Gefen pipes DVI output from PCs over USB
Last week at CES, Gefen was among the companies hoping to catch some of the spotlight that last year was devoted so heavily to companies that make cables. But it may have done itself a service by waiting one week to announce how its new product will output a DVI video signal from your PC using a USB cable.
The Gefen USB-to-DVI Graphics Adapter plugs into a USB 2.0 port and outputs video in DVI-I format with screen resolution up to 1600x1200. It supports 32-bit versions of XP and Windows 2000, versions for OS X and Vista are currently in development.
Minimum hardware requirements are: 1.2 GHz or higher processor speed (Intel Pentium/Celeron family, AMD K6/Athlon/Duron families or compatible), 512 MB of RAM, 12 MB of disk space, SVGA (800x600) or higher video adapter and monitor.
Up to six USB to DVI adapters can be connected to a single computer with the option of extending the desktop or mirroring the main display. Converter hardware costs $129 USD on Gefen's site.
Cambridge, UK-based company Displaylink produces this technology and was showing it off at CES this year, with a single laptop and two Samsung monitors mounted on people acting as a walking billboard. Displaylink was actually giving its USB Display Adaptor away freely to many show-goers. Representatives from Displaylink admitted that since the product is essentially an external video card, such devices are not ideally suited for graphically demanding tasks such as 3D games.
