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Apple Thunderbolt Display with Multiple Monitors: No Daisy Chaining Mini DisplayPort Monitors
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It says "Interestingly, this new iMac does not have Thunderbolt, just a mini Display Port" in that article so how does it work with the Thunderbolt Display?
I wonder if the inability to use an MDP Cinema Display daisy chained from a Thunderbolt display is a limitation of hardware, or if it's intentionally gimped in firmware?
I'm really hoping it's #1, because if it's #2... wow. That pretty much implies they're intentionally breaking the Thunderbolt spec.
In either case, Apple should have done their best to make it work instead of shrugging and chalking it up to planned obsolescence.
I'm really hoping it's #1, because if it's #2... wow. That pretty much implies they're intentionally breaking the Thunderbolt spec.
In either case, Apple should have done their best to make it work instead of shrugging and chalking it up to planned obsolescence.
Extremely dissapointing
Apple seems to have quite a habit of obsoleting expensive peripherals fairly quickly. I got caught once with my current ACD with proprietary interfaces but won't ever be buying another. And won't be buying anything thunderbolt wise until/if it becomes the prevalent standard in the industry which I doubt it ever will.
Apple seems to have quite a habit of obsoleting expensive peripherals fairly quickly. I got caught once with my current ACD with proprietary interfaces but won't ever be buying another. And won't be buying anything thunderbolt wise until/if it becomes the prevalent standard in the industry which I doubt it ever will.
It says "Interestingly, this new iMac does not have Thunderbolt, just a mini Display Port" in that article so how does it work with the Thunderbolt Display?
Thunderbolt carries Mini DisplayPort compatibility. It's in the spec.
It's a "Mac Mini", not a "MAC mini".
And no, as there is no KVM switch that handles Thunderbolt, at the moment.
i don't think people who own a macbook air are likely to attach two 27" monitors.. seriously, if i had to work with that much space (it's 5120x1600 resolution!!) i would also buy a better machine than a mba..
anyway the thing with the mini display monitor kinda sucks.. i see many people selling their old mdp display in the next months, would be nice for many pre-thunderbolt mac owners!
anyway the thing with the mini display monitor kinda sucks.. i see many people selling their old mdp display in the next months, would be nice for many pre-thunderbolt mac owners!
But the Thunderbolt Display system requirements says it needs a Thunderbolt-enabled Mac...
http://store.apple.com/uk/product/MC914
It says "Interestingly, this new iMac does not have Thunderbolt, just a mini Display Port" in that article so how does it work with the Thunderbolt Display?
Good point. So you wouldn't be able to run Thunderbolt displays at all from that machine.
But it is the Late 2011 iMac.
Am I one of the few people who didn't expect the old mDP displays to work like this? I guess most people didn't realize the version of the DP standard being used in Thunderbolt-equipped Macs is higher than that in old mDP-equipped Macs. The ability to daisychain monitors is not a feature of Thunderbolt per se; it's a feature of the newer version of DP. If Lightpeak had never been cooked into DP and the new Macs were still just DP, you'd still be able to daisychain monitors with the new version of DP.
I doubt many people were expecting the Airs to support 2 external displays. I also thought when the TB display and MacBook Air were announced Apple was pretty clear that the Airs would drive only one external monitor.
The HD 3000 is capable of handling only 2 displays. The 13" Pro can handle 2 external displays if it disables the internal display because it has a more capable Thunderbolt port. To me, having any Thunderbolt port on the Air is gravy. Remember, it still is the least powerful Mac in the current line up. It isn't intended for hardcore professional use.
Wow...are you kidding? I thought that the big selling point of thunderbolt (besides the high speed) was daisy chaining. Do you happen to have a link handy, explaining that daisy chain is a feature of the mDP spec rather than the thunderbolt spec?
Learn something new every day.
OK... I am about to return my top-end 2011 MacBook Air and cancel my orders for two 27'' Thunderbolt displays.
I was going to use one upstairs (no issue there) and one downstairs with a DisplayPort monitor attached as a second monitor. But no... I can't do that.
Now, what's even worse, even if I replaced that DisplayPort monitor with a second Thunderbolt monitor it STILL wouldn't work because the Air doesn't support more than one monitor!
LAME!
WTF Apple. I am seriously about to return all my crap and just stick with my iMacs.
I was going to use one upstairs (no issue there) and one downstairs with a DisplayPort monitor attached as a second monitor. But no... I can't do that.
Now, what's even worse, even if I replaced that DisplayPort monitor with a second Thunderbolt monitor it STILL wouldn't work because the Air doesn't support more than one monitor!
LAME!
WTF Apple. I am seriously about to return all my crap and just stick with my iMacs.
Can i run the MacBook Air (2011) with the screen opened and the Thunderbolt display acting as a second monitor?... so still two screens (even though one is 13'')?
How very uncool. I bought the 27" about 1 1/2 month ago and love it however I expected to be able to upgrade to a thunderbolt display and daisy chain it.
Good job Apple. Now instead of buying two monitors, i'll have to be stuck with 1!
Hopefully I can still daisy chain off of other TB peripherals.
Good job Apple. Now instead of buying two monitors, i'll have to be stuck with 1!
Hopefully I can still daisy chain off of other TB peripherals.