dualhead2go
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Matrox DualHead2go adapter broadens your monitor horizons
If your widescreen ambitions can't be contained by a mere 1920x1080 HD screenscape, the fine folks at Matrox have a solution for you. The DualHead2Go Digital Mac Edition display adapter, priced around US$160, is built and marketed specifically for the Thunderbolt and DisplayPort-enabled Mac models. It pairs up with Matrox's PowerDesk software to enable spanned displays, rather than defining each external monitor as its own real estate. If you have the required two matching-resolution monitors, you can achieve some truly breathtaking resolutions. Design Like the rest of Matrox's line, the DualHead's pro-style design would be perfectly at home in a video editing workstation or studio. The unit, about the size of a pack of cards, sports two DVI-D ports on the back to connect your two displays for pairing. The aluminum case features cheesegrater-style ventilation holes that match nicely with the look of the aging Mac Pro desktop. I hooked up the DualHead to a Retina MacBook Pro via the provided mini DisplayPort to full-size DisplayPort adapter. This larger connector may be unfamiliar to most Mac users, but it's frequently seen on recent-model Windows laptops; it looks like a slightly cockeyed HDMI plug. The other necessary connection on the front of the unit is USB, which provides power for the adapter. Considering the number of cables going into and out of this small device, a bit of onboard cable management wouldn't be amiss. You could velcro or cable-tie your cables to the DualHead, since it doesn't get particularly hot during usage. Users who need even more space to spread out have the option of stepping up to the TripleHead2go unit, which teams three monitors instead of two -- for about 2x the price. Performance Unlike the dual-DVI connection that enables full resolution on Apple's 30" Cinema Display, the DualHead creates a virtual spanned display across both of the connected external monitors. In my testing, with two smaller Cinema Displays, the combined resolution got up to the supported maximum of 3840x1200 -- more than enough real estate for almost anyone. Given that this "one big monitor" is actually two displays with a hefty border in between, window management becomes more important than in a simplex setup. Matrox's PowerDesk software lets you define target cells for your apps, quickly moving windows around the screen and swapping content from your LCD to the wide external duplex display. It took me a few passes through the documentation to get a handle on the best way to manage the display cells; Matrox's instructions and the utility interface are aimed more at a video professional audience than at consumers. The responsiveness of the big screen was surprisingly good. Matrox's hardware doesn't do any hefty graphics processing of its own; rather, it presents the large virtual display resolution to the onboard GPU and lets the graphics chip in the Mac do the heavy lifting of drawing on that big canvas. On the Retina MBP, I didn't notice any dragging or slow performance onscreen, even with several QuickTime movies playing at once. Older Mac hardware might not fare quite as well -- Matrox's compatibility guide for adapters is a good place to start if you're considering options. Wrap-up With its base requirement of two resolution-matched external displays plus a solid GPU-equipped Mac, the DualHead2go is fairly described as a specialty item. If your needs demand extreme widescreen, however, and you'd rather repurpose older DVI monitors than shell out $999 for a 27" Thunderbolt display, Matrox is there to help you out. Pros Unique widescreen capability Small and unobtrusive Impressive performance Cons Software is a bit confusing Requires identical resolution monitors Limited consumer appeal Who is it for? Graphics and video pros who believe wider is better.
Ask TUAW: External Front Row, iSight mirroring, booting from an external hd and more
It's time again for Ask TUAW, our weekly feature where you ask the questions and we make up the answers... er, I mean carefully research and determine the optimal solutions. This week we'll be tackling questions about using Front Row on an external display, mirroring on an iSight, multiple external displays on a MacBook, timezones in iCal, booting from an external hard drive, and more!As always readers' suggested answers are most welcome! Please leave your questions for next week in the comments.
Matrox DualHead2Go Digital Edition on the way
Matrox just kicked out a new version of their DualHead2Go called the DualHead2Go Digital Edition that'll let you connect two 1920 x 1200 analog or digital displays (up to 3840 x 1200 stretched across two displays) to the VGA port on your desktop or laptop. It's compatible with both Windows (2000, XP, and Vistas), as well as OS X 10.4, and should be out sometime this quarter at a retail price of $229.[Via MacMinute]
Matrox intros Dual/TripleHead2Go for Macs
Mac users looking for a little multi-monitor action now have another option at their disposal, with Matrox announcing that its DualHead2Go and TripleHead2Go are both now compatible with a number of Apple systems. Each unit appears to be otherwise unchanged, letting you drive two or three monitors at combined resolutions up to 2560x1024 or 3840x1024 from a single video card. While the DualHead2Go is compatible with all recent Mac systems, you'll only be able to surround yourself in the wonder that is three monitors if you've got a MacBook Pro, Mac Pro, or 20 or 24-inch iMac. It's not a completely ideal solution, however, requiring a mini-DVI to VGA adapter (and a step back in image quality) for use with some systems and, as impressive as those combined resolutions are, monitors with native resolutions higher than 1280 x 1024 will be too much for either unit to handle. If that's not too much of a compromise to make, you can snag each now for the same price as they were before, $169 for the DualHead2Go and $299 for the TripleHead2Go.[Via Gizmag]
Dual displays with a Mac mini
Aniel wanted to use two displays with his Mac mini. After some poking around, he came across the Matrox dualHead2Go ($169US), which acts as a sort of splitter for a VGA signal. Even though the box says "Windows only," Aniel got it working under Mac OS X.He notes that the dualHead2Go works by splitting your display's horizontal lines in half, and sending those off to each of the two displays. As a result, the mini thinks it's driving a single monitor. Occasionally windows will open in the dead center between the two, but a simple drag remedies that situation. Good work, Aniel![Via 123Macmini]
