Support and compatibility
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OUR SERVICE COMMITMENT TO CUSTOMERS
Digital Tigers is highly committed to customer satisfaction. Our core commitments and standards may be found in this PDF document:
WARRANTY
Digital Tigers SideCar and Stratosphere systems are backed with a one-year limited warranty (parts and labor), to ensure that your product is in working order for the first year after purchase. Warranty is voided for evidence of abuse (such as damage to the chassis) or in cases where the customer has opened the factory-sealed SideCar chassis. Cosmetic external damage (scratches, dents) is not covered by warranty.
Three-year extended warranties (two additional years) are available for Stratosphere systems, as an option at time of system purchase.
Zenview multi-screen displays carry a standard three-year parts-and-labor warranty for Samsung LCDs and display stand. Warranty support for the panels themselves can also be provided directly by Samsung (or other LCD manufacturer, as appropriate). Warranty support for the display stand is provided by Digital Tigers.
Individual SideCar orders by direct U.S. customers are also covered by a full seven-day satisfaction guarantee. See terms and conditions for details.
TOLL-FREE SUPPORT FOR THREE YEARS
Email support is provided free for the life of Digital Tigers systems and displays.
Telephone support (toll-free: 800-844-3721) for Digital Tigers systems and displays is offered free for the first three years after purchase.
Zenview Manager software utilities are supported via email only, for one year after the purchase date for that version. Third-party software (such as Microsoft Windows and Office, NVIDIA nView, Matrox PowerDesk, and ATI Control Panel) are supported by the makers of that software and not by Digital Tigers.
SIDECAR SUPPORT
SideCar notebook compatibility
Our Windows-based SideCar products are compatible with most but not all Windows notebooks. For detailed compatibility information, please see the SideCar notebook compatibility page. The SideCar Mac is certified to be compatible with the Apple PowerBook G4 and PowerBook G3.
SideCar drivers
For latest drivers, visit our driver downloads page.
FREQUENTLY ASKED SUPPORT QUESTIONS
Operating system requirements
Digital Tigers Stratosphere computer workstations support Windows XP Professional, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, and Windows 2000 Professional. SideCar docking stations support Windows XP, Windows 2000, Mac OS 9.X, Mac OS 10.2.8, and Mac OS 10.3.3 or later. Digital Tigers multi-screen displays support all operating systems, but Zenview Manager software utilities support only Windows.
Drivers and user manuals
Customers requiring manuals or drivers for Stratosphere workstations or Zenview displays may receive these on request via email. These manuals and drivers are reserved for Digital Tigers customers.
Troubleshooting tools
Performance problems in computer systems can sometimes be traced to conflicts or slowdowns caused by certain programs loading automatically at Windows startup. Sometimes users are not even aware that some of these programs are loading at all. (Startup items are not part of the Windows operating system.) We recommend two tools that can help you identify and/or suppress the loading of startup items for diagnostic purposes:
- MSCONFIG — Windows XP users can run this utility simply by clicking Start / Run, typing "msconfig" and clicking OK. This Microsoft utility is part of Windows XP, but not Windows 2000.
- Startup Manager — This free utility runs on both Windows XP and Windows 2000, and can be downloaded here
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I add more monitors to my desktop PC running Windows?
How do I add more monitors to my Mac Pro?
How do I run multiple monitors from my laptop?
Will your monitors work with my laptop and a third-party multi-screen device?
How do I add more monitors to my MacBook Pro?
How do I add more monitors to my PowerBook G4?
Is your bootable backup solution just hardware RAID?
Why do I have to pay $500 extra to run more than 4GB RAM?
Do I have to reboot into my 32-bit OS just to use my older programs on a 64-bit machine?
Do you offer a trial version of Zenview Manager?
I already own multiple monitors. Can I buy the mounting hardware from you?
Do I need your Zenview Manager utilities to run multiple monitors?
Does Zenview Manager support my Mac?
How do I add more monitors to my iMac? Mac Mini? MacBook? iPhone?
Can’t I just buy a bunch of monitors and bolt them to a stand?
