I am using Plugable UGA-2K-A USB 2.0 to VGA/DVI/HDMI Adapter. I am driving 3 monitors with my HP Envy 15 laptop, which has USB 3 ports on it and the solution works great, thank you. I understand USB 3.0 versions have been under development by DisplayLink. Can you tell us when USB 3.0 versions of this product will be available for even better video performance?
Hi Dan,
Thanks for the kind words about our adapter! And thanks for asking about USB 3.0 support.
With 10x the bandwidth of USB 2.0 in theory, and around 5x in practice based on what we’re seeing in the USB storage space, USB 3.0 will be great – it will help lift the lid on the bus bottlenecks for graphics solutions like this.
Developing the chips is a significant challenge, though, which is why you haven’t seen anything real yet.
Several chip companies are working on USB 3.0 graphics solutions. DisplayLink had some announcements and early demos last year at CES, and there’ll likely be more this year. Their last official announcement read like this: http://www.slashgear.com/displaylink-… (original PR at http://displaylink.com/pressreleasevi… )
Take any dates (like those in that press release) with a grain of salt, as delays are common for new technology like this. And like any new technology, there’s likely to be a maturation period for drivers, etc.
Basically, the next milestone to look for is when DisplayLink or others announce that chips are shipping. Products you can buy off the shelf should follow perhaps 2-4 months after that.
We’re tracking all this very closely, and expect we’ll be among the first wave of companies to ship a USB 3.0 graphics product when chips are ready and drivers approach the quality of the USB 2.0 generation. But obviously that’s still a while yet. And USB 2.0 products, because of price and maturity, will continue to dominate at least until USB 3.0 is baked in to what Intel, Microsoft, and Apple sell. That’s even further out.
That’s really the clearest picture we can paint. Hope that helps. Thanks again for the question!
Bernie
Hi Dan,
The first of several Plugable USB 3.0 generation DisplayLink-based products is launching today. Here’s more information …
http://plugable.com/2012/04/30/plugab…
Thanks!
Bernie