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Mini-DisplayPort to DisplayPort cable on a Dell U2711
- Thread starter Hexley
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I bought one from monoprice.com and it works perfectly with my Macbook pro 15" Late 2008 and Dell U2711.
No stutter or video problem.
What length cable did you get? I have the 10ft cable and it is giving me issues with occasional flickering on my Dell U2711. I have a 15" 2.66GHz i7 MBP. I am also trying to use a Gefen displayport kvm but it makes the static problem way worse. I've spoken with the Gefen tech support, and they are unable to reproduce the problem, so I'm beginning to think that the cable may be the culprit. Perhaps I need to get a shorter cable (6 ft instead of 10ft).
The whole point was to use the mini DP to DP cable to not have a big ugly adapter.
I got a displayport cable from Amazon (Japan) and it is working very nicely with my new Dell Ultrasharp 24".
I know it isn't the 2711 - but I had trouble finding an adapter- but ended up ordering this:
http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B003M9YGX8/ref=oss_product
It is the 'ATS Direct Mini DisplayPort/DisplayPort'. I love it - as it has no dongles, and even seems to do a very smooth job carrying the audio over displayport... The cable is a nice, white Mac looking cable.
I know it isn't the 2711 - but I had trouble finding an adapter- but ended up ordering this:
http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B003M9YGX8/ref=oss_product
It is the 'ATS Direct Mini DisplayPort/DisplayPort'. I love it - as it has no dongles, and even seems to do a very smooth job carrying the audio over displayport... The cable is a nice, white Mac looking cable.
I'm using a U2711 at office with my MBP (13" 2010 model). I bought a miniDP-DP adapter + the DP cable supplied with the monitor. It works well, I have no issues whatsoever.
On the 2010 macbook, audio also goes through the Displayport connection, which is convinient for an office worker (but unfortunatelly the U2711 lacks digital audio output, only supplies a pre-amplified analog sound. It has no volume controls, and to me it seems like the pre-amplification is too strong, and may couse distortions in some situations).
My personal opininon: the U2711 is an ok office monitor for those who like high resolution, and can't stand TN panels, but it's anti glare coating is really horrific (this is not an exaggeration - it has that very bad kind of grainy/rainbowy coating which is really the worst possible thing to happen with a high DPI display), so I would not recommend it for graphic artists. I have a 27" iMac, and compared to that display, the U2711 is really not very nice to behold.
On the 2010 macbook, audio also goes through the Displayport connection, which is convinient for an office worker (but unfortunatelly the U2711 lacks digital audio output, only supplies a pre-amplified analog sound. It has no volume controls, and to me it seems like the pre-amplification is too strong, and may couse distortions in some situations).
My personal opininon: the U2711 is an ok office monitor for those who like high resolution, and can't stand TN panels, but it's anti glare coating is really horrific (this is not an exaggeration - it has that very bad kind of grainy/rainbowy coating which is really the worst possible thing to happen with a high DPI display), so I would not recommend it for graphic artists. I have a 27" iMac, and compared to that display, the U2711 is really not very nice to behold.
Say what!? Really?
I'm not flaming here, and respect your opinion... but here's mine:
I believe the Dell trumps the iMac's display in every way aside from energy conservation. It's the best monitor I've ever seen, shy of a $40,000+ grading monitor. The anti-glare coating on my U2711 displays none of that rainbow effect you're talking about and has the best colour reproduction available on the market, unless you start spending more than 10 times the cost of the Dell for a monitor around a quarter of it's size.
I wholeheartedly recommend this monitor to graphic artists. You do need to understand colourspaces and take the time to calibrate the monitor correctly, though, otherwise things can look a little crazy due to the comparatively massive gamut it's able to display.
If you're seeing any rainbow artefacting in the coating I'd suggest you return it to Dell as it is not in any of the three U2711's I've had the pleasure of working on.
I work as a professional colourist and motion graphic artist.
i hope you realize the imac and the dell use the same exact IPS LCD panel... the only difference is one has LED backlighting (imac) and one is CFL backlit (dell)
stevemr123's issue is with another big difference, that you missed: The Dell has an anti-glare coating on the panel while the iMac uses it without the coating but has a glass pane over it.
Your reply might be more appropriate for devilbond, actually.
