My personal Mac Mini, which is my main desktop computer
Monitor 1, which has only the Mac Mini connected to it
Monitor 2 which has both the Mac Mini and the work laptop connected to it.
This means that at any given time, I have one screen dedicated to my desktop Mac Mini, one screen dedicated to the laptop (the laptop screen itself) and one screen which can either be the second screen for my Mac, or the second screen for my laptop depending on what I’m doing.
I’m interested in replacing both screens with one massive widescreen monitor, which I think will be neater and reduce clutter. I don’t want to lose the flexibility that I have, though: I’d like to be able to have one half of the screen showing the output from the Mac and the other showing the output from the laptop - or devote the whole thing to either source as circumstances demand. Is this “spilt screening” a feature that big monitors typically have?
Not really. There are some video multiplexers around for AV use, but they aren’t common or cheap, and they certainly aren’t built into typical monitors.
One problem is that it’s the computer that drives the screen, not the other way around. The computer sends out new frames on its own schedule (usually some constant rate like 60 or 75 Hz, but sometimes at a variable rate), and the monitor displays them when they arrive. But with one screen getting frames on a different schedule from two sources, it doesn’t really work.
There are video wall boxes that kinda give you what you want, like this:
But again, they’re expensive, plus they have some other downsides like increasing the amount of lag (because they have to composite the incoming images before displaying them). So it’s possible, but not a great solution.
One thing you can do is use remote desktop software. One system is the primary and drives the display. Any other machines are accessed only remotely from the primary. Their desktop appears in a window, and you can position that window how you wish (making it half-sized, full-sized, or whatever).
There are again some lag problems, and how smooth it is depends on your network, and there may be a few things you can’t do remotely (like play some games), but it can work ok under some conditions.
I use a pair of matched monitors butted close for my MacPro, but almost always have a Screen Sharing window open showing a remote vintage MacMini running OSX 10.6 for reasons, and often another Screen Sharing window showing my wife’s modern MacMini for tech support. This would probably work OK on a bigger single wide screen, but I’ve gotten addicted/accustomed to 2x(16x9).
Another nice aspect is that the mouse/keyboard are naturally shared. You just start clicking/typing in the other window and it works as you expect. No need to physically use the other keyboard or use an input switcher.
The brochure for the Dell P3424WE Curved USB-C Hub Monitor says that you can “view content from two PC sources with Picture-inPicture (PiP) and Picture-byPicture (PbP). KVM allows you to control both PCs with a single keyboard and mouse.”
They show two screens with either a compressed aspect ratio or massive letterboxing. That’s not good. Perhaps some custom resolutions would improve things, but you’d want all this to be automatic, and that doesn’t seem to be the case.
I also wonder about the lag, compatibility with variable refresh rates, etc.
I’ve got a slightly older version of this monitor and the screen resolution is set manually. Enabling PbP does keep the ultra-wide aspect ratio that was sent in full screen, but Dell does have a task bar app to make this easier.
Looks like it is OS agnostic - it just treats them as video input sources; one of them could be a DVD player probably.
Edit: OK, maybe not. If you want to be able to scale the inputs to fit rather than just have them display at default resolution, it looks like you need to install a bit of Windows software
Ah, time differences: I ask a question, go to bed, and here’s a whole thread full of useful advice waiting for me when I wake up. Thanks everyone!
Sorry, I should have specified that - the laptop is a Dell machine running Windows 11. Standard corporate machine. The Mac Mini is a 2014 model that is up for replacement, which has got me thinking about my whole setup.
Given that I’d be investing in a big monitor, it sounds like PictureByPicture might be too much of a compromise - but I know what to search now, so thank you! My employer does make a virtual desktop available which can be logged into from personal devices. I’d forgotten about that because I’ve never needed it, but that may be the way forward. I believe that it uses Citrix and might even run the virtual desktop in a browser tab (not sure about that).
A VM is a great way to go. I have done this in various flavours for the last 15 years. Sometimes a bit of faffing about to get things settled but the unified keyboard and mouse is great. There can be security implications that get in the way when a work computer appears on a home machine.
I’ve got one of the Samsung 32” 4K monitors that is supposed to do side by side and I think a Picture in Picture. Never used the capability.
Some of the ultra wide monitors look for all the work like cut down 4k TVs, with a pair of HD inputs for the two sides. I wonder if they use rejected TV panels.
Yes, I do this all the time. We use software called VMware Horizon. One part of the screen is just my personal desktop, the rest would be my work machine which is located about 30 miles away.
I can configure the screens any way I want. Or minimize one or the other. From my work computer I often RDP into other servers, so at any one time I might be looking at 3 or 4 machines.
I have a 43" Samsung curved monitor. Works great. I think you will need a pretty high end graphics card to drive all of this.
That’s an interesting point. I’m intending to replace the old Mac Mini with… a new Mac Mini. They’re reasonably powerful machines but they don’t have discrete graphics cards. That said, I’ve never had a problem driving two medium sized screens from my old one.
I have a Mac mini, have wide screen monitors, AND often work via Remote Desktop. I feel oddly qualified.
Picture-by-picture (PBP) - works well on both my LG and Samsung monitors. The only drawback with the LG is that I can’t split between two HDMI devices - I can do HDMI+Displayport, HDMI+USB C.
Both Logitech and Microsoft have software that will allow sharing mouse+keyboard. I recommend MS’s Mouse Without Borders, as it works with any mouse.
Remote Desktop - Works well, overall. Printing can be problematic.
Mac Mini - the newer ones definitely have the power to do this.
Bonus - I sometimes prefer two monitors over the single wide one. I use two outputs on my PC goin to the same monitor. I can switch to PBP and the PC sees two monitors.
Yeah, luckily I rarely need to print. If I have to, well, I email myself the document. Kinda stupid, but it’s so rare that it’s not worth worrying about.
I’ve come to like the ultra wide monitor. But it does take some getting used to.
My wife might start working from home one or two days a week. But she’s not sure she wants to. The whole office/home separation. I understand that. Everyone is different.
You would need handcuffs and a gun to get me to go into the office now. I’ve got an office. It’s in my home.