How do I add more monitors to my desktop PC running Windows?
We encourage all customers to check out our Stratosphere workstation product line: uncompromising Windows workstations purpose-built for multiple monitors, with a range of options for just about any serious user, but with none of the extraneous promotional software that muddles up and slows down the leading mass-market consumer and business workstations.
However, we’re happy to help you make our displays work with your existing investment, if it’s compatible.
You need one graphics controller output per monitor. We recommend DVI or HDMI outputs for the highest picture quality. Most desktop PCs have one VGA output in the main port cluster on the rear. Some come with two outputs on a separate graphics card [picture of the back of a machine with a GPU in the GPU slot] that can drive our lower-resolution Zenview Duo arrays (17 and 19 series) with no additional hardware.
Beyond two monitors, you can add secondary graphics cards to your PCI or extra PCI Express slots. The number and kind of slots you have can usually be found in the specifications or user manual for your desktop PC, or for your motherboard if your machine was custom-built from parts. If you cannot find these specifications, you can still open up your machine and look. Once you know what kinds of slots you have available, feel free to call us, and we ca help you select appropriate cards that can work alongside your existing primary controller or replace it if necessary.
How do I add more monitors to my Mac Pro?
Buy additional dual-output NVIDIA GeForce 7300GT or ATI Radeon HD2600 controllers directly from Apple’s store. Each 7300GT can drive two of our monitors up to 27” diagonal (Elite XL), plus one of those two up to 30” diagonal (Ultra Elite). Each Radeon HD2600 can drive two outputs up to 30” diagonal (Ultra Elite.)
How do I run multiple monitors from my laptop?
It depends on how many. For two screens, your laptop might already support them.
Most laptops support a single external monitor in addition to the laptop’s own built-in display. Certain nicer laptop models have two external display connections, and this is usually a combination of VGA and DVI, or VGA and HDMI. These kinds of laptops can drive our Zenview Duo 17 and 19 series at full resolution with high image quality. They can also sometimes drive Duo 20 Pro, Duo Elite and Duo Elite XL displays at full resolution, but with visibly lower image quality on the VGA output, so we recommend using our SideCar instead.
Some laptops have docking station or port replicator connectors on the back or underside—typically only business-class laptop lines such as Dell Latitude, Lenovo ThinkPad T or R series, and Toshiba Tecra, and cetain HP Compaq models. The port replicator or docking station usually includes one VGA port plus one DVI or HDMI port, and these can usually be activated independently if you deactivate the built-in screen. For these, the same rules apply as dual-output laptops. Caveat: sometimes only one port works at a time, for example in the Sony VAIO SZ dock. Call us and we can probably help you determine this.
Beyond two screens (the laptop’s own and one external), we recommend our SideCar product. Please check compatibility with your laptop model to see if your laptop qualifies. You need a laptop running Windows XP with a CardBus slot, Texas Instruments or Toshiba CardBus controller, and NVIDIA or Intel graphics controller. Feel free to call us, and we can quickly walk you through checking compatibility, if you have the laptop. If you have not purchased a laptop yet, we can recommend a variety of models based on your brand and size preferences, if you call. All SideCars shipped inside the US to customers with confirmed compatible laptops come with a seven-day full money back guarantee, if you are uncertain about compatibility or performance.
Many newer laptops feature a new ExpressCard slot. This slot provides four times the bandwidth of CardBus. We have a new lineup of SideCars that take full advantage of this bandwidth and can drive more monitors at ever higher resolutions, and can support both Windows XP and Windows Vista, if the laptop GPU is compatible. We expect to announce and ship it in Q2 2008—stay tuned!
Will your monitors work with my laptop and a third-party multi-screen device?
We neither recommend nor support third-party laptop multi-monitor solutions. They typically either compromise performance or interfere with Windows’ normal behavior, or are limited to twenty-year-old monitor resolutions. However, if you already have one, sometimes it can actually work alongside our SideCar. But we do not guarantee or support this.
How do I add more monitors to my MacBook Pro?
