Features

  • Connect 3+ monitors to any brand of laptop or desktop (one adapter required per monitor, up to 6)
  • Plug and play, extensible USB 2.0 connectivity to any VGA, DVI, or HDMI monitor or projector
  • DisplayLink DL-165 chipset, supports resolutions up to 1600×1200 or 1920×1080 (widescreen)
  • Windows 7/Vista/XP drivers installed automatically via Windows Update
  • Mac OS X driver available from DisplayLink (OS X 10.7.2 and earlier recommended–10.7.3 not recommended because of a bug with display rotation)
  • Linux configuration for advanced users only

Product Description

Learn more
The Plugable UGA-165 enables multiple monitors with any laptop or desktop (one adapter required per monitor, up to 6). Most people use it to gain a 2nd or 3rd monitor for their laptop. You gain the benefits of USB, including plug and play connectivity, thin and flexible cabling, and ability to connect via USB 2.0 hubs and repeaters. Projectors can be connected with long and flexible USB wiring that doesn’t lose monitor configuration information. Multitask with a dedicated monitor for each document or application. This adapter works by rendering 2D/3D with your computer’s CPU and GPU, and then compressing and transmitting the pixels that change over USB. Dual core or 2Ghz or better CPU recommended. The monitor itself is then constantly refreshed directly from the USB hardware. The adapter package includes a USB 2.0 cable and hardware adapters for the different connector types (DVI to VGA and DVI to HDMI). No power plug is needed – power is provided by USB and the adapter has an LED indicator light. Windows 7/Vista/XP drivers installed automatically via Windows Update. 32 and 64 bit supported for both Vista and Win7. Windows Server SKUs not supported. GPU is used for 2D/3D rendering on Windows, requiring Intel, nVidia, or ATI primary WDDM driver. Beta-level Mac support for Intel OS X 10.4 or later, 32 and 64 bit. Not compatible with MacBook Pros with switching nVidia/Intel graphics. Open source available for Linux and other platforms. Linux requires manual configuration – for advanced users only.

Multiple Displays

We often hear customers say “After using multiple monitors, I can’t go back!”. If you’re doing information work — looking at one document while editing another, researching, or generally working on several things at once — it’s indispensable.

Simply drag windows back and forth to make use of all the extra Windows desktop space.

Plugable USB graphics adapters fully support rotation — turn one or both screens to show documents in gorgeous full-page layout (with a monitor stand that’s capable of rotation).

A common setup is to create a beautifully symmetric yet flexible 3 display desktop, combining your laptop display with 2 extra monitors on either side with your laptop’s external graphics port + one Plugable adapter, or with two Plugable adapters to allow easy USB dock/undock.

Hardware Requirements and Recommendations

  • CPU: Dual-core or 2GHz processor or better recommended on Windows Vista, Win7, and Mac (Single core ULV or Intel Atom class processors or better are recommended for Windows XP and Linux)
  • GPU: Used for 2D/3D rendering on Windows Vista and Win7, requiring a single Intel, nVidia, or ATI primary WDDM driver.

Driver and OS Version details

See the DisplayLink User Manual for full details and setup tips

WINDOWS VERSION COMPATIBILITY:
Drivers are provided automatically via Microsoft’s Windows Update mechanism with approved drivers across all of Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7. 64-bit and full Aero support on Vista and Windows 7. Windows XP 64-bit not supported. Note that Microsoft limits multiple display support in Windows 7 “Starter” Edition and Windows Vista “Home Basic” Edition to mirroring screens.

For Windows Server 2003 (32-bit), Server 2008 (32 and 64-bit) and Server 2008 R2 (64-bit) you will need to download the drivers from the DisplayLink website.

MAC VERSION COMPATIBILITY:
Up to 4 DisplayLink devices can be used with a Mac.

DisplayLink’s Mac driver v. 1.7 for OS X Lion 10.7, Snow Leopard 10.6, Leopard 10.5, and Tiger 10.4 is available at http://displaylink.com/support/mac_downloads.php. DisplayLink notes the following limitation: “This driver does not support 3D acceleration. Some features of Mac OS X-based applications that require hardware OpenGL acceleration, such as Keynote presentations and iPhoto slideshows, will not function properly.”

The latest recommended version of Mac OS X is 10.7.2. Although 10.7.3 was released in February 2012, there is a bug with display rotation that affects third-party drivers. We do not recommend using 10.7.3 until DisplayLink is certain that display-management issues in this OS X release have been fixed.

See http://displaylink.com/mac for more info

LINUX COMPATIBILITY:
As of Linux kernel 2.6.31, this adapter has open source drivers in the kernel staging tree. As of 2.6.38, the driver was promoted to the main kernel tree. Configuration of X Windows for USB displays is still distribution and scenario dependent, however, and only for very adventurous users. Plugable is involved with Linux development work, see http://plugable.com/category/platform/linux/ for details.

HDMI

The HDMI standard is built on DVI. This enables conversion from DVI to  HDMI 1.0 with a simple, physical, passive adapter like the one included with the UGA-165. HDMI routed through DVI does not include audio signals, and does not support HDMI content protection. It is suitable for displaying applications on a HDMI monitor and some TVs. It is not for Blu-Ray quality video playback.

HDMI TV Compatibility

Most, but not all, TVs are also compatible. The exceptions are TVs that don’t support EDID (which communicates monitor capabilities to the PC) or which require specific higher versions of the HDMI spec, beyond 1.0. Many TVs that have a VGA port in addition to HDMI, assume that computers will use VGA for connectivity rather than HDMI, provide the best results with VGA.

Where to Buy

Plugable UGA-165 USB 2.0 to VGA/DVI/HDMI Adapter for Multiple Monitors up to 1920×1080 / 1600×1200 Each (DisplayLink DL-165 Chipset) Product Details $54.95