Hi guys,
Yes you're right. The 27" iMac and U2711 Dell share the same in-plane switching and pixel resolution, but there is a substantial difference between the way that the monitors handle and then display their colour.
The iMac uses LED backlighting, specifically "white" LED backlighting. I say "white" in quotes as it's a kind of pseudo-white - it is actually blue LED with a yellow phosphor that mimics white, but produces a white with either a yellow or blue tinge. The iMac, due to it's white LED display is also only capable of displaying 8-bits of colour, and around 72% of the sRGB gamut.
In contrast the U2711 Dell uses CFL backlighting and is able to display 100% of the sRGB gamut. It's internal LUT processing is in 12-bit also so it's translation of colour from one bit-depth / colourspace to another is more accurate than the iMacs. While it is nowhere near as good as higher end monitors that use a hardware LUT (look up table) to display near-perfectly rendered gradients, it's none the less much more capable and accurate than the iMac's display.
To clarify - same 'screen', different methods of using it's potential.
If either Dell or Apple chose to use a RGB LED method of backlighting, the colour accuracy would be much improved, as RGB LED is superior to both CFL and white OLED. The reason neither of them went with RGB LED is likely a cost of supply issue, as that technology is simply more expensive.
In no way am I bashing the iMac as it's a stunningly good display to work with, and, well, it's also a COMPUTER!
Also, I probably shot my mouth off a little loud in my earlier post about the Dell being the 'best monitor unless you spend 10 times as much'... that's only true in the pro-colourist world where I would want colour accuracy across RGB, YcBcR and also inputs such as coax/SDI, accurate field display etc, none of which the Dell has.
The NEC LCD3090WQXi is a 30" display with better colour accuracy than either the Dell U2711 or the iMac, by quite a margin too. It's about 2.5x the cost of the Dell... Also the HP Dreamcolor is meant to be amazing, but I haven't used one of those.
Anyway, hope that clears up some of the difference between the displays. Most websites just say "the same IPS display" and leave it at that, but as you can see, there's more to it than that.
The anti-glare vs glossy situation is to me just a personal preference. I prefer anti-glare as I like to see my work, not my face, but in the right environment the glossy ones look amazing too.
Regards.
db
Devilbond, I understand the differences between white LED vs RGB LED vs various CCFLs, and the gamut they can produce, as I have studied this myself before I purchased the display. The U2711 is much better in this regard than the iMac. Actually I had to limit the U2711 gamut to sRGB, because using standard or Adobe RGB, colors were oversaturated for everyday use (Macs have some issues in this regard, the various non-pro apps generally send everything as sRGB by default, even though I use Adobe RGB or wide gamut calibration profile). I am not a photographer, so I really just need a crisp, high resolution display, and the crispness and clarity is where the U2711 failed for me. I found the iMac display to be much nicer in this regard than the U2711.
After however, I removed the AG coating from my U2711, I have no more problems, the display is just as crisp and clear as the iMac's, so now I really love my U2711. Dell should really give us a glossy option, or choose a different AG coaing.
Check out this unofficial AG coating test (U2711 vs some average and professional displays). According to the poster, U2711 has the worst AG coating observed among all displays (note that the post does not belong to me, but I fully agree with its findings).
Damn, I have to say, those photos make the display look amazing without the AG coating... I don't know if I have the balls to try it, but that's tempted me!
Was it hard?
I saw the instructions on how to disassemble & coat with wet paper towels etc... but how fiddly was it to actually do?
Disassembly was the tricky part, partly because I did not have instructions to begin with, I had to experiment a lot and figure out what to do in order to access the panel. With the instructions it might be a bit easier. The coating removal itself was easier than I expected.
Here is a great deal on one I got. Tested and working great on 27" U2711
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.30607
free shipping too. Gotta love dealextreme.
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.30607
free shipping too. Gotta love dealextreme.
How long is the cable supplied with the u2711? The specs don't mention it. I'm planning to keep the computer under the desk and will need a 5-6ft cable.
I also plan to get the Dell soundbar. Is there an adapter that'll merge the audio output with the Displayport cable, or should I sun a separate audio cable?
Hi, the cable I received with the unit (European version) is approx. 6ft long.
The display has built in power adapter and audio out connections for soundbar. The display receives audio through the mini-DP connection (given you have a recent Mac with audio over mini DP support), and outputs it to the soundbar, so no separate cable needed, audio and video will travel through a single displayport connection. You'll only need a miniDP-DP converter.
