Different styles of enjoying two displays

As the animation shown on this page clearly points out, there are different styles of enjoying two screens with a notebook computer, and each of them comes with a different level of productivity and advantages.

Move the mouse pointer over the three tabs (1, 2 and 3) to see the different styles.

1.

One external display connected to the notebook video port

One external display connected to the build in video port of the notebook computer

Pros

• No need of extra graphics devices

Cons

• Limited display resolution support
• Low display quality
  • Poor VGA signal quality
  • Lack of digital DVI output
• Limited graphics performances on both screens [1]
• Different screen density and resolution [2]
• The screens are not aligned [3]
• Color representation is different [4]

Notes: [1] The speed and smoothness of the bubbles reflects the performance on each screen; on both screens the bubbles are not very fast and flicker from time to time. [2] Internal and external screens does not match in term of density and resolution; this can be seen in our simulation by observing the bubbles when they change from one screen to the other: the bubbles change size due to the different density of the displays. [3] Because of different placement and size of individual screens, there is a discontinuity between them making it difficult to use the extended desktop without getting stuck in dead corners or misalignments. [4] Different screens have different color representation, as can be clearly seen by the not matching grass colors; in order to calibrate two different displays to match colors, one requires sophisticated calibration tools that are often very expensive and elaborate to use.

2.

One external display connected to ViDock Gfx video port

One external display connected to ViDock Gfx video port

Pros

• Unlimited display resolution support
  • Up to 2560x1600 (DVI DualLink or VGA)
• Maximum display quality
  • Desktop class quality VGA
  • Digital quality trough DVI
• Desktop class graphics performance on the external display

Cons

• Limited graphics performance on the notebook internal screen [1]
• Different screen density and resolution [2]
• The screens are not aligned [3]
• Color representation is different [4]

Notes: [1] The speed and smoothness of the bubbles reflects the performance on each screen; on notebook screen the bubbles are not very fast and flicker from time to time. [2] Internal and external screens does not match in term of density and resolution; this can be seen in our simulation by observing the bubbles when they change from one screen to the other: the bubbles change size due to the different density of the displays. [3]Because of different placement and size of individual screens, there is a discontinuity between them making it difficult to use the extended desktop without getting stuck in dead corners or misalignments. [4] Different screens have different color representation, as can be clearly seen by the not matching grass colors; in order to calibrate two different displays to match colors, one requires sophisticated calibration tools that are often very expensive and elaborate to use.

3.

Two external displays connected to ViDock Gfx video ports

Two external displays connected to ViDOck Gfx video ports. Notebook computer is closed.

Pros

• Unlimited display resolution support for both screens
  • Up to 2560x1600 (DVI DualLink or VGA) for screen 1
  • Up to 1920x1200 (DVI SingleLink) or 2560x1200 (VGA) for screen 2
• Maximum display quality on both displays
  • Desktop class quality VGA
  • Digital quality trough DVI
• Desktop class graphics performance on both displays [1]
• Same screen density and resolution [2]
• The screens are aligned [3]
• Same color representation [4]
• Using two external screens allows to purchase two lower resolution displays instead of a bigger resolution one, allowing
  • lower overall investment
  • more pixels available
  • possibly larger pixel size, resulting in better legibility and higher comfort
    • Imagine using two 22" screens instead of one 30"

Cons

• None

Notes: [1] The speed and smoothness of the bubbles reflects the performance on each screen; on both external displays bubbles are very fast and smooth. [2] Both external screens do match in term of density and resolution; this can be seen in our simulation by observing the bubbles when they change from one screen to the other: the bubbles do not change size due to the same resolution and density of the two external displays. [3] Because of same placement and size of individual screens, there is no discontinuity between them making it easy to use the extended desktop without getting stuck in dead corners or misalignments. [4] Being the two external displays the same, there is no difference in the color representation between them, as can be clearly seen by the matching grass colors.

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