Dave
Seeker Of Truth
Posts: 4
|
Post by Dave on Jul 11, 2019 14:43:19 GMT -5
Hi,
I have and XMC-1 with the upgrade board, and have been using it happily with a Dreamscreen HD, until I bought a 65" 4K HDR TV a week ago. The Dreamscreen HD is connected to my second HDMI out, and the TV to the first HDMI out. If the Dreamscreen is connected, it will drop the resolution of the TV and only output on 1080p, if it's unplugged, then the the TV will happily do everything at 2160P (has an Apple TV 4K, FireTV Cube, and Chromecast HD attached).
Is the XMC-1 capable of outputting two different resolutions at the same time? Like for a 4K TV and a low resolution projector. Or must the two outputs match? The manual isn't clear.
The Dreamscreen 4K exists, but the company has apparently gone out of business, and the 4K kits are hard to come by now. My old Dreamscreen HD works great, and I would like to continue to use it, since I have enough LEDs for my new TV.
Can I downmix the output from the XMC-1 perhaps, just for the Dreamscreen? I have heard of complicated setups with multiple HD Fury devices, but that gets very expensive.
Thanks
|
|
|
|
Post by thrillcat on Jul 11, 2019 14:49:39 GMT -5
Very few HDMI devices regardless of price range will output different resolutions simultaneously.
Devices that are capable of this are generally specifically designed for that purpose.
|
|
|
|
Post by AudioHTIT on Jul 11, 2019 15:12:01 GMT -5
^^^ Right, as a pass through device the XMC-1 can’t do any scaling, I’ve heard the HDFury is a solution to this as well, maybe there are others.
|
|
KeithL
Administrator 
Posts: 10,276
|
Post by KeithL on Jul 11, 2019 15:34:45 GMT -5
An HDMI source device can only output one resolution at any given time. Therefore, for any device that acts like a splitter (like the XMC-1), you're always going to get the lowest common denominator (the highest resolution that BOTH devices that are connected and running support).
(The resolution is not being scaled... the source is actually delivering the highest resolution that it has determined is supported by everything connected to it and running.) In theory, when doing this negotiation, only the devices that are turned on are counted... So, as long as the Dreamscreen is not turned on, the source should "know" that, ignore its limitations - because it's turned off, and give you the 4k the TV supports. However, in practice, some monitors and TVs don't seem to properly indicate when they are turned off (so their limitations are still counted).
In the past, many processors were actually capable of delivering two or more different output resolutions (known as "scaling the video").
But, because this generally requires a lot of processing power, and usually reduces the video quality at least a little, most modern processors no longer do so. However, there are still splitters and switches that are capable of doing video scaling (they tell the source to output 4k, then convert that to HD, which they send to the second output).
You actually have a few options..... 1)
You could put some sort of switch between the output of the XMC-1 and the input of the Dreamscreen that actually disconnects it when you're not using it.
(Unlike simply turning it off, a low cost manual pushbutton switch will actually disconnect the Dreamscreen, equivalent to unplugging it.) 2) If you want to be able to use both at once you'll need some sort of splitter that includes built-in scaling capabilities... to put between the XMC-1 and the Dreamscreen.
You should be able to get either for a lot less than the price of an HDFury. (Note that, if you choose something with a scaler, read the reviews carefully... not all scalers deliver good quality video outputs.)
Hi, I have and XMC-1 with the upgrade board, and have been using it happily with a Dreamscreen HD, until I bought a 65" 4K HDR TV a week ago. The Dreamscreen HD is connected to my second HDMI out, and the TV to the first HDMI out. If the Dreamscreen is connected, it will drop the resolution of the TV and only output on 1080p, if it's unplugged, then the the TV will happily do everything at 2160P (has an Apple TV 4K, FireTV Cube, and Chromecast HD attached). Is the XMC-1 capable of outputting two different resolutions at the same time? Like for a 4K TV and a low resolution projector. Or must the two outputs match? The manual isn't clear. The Dreamscreen 4K exists, but the company has apparently gone out of business, and the 4K kits are hard to come by now. My old Dreamscreen HD works great, and I would like to continue to use it, since I have enough LEDs for my new TV. Can I downmix the output from the XMC-1 perhaps, just for the Dreamscreen? I have heard of complicated setups with multiple HD Fury devices, but that gets very expensive. Thanks |
|
bootman
Emo VIPs 
Typing useless posts on internet forums....
Posts: 9,358
|
Post by bootman on Jul 12, 2019 7:48:40 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by geebo on Jul 12, 2019 9:26:09 GMT -5
Also the Integral II which is the same without the display screen for about 50 bucks less. |
|
Dave
Seeker Of Truth
Posts: 4
|
Post by Dave on Jul 12, 2019 11:23:38 GMT -5
Thank you very much for the excellent replies. That makes sense that the output would merely be split, and downgraded to the lowest common denominator.
