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Best affordable mini display to hdmi cable to use with new MBA

koigirl

koigirl

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 29, 2011
846
401
Raleigh, NC
I have a 2012 13" MBA on order and just ordered an IPS monitor off Amazon to use with it. I am looking for a good quality but affordable cable to connect the two as well. Any suggestions from MacRumors members? The selection and reviews on Amazon are making my head spin...:eek:
 
GGJstudios

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,545
943
Team Timm said:
Nothing except the price ..... $ 7 > $ 35
Click to expand...
Of course, "affordable" is a relative term, but I find $35 to be a very reasonable price. Nothing wrong with shopping around, as long as you get a good quality item and don't have any problems if you need to return something.
 
B

boats4chris

macrumors newbie
Aug 8, 2012
20
0
Use DVI instead

I bought a new MBA a month ago and hooked it up to my LG IPS monitor via HDMI and the quality sucked. I think the monitor does some kind of filtering on the HDMI input because it looked kind of fuzzy like I was looking at a bad tube monitor.

I switched to the Apple DVI connector and a DVI cable from Monoprice. Looks awesome now.

Monoprice is great! I bought a DVI switch and 2 DVI cables from them. You really need to look closely at the cables though. I wasn't paying attention and just ordered the first cable on the list and ended up with an industrial monster that could be used as a weapon. The cable is so thick that it was difficult to use it without knocking things over. The two 3' cables together weighed more than my MBA :D. Get the thinner cable. Much easier to use!

Monoprice quality is the best and the price is the icing on the cake.
 
\-V-/

\-V-/

Suspended
May 3, 2012
3,153
2,688
The Moshi brand has been the best adapter for me so far. But the Monoprice one also works quite well.
 
\-V-/

\-V-/

Suspended
May 3, 2012
3,153
2,688
koigirl said:
Moshi reviews on Apple store.
Click to expand...

I believe most of those reviews were written by monkeys.
JS4Rv.gif
 
koigirl

koigirl

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 29, 2011
846
401
Raleigh, NC
boats4chris said:
I bought a new MBA a month ago and hooked it up to my LG IPS monitor via HDMI and the quality sucked. I think the monitor does some kind of filtering on the HDMI input because it looked kind of fuzzy like I was looking at a bad tube monitor.

I switched to the Apple DVI connector and a DVI cable from Monoprice. Looks awesome now.

Monoprice is great! I bought a DVI switch and 2 DVI cables from them. You really need to look closely at the cables though. I wasn't paying attention and just ordered the first cable on the list and ended up with an industrial monster that could be used as a weapon. The cable is so thick that it was difficult to use it without knocking things over. The two 3' cables together weighed more than my MBA :D. Get the thinner cable. Much easier to use!

Monoprice quality is the best and the price is the icing on the cake.
Click to expand...

Could you provide me with SKU numbers or links to the Monoprice DVI connector and cables that you are referring to? This sounds like a good setup.
 
B

boats4chris

macrumors newbie
Aug 8, 2012
20
0
Monoprice Gear

I use a DVI switch to go between MBA and a PC to the monitor ~$35:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10110&cs_id=1011004&p_id=4069&seq=1&format=2

DVI Cables ~$6:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10209&cs_id=1020902&p_id=2407&seq=1&format=2

I used the Apple MiniDisplay (~$35) to DVI, but you can use the Monoprice one for ~$7:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10428&cs_id=1042802&p_id=5106&seq=1&format=2

Or, if you want some flexibility, one that does both DVI and HDMI for ~$14:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...d=1042802&p_id=8119&seq=1&format=1#largeimage

Hope that helps!
 
M

macrominnie

macrumors member
Nov 20, 2010
92
2
boats4chris said:
I use a DVI switch to go between MBA and a PC to the monitor ~$35:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10110&cs_id=1011004&p_id=4069&seq=1&format=2

DVI Cables ~$6:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10209&cs_id=1020902&p_id=2407&seq=1&format=2

I used the Apple MiniDisplay (~$35) to DVI, but you can use the Monoprice one for ~$7:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10428&cs_id=1042802&p_id=5106&seq=1&format=2

Or, if you want some flexibility, one that does both DVI and HDMI for ~$14:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...d=1042802&p_id=8119&seq=1&format=1#largeimage

Hope that helps!
Click to expand...

+1 for monoprice. IME These cables have similar quality to Apple OEM.
 
M

mattpreston11

macrumors 6502a
Nov 9, 2007
731
0
I bought mine for about £5 from eBay UK and it works great.

Just make sure you pickup one that transfers sound aswel.
 
I

isrefel

macrumors member
Jul 8, 2012
38
0
I contemplated purchasing the monoprice one, but after doing a little research it seems that the cables are highly unreliable and may last a week or 6 months with inconsistent video and audio quality.

Instead I opted to buy a Belkin dongle that comes with a 8ft HDMI for $45 at best buy. No issues thus far, and the video and sound quality are superb.

http://www.google.com/products/cata...UL-dEcyz0QGFpIDIAw&ved=0CGkQ8wIwAw#ps-sellers
 
Uguubot

Uguubot

macrumors member
Dec 16, 2010
97
5
Minnesota
Just get the cheaper monoprice one. I doubt a $35 cable will pump 0's and 1's faster or better quality than the $7 one. Especially considering they're both digital.
 
Predator69

Predator69

macrumors member
Jun 29, 2012
56
0
A bit of track but can it also work with VGA projector ? I have tried the cable but the projector keep showing no signal detected.
 
koigirl

koigirl

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 29, 2011
846
401
Raleigh, NC
I ended up ordering off Monoprice: Mini-display to HDMI adapter with audio support plus 28AWG High-Speed HDMI cable with ferrous core, all for less than $10. What a deal! :)
 
S

stchman

macrumors 6502a
Jul 16, 2012
671
2
St. Louis, MO
As far as Apple products, Amazon usually sells the same thing that the Apple Store does for less.

Now as far as using non-Apple products, Apple has been known to in the past to remove a certain hardware's functionality from the kernel with a new OS, so your non-Apple adapter that works with Lion, may not work with Mountain Lion or the next OS. Does Apple do this on purpose? I cannot say with 100%, but it would not surprise me as this would necessitate buying an Apple product.
 
bembol

bembol

macrumors 65816
Jul 29, 2006
1,058
51
+1 for monoprice.

I still can't believe I fell for MonsterCable back in the day.

I now order all my Cables from them, quality is up there and no issues.
 
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