Fake / virtual monitor in Windows 7?

[delatroy]

Hello all.
So I have a 1440x900 monitor and I do some video game capturing from time to time of replays. I want to increase resolution that I'm capturing at to 1080p, WQHD, 4K, etc using my same setup without having to fork out on a 4K resolution monitor.

I tried a virtual machine where you can emulate a monitor at any resolution and this worked however the directx support ended up constantly crashing the application so it's not practical. Even if it didn't, it probably would have been too slow to capture without dropping frames.

I'm now looking for a way within Windows 7. One idea is to extend the desktop in windows 7 to a second, "fake" monitor with the desired resolution. I would then drag the application into the extended, faked monitor, maximize it from the keyboard and start recording via a hotkey. It would be unseen but capturing at the higher resolution.

Wondering if anyone has any insight into if it's possible? What about physically faking that a second monitor is connected to the GPU? See this thread: http://www.overclock.net/t/384733/the-30-second-dummy-plug where monitor terminators are used. Could this also work with multi-monitor, terminated setup?

Is there a way just through software alone?

Any help appreciated.
Many thanks.

 

[KingFatty]

Do you have an Nvidia video card? I think there is an option in the drivers to choose a resolution larger than your physical display, and the video card shows the portion that can fit in that display and you can scroll around to see everything. This was a while ago, not sure if the option is still in the drivers. But anyway, just wondering if you have NVidia and if you can play around in the control panel settings to set custom resolution to your desired resolution that is greater than your physicial display resolution.

 

[delatroy]

That sounds perfect and such a simple solution if it's possible. I see the option i the nvidia control panel as "adjust desktop size and position" however it doesn't seem to offer up any way to do it: (image is not my setup)

 

[manko]

A couple downsampling guides to help you get started.

HOWTO: Downsampling (custom res. 2100 x 1314 - 3840 x 2400)
Downsampling: How to

 

[delatroy]

Thank you manko. Looks interesting and there's probably some mileage in that however it does have a physical limit as opposed to a purely virtual setup with any resolution. I do not need to play or see the game - just capture it.

 

[delatroy]

This is pretty blunt, but what if I forced whatever resolution (say 2560x1440) I wanted on the primary display and before activating it, I unplugged the monitor to prevent damage? The 15sec warning dialog would appear which I could accept blindly or via VNC from a laptop? At this point, would the GPU be outputting at 2560x1440?

Alternatively and if the GPU would stop after the monitor is unplugged, what about using a terminated VGA (see http://www.overclock.net/t/384733/the-30-second-dummy-plug) and then VNC in to set the 2560x1440 resolution?

 

[KingFatty]

That sounds perfect and such a simple solution if it's possible. I see the option i the nvidia control panel as "adjust desktop size and position" however it doesn't seem to offer up any way to do it: (image is not my setup)

What about trying under "Change Resolution"? Can you add a custom resolution there?

This super-old guide shows an example, but it's obsolete by now. Back when I used to do it, hmm that was like 2007? But it worked fine on my Nvidia cards when I used to add the custom resolutions that were bigger than my physical display.

I don't think you'd need to disconnect the display, because the physical display will just show whatever it's native resolution is, and the other portions of the 'virtual' resolution will just be off the screen so you move your mouse toward the edge of the screen and it will scroll. Very cool feature by Nvidia - I don't think AMD has it?

 

[delatroy]

So this is pretty weird and obviously I'm missing something basic in understanding how resolution is produced.

I created a VNC between the PC and laptop. I then disconnected the VGA cable on the GPU, VNCed in with the laptop, increased the resolution to 2560x1600 and then tried to capture the application. On doing so, I got an error saying that directdraw couldn't be enabled (the same error through a VM as it turns out) even though I could expand the application did expand to the max resolution.

I then tried another way by disconnecting the VNC completely so that directdraw would no longer be an issue and I fired the application off via the command line. I got a different error this time as: "Problem setting '0x224x163789bpp (0hz)' display mode" which I guess means something along the lines of.. couldn't start.

It seems like the gpu really does require a physical connection (at least in Win 7)? How does this work? Is it possible to create a dummy VGA plug which spoofs the gpu into thinking that the resolution is rendering successfully? If so then I guess this method would work. Any help appreciated.

