Two Monitors with 1 Laptop

[Bruinator]

Hi,

 

Is it possible to have 1 laptop with 2 different monitors and view a streaming show / tv show on one monitor and browse the internet using the other monitor? If yes, how much RAM is going to be needed so there wont be much lag on either screen? Also, is there any software needed to accomplish this using win 10 pro OS or hardware needed besides the extra monitor?

[n_K]

Well, yes, if you have 2 different monitor outputs e.g. HDMI port and VGA port and the video card supports it, or use something like a dell dock which has multiple video outs for multiple monitors

[Bruinator]

10 minutes ago, n_K said:

Well, yes, if you have 2 different monitor outputs e.g. HDMI port and VGA port and the video card supports it, or use something like a dell dock which has multiple video outs for multiple monitors

My bad, I should of explained a little bit better. What I should of said is I want to use my laptop monitor with an additional monitor to stream content. I will use an HDMI port from laptop to connect extra monitor so i can view both at the same time.. Also, do i need any hardware or software in order to achieve this?

[wakjak]

I use UltraMon for my 2 screen desktop setup but it should work the same with a laptop.

[Jim K Global Moderator]

33 minutes ago, Bruinator said:

My bad, I should of explained a little bit better. What I should of said is I want to use my laptop monitor with an additional monitor to stream content. I will use an HDMI port from laptop to connect extra monitor so i can view both at the same time.. Also, do i need any hardware or software in order to achieve this?

Just hook it up ... both the notebook monitor and the external display should stay on.  You don't need any additional software...though you may have to adjust positioning in the Windows 10 display settings.

[JustGeorge]

Depending on what it defaults to, you may need to go into the video properties and set it to "extend" the desktop to the external display, set default monitor and correct the positioning. All of this is built into Windows. No additional software required. 

[ThaCrip]

Yeah, it should be okay especially if your playing back a video on the other, say TV side, using GPU acceleration as it's less likely to lag etc vs if it's CPU only.

 

I got a two screen setup on my main PC... 24" 1080p monitor (using DVI port) and a 43" 1080p TV (using HDMI port). I use the TV if I am playing a movie (or the like) but the PC monitor side for general use. you just simply drag of whatever you want to use over to the TV side (this can be adjusted so you either drag to the left or right of your screen, but I got mine setup so I always drag from PC monitor out the right side of monitor screen to TV since the TV is physically located to the right of my PC monitor, so it's more natural that way (if it's to your left, then naturally, it's best to adjust Windows so it drags out of the left side of your primary monitor etc)), but programs loaded default to the PC monitor side. occasionally ill watch some YouTube videos on the TV as I just drag the browser window from PC monitor side to the TV then run the video full screen on the TV.

 

NOTE: but in terms of 'sound' output you can only select one or the other it seems as when I select 'speakers' it goes out the usual PC speakers through usual 3.5mm output back on back of PC. but if I switch to 'HDMI' output then sound goes out to the TV through back of my GPU (1050 Ti 4GB) to TV. but if what your doing, like browsing a website, does not require any sound, then you can just keep the sound to the TV and play your video like usual on there while doing some basic browsing on the PC monitor.

 

p.s. I am using Linux Mint v20.1-Cinnamon currently but that same basic process works when I was using Win10.

Edited April 10, 2021 by ThaCrip

[kiddingguy]

Yes it's possible.

Just extend your screen, or use 3rd party software for this, like UltraMon or DisplayFusion.

[Bruinator]

ok i set it up to the point where i see my laptop screen which has my desktop on it as normal but when i look at the other screen, the only thing I see is a blank desktop with the taskbar on it. How do I split it so i can stream video on the secondary monitor please.

 

PS. when i do into display and hit detect it says "didnt detect another display" Just an FYI

Edited April 10, 2021 by Bruinator

[wakjak]

3 hours ago, Bruinator said:

ok i set it up to the point where i see my laptop screen which has my desktop on it as normal but when i look at the other screen, the only thing I see is a blank desktop with the taskbar on it. How do I split it so i can stream video on the secondary monitor please.

 

PS. when i do into display and hit detect it says "didnt detect another display" Just an FYI

Just drag the window you have your video playing in, over to the TV from the top menu bar.

[Bruinator]

40 minutes ago, wakjak said:

Just drag the window you have your video playing in, over to the TV from the top menu bar.

Thx as that did it.

Edited April 10, 2021 by Bruinator

[Bruinator]

hi, One slight issue i am having is when i put streaming movie/show on secondary monitor it will only play at 3/4 of the screen. I tried all different display ratios with the same result. This monitor is about 13 years old. Could that be the issue or should i try using some of the controls on the monitor itself?

 

TIA

[+BudMan MVC]

On 11/04/2021 at 15:25, Bruinator said:

This monitor is about 13 years old

So its a 4:3 sized monitor not 16:9 - ie its square not rectangle?

 

Going to have a hard time showing a 16:9 movie on a 4:3 monitor full screen.. Without some serious cropping   So yeah you will have black bars on top and bottom.

 

You run into this problem

 

 

Not much you can do about..  You are either going to really crop up the movie, or your going to see black bars if the movie is not the same ratio as your screen.

[spikey_richie]

On 10/04/2021 at 14:25, JustGeorge said:

Depending on what it defaults to, you may need to go into the video properties and set it to "extend" the desktop to the external display, set default monitor and correct the positioning. All of this is built into Windows. No additional software required. 

Or press Win + P to choose the display settings.

[+BudMan MVC]

So is this 13 year old monitor 4:3 or not?

 

What is the laptop screen - is it also 4:3 or is it 16:9?   Maybe you could reverse your use, watch the movie on the laptop screen and do your work on the monitor?

 

Also you can get a cheap 16:9 monitor for really cheap these days...  Doesn't have to be a 4k OLED screen to watch a movie while you work   Pretty sure you could find something that would blow away whatever this 13 year old screen is for under a 100.

 

Unless you spent some bank on the thing.. I have to think whatever budget monitor you find today would blow it it way.. Size of screen, just bulk of the unit.. Old stuff really had some huge bezels on them - so something current prob have more screen for less overall size, etc. And most likely use less power.

 

 

[JustGeorge]

On 13/04/2021 at 06:35, spikey_richie said:

Or press Win + P to choose the display settings.

Handy. Thanks!