P3d (v5,1) -- Multi-monitor setup?

[aatd 10]

 

(Moderator -- please don't hesitate to relocate this post if I have placed it in the wrong forum, Thank you)

 

Can anyone direct me to a link walking through the process to setup a three monitor main display for Prepar3d v5,1?  I have located this information for an earlier generation P3d, but it seems to not conform with the v5,1 view pages.  My multi-monitor setup is working fine for both v4,5 as well as MSFS2020.

I have also posted this query at the P3d forum, but thus far no response,

Thanks,

Brian

 

 

[GSalden 4,656]

You can setup multi monitor view the same way as in V4 :

- dragging the main view over 2-3 monitors

- using view groups

- using Manage Caneras 

[rich_cooke 4]

Hi Brian  I use Viewgroup in P3D5.1 and it works well for me with 3 monitors - left, centre and right views.  Essentially you set up a view for each monitor.  Its a bit fiddly and the monitor numbering seems to be trial and error and doesn't correspond to the Windows numbering of monitors but it works well if you adjust it bit by bit, I found this video very helpful:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUCJEPHeB3k

I start (and finish) P3D with just the centre monitor.  You then right click on that view, select Viewgroup and  select the Viewgroup you created.  Interestingly it seems to work for any aircraft you load.

Rich

[aatd 10]

Thanks -- to you both for getting back to me on this.

I have looked at the video, but in my case don't get any options when calling up manage view.group.  I am wondering if the issue might be (??) that I have setup my 3 monitor desktop using Nvidia surround rather than with the windows app?  Does this make sense?

Brian

 

 

 

 

[neilhewitt 493]

On 5/30/2021 at 9:41 PM, aatd said:

Thanks -- to you both for getting back to me on this.

I have looked at the video, but in my case don't get any options when calling up manage view.group.  I am wondering if the issue might be (??) that I have setup my 3 monitor desktop using Nvidia surround rather than with the windows app?  Does this make sense?

Brian

Yes, View Groups require each view to be on a separate display. So you would need to undo your Surround config and have them as 3 separate displays in Windows.

Given that, to have three views offset at angles to each other, you will have to have 3 windows in P3D, this is actually easier than doing it with Surround where you're creating 3 windows on a single display as far as Windows (the OS) is concerned. View Groups are easier to manage.

Once you do this, in the View Group Management panel you should now see all three displays in the display config section; note the DisplayID assigned to each. This can be a bit tricky as rich_cooke pointed out, because by default the displays will have names something like RTX2080.0 and .1 and .2, but that doesn't necessarily correspond to the display numbers you see in Windows display dialog. Trial and error (putting a view on each DisplayID at a time) will get you there so that you know which DisplayID refers to which actual display. And then you can go ahead and set up the views based on your monitor geometry. The Almost Aviation video is a great tutorial, but View Groups can be tricky things so if you get stuck, ask questions in this thread.

Note that you can expect a significant FPS hit for each extra window; but as you're using 5.1 then when you get your View Group finally set up you can set the slider marked 'Single Pass Rendering' to ON and this will speed things up by about 20% across the board (provided you have a DX12.1 compliant GPU: you didn't mention your hardware spec but I'm assuming GTX 10 series or higher) at the cost of a little extra VRAM. 

[aatd 10]

Thanks Neil,

That is very helpful!  I hadn't been aware that there was a mechanism in windows to achieve this outcome -- thus my original decision to use Nvidia.  I also should have mentioned that I'm using a 1080ti gpu.  Hopefully this is sufficient in this case.

 

...a stupid question, using the Windows method, am I likely to see an improvement or degradation when running MSFS 2020 (versus staying with Nvidia)?

Again, thanks for the very detailed explanation,

Brian

 

 

[neilhewitt 493]

20 minutes ago, aatd said:

...a stupid question, using the Windows method, am I likely to see an improvement or degradation when running MSFS 2020 (versus staying with Nvidia)?

Not stupid at all... but the only way to get multiple monitors working in MSFS is to use Surround (or AMD EyeFinity) because MSFS can only render to a single Windows display and does not (yet) have multi-monitor support. 

I'm afraid that would mean switching back and forth between modes every time you switch sims. 

You can still do the three-window thing in P3D without View Groups on a Surround display, but it's definitely more complicated and involves mucking around with camera definitions, and you don't get the benefits of Single Pass rendering and coordinated view changes that you do with View Groups.

To be honest, if I were doing what you were doing, I would probably have two separate Windows installs, one for P3D and one for MSFS, and switch between them with the boot manager (that's what I did during the Alpha which was the last time I touched MSFS). Both sims on a single system involves too many compromises IMHO. But that's a whole other topic!

[aatd 10]

Thanks once more Neil.  I forgot that msfs doesn't yet support multiple screens, so based on your advice, it sounds like the most practicable solution is for me to either choose P3d or MSFS for now, or to break down and buy an ultra wide monitor (not eager at the moment),

Brian

 

 

[GSalden 4,656]

On 6/1/2021 at 12:09 AM, neilhewitt said:

Not stupid at all... but the only way to get multiple monitors working in MSFS is to use Surround (or AMD EyeFinity) because MSFS can only render to a single Windows display and does not (yet) have multi-monitor support. 

I'm afraid that would mean switching back and forth between modes every time you switch sims. 

You can still do the three-window thing in P3D without View Groups on a Surround display, but it's definitely more complicated and involves mucking around with camera definitions, and you don't get the benefits of Single Pass rendering and coordinated view changes that you do with View Groups.

To be honest, if I were doing what you were doing, I would probably have two separate Windows installs, one for P3D and one for MSFS, and switch between them with the boot manager (that's what I did during the Alpha which was the last time I touched MSFS). Both sims on a single system involves too many compromises IMHO. But that's a whole other topic!

Using Manage cameras is a very simple way to add extra custom views. 
I have been using this for several years now and it is quicker configured than view groups.

In my case I use one wide view spread over 2 monitors and with the Manage cameras menu you can also use the fisheye effect fix. 
And other effects.

You can also fix distortion on a 3 monitor view config. 
With a 3 monitor view setup you can create 1 wide view or a 2 monitor view + seperate view or 3 seperate views,

No need for 2 Windows installs.

 

 

[aatd 10]

Thanks for the camera suggestion.  I have never tried it -- not really sure how to properly access and set it up.  I'll try to see if I can make sense of it,

Brian

 

 

[GSalden 4,656]

18 hours ago, aatd said:

Thanks for the camera suggestion.  I have never tried it -- not really sure how to properly access and set it up.  I'll try to see if I can make sense of it,

Brian

 

 

http://www.prepar3d.com/SDKv3/LearningCenter/getting_started/view_system/custom_camera_ui.html
 

This is for P3Dv3 but explains the procedure :

http://www.ontheglideslope.net/2016/05/18/how-to-creating-custom-cameras-in-prepar3d-v3/

No guid numbers needed. Start with the default VC, make changes and save it with a custom name,

Each time you want to make additional changes choose your camera view (custom name ) in the right window and make your changes. Then Save as Global scenario.

Now while inside your VC rightclick and choose your custom view. Does it need changes go to Manage cameras than make them and save them again as Global.

 

Edited June 3, 2021 by GSalden