Plugable’s New Tiny, Cutting-Edge USB 3.0 Graphics Adapter

Posted on 30. Apr, 2012 by in Windows

The next generation of USB graphics adapters is here! We’re excited to announce that the Plugable USB 3.0 HDMI / DVI Graphics Adapter is launching today — simultaneously available and shipping to customers the USA, UK, and 26 additional EU countries (USA buyers order on Amazon.com, UK/EU buyers from Amazon.co.uk).

This new adapter is a big step forward in several ways:

  • Among the first product to launch with the latest DisplayLink DL-3500 USB 3.0 / 2.0 chipset.
  • SuperSpeed USB 3.0 lifts the lid on performance. Enables a max theoretical throughput of 5000 Mbps vs. 480 Mbps for USB 2.0.
  • Features a completely re-engineered 6 layer PCB design that is *small*. About half the size of our smallest USB 2.0 generation adapters. The adapter fits nicely inline with the cable,its weight doesn’t create any pull when hanging mid-air, and it doesn’t clutter the desk. You’ll be shocked at what this little adapter can do.
  • The adapter works with older USB 2.0 Windows systems (at USB 2.0 speeds), with no problems mixing and matching USB 2.0 and 3.0 adapters on the same system (using the same common DisplayLink driver).
  • The USB 3.0 generation of products is Windows-only for now. On Windows, you get all the great multi-monitor functionality, without compromise — and now with better performance in higher resolutions and with video.

The Plugable USB 3.0 HDMI / DVI Graphics Adapter product page has a lot more information. But for a start, check out the following videos.

The video below shows unboxing the product and a little intro.

And this 2nd video shows a bit more depth — plugging the adapter in, installing drivers, and tips for using the product.

We’re very excited about the potential of this great new product. Feel free to comment with any questions!

Plugable USB 3.0 to HDMI / DVI Adapter for Multiple Monitors up to 2048×1152 / 1920×1200 Each (DisplayLink DL-3500 Chipset) Product Details $69.99

Mac OS X 10.7.3 Breaks Display Rotation

Posted on 16. Feb, 2012 by in USB-VGA-165

We recommend not upgrading your Mac to the OS X 10.7.3 release if you are using a Plugable graphics display adapter.

This latest upgrade to the Mac OS was made publicly available at the beginning of this month. Unfortunately it breaks display rotation functionality in all third-party display drivers.

DisplayLink, the maker of the graphics chipset in Plugable graphics display adapters, is in touch with Apple about potential fixes for the problem. When word of a solution arrives, we’ll post it on the Plugable blog.

Meanwhile, if you already have upgraded to 10.7.3 and now find that your rotated display connected throgh a third-party graphics display adapter seems to be broken, here are the steps posted in the DisplayLink Mac forum (http://displaylink.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1484) to restore functionality:.

1. Shut down the Mac.

2. Disconnect the Plugable graphics display adapter.

3. Boot in safe mode by pressing and holding the shift key after the startup tone (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1455).

4. Open the Display preferences in System preferences.

5. Reboot.

6. Connect your Plugable graphics display adapter. The display should work again, and its rotation should be back to standard.

If you have upgraded to 10.7.3 but do not use display rotation, you might not see any problems. However, we still do not recommend updating to 10.7.3 until DisplayLink is certain that all display-management functionality is stable in this version of Mac OS X.

DisplayLink’s latest Mac driver works properly with OS X 10.7.2 and earlier OS X releases.

You can find the current DisplayLink driver for OS X at http://displaylink.com/support/mac_downloads.php.

If you’re having trouble with your Plugable graphics display adapter on a Mac, you can look to our support forums at http://support.plugable.com or write to us at support@plugable.com. We’re here to help.

Howto: DisplayLink USB Single Monitor on Linux

Posted on 23. Dec, 2011 by in Using

Unfortunately, Linux doesn’t support multiple graphics adapters the way Windows does, which means you can’t just plug in USB graphics adapters and expect them to extend your desktop (the good news is there is progress on this support).

What is possible, however, is running a single DisplayLink adapter, or several with a Xinerama or multiseat configuration — just as long as you don’t expect to use your main GPU at the same time.

The single-display case is relatively easy to set up, and we’ll cover that here.

First, make sure you’re running kernel version 2.6.35 or later (Ubuntu 10.10 or later). For older kernel versions, you’ll need to update udlfb and run a modified fbdev X server (not covered in this post). On these kernel versions, when you plug in your DisplayLink-based USB graphics device, you should get a green screen. This means that at the driver built into the Linux kernel is happy, healthy, and talking to the device.

Second, if you are running Unity Desktop in Ubuntu 11.04 or later, you’ll need to switch back to Classic Mode so you’re running straight X. Here’s how on Ubuntu:

Click on the power button in the upper right corner (mine looks like a light switch) and choose the last option, System Settings. Search for Login Screen, Double-click to display, Choose Unlock and enter your password, Select Ubuntu Classic as default session.

Third, if you’re running kernel versions between 2.6.35 to 3.1, enable the fb_defio option of udlfb. To do this, create or edit a file like
/etc/modprobe.d/50-displaylink.conf

and add the single line

options udlfb fb_defio=1

And reboot (or run “sudo depmod -a” and unplug/replug your adapter). This will turn on defio (page fault change detection) support. This option is already enabled by default in kernels 3.2+.

Lastly, create an X config file called 60-plugable.conf (or similar) with the following contents and place it in /usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d (on recent distros; on older distros, make this your xorg.conf):

 
Section "Device" 
  Identifier "uga" 
  driver "fbdev" 
  Option "fbdev" "/dev/fb0" 
  Option "ShadowFB" "off"
EndSection 
 
Section "Monitor" 
  Identifier "monitor" 
EndSection 
 
Section "Screen" 
  Identifier "screen" 
  Device "uga" 
  Monitor "monitor" 
EndSection 
 
Section "ServerLayout" 
  Identifier "default" 
  Screen 0 "screen" 0 0 
EndSection

Note: if your main GPU creates a /dev/fb0 even when the USB display is not attached, then your USB display is probably getting assigned to /dev/fb1. In that case, change /dev/fb0 in the “Device” section above to /dev/fb1

Now, on reboot, you should (hopefully!) see your login come up on your DisplayLink USB attached display!

This kind of simple setup is useful for:

  • Testing or playing with your USB graphics adatper on Linux.
  • Embedded systems with USB but no GPU.
  • As a backup method when the main GPU or its driver isn’t available or working.
  • Systems where a USB graphics adapter enables higher modes (up to 2048×1152) than the main GPU screen.

Please comment if you have any trouble with this single display case. See our past posts for additional information about the DisplayLink Linux kernel driver and some more involved setups.

The instructed here work on all Plugable USB 2.0 graphics adapters and Plugable USB 2.0 docking stations and thin clients (and should also generally work on all DisplayLink based products).

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