Triple 70" HDTV TH2G Demo

[sagrada737]

Hi Folks,

First of all... Your wife knows there is something going on when you take up half the room with three large screen displays :-)
Fortunately, my wife concurs with our 737NG Sim Project, and finds it an interesting project.

I am now about three months into setting up our Sim - most of which was wading slowly into the water.  In the end, I chose to use FSX with Sim-Avionics (each on their own computer), and as much FDS equipment as possible (FDS MIP Package on the way), and in the near future, building up some of the sim structure myself. 

The display part of the project was somewhat concerning for me.  But after seeing Scott's super 5-monitor setup and looking at Edward's beautiful flat projection setup, it confirmed for me, using some kind of flat monitor setup was the way for me to go at this point in time.

After some soul searching on exactly what kind of FSX display setup I wanted for my Sim, I finally decided on using three 70" Vizio HD TVs via HDMI as monitors with my Digital Matrox TH2G setup running off of a GTX680 display card.  This is one of Vizio's new product introductions, with a price of $1550 at Sam's Club, which I thought was very reasonable for this kind of HDTV. 

So...   For now, I am set as far as the FSX display strategy is concerned.   With that out of the way, I can continue to work on the other aspects of my Sim Project.  After I receive my FDS MIP, I will start building up the Sim Base, and go from there.  In the meantime, I continue to fly my "software MIP" and learn more about the 737NG flight deck using FSX and Sim-Avionics.  Keep in mind that I am new to Sims in general, and I find this whole hobby facinating.  My target benchmark is a sim somewhat like what Scott has put together - gulp!  One has to dream... Right?

Anyway...  and not to bore you...  I wanted to share with you a few videos of my current setup showing the Vizio 70" LED HD displays.  The first two videos are of a flight from LAX 25R enroute to Oxnard, CA for an ILS 25.  The third video show some taxing around Innsbruck.  Both of these videos are using MegaScenery SoCal, and Innsbruck with FSX.  Frame rate is unlimited, with the usual tweaked FSX settings.   I hope you enjoy the initial results of my display setup.

LED Displays LAX25R

LED Display OXR26

Innsbruck Display Demo

I also want to thank Scott, Maurice, and the folks at FDS for their kind assistance in answering various questions related to building a 737NG simulator.  In addition, I greatly appreciate the Forums as a way to share comment/info.

That's it... enjoy the show, and - Keep your airspeed up!

Mike

[jskibo]

Very nice start Mike!

Looking outward to the rest of the build.

[XOrionFE]

Nice Mike!!!   Looks great.   Gotta be happy with that setup.

Scott

[sagrada737]

Thanks for the comments Scott, John,

I did some experimenting with the "spread" on the end displays.  It turns out with the TH2G setup, that an angle of 45 degrees seems to offer the best view, with minimum reflections.  Also, it seems to afford a better sense of immersion.

In addition, reflections do not seem to be that big of an issue with these displays as they seem to have an excellent anti-reflection screen.  The "viewing angle" is excellent as well.

I think you are right Scott...   That if someone wants to have a 5-monitor display setup like yours, then smaller 55" or 60" monitors are best.  But for a TH2G setup like this, the 70" displays are indeed really nice.

Now it's back to FSUIPC and Offsets...  :-)  Can't wait for my MIP to get here.

Mike

[baudie]

Nice screens. May I ask how wide this setup is from left to right - because I consider a similar setup but I'm not sure if my sim room is wide enough. Also may I ask why you use TH2G and not just 3 screens directly into the 680?

Good luck building your simulator, and thank you for your video.

Best regards
Baudie

[sagrada737]

Hello Baudie,

In answer to your question, the total width of the three 70" TV monitors is 3.95 meters (156").  This was measured with the Left and Right monitors placed at a 45 degree angle to the Center monitor.  Of course, you can shorten that width by "turning in" the monitors if needed, but you will tend to get more reflections off of the screen (depending on the quality of the anti-reflection coating on the TV screen).

One thing I really appreciate about this HD TV monitor display setup, is its simplicity.  In less than one hour, your display can be setup and its done!  By contrast, a projection display system requires very careful adjustments and "tweaking" in order to get a clean blended display.  But when the Short Throw projectors are aligned correctly, I understand that it is a beautiful display system.  Frankly, I may change over to a projection system in the future.  But for me being new to the Sim building world, it is better for me to take the simple approach in the first year or so, as I learn the 737NG flight deck.

