When considering a multi-output media player it is important to ensure it supports combining each of its outputs into a single virtual display or unified desktop. If you’ve ever seen a racing simulator use 3 screens to surround a person playing a game it’s the exact same technology.

When using multiple monitors, by default your options (in Microsoft Windows for example) will be to use:

Extend and Duplicate are available on Windows and Linux devices, however Android will generally only support duplicate.

While extended mode may seem like you are achieving a unified desktop, the operating system will still treat each screen as its own independent display even while allowing you to drag content between each screen. Applications used in extended mode can be maximised or run full screen, however the application will not appear full screen across every screen connected to your device, only the one it is running on.

This is where the device or software needs to support merging or combining those screens into a unified desktop. The below is an example of a 1x3 landscape setup. The top is how the screens appear in extended mode. The content will appear in 1920px x 1080px on the main screen (in this case the 2nd or middle screen), but not on screens 1 and 3:

Once combined into a unified desktop, the media player will only see one screen at 5760px by 1080px and the application will fill across all screens:

When purchasing a media player, you’ll need to check to ensure the graphics card or device supports unified desktop. Typically this is a feature of the graphics card within the player, so you should look for any of the following:

There may be other solutions out there for specific players, so confirm with the manufacturer or supplier that each independent screen will be combined into a single display output within the operating system.

There is one final workaround we were able to come up with when an existing media player doesn’t support a unified desktop. It’s not neat and tidy, but works! It involves setting up chrome browsers with our PWA player in kiosk mode and allocating them to each individual display. See instructions

Fusion Signage PWA on multi-output Windows media player - Install Fusion Signage

This would then use our synchronisation feature to keep the the content in sync.

Once you have chosen your media player that supports unified desktop, you’ll need to configure it. The exact steps will depend on the media player you have chosen, however google “Nvidia Surround setup” or equivalent and you will find the latest steps.

One important factor when setting up a unified desktop is EDID.

EDID stands for Extended Display Identification Data and essentially is the screen telling devices what resolutions and other settings it supports. This is why when connecting to a 4K screen you have options for 3840 x 2160 @ 60hz because the screen is telling the device it supports that resolution. If you connect a 1080P screen you won’t see options for 4K.

When the array is created in Nvidia or AMD it relies on the EDID coming from the screen to know that the screen is in the correct position. If a screen is disconnected from the player, the array is usually broken, meaning the unified desktop reverts back to its individual screens.

You’ll need to remotely log in (or log in on site) and rebuild the array to get it working again.

This obviously isn’t ideal!

EDID emulators can be built into the device (either hardware or software) and sit between the player and the screens. When the array is created, it uses the EDID emulator instead of the screens EDID, so if the screen is disconnected or replaced it won’t break the array.

If your player doesn’t have it built in, there are external options for both HDMI and DisplayPort available to purchase (google HDMI EDID Emulator to find one)

When creating content for display onto a multi-output media player with unified desktop, you’ll need to understand the resolution of all screens combined.

In the case of a 3x1 landscape:

As the number of screens scale up it will be important to ensure the media player you choose is capable of handling the content you are deploying.

Fusion Signage has a feature called the Zone Editor. It is not enabled by default on all accounts because it’s only used in specific situations, however it allows you to position images, videos, designs, and playlists within a virtual array. You can specify the number of horizontal and vertical screens, as well as their resolution. Then add in Media or Playlists and drag them to the correct positions.

This is particularly useful when using a multi-screen media player, as Fusion only sees a single screen, you can now position content into each screen at 1920px x 1080px resolution and update them individually.

The Zone is then added into a playlist like any other piece of content. This means you could upload a 5760 x 1080 video to play across all three screens, then it moves to a zone which is segmented into three 1920 x 1080 videos.

If you would like this feature added to your account, just email us at [email protected].

Requires:

Media Player Setup

Screen Setup

Content Creation



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