Multiple HDMI outputs from Multipe RPis

[andywylde]

So I have searched the forum for this and all the posts seem either pretty out of date or not applicable.

I am wanting to incorporate some videos I got from Atmosfx.com into this year's display.  So far it has gone great.   I made a sequence using the mpeg video, coordinated the lights and it works perfectly.  I get the sound out the speakers, the video out the HDMI and of course the lights using the E1.31.   I have a slave player which also is able to play the HDMI video flawlessly (1080p) as needed.

So of course since this works perfectly I want to push my luck one step further and play a different video on the master than the slave.   For example a ghost appearing in the yard while different ghosts are playing on the big hollusion screen by the entrance.   

I have not actually tried this and I have a few ideas but I am wondering if anyone has already tried this and has suggestions?  I have considered trying to make a sequence with a different mpeg video and the same name for one but that seems like it limits my options.   As far as I know there is no way to put a video into the sequence like I might to play on my mega tree and have it come out the HDMI.  The only way I know to do this is to use the mpeg for the media track.   

Is there another/better way?  If no one has any suggestions I will try making a sequence using the other video with the same name and edit the video to fit the same time frame.  But I would really to hear from anyone else who has tried this.

[keithsw1111]

Just give the video the same name on all the pis.

[andywylde]

Thanks Keith, I had thought about that but I wasn't sure what the FPP would do trying to sync them.  It makes sense though that it would just start the media file portion of it, especially if there were no E.1-31 attached.  I had a slower Pi that couldn't keep up as my master (I upgraded it now) and it kept making the other faster Pi video freeze while it caught up just a few frames.   That went away with the upgrade to a Pi 4b but I wasn't sure what would happen if I put different videos on different Pis with the same name.

I wonder what happens if they aren't the same length?  I am going to try it as soon as I get a chance.   Do I need to edit the videos to the same length or put blank space in front of them if I don't want them to start right away?  It would seem like it would but that is doable if necessary.   

Anyway thanks for your response, I will give it a shot tonight if I can.

[andywylde]

Sorry for the delay, forgot the RPi 4B uses Micro HDMI connectors and I had to order cables 

Anyway for anyone wanting to do this,  I can confirm that this does indeed work and quite well, although it took a hard boot for some reason.   Both videos play at the same time at normal speed.   

I don't see any way to delay the start of the video so I guess the only option is to edit the video that is shorter and add dead space before I want it to begin.  When the shorter video is over it just puts out black which is fine. 

Thanks for your help Keith, I would not have thought it would be this easy.   It is a bit confusing so what I did was make a folder for the videos I want with sub-directories of View 1, View2, etc. and put the files I want to view for each in those directories with identical names which I append with "_MV" for multi-view.  That way when I upload them I have some idea what I am doing and don't confuse them with the originals.