Matrox's DualHead2Go and TripleHead2Go products have been a great tool for video-centric churches looking to maximize their display capabilities. When desiring to use extra-wide displays via multiple projectors, or simply use lots of video screens as set design elements, the process of managing and displaying the content for all those screens is simplified through these innovative products. And now, Matrox has introduced the Digital ME edition of the DualHead2Go and TripleHead2Go products, enabling your Mac notebook or desktop DisplayPort or Thunderbolt connection on your Mac to feed video content to two DVI display devices. We're taking a First Look at the DualHead2Go Digital ME product.
If you're not familiar with the DualHead2Go, it connects two video displays (computer monitors, projectors, etc.) to your computer, presenting it as one double-wide display device. For example, using it to connect two projectors running at 1,280 x 720 resolution (720p), your computer would see one display running at 2,560 x 720, enabling graphics programs to feed content to those two displays as if they are one. When using a graphics program that only expects to work with one presentation display (like PowerPoint, for example), this simplifies the process of getting the graphics onto two (or in the case of the TripleHead2Go, three) displays. You just design your content for the wider resolution, and you're good to go.
The DualHead2Go Digital ME can present two screens at up to 3,840 x 1,200 resolution. The maximum resolution you can actually use will depend on the graphics card in the computer system and the processing power of the Mac—my lower-end Mac Mini isn't quite capable of reaching this maximum resolution and still use the main system display.
Physically connecting the DualHead2Go was reasonably simple. The unit has two DVI connectors for hooking up to the displays, a DisplayPort input connector, and a USB connector. The DisplayPort connector gets attached to your Mac's DisplayPort or Thunderbolt output, and the USB connector gets connected to any available USB port on your Mac. The USB connector is used to control and configure the DualHead2Go—it's not used for transmitting video.
Once connected, the software was downloaded and installed from Matrox's website, and the control program was used to configure the displays. It took a little playing to figure out exactly what the various options do; the documentation isn't very helpful in this regard. But once I was up and running, the system worked very well—and can greatly simplify using multiple video displays showing different content through one video output of your computer. Be sure to look at the compatibility guide on Matrox's website before purchasing to make sure you purchase a unit that's compatible with your available computer connections and your graphics card's chipset.
