6 display setup for Church projection

M

manny_.f

Member
We need at least 6 video outs from the PC as we are running multiple outputs from our presentation software and would like to run dual monitors as well, the resolution of these outputs won't be anything too crazy, maybe one 4k out but the rest will be 1080p/720p. Could we run a GT1030 for the dual monitors and then run an RTX 3050 for the other 4 video outs?

These are the specs:
Case
PCS PRISM II ARGB MID TOWER CASE (PWM)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 14-Core Processor i5-14500 (Up to 5.0GHz) 24MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING Z790-PLUS WIFI (LGA1700, DDR5, PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 6E)
Memory (RAM)
32GB PCS PRO DDR5 4800MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GT 1030 - DVI, HDMI
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3050 - HDMI, DP, LHR
Graphics Card Support Bracket
NONE (BRACKET INCLUDED AS STANDARD ON 4070 Ti / RX 7700 XT AND ABOVE)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3200MB/W)
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W CX SERIES™ CX-550 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 240 Series ARGB High Performance Liquid Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
ONBOARD LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
NONE OR ONBOARD Wi-Fi (MOTHERBOARD DEPENDENT)
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Price: £1,365.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z790-ddr5-pc/BsEpSnh0h8/

Below is a list of all the video outs we need:
1) 1920x1080-Primary monitor (Connected to GT1030)
2) 1920x1080-Secondary monitor (Connected to GT1030)
3) 1280x720 going to a cheap video capture device (Connected to RTX 3050)
4) 3840.2160 4k TV (Connected to RTX 3050)
5) 1280x720 going to a back feedback display Connected to (RTX 3050)
6) as a backup for peace of mind in case we need another video out
 
P

Paul1964

Bronze Level Poster
In our church we run 2 PCs for this purpose. One of them runs the presentations, words, videos shown to congregation etc. The main projector feed also goes to a capture card on the second PC. The second PC runs OBS for streaming the services (something we started doing during Covid and kept it up because people find it useful). This second PC has a couple of remote control PTZ cameras and the input from the first PC and this is managed in OBS and streamed to YouTube. There's also a feed from our sound desk for the audio.

Yes, the 2 PCs came from PCS.

We're quite amateurish but it gets the job done. Anyone interested can find us on YouTube @TheKingsBW
 
M

manny_.f

Member
Nice! It seems like our setup is quite similar to yours. Our projection PC has a GT1030 with 2 display outs (one for the control screen and one for the main out from our presentation software Easyworship) and the other PC is a 2020 iMac that runs the livestream. On the projection PC we use the alt out and foldback display on Easyworship but we've only got 2 display outs so we have to send both of those over NDI to iMac, which then runs obs and sends these out to the displays we need to send them to. This setup works but isn't exactly user friendly, especially when you have to keep setting up your displays EVERY TIME they get turned off and on again because of how iMacs handle them. Having most of the display outs on one computer makes our setup more streamlined.
 
P

Paul1964

Bronze Level Poster
Maybe you should replace the Mac with the new PC. Our settings are persistent on our PCs.

Keep the projector running on the older PC maybe. Basically we have an HDMI splitter that sends one output to the projector and the copy of that to the streaming PC to import into OBS.

If you're running more than one camera and also full screen and picture-in-picture words on your stream, it's worth having an iPad set up as an external monitor on the streaming PC. Use an app called XDisplay to do this. You can then have a your scene selection displayed on the iPad using the OBS Multiview option and since XDisplay supports touch - you can just poke the iPad OBS thumbnail that you want on your stream. Simples.

Also - we find it best to have one person operating the camera views and OBS on the streaming PC, another operating the words/projection PC and another on the sound desk. Otherwise the workload can get way too busy.
 
M

manny_.f

Member
Yeah, the plan is to replace the iMac with our current projection PC, and buy the one I specced out for projection. the other projection PC has decent specs so it should be able to handle some light encoding. We have an atem mini pro with multiview connected to 4 cameras which then connects via usb to the computer so we wouldn't need the multiview setup for obs, although we have an old monitor lying around that we could purpose for this. We also have a display outside our PA room that shows the live output for our cameramen as we don't have comms yet and they need to see which camera is live. We have 2 operators, one for the streaming + video switcher, one on the sound desk and one for projecting lyrics + scriptures.
 
Scott

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
If you're just looking to replicate the view then a video splitter would be the best solution. It won't require any GPU performance as it's simply replicating the signal output. You could still run dual display, as only one of the displays would be getting replicated (so that you can control various software's etc from the other).

I don't know too much about the hardware options as I've never had such a need, but the below would likely cover what you are looking for:

 
M

manny_.f

Member
Sorry if i was unclear, the presentation software we use has 3 outputs that we use:
-A main output with backgrounds videos etc- this goes to the FOH screens in the church through an OBS fullscreen projector
-A alternate output with lower thirds text that goes to our streaming computer for the livestream
-A feedback output that goes to the back of the Church for Preachers/Singers to read scriptures and lyrics

These all require different display outs using windows extended desktop. We're currently using a protocol called NDI that allows us to stream the feedback out and alt out to the other computer but this setup requires a lot of bandwith on the network - a network thats already used for us to livestream + remote control for our digital mixer.

These 3 outputs from the presentation software + the dual monitors we intend to run means we need at least 5 display outs. A GT 1030 + an RTX 3050 should theoretically be able to handle this with no problems as 4/5 displays are gonna run at 1080p or lower. We've already used a splitter to replicate the main output going to the FOH screens in the church but thats the only thing we really need to duplicate.
 
Scott

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
That indeed sounds like quite the setup. I ran 6 displays off of one quadro card in work a while back but I think they're quite expensive. The T1000 is available from PCS which would possibly do the trick.

Theoretically you could use the iGPU and the T1000 without any additional cards to give 5 outputs. They would likely need to be DP compatible though.
 
sck451

sck451

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
I would really think NDI is the correct way to do this and an upgraded network, if necessary, would be a sensible way to spend money. Doing this with HDMI would be pretty horrific, not least as I'm would fully expect you'll be coming up against the limits of HDMI cable length (50ft) unless you're converting to SDI. I would think in particular the "alternate output" and the "feedback output" would be ideal for NDI.

That said, even the 3050, with its four display outs, and the iGPU, with its two display outs, should be enough for what you're talking about. Whether that's a good plan, I'm not sure. It certainly sounds janky, but then everything here sounds a bit janky!
 
M

manny_.f

Member
HDMI cable limitation isn't an issue as the two PCs are already in the same room, would just be a case of connecting them to a different source. I guess we can manage with NDI for the alternate output but the feedback output is definitely gonna have to be plugged into the projecting PC, I'm so tired of having to set up an obs fullscreen projector on the other computer every time the TV its connected to turns off and resets its resolution as well. We'll hold back on the 1030 for now and just run the RTX 3050. The iGPU can be an auxillary in case we need a spare display out.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top