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Most desktop systems sold today come with only a single display port, usually VGA or DVI. In the past, if you had one of these desktop computers and wanted your system to use multiple displays, you would probably need to install a new video card. And if you had a laptop and wanted to connect more than one monitor, you were basically out of luck. But a company called DisplayLink is changing all that and connecting multiple displays is now easier than ever. DisplayLink has developed a technology that allows displays to connect to computers through a USB 2.0 connection.
I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to use the DisplayLink USB to DVI adapter. After installing the setup software, I plugged the adapter into one of the USB ports on my PC. Then I plugged a second monitor into the adapter, and that was it.
In Windows XP, a small icon of a monitor appeared in the system tray in the lower-right corner. Right-clicking on the icon allowed me to choose settings for my second monitor. I could select to either mirror the same view on both monitors or extend my desktop to the other monitor so I could drag windows from one screen to the other. (In Windows Vista there was no icon in the system tray, so I had to do this from the display properties menu of the control panel.) In both operating systems, performance was good and screen resolutions went up to 1600 x 1200 (except for viewing DVDs, which required setting the second monitor at a lower resolution).
For now the DisplayLink adapter only works on PCs running Windows XP and Vista. I was, however, able to get mirror mode to work on Windows XP running using Parallels on a MacBook Pro. It’s still early for this technology, and there are plenty of possibilities. Because most desktop computers have 4-6 USB ports, this makes it possible for 3 or more monitors to be plugged into a single computer. Unfortunately, I only had a single DisplayLink adapter to test so I was not able to test using multiple USB adapters. This is an area that would really be exciting for people who want to connect even more monitors. (Just make sure that all your monitors use the DVI plug, and not the older VGA plug.)
Overall, I was impressed by the ease of use and display quality of the DisplayLink DVI to USB adapter. I would recommend it to anyone looking for an easy way to set up multiple monitors.
Disclosure: TechConsumer will be compensated for reviewing this product. We accept compensation for reviews only with the understanding that we will openly state any such agreement and be as candid as we please in any review.
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Related Link: DVI Adapters
Tuesday, 25. September 2007
How was the multimedia performance on this product? My laptops only have VGA out, but my HDTV has DVI in, so I could maybe use this product for Media Center and/or Netflix without getting another computer. It would need to be able to perform at 1280×720 well though.
Wednesday, 19. December 2007
If your HDTV has only the DVI port, it could be a DVI-I connector that has an embedded VGA port. All you’ll need to hook it up a laptop’s VGA port is a DVI(male) to VGA (Female adaptor) and either a VGA (male to male) or DVI (Female to Male) cable. Look at your DVI connector on your HDTV, if it has two pins on either side of the blade connector (the longer pin on one side) then it is a DVI-I connector.
If not, i.e. your HDTV is DVI-D only, then you could also use a VGA-DVI-D converter, which is around $100-120.
Back to the topic. I was wondering how the performance of this USB-DVI device is. I read that it imposes some load on the CPU (unlike a true video card which has its own GPU). Anyone care to comment? I’m looking at this device for a multi monitor setup.
Wednesday, 19. December 2007
Yeah, my HDTV only has DVI-D. I believe most TVs with DVI only support DVI-D. I think it is due to HDMI really as it does not support any type of analog signal. My TV’s DVI port supports HDCP, so it is basically HDMI with a DVI plug instead. In fact I have my DVR set up with an HDMI to DVI cable.
I’m starting to lean towards just having a computer on my TV to run Vista Media Center and/or replace my TV. I think if I’m going to pay more than $100 just to connect to my TV from a PC that it could be better spent on a different setup. Especially since my HDTV is a rather large rear project unit.
About the CPU usage, I don’t know from experience exactly how much this product will use, but it will be a lot more than a proper graphics card. USB is generally CPU intensive for just about anything really. How much that matters is a different question with today’s reasonably priced quad-core CPUs however.
How many displays are you trying to drive for your new setup?
Wednesday, 19. December 2007
Just saw this news (http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/displaylinks-new-vgc-4-3-supports-vista-aero-3d/). Looks like they updated their software so that you can do Vista Aero graphics now too. Pretty remarkable for a USB device.
Wednesday, 19. December 2007
Maccess, I wish I had played with the DisplayLink adapter on a media center setup before I sent it back so I could give you a better answer on this. Even though I didn’t see any problems when playing a DVD on a monitor using the adapter, the manual recommended switching to 800×600 for smoother playback. But USB is gaining popularity, and I think Samsung even has a line out now that connects primarily via USB. If they had let me keep the USB-DVI adapter I could tell you more
Friday, 22. February 2008
I JUST GOT THE DISPLAYLINK ADAPTER, I CONNECTS WITH DVI-D TO HMDI CABLE TO MY LCD LG TV. BUT IS NOT WOLKING…MY LCD TV HAD 3 HMDI PORT I USED ONE AND I SET IT UP USB ADAPTER TO COMPUTER AND I STILL DON’T SEE NOTHING..CAN SOMEONE HELP ME WHAT WRONG…THANK’S
Wednesday, 6. August 2008
I have buyed the adapter from Conrad Electronic (Germany), version 02/08. My PC use a NVIDIA Geoforce 8600 and MS Vista Home Premium. The driver is correctly loaded but no 2nd Display on the DVI-connection is visible. What is wrong?
Answers plse on hans.kindler@chello.at.
Thursday, 4. December 2008
i have a doctor friend who has a powerbook g4 that was given to him and is about 6 yrs old. he is trying to find the correct adaptor to connect ot a powerpoint projector……..the computer is apple powerbook g4….sorry
Wednesday, 18. February 2009
amazing stuff thanx