Matrox G450 (2/8)

Connectors for 2 displays

Matrox wants to position this card as the must-have office and workstation card, for anyone working in DTP under Windows NT/2000, web designers or basically anyone that needs lots of desktop space and excellent 2D quality. Judging 2D quality is always a tricky matter, as it is greatly influenced by the interaction and compatibility between the RAMDAC and the monitor. An undeniable strength of Matrox cards has always been their DualHead functionality, first introduced with the G400 line.

Using the second VGA-output, you can either hook up a second monitor or a TV, using a special adapter cable. The variations are rather complex, so let me give you a quick rundown:

The driver-menu text is in german language so donīt wonder about it. It depends on the Windows language settings.

DualHead: MultiDisplay

This setting allows you to add a second monitor to extend your desktop. For example, Photoshop users could use the primary desktop to work on their project, while the secondary display holds the toolbar etc. Under Win98 and ME, the resolution and refreshrate can be set independently for each monitor. Under Win2000 and NT4.0, this is limited to the refreshrate, as these OS’s don’t really support single-chip DualDisplay solutions.

DualHead: Zoom

This enables you to view a certain area of your desktop magnified on your second monitor. The function is available on all four Windows platforms.

DualHead: DVDMax

Video streams, meaning AVI, Quicktime, MPEG movies or DVD video (yes, I know – they’re also MPEG’s…) can be displayed fullscreen on the second monitor. When using the TV-out, you can even still watch the movie on your (primary) display!

DualHead: TV Output

What makes the TV-out implementation special is that you can output resolutions up to 1600x1200 to your TV, meaning you are no longer limited to 800x600 or even 640x480. All DualHead modes can also be used via TV-out. However, it is unfortunate that these are not allowed to "overscan". The result: ugly black borders around your desktop/image on your TV!!! But the DVD enthusiasts among you can relax! When using the DVD Max option, the image can be scaled to fit the screen, eliminating said borders. I must admit that it is simply beyond me why Matrox didn’t include this option for the other modes…

DualHead: Clone

As the name implies, this function copies the primary desktop to the secondary screen. This is especially helpful when using a high-res projector for demonstrations or conferences.

There are still more areas where DualHead can be interesting, and most of them benefit from one of the remaining combinations of these modes or functions.

Copyright: 13.09.2000 -   RIVA Station 2000 - Lars Weinand
No Copy without Permission!

Translation by Benjamin Kraft

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