Dedicated video card - how does that work?

Hi,

For some this question may be too obvious (not to say stupid), but I’m wondering how does dedicated video card work with Cubase (or Nuendo).

If I buy Blackmagic DeckLink video monitor card, does that mean that I have to use a dedicated monitor only for displaying video from Cubase, or will it behave like every other graphics card so I can use it’s output as an extended desktop?

I already have two monitors (24" and 19") so there’s not much desk space to install third monitor just for video playback. I would rather have my second (19") screen do the usual stuff like mixer and some plugins PLUS video preview window. But in that case would buying DeckLink card make any sense? Can it improve video playback even in that scenario?

I had to mix a live concert with an hour long video and decoding the video was stressing my computer when project was loaded with plugins. I’d rather leave CPU for plugins and have dedicated card take the load of video decoding. But will that work windowed along other stuff on screen?

There’s so much stuff about those cards but I never found an answer to this (beginner) question!

cheers,

Luka

Doesn’t extend your desktop, can only be used for playing back video in certain formats. No idea if it works well for Cubase, I’ve only installed these for use with Pro Tools.

If you have problems with video playback, use a different codec dor your movie. h264 is not very well suited for DAW use, unless you have some form of hardware decoding.