12 Video Outs for 360 Display - Suggestions?

[Dragonsoulj]

I'm assisting with a club design with almost 360° video. Ideally, we would like 12 outputs so we can blend the edges as we have 12 projector screens, all at 1920x1080 (side by side). What would you recommend to achieve this setup so it is the most stable? I'm aware of X4s and MST hubs, and read a few times that AMD cards seem to cause more headaches than NVIDIA (I believe it is driver related?), but if the suggested card(s) run stably, either brand works.

A few side notes: This will be for a custom build, with an i7 CPU. We have the output requirements, and minimally, we need to get 8 screens, with the goal being 12, so we are trying to design the system around our graphics card(s) and external hardware requirements.

[wadz1lla]

I too am curious about what are the 'recommended' devices to use. I'm planning a build for a club that will have a wall with projection mapping in addition to a wall that will have a triple 1080 setup. My personal build is a 5820 with a 980ti strix and might try to use that one first before we build a new rig.

[ReggieUnderground]

You might want to rename this thread to something more specific like "Hardware for 12 Output 360 video install".

There a million threads here with a similar title to "Graphic Card/hardware recommendations" and your topic is actually unique and interesting. A better title may generate better discussion and will also be more accessible via search.

[Dragonsoulj]

I editted the title. I am not sure how much it will help as people have viewed this topic.

I believe we have a solution already but I am still open to suggestions. Should our configuration work, I will try to post specs and a video or two.

[Oaktown]

If you want 12 stable HD outputs, get a Nvidia GTX 980ti or Titan Z, three Datapath X4 video processor,and M.2 SSD.

Then, make sure you use high end cables and adapters all around and if your Datapath X4 are more than 50ft from the media server treat yourself three DL-DVI fiber optic distribution setups.

And that should do the trick.

[Sportinger]

Hey,
I would try to use 4 nvidea gpus. I used 2 760gtx in order to feed 6 displays. I dont like the idea of tripple heads. Mst hubs gave me headache because i head different resolutions. Should work fine if you have. A) same reolutions B) native DP in at the projector. Nvidea gpus can handle up to 4 displays full hd. So 4 760gtx should give you 16 possible displays. Of course you wont sli them cards. I used a xeon e3 in this setup. Worked pretty stable.

One can not connect multiple MST hubs to one gpu. If you have one 760gtx and one mst hub on one of them ports with 3 displays, only one more display should work one the gpu. The cap is still max. 4 displays on one gpu.

[MajorH]

I agree with Oaktown for best performance -

If you want 12 stable HD outputs, get a Nvidia GTX 980ti or Titan Z, three Datapath X4 video processor,and M.2 SSD.

That said, if you're working on a tighter budget and have some time to order and test solutions; then take a look at the NVS series from NVIDIA. They've just released a new 8 output card for digital signage. It includes edgeblending and mapping capabilities built in, so if you're not looking to use the more advanced VJ features of Resolume like layering, effects, and BPM syncing then it may be a more stable hardware based solution.

Unfortunately, I haven't seen any Resolume performance numbers with these cards, but I'm hoping on building a rig in the coming months and testing it out.

[Joris]

We actually went ahead and got one of those NVidia 810s with 8 outputs for testing. So far, we can say it's definitely not the fastest card on the market performance wise.

A proper benchmark test and maybe even blog post about it are on the to-do list. It's definitely interesting to see how well it holds up as a secondary card, next to for instance a Titan as main renderer. Could be a good way to get 8 extra outputs without the need for extenders.

[MajorH]

Excellent, thank you! That was exactly how I planned to personally implement the NVidia NVS 810; added as a secondary card to a Titan so I can push an extra 8 outputs and let the Titan do the heavy lifting. I look forward to reading anything you might post on the subject.

[lightbx]

If you want 12 stable HD outputs, get a Nvidia GTX 980ti or Titan Z, three Datapath X4 video processor,and M.2 SSD.

Oaktown, when you mention M.2 SSD here, do you mean for OS/boot/Resolume or for media storage?