Why should I use VTBook DualHead?

If you are using Windows and need more than two external displays connected to your notebook, then VTBook DualHead may be the right solution for you.

The DualHead cable connects VTBook directly to one VGA and one DVI display bringing the total number of displays connected to the notebook to three (if the notebook has an external video output), for a grand total of four displays including the notebook's internal LCD.
Village Tronic developed two different drivers that make the best use out of the cable.

Which driver should I use?

Village Tronic currently offers two different drivers to use with VTBook and a DualHead Cable: the Standard driver and the DualHead (DH) driver.

The two drivers can't be used at the same time on the same operating system: to switch from one driver to the other you'll need to uninstall the current one and install the other one.

Here is a brief table explaining the main differences between the two drivers:

The DualHead driver has been created to give the user a real multidisplay solution: the two displays are seen by Windows as two independent screens.
In order to implement this functionality we've been forced to put some limitations in the current DualHead driver:

• Since the maximum resolution for each display is set at 1280x1024x16bpp@60Hz, this limitation applies also when only one display is connected.
• Windows 2000 does not natively support two screens driven from the same graphics card. Until we find a stable workaround we cannot offer Windows 2000 compatibility.
• Since driving two displays is a power hungry task, no support is provided to notebooks that do not fully comply with the CardBus specs in terms of power output.

The Standard driver, on the other hand, is limited in the way it deals with two displays. It implements a set of resolutions to be used with a DualHead Cable and two displays that consist in a very wide resolution seen by Windows as a very wide screen. The two physical displays need to be placed side-by-side since they form an unique screen. On the right you can find a detailed description of the two different approaches.

Required configuration

• First of all you need a CardBus compliant notebook.
  When running two screens, VTBook will use around 3W of power, near to the CardBus specification limit, and we found a few notebooks with limitations to the maximum power supplied to CardBus devices.
  Please refer to the VTBook compatibility page to find the notebook models that we know to have power limitations.
• One VTBook, of course!
• A Windows XP or 2000 installation. If you are using Windows XP, you'll have two drivers to choose from. If you are using Windows 2000 you'll be able to use only the Virtual DualHead resolutions using the Standard driver.
• One VGA display. Important: for best quality the DualHead cable directly connects to a VGA connector so you'll not be able to use a VGA display with a permanently connected cable unless you use a gender changer, which may degrade quality,
• One DVI display. Important: for best quality the DualHead cable directly connects to a DVI connector so you'll not be able to use a DVI display with a permanently connected cable.

Important notice: it is not possible to run a dual VGA configuration using a simple DVI-to-VGA adapter: the DualHead cable outputs a DVI-D digital-only signal. A duel VGA setup can be only be used with a rather pricey DVI-to-VGA converter that converts digital signals to analog signals.

All standard adn DualHead Windows drivers can be found in the VTBook download page.

For more information about the different drivers you can use with VTBook DualHead please read:

• Driver information
• DualHead and Virtual DualHead information

DualHead vs Virtual DualHead

Depending on which VTBook driver you use with your DualHead cable, you'll be able to use DualHead resolutions or Virtual DualHead resolutions.
Depending on the applications you are using and on your working style you can choose which driver suits best your needs.

DualHead Resolutions

Each display connected to VTBook is represented in Windows by a different, independent screen. Displays can be arranged in any position.
This arrangement suits best applications that need multiple separate screens to work properly, as for example financial ones.

Available resolutions:

All resolutions on the VTBook specs not bigger than 1280x1024@60Hz at 16bpp.

Virtual DualHead Resolutions

The two displays connected to VTBook are tied together to form an unique screen. The physical position of these displays should always be side-by-side (VGA display on the left) to reflect their relative logical positions.
This arrangement suits best applications that are not designed to work with multiple displays and place all windows in one big enclosing window. A Virtual DualHead resolution can trick these applications to use more than one display without knowing.

Available Virtual DualHead resolutions: