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Matrox multi-display guide With multi-display support, you can use more than one display at a time from a single system. "Multi-display" is also referred to as "multi-screen" and "multi-monitor", among other things. Most people are familiar with using one monitor at a time but many aren't so familiar with using more than one display at a time. Using multiple displays has many advantages and Matrox is an industry leader in multi-display support. For those interested in setting up a multi-display system, there are many ways to do this.  Using
a multi-display system isn't to be confused with using more than one system at
a time. With a multi-display system, there's one computer, keyboard, and mouse,
but there's more than one monitor. On-screen information can be moved from one
display to another as if all the displays in the system are part of one large
display. For example, if you have a system with two side-by-side displays, when
you move the mouse pointer off the right edge of the left display, it appears
at the left edge of the right display. Assuming one person at a time is using
a system, a multi-display system is usually much more efficient and cost-effective
than having more than one system for the same user. See more. Do more. People who've never seen or used a multi-display system sometimes ask "Why would someone use more than one monitor at a time?" Quite simply, with multiple displays, you can see more and do more. With more displays, more information is available on-screen and this can increase productivity and reduce errors. Productivity is improved by reducing the amount of time spent moving information that doesn't otherwise fit on-screen. Errors are reduced by making it more likely that important information is on-screen. Extra displays are especially appropriate when large amounts of information need to be viewed and when information is easily divided. Information can be easily divided when viewing different windows or when using more than one program at a time. For example, you can view a browser window in one display and a spreadsheet in another. The possible ways to use multi-display are virtually endless. A wide range of professionals in fields such as content-creation, CAD, and GIS can benefit from using multiple displays. In mission-critical areas such as emergency dispatch, flight dispatch, and industrial process control, multiple monitors are the norm. Various studies report productivity gains between 20 to 50% from using multiple displays. The advantages of a multi-display system are best experienced first hand. Many who use a multi-display system for the first time are reluctant to go back to a single-display system. "For someone close to the technology the question is: why not more?", says a report by Jon Peddie Research. "The reasons for and benefits from multiple displays seem so abundant and obvious; it is almost confusing as to why every system in the world doesn't have multiple displays."  Indeed,
with declining monitor prices, more space-saving flat-panel monitors, and more
powerful computers, multi-display systems have become even more cost-effective
and practical. In addition, Matrox has introduced significant new technology for
enabling multi-display. For example, with the introduction of G400-based graphics
hardware, Matrox was the first to make integrated dual-monitor support widely
available. Matrox has also released the Parhelia, MMS, and QID graphics cards,
capable of supporting up to 3 or 4 displays at a time. Matrox refers to its technology
for controlling multiple displays with a single graphics chip as DualHead®
for 2 displays and TripleHead™ for 3 displays. Today, Matrox continues to
innovate with new multi-display
products.Adding displays  If
a desktop system already has more than one monitor
connector, adding a display is usually as easy as plugging a new monitor into
the system and making sure the extra monitor is enabled in the operating system.
To add a display in Windows, simply right-click the Windows desktop background,
click Properties > Settings then make sure "Extend my Windows
desktop onto this monitor" is enabled for that display.Most Matrox graphics cards support 2 or more monitors at a time. Because of physical size limitations with the bracket of an add-in card, sometimes an included adapter cable is required for multi-display support. For certain products, upgrade adapter cables may be available. If a desktop system doesn't already have an extra monitor connector but does have available expansion slots, you can add multi-display support by inserting one or more graphics cards. For more reliability and performance, it's generally preferable to have the same graphics hardware controlling all the displays in the system. If multiple graphics cards are used, they're more likely to work well together if they're all the same model.  To
add support for an extra display without adding or replacing a graphics card,
you can use Matrox DualHead2Go,
the world's first multi-display upgrade of its kind. This easy-to-setup external
box connects to the monitor connector of a computer and divides the signal for
2 separate monitors. This solution uses a system's existing graphics hardware
for 2D, 3D, and video acceleration. DualHead2Go is ideal for adding an
extra display to a closed, already validated, mission-critical system or to computers
with no available expansion slots.Software support Modern graphical operating systems already lend themselves well to multi-display systems. With such operating systems, programs are in windows that can be moved from one display to another. Matrox products come with the easy-to-use Matrox PowerDesk software which provides extra multi-display controls. This includes controls over which display dialog boxes and message boxes appear, and how windows are maximized. From the software point of view, there are 2 types of multi-display support. First there's "stretched" mode where the operating system recognizes one larger display but the display driver and/or graphics hardware divides this operating system "display" into 2 or more displays. One of the advantages with this mode is that software doesn't need to be multi-display aware. For example, 2D, 3D, and video acceleration can occur as if multiple displays were 1 (albeit, with a resolution equivalent to that of multiple displays). This is generally the recommended mode for programs requiring advanced graphics acceleration. Depending on the graphics hardware and/or software, "stretched" mode may be the only type of multi-display support available. The other type of multi-display is "independent" mode. In this mode, the operating system recognizes each display in the system and settings for each display can be set independent of the other displays. Specifically, each display can have its own resolution, color, and position setting. This mode offers more flexibility than "stretched" mode, but some select applications may not work as well in this mode. With certain products, Matrox PowerDesk software also provides other ways to use multiple displays: |
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| • | With the Matrox Clone feature, you can view a copy of one display full-screen on another display. This is useful when one display is being viewed by an operator and another by an audience (as in a presentation). |
| • | With the Matrox Multi-Display Zoom feature, a portion of one display can be viewed full-screen on another display. This is useful, for example, for image editing. |
| • | With the Matrox DVDMax or PureVideo feature, you can have hardware-accelerated video playback in a video window on one display and have it appear full-screen on another display. This feature is especially useful when one display is a TV instead of a computer monitor. |
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Conclusion Adding multi-display support to a system can be an easy and effective way to increase productivity. With the increasing prevalence of space-saving flat-panel monitors, declining monitor prices, increasing system performance, and new multi-display technology, it's never been more practical to add displays to a system. Matrox is an industry leader in multi-display technology and has a variety of multi-display solutions. Experience for yourself the advantages of using multiple displays. |
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