Kittfatty:
There's no option in the control panel settings to increase the resolution beyond the native. I have no idea what that dialogue is meant to do. I tried everything in there and nothing allows for a higher than native resolution.. :/

 

[delatroy]

Anyone please?

 

[Childs]

Did you try to video terminator? I use these at work for headless machines, and I can set the resolution to whatever I want. I dont do it in Windows, but I can bring one home and check it out.

 

[delatroy]

Okay I will try that thank you. If you could test on Win7 that would be amazing!!

May I ask what your machines in work are doing while headless? I ask because in my test with nothing plugged in, I could set the res to whatever I want, but the application failed to start directdraw because I'm guessing that it needs something to draw to - VNC, VM, physical monitor, etc:

This or that it needs to get a signal back which says that the drawing is being rendered successfully. I'm guessing therefore that a VGA plug won't make a difference because from what I understand, the VGA dummy plug only tricks the OS into thinking there's a monitor present.

 

[Childs]

Okay I will try that thank you. If you could test on Win7 that would be amazing!!

May I ask what your machines in work are doing while headless? I ask because in my test with nothing plugged in, I could set the res to whatever I want, but the application failed to start directdraw because I'm guessing that it needs something to draw to - VNC, VM, physical monitor, etc:

This or that it needs to get a signal back which says that the drawing is being rendered successfully. I'm guessing therefore that a VGA plug won't make a difference because from what I understand, the VGA dummy plug only tricks the OS into thinking there's a monitor present.

I am using Macs. I think Macs are similar in this regard because they need something plugged into the video card in order to do anything OpenGL related. I use VGA terminators combined with DVI to VGA adapters, or DVI Detectives, which can completely clone a specific monitor's characteristics. I have lots of xserves, Mac Pros and MacMinis in racks and its not practical to have monitors for each, and its hard to get a req for good network KVMs. I will get some terminators from work and try them out on my Windows machine tonight.

 

[Childs]

I dont think this is going to work for you. The VGA terminator allowed me to set a custom resolution of 3840x2160 on the virtual monitor. Using VNC I can connect to the Windows machine and see both monitors spanned, and play video on the virtual monitor. The problem is, when starting up a game (BF4), it will run on the virtual monitor, but the screen is black. I could actually capture video using Dxtory (Shadowplay crashes), and the video did record the actual game, but you wouldnt actually be able to play the game (because the screen was black). The same thing with the DVI Detective (note: DVI Detective clones monitors, so the highest I could set it to was 2560x1440).

Now it could be the VNC server (used TightVNC) cannot display the game video, but it can play regular video, so I'm not sure where to go here without investing a lot of time. Might be BF related, who knows. There is also the issue of audio, as you dont get that via VNC, although the sound was recorded in the game capture.

Now, you might be able to do what you originally wanted, in using a VM, setting the game to display on the second monitor, and just play the game scaled. I dont have a Windows VM to try this. You can least build the simple VGA terminator and give it a shot. I have a feeling that the frame rate will be terrible, if it works at all, because then you are trying to play at 4K. Depending on the game and your hardware it might be feasible.

Also, to create a custom resolution, open Nvidia Control Panel, expand Display, click on change resolution, select your monitor (or phantom monitor), then click on Customize, then click on Create Custom Resolution.

 

[delatroy]

Interesting and what you describe sounds a lot like what I experienced via the TightVNC. I know for sure that VNC / VM do not support directx / directdraw, hence why your BF4 screen was black so this is to be expected. I tested both and both failed to draw.

Could you test capture without the VNC? This would mean launching the game blind via command line or something and then capturing with dxtory via hotkey. Doing so would eliminate the problem with directx / directdraw however maybe the application won't start - ala the error I had.

If you're saying that it worked in that the screen was black but dxtory sucessfully captured at the higher resolution, then this satisfies the requirements I have because I do not need to play the game - only record a replay. We are using different applications to test also so I will try and test with BF4 to see what happens. Maybe it's the case that my application will crash, but BF4 will run.

I really appreciate your work in any event. You're very kind to take the time. +rep

 

[Childs]

Interesting and what you describe sounds a lot like what I experienced via the TightVNC. I know for sure that VNC / VM do not support directx / directdraw, hence why your BF4 screen was black so this is to be expected. I tested both and both failed to draw.

