MultiScreener

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MultiScreener

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MultiScreener looks very handy if you need to play movies on multiple screens and want to keep them sync’ed up…

MultiScreener is a set of freeware applications that synchronize the playback of Quicktime movies on multiple computers, using a local network to tie them all together.

It is intended for multi-screen video walls, multichannel art installations, and the like. (It’s an alternative to Pioneer DVD Players and expensive synchronizer hardware.) There are two applications: Server and Client. The server plays a movie and sends position information over the network. Each client compares its position to the server’s and changes its playback speed to compensate.

12 thoughts on “MultiScreener

  1. T J says:

    Looks like it is only for Macintosh. I have a Mac, but the rest of my computers are Linux and Windows, so it wouldn’t be of much use for someone like me to playback video on multiple computers

  2. NovySan says:

    http://www.cinesync.com/

    Not open source, but there is a free trial.

  3. edwin says:

    does this have any advantage over VideoLan?

  4. Seven77 says:

    Interestingly enough, I’m told the Apple Stores use a very similar piece of home grown software to synchronize the displays behind the genius bars and iPod bars… Very Cool!

  5. Anonymous says:

    VLC would do the same, and for any file format

  6. ZLP says:

    (I’m the developer.) Thanks for all of the interest in this thing. We use it for students at Cooper Union Art School and so far it works really well. (I updated it today, actually, to add de-interlacing and a few other tweaks.)

    TJ: A windows version is possible, but I would need to put MAX/MSP/Jitter on a Windows machine, which I don’t have. Linux will never happen, I’m afraid, cause MAX is Mac/Windows only.

    NovySan: Looks like cinesync is a subscription service that does lots of cool stuff, but not frame-accurate sync.

    VLC can stretch a single video over multiple monitors on one machine, but I’ve never seen a way to sync multiple separate movies on multiple monitors. (It would be great though!)

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