

      Can I make this happen in MacOS or would I need Isadora or QLab to output them to two seperate screens?

      Would it be better to have the two HD streams, or to make one 3840 x 1080 file which can be chopped down the middle and assigned to left and right screens?

      Thanks a lot

      Mark (currently in glorious Glen Esk, Scotland)

      Intel NUC8i7HVK Hades Canyon VR Gaming NUC, i7-8809G w/ Radeon RX Vega M GH 4GB Graphics, 32GB RAM, 2 x NVMe SSD
      Gigabyte Aero 15 OLED XD. Intel Core i7-11800H, NVidia RTX3070, 32GB RAM 2 x NVMe SSD
      PC Specialist Desktop: i9-14900K, RTX4070Ti, 64GB RAM, Win11Pro
      www.natalieinsideout.com

      jfg bonemap Fred J 4 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • jfg
        jfg @mark_m last edited by

        @mark_m

        I think the best solution is to use two Raspberry Pi and sync them.  https://learn.adafruit.com/raspberry-pi-video-looper?view=all
        https://www.khm.de/~sievers/ne...

         If you cannot deal with this kind of program you can buy some configured RPI for that purpose. It's still cheaper than a Mac Pro or mac Book Pro.   https://www.pocketvj.com

        If you absolutely want/need to use a Mac, it's doable with a not-so-complicated Applescript.  https://markmcb.com/2012/07/19...

        Unfortunately, for some time now it has not been possible to show a wider video on two screens with Quicktime. One of the screens goes black or continues to show the desktop, depending on the configuration.

         best

        Jean-François 

        • Izzy 3.2.6
        - MacBook Pro M1 Max 16" 64GB RAM, Mac OS 15.3.2 Sequoia
        - Mac Pro 5.1 middle 2012 (3,33 GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon, 32GB RAM, Radeon RX 580 8 GB ),
        Mac OS 10.14.6 (Mojave)
        - Mac mini Pro M4, Mac OS 15.3.2 Sequoia

        • A range of deployable older Macs
          Located in Bremen, Germany
        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • bonemap
          bonemap Izzy Guru @mark_m last edited by bonemap

          @mark_m

          Hi,

          Multiple displays through an M1 MacBook Pro is a bit limited in comparison to earlier models. link "While the M1 MacBooks natively support just one monitor, the M1 Mac Mini does natively support up to two external monitors - one via the HDMI port and a second via USB-C. But the latest models of the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro support only one external display." link "The only way to setup multiple external displays with M1 MacBook Pro and Air right now is to use an official DisplayLink docking station." This would suggest an Intel MacBook Pro model is an option but the spec will still require adaptors for video output from the thunderbolt 3 ports.

          In terms of running the sync of the two videos over many hours a good solution is to - as you say - combine into a single video file and split in Isadora. 

          I love @jfg suggestion of the Raspi. However, when I have used them in a day over day gallery exhibition they have not lasted the distance. So my experience with them is being not as robust and suffering from overheating and fragility. Otherwise the small form factor and accessibility to integrated solutions is great. I believe there are units available that have enclosures that might mitigate some of the issues I have experienced using raspi in a gallery, so they need not be the wrong solution.

          best wishes

          Russell

          http://bonemap.com | Australia
          Izzy STD 4.2 | USB 3.6 | + Beta
          MBP 16” 2019 2.4 GHz Intel i9 64GB AMD Radeon Pro 5500 8 GB 4TB SSD | 14.5 Sonoma
          Mac Studio 2023 M2 Ultra 128GB | OSX 15.3 Sequoia
          A range of deployable older Macs

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • Fred
            Fred @mark_m last edited by

            @mark_m if you are going outside of the macbook setup, then look for some second hand brightsign units, thats what they are deisnged to do, you can even have frame synk all day long, no overheating. The HD models are avaialbe for about €180 second hand, by the time you got 2 raspberry pis and cases and cards and heatsinks to try keep them cool you would be down €100 in my neighbourhood and thats before the work. Brightsigns are amazing.

            http://www.fredrodrigues.net/
            https://github.com/fred-dev
            OSX 13.6.4 (22G513) MBP 2019 16" 2.3 GHz 8-Core i9, Radeon Pro 5500M 8 GB, 32g RAM
            Windows 10 7700K, GTX 1080ti, 32g RAM, 2tb raided SSD

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • Kathmandale
              Kathmandale last edited by Kathmandale

              @mark_m 

              Hi Mark,

              lots of good advice above. I found this about support for 3840x1080 playback from a Raspberry Pi 4. Looks like it will split the output to separate displays as well, could be ideal. I've not tried it myself yet though...

              https://info-beamer.com/blog/d...

              Personally I'm a big fan of one video being split rather than two videos being synced. Less things to go wrong. 

              2014 MBP Mojave 10.14.6 OS with 16GB, 2.5Ghz i7 quad core, Intel Iris Pro 1536 & Geforce GT 750m 2GB - Izzy 3.0.8
              Gigabyte Brix Windows 10 with 32GB, i7-6700 quad core, 4GB GeForce GTX 950 - Izzy 3.0.8
              Based in Manchester, UK.

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • Juriaan
                Juriaan Tech Staff last edited by

                If you wish to use Isadora with two screens;

                - Make one big movie and split that into two screens.


                If you wish to use a less expensive setup go for BrightSign hardware, they are amazing for this kind of setup.

                Isadora 3.1.1, Dell XPS 17 9710, Windows 10
                Interactive Performance Designer, Freelance Artist, Scenographer, Lighting Designer, TroikaTronix Community moderator
                Always in for chatting about interaction in space / performance design. Drop me an email at hello@juriaan.me

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                • J
                  jandraka @mark_m last edited by

                  @mark_m

                  With the Raspberry 4 you have two independent HDMI outputs. And using a program like  Pi Presents you can manage many control features for videos.

                  MBP M2 Max 32 GB. MacOS 13.7.3 Isadora 3.2.6 - 4.0.7

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • First post
                    Last post