Could you test capture without the VNC? This would mean launching the game blind via command line or something and then capturing with dxtory via hotkey. Doing so would eliminate the problem with directx / directdraw however maybe the application won't start - ala the error I had.

If you're saying that it worked in that the screen was black but dxtory sucessfully captured at the higher resolution, then this satisfies the requirements I have because I do not need to play the game - only record a replay. We are using different applications to test also so I will try and test with BF4 to see what happens. Maybe it's the case that my application will crash, but BF4 will run.

I really appreciate your work in any event. You're very kind to take the time. +rep

VNC was used just to launch the game remotely, but the recording was done on the machine with the virtual monitor. I thought you needed some interaction using the virtual monitor, but since you dont, this seems to do what you need it to do. Since I couldn't see the actual game running, I didn't bother trying to run the game at 4K. I didnt want to introduce any BF specific unknowns. I used the preset resolution of 1600x1200. BF recognized the virtual monitor as another monitor, and it was selectable in the UI. I just wanted to make sure you could create a custom 4K resolution using a VGA terminator. All other Windows functions worked at 4K.

 

[delatroy]

Interesting. I wonder how the game managed to launch with the VNC. Did you launch with the VNC open, change the res via BF4's menu, quit the VNC and then go into single player? Maybe the res can be set from notepad / launcher from the desktop instead? Seems a little odd how you were able to even launch if this is the case via the VNC.

I think I really just need to test for myself with the dummy vga plug. You've definitely given me a last hope that it could still be viable!!

 

[delatroy]

I didn't bother trying to run the game at 4K. I didnt want to introduce any BF specific unknowns. I used the preset resolution of 1600x1200.

Is your primary, physical display 1600x1200?

 

[Childs]

Interesting. I wonder how the game managed to launch with the VNC. Did you launch with the VNC open, change the res via BF4's menu, quit the VNC and then go into single player? Maybe the res can be set from notepad / launcher from the desktop instead? Seems a little odd how you were able to even launch if this is the case via the VNC.

I connected to the PC from a Mac using VNC, and simply opened the game, then set the monitor. In the VNC viewer, you see both the physical and the virtual monitor spanned as one display, so you can drag between displays. So I opened BF4, which opened on my primary display like usual, then went into video options and set the game to display on the virtual monitor. At that point the virtual monitor via the VNC viewer went black, but the game was actually running, as evidenced by the game capture.

Is your primary, physical display 1600x1200?

No, its a 144Hz 1080p monitor. I think when the video card can't get back a list a supported resolutions from the monitor, it defaults to some values which should be support by older displays like CRTs. The terminator tells the video card some display is connected, but since it cant do EDID is must default to core resolutions. It actually defaulted to 1024x768, and 1600x1200 was the highest available resolution. You can of course, create a custom resolution. My DVI Detective can do EDID, and the default resolution was 2560x1440 on the virtual monitor, which is what it should do.

Yeah, I think at this point you should give it a shot. You can pick up resistors cheap at radio shack, and you probably have a dvi to vga adapter from one of your last few video card purchases. I dont quite get what your doing, like manage to get in game, change resolution, then play the replay and capture it if you can't see the screen. I guess if there is something similar to Automator on the Mac you can automate this.

 

[KingFatty]

Hey, I found the following that talks about the virtual increased display using pan-scan. They mention coolbits and GiMeSpace Desktop Extender, maybe those are still around (this is an older thread):

http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/archive/index.php/t-53236.html

The solution is to download Coolbits 2 (http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=815), and run it to modify your registry. Then oad the NVIDIA control panel, and then click on Menu Editing->Restore defaults. After this the "Screen Resolutions & Refresh Rates" menu will pop up. Set a resolution larger than your display, and there you go; you have a custom resolution pan-and-scan desktop.

GiMeSpace Desktop Extender solves this problem in an easy way. It will give you unlimted desktop space and also no size restrictions on your windows size!

 

[Childs]

Hey, I found the following that talks about the virtual increased display using pan-scan. They mention coolbits and GiMeSpace Desktop Extender, maybe those are still around (this is an older thread):

http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/archive/index.php/t-53236.html

That is interesting. Come to think of it, I remember something like this a long time ago. Here is a recent thread on on the same software, so it looks to be current.

http://windowssecrets.com/forums/sh...Premiun-to-Ultimate-questions?goto=nextnewest

Searching for pan and scan desktop will open up more possibilities.

