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Difference between, Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter VS Mini DisplayPort?

H

hohohong

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 1, 2007
543
8
Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter and Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter?

1 has the USB (for sound?) and power supply whereas the other just an adapter. Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter is only good if you have the new Apple LED Cinema Display?

If I don't have Apple LED Cinema Display, Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter should be good enough right?
 
You should be fine, higher resolutions are achieved on Dual Link DVI, so that'll only be for very large monitors.
 
JG271 said:
You should be fine, higher resolutions are achieved on Dual Link DVI, so that'll only be for very large monitors.
Click to expand...

So, if I want to hook up to my "future" 42" (not apple) LCD tv, I should go for Dual Link DVI?
 
hohohong said:
So, if I want to hook up to my "future" 42" (not apple) LCD tv, I should go for Dual Link DVI?
Click to expand...
A TV won't have a resolution higher than 1920x1080. Dual-link is not needed for that. Also, the TV would probably not have DVI since HDMI is the standard. I imagine that there will be Mini-DP to HDMI cables soon, so you might want to wait for that.
 
valvehead said:
A TV won't have a resolution higher than 1920x1080. Dual-link is not needed for that. Also, the TV would probably not have DVI since HDMI is the standard. I imagine that there will be Mini-DP to HDMI cables soon, so you might want to wait for that.
Click to expand...

So for 1080P LCD TV, Mini DisplayPort is enough right?
 
hohohong said:
Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter and Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter?

1 has the USB (for sound?) and power supply whereas the other just an adapter. Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter is only good if you have the new Apple LED Cinema Display?

If I don't have Apple LED Cinema Display, Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter should be good enough right?
Click to expand...


The Dual-Link is for the 30" ACD, and probably other 30"+ monitors too. Smaller monitors only need regular DVI.
 
Chupa Chupa said:
The Dual-Link is for the 30" ACD, and probably other 30"+ monitors too. Smaller monitors only need regular DVI.
Click to expand...

But I'm thinking of hooking up to a 42" 1080p LCD TV,... will the mini displayport works? Or I need a Dual-link?
 
hohohong said:
But I'm thinking of hooking up to a 42" 1080p LCD TV,... will the mini displayport works? Or I need a Dual-link?
Click to expand...

You only need higher dual link for high resolution monitors. The resolution on your 1080p tv is like 1920x1200 whereas the apple 30" cinema display is like 2560x1600(close but not entirely sure on the resolution). For the 1080p dual link DVI isn't needed because the resolution is not as high as the 30" cinema display.

You will be served fine with a standard DVI with a DVI to HDMI adapter until a mini-dvi to hdmi adapter is available.

Either way it appears that mini display port although capable of supporting sound likely does not support sound on the macbook and macbook pro. The new cinema display with mini-displayport transfers audio via the USB port (per the apple website). So it appears that even if a mini display port to hdmi adapter is available at some point you might have to transfer the audio another way.

I can't confirm that its not capable of transfering audio because some are. Its just a guess on my part because they don't use it to transfer audio to the new 24" LED cinema display that utilizes display port.
 
hohohong said:
So, if I want to hook up to my "future" 42" (not apple) LCD tv, I should go for Dual Link DVI?
Click to expand...

If even plan to get a 30"+ computer monitor with 2560x1600 resolution or higher get the dual-link; otherwise a single-link DVI is all you need.

Don't forget the dual-link is also $70 more than the single-link, so if you don't need it, don't get it.
 
eyemacg5 said:
IIRC, the none dual link Mini display to DVI doesn't support overscan.
I think Overscan is needed for tvs so you will need a dual link dvi adapter.
Click to expand...

As far as I know overscan only applies to CRT TVs. The image is cutoff on all sides a little so that the resulting image fills the whole screen. The CRT does the cropping. This is only an analog video phenomenon. It has nothing to do with the digital portion of the DVI connection.
 
eyemacg5 said:
IIRC, the none dual link Mini display to DVI doesn't support overscan.
I think Overscan is needed for tvs so you will need a dual link dvi adapter.
Click to expand...

Works just fine with my Samsung 40" when in extended desktop mode without overscan. Mirror leads to cropping due to the maintaining of the MB's 16:10 ratio.
 
Freyqq said:
dvi - 1920x1200 (1080p) max
dual link dvi - 2560x1600 (1600p?) max
Click to expand...

1080p = 1920x1080.

If you have a display or TV with 1920x1200 resolution or lower, you need the Mini-DisplayPort -> DVI adapter.

If you have higher resolution than that (2560x1600 being the only higher native resolution) you need the Mini-DisplayPort -> Dual-Link DVI adapter.

It's that simple.
 
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