What is DisplayLink? Everything You Need to Know About DisplayLink Docking Stations

Here’s a technology you’ll definitely want to hear more about if you are unfamiliar with the full capabilities of docking stations and how DisplayLink tech can be used to help revolutionize your at-home or in-office laptop setup. 

What is DisplayLink? 

Stemming from the company of the same name, DisplayLink refers to the graphics transport technology that provides the highly sought and much-needed visual expansion to a standard workstation. 

Simply put, DisplayLink makes it easy to extend from a computer supporting USB or WiFi (pretty much every modern computer) to any display. It provides a universal dock solution to all platforms that enables laptops and tablets to be connected to multiple external monitors, audio transfer, Ethernet, and more through a simple USB port. 

Extra Productivity 

With DisplayLink’s ability to connect more than one monitor on any computer, it’s clear how this simple technology can drive a significant increase in productivity. Users across the board report ease of use and professionalism as the common result of just two additional monitors. Greater demand for screen space and advanced daisy-chaining configurations are answered by incorporating DisplayLink through a DisplayLink enabled docking station. 

As long as your laptop has a USB-A or USB-C port (DisplayLink required USB 3.0 or higher) you can quickly connect to external monitors, opening the door to both portability and at-home power for your work be it professional or personal. In other words, DisplayLink docks are a must have for hybrid work environments. 

Use Cases: Hot desks & Home Offices

The next logical question to ask is what exactly does DisplayLink have to do with docking stations? Think of DisplayLink as the fuel to the combustion engine that is your docking station. When it comes to upgrading your work from home setup, a dock has all the necessary power to drive your digital work. 

From laptops to tablets, business or personal, all of these can benefit from a DisplayLink enabled universal dock. For example: with a plug-and-play docking station, a MacBook can quickly transform from a portable laptop machine to a powerful workstation by connecting keyboard, mouse, and high-resolution monitors. A home television can quickly become an extended display for your laptop. Essentially, all the advantages of a desktop are accessible through a DisplayLink-enabled docking station, even if you are traveling or working in-office. 

DisplayLink technology provides a clear-cut solution for a range of corporate, personal, and embedded applications where the priority is on connectivity of displays. 

MacBooks Specifically

As we’ve mentioned previously on our blog, M1 and M2 Macs suffer from the inability to extend to multiple displays given the inherent technology present in the laptops out of the box. Fortunately, with DisplayLink technology, two or more extended monitors are now possible for laptops using macOS. 

Drivers

In order to take advantage of the benefits of DisplayLink, drivers must be installed to supplement your docking station. These are simply and quickly downloaded on the DisplayLink site and are managed with an application called DisplayLink Manager. After just a few minutes of downloading drivers, your docking station is ready to leave its visual limitations behind. 

In Conclusion

All told, DisplayLink docks offer a few key advantages that truly elevate a laptop’s capabilities to a much higher level: 

• Universal Compatibility – All laptops and devices generally have at least a USB-A 3.0 capable port, or something more modern (such as USB-C) so DisplayLink is available to nearly everyone. 
• Simple Installation – Added quickly and easily via the DisplayLink site.
• Higher Productivity – More monitors = more screen real estate for multiple simultaneous tasks.

Our Docks

VisionTek is proud to provide a number of docking stations for all use cases that are DisplayLink ready. Whether you’re looking for something smaller and portable like the VT1000, or something more sophisticated like the VT8000, these docks use DisplayLink to change the way your laptop operates. 

Some of our other favorites include: the VT1000, VT4000, VT4500, VT4510, VT7000, and VT7100, all of which can be found here in our docking station product collection.