Performance Increase with Second Monitor?

BoinxTV Home
#1

I’ve got BoinxTV Home all set up and working, it’s sending to Ustream (via CamTwist and the free Ustream Producer) and all is peachy. The only problem is that my computer (2009 Macbook Pro, 17") isn’t quite beefy enough to throw in recording to the local disk as well. I think I’ve done all I can to maximize performance (shutting down programs, correct graphics card, etc) so here’s my question.

I’ve got an old 19" CRT in the garage. I have an adapter to connect it to the MBP. If I understand correctly, I can put the Live Output Window on a second monitor and tell CamTwist to grab it from over there, right? So, if I do that, I have two concerns. First, the colors on that monitor are all kinds of messed up. The thing’s dying, which is why it’s in the garage. Will CamTwist display the errors or does it get it’s data from BoinxTV? For that matter, could I turn off the attached monitor and leave it dark? Would CamTwist show a blank screen? I wouldn’t think so.

My second concern, more of a wondering, is… does it make that much of a difference in performance? Do you think it’s worth dragging the CRT out of the garage and making room for it on the desk? Please don’t say “just try it” because this thing weighs like, 300 pounds. Maybe 350. It’s heavy.

Thanks for any advice.

#2

Camtwist won’t pick up the messed up colors as they only happen inside of the screen. The external screen will in no way increase the performance of BoinxTV.

#3

Ahh. I could have sworn I read somewhere that one way to increase performance was to unload the Live Output to an external monitor. Back to the drawing board! Thanks for the reply, Bastian.

#4

I have tried using a secondary monitor with BoinxTV Home on a 2009 MBP. Problem is, the MBP has 2 graphics cards - one for the internal display, and one for the external display. The one for the external display is less performant, and I haven’t been able to use it successfully. In fact, simply having the external monitor connected has somewhat of a resource impact on the MBP, so I disconnect it altogether. I need every ounce of performance I can just to keep up with BoinxTV Home.