I should also comment on the heat that is produced by these large format TVs (which is the same consideration for a projector system).  My Sim Room is about 5.5 meters x 7 meters with a 4.3 meter ceiling height.  I immediately noticed a temperature rise in the room when operating the Sim for a few hours.  This is not a big issue in the winter time, but here in the New Mexico desert, during the Summer time, I will need to turn ON the air conditioning.  Fortunately, I have a Fujitsu Mini-Split air conditioning system in the Sim Room, so it keeps the room at an even temperature of 20C.

Also, I noticed a prominent smell of ozone (that electronics kind of smell) with these new TV monitors, which is probably due to their being new.  I'm hoping that it will subside over the months ahead.  I'm not sure if projectors have the same issue.

I chose to use the Digital TH2G setup as a default interface to my monitors.  I didn't consider the NVidia "Surround" feature on the GTX680 card, as I was told its performance/operation in this mode was not as good as eyeFinity with ATI cards.  I chose the GTX680 card because it was touted as being more reliable with FSX.   

Here are some reviews of the Surround setup and customer feedback.

http://www.geforce.com/optimize/guides/how-to-correctly-configure-geforce-gtx-680-surround#1

I'm not saying that NVidia's Surround feature with the GTX680 is faulty, but I realize that it might induce system problems/issues on my FSX computer, which is already working nicely with the TH2G - so I am not anxious to change over to Surround at this time.  That said, I may try this approach in the future.


Mike

[rhysb]

Mike,

Really nice work, looking forward to seeing more

Rhys b

[mounty]

Hi,

I don't have triple monitors, just one 42" flat screen TV.  I'm running the PMDG 737 NGX with FSX Acceleration and Nvidia 650GT graphics card and have a great resolution during the day but when it is at night the resolution is lousy, you can actually see the pixels, and the scenery buildings are all the same color, an off white.  When I had FS9 and an Nvidia 9800GT all was OK day or night.  Any thoughts about this?

Thanks

Rob

[Benja]

Rob,

Are you using DX10 preview? When I used it all my aerosoft scenery buildings were white at night.

Just a thought!

Regards
Ben

[sagrada737]

Hi Rob,

Sorry I can't answer your question regarding FSX scenery at night.  I too have issues/questions re. FSX night views. 

Such as:  Why are some areas in FSX at night, displaying the street lights amber/yellow, while other sectors/areas are shown with greenish street lights?  I would sure like to change the green to amber, but don't have a clue at this time as to how this is done.

I have asked this question on this forum (and other forums) before, but received no comments.  Must be one of those "mysteries" within FSX that folks just live with.  If my entire Sim Project were based on what was wrong with FSX, I think I would be totally frustrated and disappointed.  But since the "Display" component using FSX is simply one of many elements that make up the total simulator, I will submit to some of the "funny quirks" within FSX, and appreciate it for what it is vs. what it is not.  I have adopted a mindset that many of the mysteries of FSX are issues to be sorted out over time as I become more focused on perfecting the total "sim experience".  Of course, all this in and of itself is very subjective, as one person's dilemma is another's comfort zone.

At this point, I am happy as a clam to enjoy driving my 737NG sim around the sky in its current state, knowing that I am making incremental progress toward the end goals for my particular Sim Project.  I think that most folks on this forum would agree, that the end goals for a completed simulator are never quite achieved, because we are constantly trying to make changes and improvements to our Sims.  All part of the fun and enjoyment and privilege of owning a home cockpit!  As I shared in this thread, the 70" monitors are just another component in the "pulling together" my Sim Project.  No doubt I will change things it in the future.

Once again, I thank those willing to share their knowledge on this and other forums, that serve to help others along the way in the wonderful world of home cockpit building and their operation.

Mike

[mounty]

Hi,

Yea, I had the DXT10 Preview checked.  Unchecked it and buildings and tarmac are fine now.  Still have the degradation with the MIP panel and other panels at night though.  Any ideas what might cause that?

Thanks

Rob