Windows 7 reportedly will begin shipping soon, and by the time that happens DisplayLink is planning to ensure full compatibility for its applications.

 

"DisplayLink engineers have started this important development work to make our customers' transition to Windows 7 as smooth as possible," said Hamid Farzaneh, DisplayLink president and CEO, in a statement. "All of our software's popular capabilities - like auto install, high-quality video, 32-bit true-color graphics, 3D support, and more - will be enhanced or extended to continue providing excellent multi-monitor computing experiences to all Windows users."

 

DisplayLink is a network display chip and software company that claims to help people create simple connections between computers and displays — via USB — making the benefits of expanded visual workspaces available to everyone.

 

Most desktop systems, the company said, come with only a single display port, usually VGA or DVI. Only a few high end graphics cards are designed for dual display capability. Laptops cannot be connected to another monitor. DisplayLink is setting out to change this problem. Its technology allows displays to connect to computers through a USB 2.0 connection. DisplayLink "plug and display" technology is currently used to power an array of consumer devices and laptop accessories that make multi-display computing more efficient.

 

"DisplayLink is a valuable partner in ensuring a smooth and seamless experience for customers connecting multiple monitors to Windows PCs via USB," said Gary Schare, director of Microsoft’s (News - Alert) hardware ecosystem product management division, in a statement.  "Microsoft is excited by DisplayLink's early work to ensure compatibility with Windows 7."

 

Computers now often come with more than four USB connection slots, and this provides possibilities of multiple display connections with DisplayLink technology. It allows for high resolution, full 32-bit color graphics playback from just about any PC on up to six monitors of just about any shape and size.

 

Once the DisplayLink software is installed on the system it can work on the system’s GPU and the graphic commands are compressed using the unique DisplayLink adaptive technology that automatically balances compression methods based on the content, available CPU power, and USB bandwidth. These signals are then passed to the USB cable as quickly as possible to keep a very interactive user experience. A high speed DisplayLink chip embedded in the monitor, docking station, or adapter decodes the compressed data back into video or graphics data.

 

The company says that at present DisplayLink USB graphics technology is optimized to support all major versions of Windows operating systems; including Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Vista (32-bit and 64-bit).