User Guide

NVIDIA Corporation

HAPTER

4 TwinView Applications

Setting up a dual-display graphics card involves installing the card on a PC,

attaching the two display devices to the PC, and installing the current version of

the NVIDIA Detonator XP driver. After rebooting the PC, the multiple display

modes of the graphics cards installed are fully functional.

For detailed information on using and configuring the TwinView options, see

the following chapters:

• “TwinView Basics: Windows 9x” on page 21

• “TwinView Basics: Windows XP/2000/NT 4.0” on page 45

TwinView Modes for Using Your Display Setup

The NVIDIA Unified Driver Architecture offers several modes for using

your display setup.

• Windows Multimonitor Support: In this mode, the desktop area is spread

across both displays. The refresh rate, color depth, and resolution may be

independently set for each display. You can set this mode for multiple

categories of displays, although display limitations may override the

capabilities of the TwinView-enabled graphics card. For example, if the

second display is a NTSC TV monitor, you won’t be able to set the resolution

above 800 x 600, nor set the refresh rate above 60Hz due to the limitations of

the monitor itself. However, the PC monitor in such a configuration may

have its refresh rate and resolution set much higher. The desktop may be

“stretched” horizontally or “stacked” vertically, depending on the user’s

needs. See “Extended Desktop: Windows 98/Me” on page 39 for Windows

9x or “Horizontal & Vertical Span Modes” on page 69 for Windows XP/

2000/NT 4.0.

• Application exclusive: The user may choose to dedicate an application to

one of the two monitors or run the application across both. Examples of this

include entertainment applications, digital video editing, and DVD playback.

• Clone mode: Two monitors may show exactly the same output, useful for

presentations. The presenter may have a small monitor on the podium while a

projector or presentation quality display shows the larger image to the

audience. (See “Clone Mode” on page 31 for Windows 9x or “Clone Mode”

on page 59 for Windows XP/2000/NT 4.0.)

• Application zoom mode: In this mode, part of the image from the primary

monitor is shown on the secondary display, but zoomed in. This mode can be

used for image editing, close-up work in modeling or CAD applications, or

image processing and mapping applications.

See “Desktop Manager” on page 105.

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