[reichman]

If you do stay in one display, you don't need to buy the BM card. I've seen some composers and editors who tolerate having a Quicktime window open on their main computer screen. I can't work that way, and I often do use the Apple 30", and even with that amount of screen space, it's frustrating to have the QT movie on the same screen.

If you have clients in the room, you must have a separate video display.

The Blackmagic card does not run "extended desktop", meaning that your standard display card that is driving your 30" screen will stay, and you will add the Blackmagic card in another PCIe slot. You will not see the Finder on the BM screen, only Pro Tools' movie output.

Although there are many posts on this list that support or dispute my experiences, I've had the best luck with Aurora and Blackmagic cards. I also regularly use VVTR which is terrific (and I'm sure Video Satellite is even better, haven't tried it yet). I don't like the performance or ease-of-use of the Canopus boxes, or extended desktop solutions.