Multiple monitors, mice & keyboards connected to mothership

[hally]

Hi,
I have a dilemma which i can't seem to get my head around so maybe someone can help me here.

I would like to be able to have a monitor, keyboard and mouse in both of my tracking rooms which are connected to the main audio computer which is located in the machine room. I am currently running 2 x 22" monitors in the control room connected via 2 vga cables to my dual monitor ATI graphics card on this main audio computer...

So, for example, lets say i'm ready to record drums on a song, i wud like to be able to line up the tracks, etc in the control room, head into the drum room, turn on the monitor in there and the current recording session is open, check levels, loop points, etc and hit record on the keyboard. When i'm happy with the take, go into the main tracking room to record double bass and I have another monitor running with the session open, you get the idea, i hope.

So far, i can't work out if i need a switcher or splitter. The dual monitor setup in the control room is confusing the situation also as I only want to run single monitors in each of the live rooms. I don't want to have 2 seperate PC in each live rooms and connect via remote desktop as they wud make too much noise...

I wud really appreciate any input and ideas you might have,

regards
hally

[gullfo]

you could go with a dual monitor (most newer video cards support that) set up and just have a switch for the keyword and mouse. or get a wireless keyboard/mouse which can span the distance. or switch all of them - KVM switches are not too expensive for a decent one.

[hally]

Hi Glenn,

I'm not sure what you mean - I am already running a dual monitor setup in the CR. What i want to do is control the main audio computer from 3 sepetate locations, obviously from the control room, also from the drum tracking room and the main tracking room. So the setup up wud be

Control Room - dual monitor, mouse & keyboard
Drum Tracking Room - single monitor, mouse & keyboard
Main Tracking Room - single monitor, mouse & keyboard

all connected to the main Audio PC in the machine room...

This has to be possible with all the wonderful gadgets available for networking - i just can't work out if its an advanced KVM switch i need or a VGA splitter combined with a switch for mouse & keyboard...

Any further thoughts, anyone

thanks
hally

[BriHar]

I run a remote Numeric keypad which supports all the transport functions of Cubase plus a couple of special macro keys to the recording position across the room (Don't have a live booth or room).
I know this is probably not what you want.
I also had a secondary video monitor on a VGA switchbox.
Although my keypad is cabled (USB), the possibility exists to do this over Bluetooth.

So, have you looked into Wireless accessories? I know you can get mouse and keyboards. You can have multiple mice and keyboards simultaneously active (I have a mouse and a graphic tablet hooked up).
As for monitors, WHDI (wireless high definition interface) or else WiMedia might be worth looking into.

[hally]

Thanks Brian,

How do you think wireless keyboard and mouse will perform through my very dense double leaf walls?

If the answer is, "it should be ok" then the keyboard mouse issue is solved. I'll look into your suggestions for WHDI (wireless high definition interface) and WiMedia - thanks alot for ur help

Anyone with any experience or knowlodge using VGA splitters or switches?

regards
hally

[BriHar]

How do you think wireless keyboard and mouse will perform through my very dense double leaf walls?

My wireless LAN goes through multiple concrete and brick walls in our apartment right out into the garden.

I suggest you explain what you want it to do at the store where you'll buy it and unless they tell you it definitely won't work, make sure you can return the products.
If your walls are not electrically shielded (i.e. as a Faraday cage) then I think it would work.

[hally]

They are bomb proof but not electrically shielded, thanks for the advise...

The wireless setup seems to be the way to go regarding mice and keyboards...

Regarding the monitors, i think the easiest setup will be to keep my dual ati card connected to the 2 large monitors in the CR and install an old matrox dual head PCI graphics card (which i have lying around somewhere) in the same PC and connect each of the live rooms monitors to this card...any thoughts on this?

The longest VGA cable run will be about 30 ft, should i expect some signal loss @ this distance?

thanks
hally

[BriHar]

30 ft is pretty long for the typical VGA cables, you may need a heavier one - but try it.
I'd suggest using a couple of A/B VGA switches or a single A/B/C VGA switch, although the latter is not so common.
Using 2 A/B's: (I've actually used this configuration myself)

VGA Switch.JPG

Using a KVM switch has been mentioned, though this will increase your cable salad.

One other thing you might look into is a couple of laptops running virtual console software on a LAN. Perhaps even a single Laptop would suffice being portable - just take it with you into the rooms.

Said Laptops must not necessarily be the newest - even older models would suffice as they only have to run console software such as VNC (in fact I think there's a couple of things built right into windows which enable remote control).

So maybe a secondhand laptop or two might be the most cost effective way

[Aaronw]

You can use Bluetooth Keyboard/mouse, you can run USB extensions to each room which work well (either a long cable, or using a USB to Cat5 TX/RX setup) would be your cheapest approach. If you want to go expensive and creative, let me know and I'll get you an answer. Cables To Go (.com) carries them.