Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
That's handy for travelling and plugging the MacBook into the hotel TV room to stream Netflix (or iTunes, etc.). Now I need a different dongle for that.

I know it's a matter of personal preference, but I do a lot of on again off again heavy travel, and I have yet to see a hotel TV worth powering on. The screen may be smaller on the notebook, but it's a heck of a lot better picture....
 
I know it's a matter of personal preference, but I do a lot of on again off again heavy travel, and I have yet to see a hotel TV worth powering on. The screen may be smaller on the notebook, but it's a heck of a lot better picture....

touche. Even at my house, I find myself watching a lot of shows on my laptop/tablet......and I have an OLED!
 
You forget that a dongle is an extra item you must carry around if you want to use your ports on the go, as many people do. Not to mention that I would definitely take #1 if it has a Thunderbolt port and an SD card slot.

Good post, as always. Yes on carrying it if you need it while on the go, but I'm not sure how many people that affects. The one case that comes to mind immediately is people doing presentations, but they probably had to carry a DP to VGA adapter anyway?

Edit - looks like this was well-discussed above.
 
Good post, as always. Yes on carrying it if you need it while on the go, but I'm not sure how many people that affects. The one case that comes to mind immediately is people doing presentations, but they probably had to carry a DP to VGA adapter anyway?

Edit - looks like this was well-discussed above.

True, but I solved that problem by buying 10 five dollar adapters from ebay and having them all over the place just in case I forgot to bring one. Unless there are after market adapters with power bypass one might need to get 160$ in Apple adapters (VGA,HDMI)and keep them in the travel bag.
 
It would be nicer if the cable were longer. Then you could hide the adapter somewhere and just plug in the cable and have one cable to dock the Mac to.
 
It would be nicer if the cable were longer. Then you could hide the adapter somewhere and just plug in the cable and have one cable to dock the Mac to.
Assuming longer USB cables can carry the power, this should theoretically be possible with a USB Type-C extension cord, right?
 
That's good news! I was hoping the HDMI port can drive something higher than 1080p display, which was what the original spec sheet suggested.

Hope someone can hook this up to a 1440p monitor, and report their experience.

How do you find the video performance with both internal screen and external 1200p display active?

Not gonna happen. Since Apple does not make a dongle with display port and no one other than Nvidia has a HDMI 2.0 port so you're limited to 1900x1200 until someone makes a dongle with a USB C charge port and a display port.
 
Maybe I don't know. Was just saying the way it's setup now is not visually appealing to me.
 
Not gonna happen. Since Apple does not make a dongle with display port and no one other than Nvidia has a HDMI 2.0 port so you're limited to 1900x1200 until someone makes a dongle with a USB C charge port and a display port.
This is a misconception. As long as the cable and both connections are HDMI 1.3 or higher, it should work. You would need a newer monitor, like the Dell U2715H. There are plenty of reports on the internet of people running 1440P on this monitor with HDMI.
 
Not gonna happen. Since Apple does not make a dongle with display port and no one other than Nvidia has a HDMI 2.0 port so you're limited to 1900x1200 until someone makes a dongle with a USB C charge port and a display port.

It's been possible since the 2006 release of HDMI 1.3. All that is needed is for Apple to support it.
 
It's been possible since the 2006 release of HDMI 1.3. All that is needed is for Apple to support it.

Nevermind, I thought my 30 inch monitor was 1440, but it's actually 2560x1600. I know my rMBP's or mac mini's will output fullscreen resolution on my 30" Dell U3014 monitor via HDMI so I'm assuming the rMB won't either.

EDIT:
Stupid HDMI standards and Deceptive Dell
Turns out my U3014 - because of a hardware limitation by Dell - won't accept anything higher than 1900x1200 via HDMI. I would need to use a DL-DVI/Displayport connector to get the full 2560x1600p resolution. So the rMB may be fully capable of outputting 1600 via HDMI IF the monitor supports it.
 
Last edited:
Nevermind, I thought my 30 inch monitor was 1440, but it's actually 2560x1600. I know my rMBP's or mac mini's will output fullscreen resolution on my 30" Dell U3014 monitor via HDMI so I'm assuming the rMB won't either.

Even that would work with HDMI 1.3, the problem is that no one supported it. It took apple almost 10 years to do so. Windows PC's have had support for a bit longer.
 
It's been possible since the 2006 release of HDMI 1.3. All that is needed is for Apple to support it.

That's right. As I understand - Apple's A/V adapter supports HDMI v1.4. Both 1440p @60Hz and 4K@30Hz should be doable.
 
I know it's a matter of personal preference, but I do a lot of on again off again heavy travel, and I have yet to see a hotel TV worth powering on. The screen may be smaller on the notebook, but it's a heck of a lot better picture....

A valid point...unless you're not alone in bed watching a show...
 
A valid point...unless you're not alone in bed watching a show...

Actually my wife and I resort to my 15" MbP when we move into the bedroom.

Then again, my wife is the type of person that enjoys high end computer equipment for our anniversary, so our situation may be a little more unique :D
 
I got the Digital AV adapter in the mail today, and I have to say it's really worthwhile if you plan on docking your laptop at a desk. Eventually a cheaper option will turn up, but I was okay paying the price because it really extends the usability of my setup. Right now I'm connected to a 1200p monitor, a Logitech mouse, a USB3 external hard drive, and power. It's also worth noting that I'm daisy chaining an older USB2 hub for a few more standard USB connections.

Here's a picture:
Image
I'm limited by a pretty shallow college desk, but the setup works.

Will the adapter still function if you reverse the cable arrangement? Plug the adapter into the USB brick and connect the USB C power Cable from the macbook to the adapter. This way there would be less clutter on the desk.
 
I got the Digital AV adapter in the mail today, and I have to say it's really worthwhile if you plan on docking your laptop at a desk. Eventually a cheaper option will turn up, but I was okay paying the price because it really extends the usability of my setup. Right now I'm connected to a 1200p monitor, a Logitech mouse, a USB3 external hard drive, and power. It's also worth noting that I'm daisy chaining an older USB2 hub for a few more standard USB connections.

Here's a picture:
Byiibxp.jpg

I'm limited by a pretty shallow college desk, but the setup works.

Just making the picture visible.
 
Will the adapter still function if you reverse the cable arrangement? Plug the adapter into the USB brick and connect the USB C power Cable from the macbook to the adapter. This way there would be less clutter on the desk.

Please could you try this? I would be very interested to see whether it worked or whether there was some limitation on the USB-C spec that somehow prevents it. As far as I can see the entire point of this one-port design is that the long cable goes to the machine, and the hub lives near the charger.
 
Sooooooo pumped that the apple dongles are not limited to mirroring at 1080p like the descriptions originally stated!!! I now officially have noooo problem at all with the single USB C port! :D
 
Please could you try this? I would be very interested to see whether it worked or whether there was some limitation on the USB-C spec that somehow prevents it. As far as I can see the entire point of this one-port design is that the long cable goes to the machine, and the hub lives near the charger.

Great question, and sorry it took me so long to try. I just did, and it very much does not work. Oh well.

That piece of printer paper under the MBR tho ;). I know, i know new macbook want to prevent any scratching on the bottom :p

Hahaha, exactly, I was wondering if someone would point that out. It's kind of janky right now, but being unable to rest it on its rubber feet, I don't want to scratch the bottom any more than I absolutely have to.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.