My thoughts would be the device would have a graphics chip to drive the HDMI output, rather than being a demuxer for the displaylink signal.
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CalDigit Thunderbolt Station Adds to Growing Ranks of Thunderbolt Docks
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My thoughts would be the device would have a graphics chip to drive the HDMI output, rather than being a demuxer for the displaylink signal.
Not all Macs have native USB3
that totally flew over my head i had gotten comfy with the ones in my imac that i forgot i used to agonize over having 2.0
This dock makes perfect sense for me since I have a 2011 17" MBP with only a single TB port. I daisy chain video device and TB storage but the video device in the end of the chain only has a single TB port so I cannot also hook up a monitor. With this dock I can hook up all my devices and use a second monitor plus be able to use USB3 drives which was the one thing making me itch to upgrade my MBP. With this dock I can extend the life of my current laptop at least a couple of years and connect everything I want to connect.
Same here, really want the USB 3.
I am concerned that the just connecting a display port monitor to the thunderbolt dock won't work. I believe
apple's own thunderbolt display required a second peripheral after the display before you could plug in a display port monitor. Since the dock works the same way, although to HDMI vs a actual screen, it may not work either.
Either way, these are "first world problems" if I can finally get USB 3 into my 2011 iMac. I do wish that is was cheaper (as I don't need ethernet/audio) but it is finally starting to get into an high but almost affordable range to add USB 3.
I am concerned that the just connecting a display port monitor to the thunderbolt dock won't work. I believe
apple's own thunderbolt display required a second peripheral after the display before you could plug in a display port monitor. Since the dock works the same way, although to HDMI vs a actual screen, it may not work either.
Either way, these are "first world problems" if I can finally get USB 3 into my 2011 iMac. I do wish that is was cheaper (as I don't need ethernet/audio) but it is finally starting to get into an high but almost affordable range to add USB 3.
This is pretty great! The only thing I could want different is instead of putting the only USB3 port on the front, throw it on the back to keep usb3 HDD plugged into it. Or just make them all usb3..
http://www.caldigit.com/thunderboltstation/ThunderboltStation.html
Unless the specs are wrong on their product page, they did make all three USB 3.0. Even with no additional ports (FW400/FW800, eSATA, VGA) this is probably the best Thunderbolt dock that is (about to be) on the market given the cost. If it turns out this works with simple, low-cost USB 2.0/3.0 adapters for the other ports, I hope they planned on making a lot. Otherwise, this is going to be "sold out" for quite some time.
Damn, those adaptors I could just plug straight into my mac though yeah? I take it those are the ones where it acts like one big long display?
Well, Thunderbolt just transports DisplayPort and PCIe packets, nothing really gets muxed in the process. But since you bring up DisplayLink, it did occur to me that you could build a dock such as this using a USB 3.0 host controller and a DL-3000 series DisplayLink chip. This way the DisplayLink chip would drive the HDMI port and the Thunderbolt controller could still drive a display directly connected to one of the Thunderbolt ports. I'd be a bit surprised if that's the route CalDigit went here though, seeing as DisplayLink simply encodes the frame buffer and pipes it over USB 3.0, which results in some degree of lag and compression artifacts.
Connecting a DP display directly to one of the Thunderbolt ports on the dock should work just fine as long as you aren't simultaneously trying to drive a panel off of the dock's HDMI port, in which case you would need an additional 2-port Thunderbolt device after the dock and before the DP display.
Yep, precisely.
Good news.....
more makers and brands in the Thunderbolt mix can help to down the current prices and push out the technology.
Not so sure about the upcoming new Thunderbolt from Intel (sometime in 2014)......
more makers and brands in the Thunderbolt mix can help to down the current prices and push out the technology.
Not so sure about the upcoming new Thunderbolt from Intel (sometime in 2014)......
Hear, hear. For me, FW as well as one more TB port would have completed it, but everything else about this dock, including size and price, make this one a winner.
hmmm... it doesn't say in the website, but I wonder if those audio in/out are combo analog / digital like on my old iMac, it's one thing that I personally miss on my MBA.....
I was wondering about that too. Their website also doesn't mention if the required power adapter is included.
Still the best dock out there yet.
This solves a massive problem for me.
I have a Aja T-TAP (to monitor video out of FCP X) but it doesn't have a TB loop out which means I could either use my external DVI monitor or the T-TAP. Prior to this the only option would have been to buy an Apple monitor. Now I can by one of these, use the T-TAP on the TB loop through and HDMI out to the monitor.
Yeay!
I have a Aja T-TAP (to monitor video out of FCP X) but it doesn't have a TB loop out which means I could either use my external DVI monitor or the T-TAP. Prior to this the only option would have been to buy an Apple monitor. Now I can by one of these, use the T-TAP on the TB loop through and HDMI out to the monitor.
Yeay!
You would spend just as much in the end when you include the dock. The Air is a little lighter, but there's more to it than the stupid "retina" marketing garbage. The viewing angles and color reproduction are significantly better. Take a look at them side by side if you get the chance. Using an IPS display was a big jump in image quality, and it is noticeable when watching things like videos. I just wanted to mention the other stuff in case you hadn't considered it. I'm aware that the rmbp also receives complaints for issues that did not seem to come up with the Air.
