Multi Display Media Server: HDMI, LAN. Your Advice

[|tera|]

Good day everyone.

So here's the scenario.

We need to setup a few displays in our Office.
LED Televisions with HDMI for the purpose of displaying information.

These Televisions will be at different locations.

So we've setup Televisions at our premises previously over LAN, we know how to do it, it's not difficult.
We know which adapters/converters to purchase, how to configure it etc.

The problem we're facing is the following:

Multiple Televisions need to be connected and we can't justify the cost of purchasing multiple Computers/PCs for the purpose of connecting all the displays.

So we need a "Media Server", that runs Windows 7 Professional (We have a Windows Domain) that has multiple HDMI inputs, so that we can manage what gets displayed on each Television.

Could you guide me in the right direction what to look for? What to search for?

Thanks

 

[Pada]

At our office we have TV's, each with their own thin client (Windows CE), that we use for our operational displays. These TV's then simply display HTML pages that reload every 30 seconds or so.

You said "multiple HDMI inputs", which I suppose should've been "multiple HDMI outputs"!? Unfortunately most dedicated graphics cards only support 2x HDMI outputs (1x HDMI and 1x via DVI with an adapter).

Do you want to display the same content on all the displays or different content?
Also, can the content be displayed via a web page, because then you can use something like a Rasberry Pi.

 

[RoganDawes]

Get Raspberry Pi's, or similar, for each display - about R450 each (here. Use something like VLC or omxplayer to accept streams sent to it, and display them on the screen. You may want to firewall them off, so that only authorised machines can send streams to the display, btw.

Alternatively, it seems that omxplayer can access an rtmp stream as shown here. Have a central media server with something like this.

Alternatively, something like a Chromecast, or the MK802 might be an option, although I'd be hesitant about doing streaming over wireless.

 

[Del Piero 10]

Have a look at the Intel NUC DC53427HYE. It has three HDMI ports for multiple monitors along with vPro technology to provide remote support.

One of my clients had a similar issue & that suited their needs perfectly.

 

[LazyLion]

Does it have to be HD?

Can't you just use one computer and then use these for the outputs?....

Chronos External USB2.0 to DVI & VGA Graphics Adapter
http://titan-ice.co.za/chronos-external-usb2.0-to-dvi-and-vga-graphics-adapter.html

 

[nahoR]

Maybe rather look at using HD-SDI? I dont think HDMI cables can be very long.
These guys have some really cute toys: http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/

 

[|tera|]

Have a look at the Intel NUC DC53427HYE. It has three HDMI ports for multiple monitors along with vPro technology to provide remote support.

One of my clients had a similar issue & that suited their needs perfectly.

Thanks for all the replies everyone.

The PI route won't be taken. We need a Windows based solution as explained initially. Our data that is displayed is reliant on this fact and so is the whole management of the "media server" on our domain etc. The data is different on all different displays and changes at random intervals set by us.

To answer a few questions posed:
Yes it has to be HD. We extend the HDMI via a LAN cable and HDMI adapter and 2 HDMI cables at both ends, Server end and TV end. We've done this successfully at other locations, but not used for this specific purpose, but for entertainment purposes. It works flawlessly.

Del Piero 10, the Intel NUC looks like an option. Does it have a Hard Drive and can I load Windows 7 Pro onto it? Or does it have some type of other Operating System? I read a bit about vPro on Intel's website, but it doesn't actually give a detailed overview of what I can do with it, so I'm a bit in the dark right now. I need a full fledged Windows Domain Capable OS.

 

[Pada]

Intel NUC's are very expensive for what you get!
The Core i3 on with 2x HDMI outputs would set you back R4k, and then you still need a mSATA SSD, RAM and Windows license and then you're still limited to just 2x HDMI outputs.

We've had some pretty good success with the EVGA UV39+ USB to DVI+HDMI adapters. I can playback videos with it over USB 2.0 @ FullHD. Only problem that I have is as soon as I launch a fullscreen game, its buggers up the device's performance until I restart Windows again.
Unfortunately Wootware lists this particular device as EoL (End of life)

 

[Del Piero 10]

Thanks for all the replies everyone.

