RedCine-X to 50" Plasma WITHOUT a Redrocket

I recently stumbled upon away to get the video out from RedCine-X to my 50" Plasma without having to buy a Redrocket card & the breakout box - a savings of almost $6,000! My original intent was to get my second display (Asus ProArt) out to the Plasma so that I can watch Hulu on my big screen when I'm not working. (Lofty goal I know. ;) ). Anyway, this turned out to be more difficult then I had originally thought as not all of the equipment I bought played nicely with each other the first time around ...

After a lot of trial and error, I was able to get my second monitor up on my Plasma so I could watch my TV shows on the internet. (FEW- the world is all ok now ...). The unintended side benefit is that when I launch RedCine-X now, and put the video out on my second monitor, it also shows up on my Plasma! Which I think is great, as it saves me $6,000. Does this replace a Redrocket card with the breakout box? Is this a solution for a professional setup? Not at all- if you need real time output at full debater while monitoring, you are still going to have to pony up the $6,000. But for my own personal needs of grading in my suite and keeping the cost within my budget, it works.

So if you want to do the same, here is what you need:

• Tripp Lite DVI Splitter
• DVI to HMDI Cable

Here is how you connect it:

• Out of the second DVI port of the MacPro connect the DVI Splitter
• Out of the DVI Splitter, on port 01 connect you DVI monitor
• Out of the DVI splitter, on port 02, connect the DVI to HDMI cable
• Connect the DVI to HDMI cable to your HDMI monitor

Now you are all set to go, and it should work just fine. I went through multiple DVI splitters, and multiple DVI to HDMI cables before I found a combo that worked, and this combo should work for you as well. The only catch is that the DVI splitter limits the resolution to both monitors to the lowest common denominator. So that means that my Asus ProArt display is limited to 1080p. But you get what you pay for, and when I consider that my other option was to spend $6,000, I think I'll put up with that limitation for my suite.

Until Next Time - Get Out There And Shoot,

Ryan E. Walters, Cinematographer