Thanks. I ended up buying a 6ft miniDP-DP cable, which was roughly the same price as the adapter and avoids one connection. So I have the monitor and the cable. Waiting for the Mac Pro to arrive.
I wonder why Dell attached the VGA cable in the box. It makes packing/unpacking more cumbersome. And who uses VGA with a monitor this size?
What's with the stuff about the u2711's (and maybe the upcoming u3011's) anti-glare coating being weird? What does it look like compared to other anti-glare coatings? (compared to ACD 30" for example?)
Soundbar too loud
I added an AS501 sound bar to my u2711/2010 Mac Pro (connected with Displayport). The problem is that once I turn it on, the lowest volume setting is too high for everyday listening. Any suggestion?
I added an AS501 sound bar to my u2711/2010 Mac Pro (connected with Displayport). The problem is that once I turn it on, the lowest volume setting is too high for everyday listening. Any suggestion?
It's a little pebbly, but not enough to distract me (a lot less distracting than glossy screen reflections). It's very similar surface to my old white iMac.
I have a mid-2010 Macbook Pro 15" and a Dell U2771 that I have connected via mini displayport to displayport cable. I love it, but there is a nasty bug affecting all machines (PC and Mac) when using the displayport on the Dell U2771.
It sometimes doesn't recover from sleep mode or suspend. You have to unplug the power adapter and the display port and fiddle with it endlessly before it works again. It's a known issue and many people are waiting on a fix.
Until then, I'm not suspending my Macbook Pro while it is connected to this gorgeous monitor. If it is a hardware issue with all Dell U2771s, I am going to be upset and return it.
It sometimes doesn't recover from sleep mode or suspend. You have to unplug the power adapter and the display port and fiddle with it endlessly before it works again. It's a known issue and many people are waiting on a fix.
Until then, I'm not suspending my Macbook Pro while it is connected to this gorgeous monitor. If it is a hardware issue with all Dell U2771s, I am going to be upset and return it.
There seems to be a solution to this problem according to this thread on Dell's support site:
http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/peripherals/f/3529/p/19339056/19774173.aspx#19774173
UPDATE (Dec 22, 2010)
I've had my new U2711 for about a week now and haven't experienced any issues with the display not turning back on when my 2010 MacBook Pro 13" wakes from sleep. I have it connected via a mini-DisplayPort to DisplayPort cable I bought from http://monoprice.com. The DDC/CI setting on the monitor was enabled when I got it and I've left it that way. The monitor was manufactured in Mexico in November 2010 and is Rev. A03.
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uh, wrong.
uh, sorry to burst your bubble, but one look at the specs for each of these panels should convince you that they are NOT the same at all.
first of all, the gamut on the iMac/cinema 27" is about 78% whereas it's 110% on the dell u2711. then the grey-to-grey latency on the u2711 is roughly half of what it is on the iMac/cinema 27" display. finally, the dell uses 12-bit internal color processing. true, this isn't an issue for most, but the panels are VERY different, even if the actual IPS part is roughly the same.
main point: the only difference is not that one has LED backlighting while the other has CFL backlighting. look it up.
regarding the non dual-link DVI adapter and the u2711...i have this cable http://estore.circuitassembly.com/products/Mini-Displayport-to-Displayport-Adapter-Cable.html and it works perfectly. been running at 2560x1440 for 8 months now and it works flawlessly on both movies and games. does audio too.
uh, sorry to burst your bubble, but one look at the specs for each of these panels should convince you that they are NOT the same at all.
first of all, the gamut on the iMac/cinema 27" is about 78% whereas it's 110% on the dell u2711. then the grey-to-grey latency on the u2711 is roughly half of what it is on the iMac/cinema 27" display. finally, the dell uses 12-bit internal color processing. true, this isn't an issue for most, but the panels are VERY different, even if the actual IPS part is roughly the same.
main point: the only difference is not that one has LED backlighting while the other has CFL backlighting. look it up.
regarding the non dual-link DVI adapter and the u2711...i have this cable http://estore.circuitassembly.com/products/Mini-Displayport-to-Displayport-Adapter-Cable.html and it works perfectly. been running at 2560x1440 for 8 months now and it works flawlessly on both movies and games. does audio too.