Even $250 for the Integral 2 is quite a lot to get the Dreamscreen working again. For not much more, I could probably try out the newer Lightpack.... I have one of their old USB versions, but that wan't great if you wanted it on more that one input. More research is required! Does anyone have any other suggestions for Dreamscreen alternatives? The HD Fury DIVA looks like it can drive its own LED backlighting.
|
|
|
|
Post by AudioHTIT on Jul 12, 2019 11:48:59 GMT -5
Thank you very much for the excellent replies. That makes sense that the output would merely be split, and downgraded to the lowest common denominator. Even $250 for the Integral 2 is quite a lot to get the Dreamscreen working again. For not much more, I could probably try out the newer Lightpack.... I have one of their old USB versions, but that wan't great if you wanted it on more that one input. More research is required! Does anyone have any other suggestions for Dreamscreen alternatives? The HD Fury DIVA looks like it can drive its own LED backlighting. Might one of the more simple downscalers from Monoprice work? You'd leave your 4K TV directly into HDMI 2 and insert a 4K to HD downscaler between HDMI 1 and the Dreamscreen HD. Having not used one, I only assume that the XMC-1 would see a "4K input" on the downscaler and hence set both ports to 2160P, but a lot of assumptions. Here's a link to the Monoprice I looked at ($82), unfortunately one of the critical questions below the item went unanswered ... "Does this also do HDCP conversion as well meaning a hdcp 1.4 1080p tv would appear as a 2.2 4k tv to a media player?" However it says HDMI 2.0 & HDCP 2.2 in the product title. www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=30460&gclid=CjwKCAjw36DpBRAYEiwAmVVDMLSzJfDIkcmk2jjag-ZX47H4xp1ZS_T8bhq6oJwZyOo1sZoHm2tYgRoCH-UQAvD_BwE |
|
Dave
Seeker Of Truth
Posts: 4
|
Post by Dave on Jul 14, 2019 20:31:54 GMT -5
Might one of the more simple downscalers from Monoprice work? You'd leave your 4K TV directly into HDMI 2 and insert a 4K to HD downscaler between HDMI 1 and the Dreamscreen HD. Having not used one, I only assume that the XMC-1 would see a "4K input" on the downscaler and hence set both ports to 2160P, but a lot of assumptions. Here's a link to the Monoprice I looked at ($82), unfortunately one of the critical questions below the item went unanswered ... "Does this also do HDCP conversion as well meaning a hdcp 1.4 1080p tv would appear as a 2.2 4k tv to a media player?" However it says HDMI 2.0 & HDCP 2.2 in the product title. www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=30460&gclid=CjwKCAjw36DpBRAYEiwAmVVDMLSzJfDIkcmk2jjag-ZX47H4xp1ZS_T8bhq6oJwZyOo1sZoHm2tYgRoCH-UQAvD_BwENo luck with the Monoprice Blackbird 4K downscaler unfortunately. I tried it on both HDMI output ports from the XMC-1, and turning the power off for everything, for a nice clean boot, but no matter what I did, I couldn't get anything more than 1080P out of the XMC-1 with the Blackbird connected. Even with the Dreamscreen disconnected, it wouldn't output 4K. So much for the cheaper option.  |
|
|
|
Post by AudioHTIT on Jul 14, 2019 23:35:52 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by mgbpuff on Jul 15, 2019 7:39:05 GMT -5
I'm liking my HDFury Diva (approx. $500). I have a 4k 65" tv and a 1080 HD projector. The Diva does 4 input switching, provides a 4K hdmi and a downscaled hdmi.. It also can control led lighting and they send you a suitable sized led lights. I do not use the lights however. The HDFury Integrals do not scale down - only the Vertex units and the Diva do that. The Diva also does HDR > SDR mapping.
|
|
Dave
Seeker Of Truth
Posts: 4
|
Post by Dave on Jul 15, 2019 14:32:49 GMT -5
I'm liking my HDFury Diva (approx. $500). I have a 4k 65" tv and a 1080 HD projector. The Diva does 4 input switching, provides a 4K hdmi and a downscaled hdmi.. It also can control led lighting and they send you a suitable sized led lights. I do not use the lights however. The HDFury Integrals do not scale down - only the Vertex units and the Diva do that. The Diva also does HDR > SDR mapping. Well, it's $400 today on an Amazon Prime Day deal, so I guess I'll try it out. What didn't you like about the LED lights? |
|
|
|
Post by mgbpuff on Jul 15, 2019 16:48:35 GMT -5
I'm liking my HDFury Diva (approx. $500). I have a 4k 65" tv and a 1080 HD projector. The Diva does 4 input switching, provides a 4K hdmi and a downscaled hdmi.. It also can control led lighting and they send you a suitable sized led lights. I do not use the lights however. The HDFury Integrals do not scale down - only the Vertex units and the Diva do that. The Diva also does HDR > SDR mapping. Well, it's $400 today on an Amazon Prime Day deal, so I guess I'll try it out. What didn't you like about the LED lights? I haven't tried them, I just don't think I will like them because my tv is tight between bookcases and there is no wall room for such a light display to work against. |
|
