iMac with 2 External Displays

[Sudaddy]

Is there a way to hook up my iMac with two external displays?

Right now, my iMac is connected to my LCD monitor, but I want to find out if there's a way I can hook my iMac to my HDTV. My HDTV has HDMI, DVI and VGA ports. I can connect my iMac to TV directly (without connecting to LCD monitor), but I am wondering if there's a way to hook my iMac to both LCD monitor and HDTV at the same time.

 

[Meyvn]

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer Technology/VIDU2DVIA/

Will do the trick for a 3rd monitor at an affordable price.

Which iMac do you have?

 

[Hellhammer]

Or Matrox DualHead2Go if you're planning on doing something more intensive like video playback which USB adapter may not cut.

 

[alust2013]

Alternatively, if you want the same image on two of them at the same time, you could get a splitter for whichever type of connection you use for the monitor, then put one in the monitor and one in the tv. If you want three separate images, however, you'll need one of the above solutions.

 

[Meyvn]

Or Matrox DualHead2Go if you're planning on doing something more intensive like video playback which USB adapter may not cut.

Keep in mind with the Matrox products, though, that as far as the Mac is concerned, the second and third monitors are not two distinct monitors, but one very large second monitor; if you try to do "fullscreen" view with anything on it, it's a real bear to get it to work properly.

And video playback should generally be fine on the NewerTech; OpenGL is the real restriction. Don't even think about playing serious games on that particular monitor; reserve that for ones going off your internal GPU.

 

[Hellhammer]

And video playback should generally be fine on the NewerTech; OpenGL is the real restriction. Don't even think about playing serious games on that particular monitor; reserve that for ones going off your internal GPU.

You need OpenGL with video playback

Using Quicktime Player, I dragged a 640 x 360 H.264 movie over to the OWC adapter’s display and went into full-screen mode, but as expected, the lack of OpenGL acceleration meant the video playback was sluggish, even though the player reported it was indeed playing back all frames properly.

http://www.dv.com/article/83634

 

[Sudaddy]

Thanks guys.

I have an Intel based Mac with Snow Leopard, so I am sure the above solutions might work. To be honest, I am not looking to spend much money but this is useful information.

The idea to have a LCD monitor and the TV hooked up is as follows:
LCD monitor - I want it when I am programming and need a second screen.
TV - I want this when I want to stream something (like Hulu or Netflix) but want to watch on my big screen rather than on iMac.

I don't play any games, so if that matters at all. And the streaming is usually in full screen mode. I don't think I am going to use LCD monitor and the TV at the same time, but it's just a hassle to unplug the cable from the monitor and hook it to the TV each time I want to switch.

 

[RubbishBBspeed]

Thanks guys.

I have an Intel based Mac with Snow Leopard, so I am sure the above solutions might work. To be honest, I am not looking to spend much money but this is useful information.

The idea to have a LCD monitor and the TV hooked up is as follows:
LCD monitor - I want it when I am programming and need a second screen.
TV - I want this when I want to stream something (like Hulu or Netflix) but want to watch on my big screen rather than on iMac.

I don't play any games, so if that matters at all. And the streaming is usually in full screen mode. I don't think I am going to use LCD monitor and the TV at the same time, but it's just a hassle to unplug the cable from the monitor and hook it to the TV each time I want to switch.

I'm after the same set-up, would be interested to see if it works. (i7 imac + ext 27"ACD for work and 40"1080p TV for watching videos on) all at the same time of course.

 

[regnoc]

Similar problem, LCD as a Preview Monitor for Auditorium

What do I need to setup two devices as secondary monitors from the iMac? Least complicated solution for have both a preview monitor and projector (running the same image) from the MiniDisplay Port.

Purchased a Mid 2010 21.5" iMac as a Media Shout solution. Our workflow/line of devices now is:

iMac > Apple MiniDisplay to DVI adapter > DVI cable > Kramer VP Scaler/Switcher (DVI input) > VGA cable (only output) > Kramer 1:3 VGA Distribution Amplifier > Cable run to projectors (LC-XGC500L).

Problem is no preview monitor. Hoping to have the preview monitor prior to the Kramer so if there is a need to setup a different program or slide, we will be able to see what we are doing on the monitor, while the Kramer is set to black.

Trying to troubleshoot. If I split the Mini DisplayPort at the iMac to the Kramer and preview monitor, must they both be at the same resolution and Hz? I can't get both the projectors and monitor except the signal at the same time. Another attempt found a DVI splitter (looked to be missing the four pesky pins - isn't) to DVI/VGA.

Again thanks for any input.