We hope to announce a SideCar in Q2 2008 that will be compatible with MacBook Pro. Stay tuned!
How do I add more monitors to my PowerBook G4?
You still have one of those?! So do we, and we still sell the SideCar Mac for it. Buy it now, because we won’t have them for much longer. It even supports OS 9.
Is your bootable backup solution just hardware RAID?
No. Most of our motherboards (and most good motherboards today) can run hard disks in RAID striping or mirroring mode. (Some can run fancier RAID as well.) RAID is a server technology not well-suited for boot drives. Our backup scheme uses software to make a bootable copy of a bootable disk. RAID mirroring on a boot drive can also achieve this, but if the boot sector or a critical OS file becomes corrupted by software and not full mechanical disk failure, the corruption will be copied to the mirror drive, and both drives will be rendered unbootable.
You may order certain Stratosphere models with additional separate data drives, and we will be happy to configure full hardware RAID mirroring or striping as desired.
Why do I have to pay $500 extra to run more than 4GB RAM?
32-bit operating systems cannot support more than 4GB of RAM. Beyond that, some address space is allocated to devices and made inaccessible to RAM, because that’s the only way the CPU can move that kind of data fast enough. This problem is solved by using a 64-bit OS like Vista Business 64 or Windows XP Professional x64 Edition. These have a much larger address space (up to 128GB, four times as much as what our current top motherboard can house using the most expensive 4GB density.)
However, lots of common programs contain pieces of very old code—and even the smallest piece can render a whole program incompatible with 64-bit Windows (Vista or XP.) For this reason, we do not sell workstations with standalone 64-bit operating systems. Instead, we offer 64-bit exclusively in a dual-boot configuration with two separate fully licensed operating systems.
For the best combination of future compatibility, present security, and backward compatibility, we recommend 64-bit Windows Vista Business with standard 32-bit Windows XP Professional. For the best combination of current performace and backward compatibility, you may be better off sticking with Windows XP x64 Edition and normal 32-bit Windows XP. Check with your application vendor if you are uncertain. Some intensive applications still work best under XP.
Do I have to reboot into my 32-bit OS just to use my older programs on a 64-bit machine?
For full multiple monitor support, usually yes. However, you can alternately install Microsoft Virtual Machine or vmware Player on your 64-bit drive partition and install 32-bit Windows as a “guest” OS, if you only need to occasionally run a 32-bit program. Its performance may be slower, but you will not need to reboot. We do not recommend this for timing-sensitive applications like video editing, or for games, and it is beyond the scope of our support.
Do you offer a trial version of Zenview Manager?
We do not offer a trial version of Zenview Manager, but we do describe its features rather exhaustively. Email us if you have any further specific questions about features.
I already own multiple monitors. Can I buy the mounting hardware from you?
We do not sell mounting hardware separately from the LCD screens, for the same reason car dealerships do not sell the hood ornament separate from the car. But we’re still happy to sell you a multi-output Stratosphere workstation to drive your existing monitors.
Do I need your Zenview Manager utilities to run multiple monitors?
No, Windows has supported multiple monitors natively since Windows 2000. However, Zenview Manager adds user interface functions to Windows that make it much easier to use multiple monitors.
Intermission
Does Zenview Manager support my Mac?
Yes! Simply install Windows on it first.
How do I add more monitors to my iMac? Mac Mini? MacBook? iPhone?
Lesser Macs are unexpandable by design. As a Mac user, it is your sacred duty to understand and accept this, for Steve hath made it so. Buy a Mac Pro with additional GPU cards. Better yet, buy one of our Stratosphere workstations with Windows.
Can’t I just buy a bunch of monitors and bolt them to a stand?
Yes, you can. You can also grow your own food, brew your own beer, sew your own clothes, and build your own robot girlfriend. But we cannot help you do these things. Seriously though, many of our displays use custom parts that we've developed to make our displays align better and look nicer than the kits you can buy separately on the Internet. You also get our zero dead pixel guarantee and world class support to make sure that you are satisfied with your purchase for years to come.