 

[delatroy]

Thank you Childs and KingFatty.

I tried GiMeSpace Desktop Extender however Dxtory doesn't recognise the larger window as being "true". It still hooks 1440x900 even though the window size is far larger. In addition the larger window isn't being drawn to - it's just black. I think for my case at least, I need a more convincing fake with the dummy plug.

Another similar application is called Infinite Desktop: http://www.addictivetips.com/windows-tips/get-infinite-scroll-on-windows-desktop-with-windowslider/

I will see if I can get Coolbits up on Win7. It was released in 2004 so it could be a little hairy.

I'm still puzzled how Childs was able to run and navigate within BF4 as you did with a VNC running because as far as I know, no VNC supports directx / draw:

I connected to the PC from a Mac using VNC, and simply opened the game, then set the monitor.

Which VNC were you using?

My DVI Detective can do EDID

Why is this hardware useful if the EDID information can be forced (res, hz, etc) or specified in an edited .inf driver?

 

[delatroy]

Well I got 3 resistors and tried the VGA plug trick on the primary monitor but I couldn't get it to work. Basically I VNC'd into the machine from a laptop, set the res etc, restarted the machine, VNC'd in again to setup the application, disconnected the VNC, started the application.... but it behaved like the VNC was still connected. i.e. the application failed direct draw. I guess I could fiddle with it some more, completely blind and running things from startup, etc but now I'm trying a Win XP install. I learned that there's a way to set a virtual desktop size that will pan / scroll and also you can capture to it allegedly. Fingers crossed!! ._.

 

[_Rick_]

I'm using a fake monitor trick to activate the Intel HD video for quicksync.

The trick is to force detection of the devices, then force connection as a VGA monitor, and then set the desired resolution. Despite it being supposedly VGA, Windows 7 offers me a 2560x1600 resolution for the fake screen. I didn't try to actually set it, but it may be worth a try for you.
With Lucid MVP and a 4k-capable CPU you might even render to 4k on the not-a-screen, using your primary GPU.

 

[Childs]

I'm still puzzled how Childs was able to run and navigate within BF4 as you did with a VNC running because as far as I know, no VNC supports directx / draw:



Which VNC were you using?

Sorry, I didnt know this thread was updated. I used TightVNC as the VNC server, and on my Mac I used the ScreenSharing app as the client.

Why is this hardware useful if the EDID information can be forced (res, hz, etc) or specified in an edited .inf driver?

You clone the monitor so when its not plugged in the system will always think it is. This is useful when you do not have a monitor connected, or use KVMs and switch away from the source. The VGA terminator doesnt store information, so it just uses a generic VGA monitor. The DVI Detective is more used when cloning specific monitors and timings, and it stays with the device so there are no drivers or creating specific profiles.

 

[delatroy]

So today I bought a cheap ATI 5570 after reading that pan and scan was last supported in CCC version 10.4 with the hope that I could have both my GTX670 and 5570 running in the same system. After installing the new card however the bios would post but nothing would be displayed on screen. I just took out the 670 for testing to see if I could get pan and scan up and went full on with the 5570 which posted as normal.

I downloaded CCC 10.4 but it wouldn't recognize the card for some reason in XP. I downloaded the latest CCC, (13.something) rebooted and it worked. I then forced a higher resolution in XP display properties settings and pan and scan worked right off the bat! I could also successfully hook and capture at the higher resolution!! Finally I have some kind of solution.

There's an upper resolution limit in CCC / XP right now which is below my 3200x1800 target on the defaulted monitor to something like 2500 x something but I read that additional resolutions and refresh rates can be added / hacked in the registry. Once I do that the next thing will be to try and get both the Nvidia and ATI co-existing in the same system - GTX670 for Windows 7 and 5570 for capture in XP where I can dual boot between them.

I don't quite know why pan and scan is working in the end given that I read from several threads that it was discontinued after version 10.4. I also worry a little about the power of the card to output at 60fps @ 3200x1600. The application is quite light but even still it's a lot of pixels. I may need a more powerful card like the 4870 or something which are relatively inexpensive.