True, but I'd also get the extra USB ports and ethernet. The form factor is quite important to me, the reason I'm upgrading is because my 15" unibody is too big to carry around. The weight drop from the retina to the Air might be worth it.
tbh though it wouldn't even be a debate if there was a proper graphics chip in the 13" retina!
OK...I'm not real up on TB technology. My current setup is a 2012 Mac Mini with one monitor connected via HDMI to DVI adapter, second monitor connected using mini-displayport (connected to Mac Mini TB port) to DVI adapter.
If I got this Dock, could I plug it into the Mini's TB port and still use my second monitor by using the mini-DP adapter plugged into one of the doc's TB ports?
If I got this Dock, could I plug it into the Mini's TB port and still use my second monitor by using the mini-DP adapter plugged into one of the doc's TB ports?
Then you don't understand the point of a docking station at all. The whole point is you have 1-2 cables that you hook to your laptop (or in the PC world it's usually a port under the laptop, but either way), and everything is hooked to that docking station. You don't have to unplug 100 different devices when you want to turn your laptop into a desktop. With this, I have two cables that I hook to my Macbook Air: Thunderbolt and Power. Off of the Dock, I can have multiple monitors (hopefully), multiple hard drives, keyboard, mouse, Speakers, Ethernet, etc. etc. all plugged into a high speed bus.
I'm now torn between this one and the Sonnettech one. I have already pre-ordered the Sonnettech one which I mostly wanted for the eSATA ports. However, I could use the USB3.0 to ESATA adapters I already use on my mini on this one....
Doubtful - for technical reasons discussed elsewhere in this thread re. Thunderbolt controllers only supporting one display per peripheral.
Maybe they've found a work-around, but if they had I expect they'd be trumpeting it a bit more, as it would be a USP over the other hubs.
However, in your case, you ought to be able to just buy a second HDMI-to-DVI converter and use that from the HDMI port in this dock.
Well, I hope both this and the Sonnet dock materialise with features as promised. Between them they sound like two sensible options c.f. the Matrox (only 1x USB3, no TB daisychain port) and Belkin (vaporware) options.
Sonnet for the 'everything but the kitchen sink' option and this one for the minimalists (putting less connectivity than this would make it a USB3 adapter, not a dock).
Still some annoyances:
- no optical audio (so no audio passthrough to a surround system during movie playback - even dafter on the Sonnet which has bluray as a USP)
- Having a display connecter is good - even if it doesn't let you connect two displays separating the display from Thunderbolt could be useful for those of us with only one TB output - but why HDMI? Some of us actually use DisplayPort, you know, and a mini-DisplayPort connector would also drive HDMI, DVI or VGA using the appropriate adapter that you quite possibly haver already?
I think I'd go for the Sonnet - hopefully they'll wise up and add a BD/R option and/or a version with an empty optical bay for your own optical drive or a second 2.5" HDD.
Sonnet for the 'everything but the kitchen sink' option and this one for the minimalists (putting less connectivity than this would make it a USB3 adapter, not a dock).
Still some annoyances:
- no optical audio (so no audio passthrough to a surround system during movie playback - even dafter on the Sonnet which has bluray as a USP)
- Having a display connecter is good - even if it doesn't let you connect two displays separating the display from Thunderbolt could be useful for those of us with only one TB output - but why HDMI? Some of us actually use DisplayPort, you know, and a mini-DisplayPort connector would also drive HDMI, DVI or VGA using the appropriate adapter that you quite possibly haver already?
I think I'd go for the Sonnet - hopefully they'll wise up and add a BD/R option and/or a version with an empty optical bay for your own optical drive or a second 2.5" HDD.
So disappointing. Every time I see a link to a story about a "new dock" then click on it only to find a hub I am sad. A dock is something that you can plug your laptop into, and have the peripherals automatically connect, and power automatically fed to it. It should hold the laptop as well.
That already works on the 15-inch MBPR. The 13-inch only has Intel HD 4000 graphics which can only drive 3 displays (the built-in one and up to two externally).
Yes, shouldn't be a problem.
fhall1 is using the HDMI port on the mini to drive one display, so the dock would be able to drive the other just fine off of one of its Thunderbolt ports.
To try to clarify the limitation, Thunderbolt devices that allow daisy chaining only have a single display output, so they can only drive one directly connected panel. The Apple Thunderbolt Display is itself a daisy chainable Thunderbolt device and the one panel it can drive is built in. Additionally, if you plug a conventional (non-Thunderbolt) display into a Thunderbolt port, it also ends the daisy chain.
Why would you want it to hold the laptop? What if you're using the "dock" in conjunction with a Mac mini or iMac? I know connecting two cables is really difficult compared to just having to deal with one, but it does make for a much more flexible solution.
Apple doesn't license their MagSafe technology, so you won't be seeing an Apple dock with one connection.
Honestly, I've been using a USB3 dock with a Windows 8 tablet lately, and it's no worse than the Thinkpad docks I've been using for years. Sure, I have to make 2 connections instead of 1, but that takes no more time than using a docking station. The fact that it holds it is of little practical benefit in reality.
Getting there at last, i want a dock that is this style, and price, drop the audio and HDMI out, give me 3 USB3 at least, Thunderbolt through and a Couple of Firewire ports for good measure, and a Single 2.5inch internal drive bay so i can connect a laptop sized SSD drive to the box.