The PI route won't be taken. We need a Windows based solution as explained initially. Our data that is displayed is reliant on this fact and so is the whole management of the "media server" on our domain etc. The data is different on all different displays and changes at random intervals set by us.

To answer a few questions posed:
Yes it has to be HD. We extend the HDMI via a LAN cable and HDMI adapter and 2 HDMI cables at both ends, Server end and TV end. We've done this successfully at other locations, but not used for this specific purpose, but for entertainment purposes. It works flawlessly.

Del Piero 10, the Intel NUC looks like an option. Does it have a Hard Drive and can I load Windows 7 Pro onto it? Or does it have some type of other Operating System? I read a bit about vPro on Intel's website, but it doesn't actually give a detailed overview of what I can do with it, so I'm a bit in the dark right now. I need a full fledged Windows Domain Capable OS.

Yes it does. You have two options. There's the thin version that supports mSATA SSD (minimum 32GB to load Windows) or the newer but thicker version that supports 2.5" HDD. The mSATA option for obvious reasons will be more energy efficient compared to the bulkier model that supports 2.5" HDD.

As Pada has mentioned, the Intel NUCs are more expensive as essentially they're barebone pc's & HDD, RAM & OS will need to be acquired.

Drop me a pm & I'll gladly arrange a demo with the NUC along with more detailed info on Intel vPro technology.

 

[|tera|]

Any more options would be appreciated. The NUC looks viable, but very expensive. The USB to HDMI looks like a contender, but it's not available. Any other alternatives?

 

[ponder]

Anything 'tiny' running windows is gonna be expensive unfortunately.

 

[|tera|]

Anything 'tiny' running windows is gonna be expensive unfortunately.

The prerequisite is not the size, it's the functionality of multiple HDMI ports that work independently, whilst being run on Windows.

 

[ToxicBunny]

You are basically wanting to output multiple different HD images from a single PC correct?

 

[|tera|]

You are basically wanting to output multiple different HD images from a single PC correct?

Correct ToxicBunny. Not just images, whatever we want to display.

 

[itareanlnotani]

You haven't said how many tv's are running.

If its < 4, can do from one computer, although windows gets rather fiddly doing that.

It might just be simpler to mount a small netpc on the back of each (atom based cheapies that are designed to mount on vesa mounts), and have one computer per screen, or chromecast, as that is also viable.

 

[ponder]

The prerequisite is not the size, it's the functionality of multiple HDMI ports that work independently, whilst being run on Windows.

Well you did mention the NUC earlier on or something of the sorts. Apologies.

Matrox might have something that fits your needs http://www.matrox.com/en/

 

[ToxicBunny]

Correct ToxicBunny. Not just images, whatever we want to display.

Then once you breach 3 (maybe 4) displays, it will probably be cheaper to just get a small pc and mount it to the back of the display for each one...

 

[|tera|]

Thanks for everyone's suggestions. After weighing our options and seeing what we needed, we decided to opt for the Chromecast route. I ordered one this morning and we can expect delivery early next week. After setup and initial testing I will let you guys know if it will do the task we need it to.

My main concern at this stage is, can I cast a Tab in Chrome, minimize it (it keeps casting in the background) and the user carries on working in their native apps as usual?

If that is true then I'm covered and we don't need anything more. Thank you again guys. Without your input I would be a heap of stress about all this.

 

[greggpb]

we have rasbery pi's running web dashboards refreshing every 60 seconds.. the pi's powered from the screen usb port and use wifi.. so for R1000 per tv... works awesome

 

[|tera|]

we have rasbery pi's running web dashboards refreshing every 60 seconds.. the pi's powered from the screen usb port and use wifi.. so for R1000 per tv... works awesome

So the Chromecast is a lost cause. It needs an always on internet connection. It needs a DHCP Server and we have a bit of a weird network setup with our Linux firewall/gateway, so it's just fail all the way.

My next move is in the diretion of a Raspberry Pi, but I'm extremely intimidated by it. I don't know what to look for. I don't what to buy. I don't know how we're going to program it or configure it and I'm just lost at this stage of the game.

Could anyone give me directions?

I'd like to go the Wifi route as Greggpb suggested above, since physical cabling must be avoided at this stage, but if we need to, then we'll go LAN and convert the HDMI connection as initially mentioned.

Thanks.
Stressed out me...