Display Graphics on duel monitor?

[fallacy]

So I was looking at some of these LCD picture frames they have out now. http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4938624&csid=_21

These frames now have the capability to hook up as a second monitor through USB as well as play video and audio..

I thought it would be a cool to integrate one into a cab. When you scroll though games you can have video snaps or cab pictures… whatever you want come up on it.

Does mala have any capability to work with 2 monitors to do something like that? Or maybe even a plugin out there that someone made.

[Blanka]

It's so weird that these mini displays never have a simple S-video or composite input. That would make them much more usefull. USB display is probably not working very well for high FPS imaging.

[Dizzle]

I got Mala to work with two monitors by creating a layout with a 1024x1536 resolution.  The main monitor displays your usual gamelist/snap/etc and the actual game when it's selected.  I've got the secondary monitor displaying a high-res image that remains on even when the game is being played.  I use it as a "marquee" of sorts or to display instruction cards.

Regarding the USB video out, I have no idea how that would work.  I have no idea why these devices don't support more traditional video inputs.

[fallacy]

I got Mala to work with two monitors by creating a layout with a 1024x1536 resolution.  The main monitor displays your usual gamelist/snap/etc and the actual game w hen it's selected.  I've got the secondary monitor displaying a high-res image that remains on even when the game is being played.  I use it as a "marquee" of sorts or to display instruction cards.

how are you doing that? Does it work when mala launches on computer boot up?

[Dizzle]

I don’t have my computer booting up to MaLa so I don’t know for sure whether or not it works, but I can’t imagine why it wouldn’t.

Let me see if I can remember how I set this up...

What I did is set my video card to dualview (I believe that’s what the nVidia driver calls it) and have the orientation set as one monitor on top of the other.  Monitor #1 (the primary) is on top, on monitor #2 (the “marquee” monitor) is on the bottom.  Then I create my own layout in MaLa and specify a resolution for the layout that doubles the normal number of vertical pixels.  So for instance, instead of 800x600, you would create a layout with an 800x1200 resolution.  At that point you can place everything where you’d like it.  I use all of the real estate on monitor #2 to display instruction cards, special moves, wallpapers, etc.  MAME is set to run on the primary, and your second monitor will keep displaying whatever you have set throughout the game.

I do have to make sure I run MAME at a fixed resolution to match my layout so the layout doesn’t get shifted when I exit a game.  (So I have to run all my games at 1024x768 to match the 1024x1536 layout – that may or not be an issue for you in terms of taking a performance hit).  I’ll also tell you that with this setup, I used to get random crashes on v1.04 of MaLa.  Don’t know if it was a video card issue or a MaLa issue.  I haven’t had a lot of game time recently with 1.05 – so far so good, but I’ll have to wait and see how stable it is as I put more play time in.  I’m also playing on a different rig now so that might be the difference.

I hope this helps… If not, you can probably run a quick search on this topic.  I remember seeing quite a few people running similar setups… two of them being RandyT and NickG.

[fallacy]

That’s a good idea thanks. I will play with that and see if I can get something to work.