Multiple PCs into a single big monitor solution.. Help

moonarchia

moonarchia

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Void said:
I'm still confused, but I'll give it a try when I have some time. I think my main confusion stems from the fact that literally every video and tutorial shows a monitor for each machine, mostly laptops, and the mouse physically moves from one to another. I'm not saying that's all it does, but I can't find anything detailing exactly what I want.

I have a monitor with two machines plugged into it, but I currently have to change the input to see the other one, and obviously the m/kb don't work when I do, thus my remote desktop setup instead.

Does the monitor require a PiP feature to work, or does it somehow utilize multiple inputs? My monitor might actually have PiP, but I'm not positive as I've never tried to use it.
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Basically if you have 4 PCs you either want them all on screen at the same time, which means multiple monitors or a big monitor with PIP/PBP or you want to quickly switch between computers.

If you want them all on screen at once you will need KVM software of some sort. Remote access options all suck vast amounts of dick, the lag even on a LAN is awful. A big monitor with PIP/PBP is pretty baller once you get it all set up.

If you want to just quickly switch your KB/mouse/monitor between computers then just get an A/B/C/D/etc switch.
 
Void

Void

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moonarchia said:
Basically if you have 4 PCs you either want them all on screen at the same time, which means multiple monitors or a big monitor with PIP/PBP or you want to quickly switch between computers.

If you want them all on screen at once you will need KVM software of some sort. Remote access options all suck vast amounts of dick, the lag even on a LAN is awful. A big monitor with PIP/PBP is pretty baller once you get it all set up.

If you want to just quickly switch your KB/mouse/monitor between computers then just get an A/B/C/D/etc switch.
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I have one PIP on my monitor so maybe I'll give it a try, because I want the ability to see what is on that second computer while still doing things on the first computer. However, remote access is nowhere near as bad as you are suggesting. Maybe you haven't tried it in a while, or either of these options.

Both AnyDesk and Parsec work fantastically, even when true remote like when I access my home computer from my work computer. I can literally play games at work, from my home computer, so that I'm not installing anything at work. Now obviously there are occasional times when the internet connection has an issue, but 99% of the time it isn't much different than playing on the actual computer. Granted, I'm not playing super-fast-twitch-reflex games on it, but I can play Baldur's Gate 3, for example, without any issue at all. And if I were to do it over LAN I doubt there would be any issues at all.

On top of that, the second computer that I have with no monitor is the one that runs Plex, and I can watch entire movies in a media player on that machine, through remote software, without any issues. I don't actually need to watch movies that way, but at least hundreds of times I have started a movie on that machine to make sure it plays properly before turning it over to Plex, and they look (and sound) just fine.

That being said, I'm sure PIP is even better and I'm eager to try it, but you might want to check out remote software again if it has been awhile.
 
Daidraco

Daidraco

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I have no idea what Im looking for in a video capture card. Can someone tell me what to look for? I .. think?... what Im looking for is just FPS. But I would assume there is a latency issue as well that I need ot figure out what Im looking for in that vein. Ideal is 60 FPS or higher, and as low latency as possible, but also remaining somewhat affordable? Suggestions?

This is routing through OBS for EverQuest, of course. Im just following a guide, but I dont want the slave character to be show up as slow / unresponsive.
 
Crone

Crone

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Void said:
I know this isn't exactly what you asked for, and it would take a little time for multiple account setups, but programs like Anydesk and Parsec let you remote desktop in a window, so in theory you could do it on a "lesser" monitor that doesn't need 4 inputs. At home I have had my secondary computer that does stuff like Plex and such logged in via Anydesk for literally the last 5+ years, pretty much 24/7. Except for power outages that exceed the battery backup I haven't physically touched the computer in years. I use Parsec from work and find it better for true "remote" use, but in-network either is going to work just fine. I highly recommend both, although Anydesk has more conveniences like remote printing and copy/paste, etc.

You can also configure the desktops to shrink/grow with the window so if you need to blow one up full-size you can see wtf you are doing.

They are both free for personal use (with some feature limits), but using multiple at the same time would require some creativity unless you want to pay for one of them. Anydesk allows multiple connections if you pay (and Parsec probably does too), but if you're sticking to free you'd need one Anydesk, one Parsec, and something else that I'm not really sure of. TeamViewer used to be the big one but I wouldn't use that these days (if it still exists).

Like I said, not really what you are asking for, but maybe it fits your needs somewhat.
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First person I've ever heard reference Parsec. I didn't mind alt-tabbing between Windows so I discovered it a while ago after Teamviewer banned me because they thought I wasn't a free user. Love it, but do wish it had a few additional "office QOLs" like better copy/paste support.

Also, I found out when I started using it to box Everquest, that you can't run multiple instances of Parsec by just double clicking the exe again. I forget now exactly, but I had to have multiple install folders and run it separately from each one.
 
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Void

Void

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Crone said:
First person I've ever heard reference Parsec. I didn't mind alt-tabbing between Windows so I discovered it a while ago after Teamviewer banned me because they thought I wasn't a free user. Love it, but do wish it had a few additional "office QOLs" like better copy/paste support.

Also, I found out when I started using it to box Everquest, that you can't run multiple instances of Parsec by just double clicking the exe again. I forget now exactly, but I had to have multiple install folders and run it separately from each one.
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I found Parsec because AnyDesk kept saying I wasn't a free user, so same deal. It is great for just remote desktop, but like you said it can be a little lacking in certain areas. However, I have Dropbox installed on all of my computers, including the one here at work, so if I need something I can just put it there and it pretty instantly shows up everywhere else. AnyDesk is great too, maybe better, but having to jump through hoops to keep a free account can be annoying.
 
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