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Displaylink quastions

5

5425642

Cancelled
Original poster
Jan 19, 2019
983
554
Got some Q.

1. Is it any negativity if I run displaylink? I got one 1440p/170hz display that I want to use with my m1.

2. I have the belkin Thunderbolt 3 pro dock. Can I connect the displaylink to that dock?
www.belkin.com

Thunderbolt™ 3 Dock Pro for Mac & PC | Belkin

The Thunderbolt™ 3 Dock Pro offers compatibility for Mac & PC laptops. Supports up to 40Gbps data rates, 60W charging, & dual 4K 60Hz displays. Learn more.
www.belkin.com www.belkin.com

I do have a MacBook Pro 13” m1 with a ultra fine 4k display connected to it in one of the thunderbolt ports and the dock in the second port.
 
I have that same laptop and same dock, using a Dell U2717D Monitor, and have the DisplayLink App installed. Here's the info on their latest release:

::C.3 Changes in 1.4.0 release::
----------------------------
- Improved rotated-screen performance (32926)
- Added notarisation to the Login Screen Extension uninstaller, removing security warning during removal
- Added a welcome page to the support ticket creation wizard
- Fix for missing cinema/DCI 4K (4096x2160) resolution on Apple M1 computers (33069)
- Fixed issue with erroneously showing clone mode when extended is set (32848)
- DisplayLink Manager will start automatically after installation and updates



And according to this support page, looks like everything should work fine? I'm having no issues at the moment, and I've been on the macOS 11.5 betas.
 
gank41 said:
I have that same laptop and same dock, using a Dell U2717D Monitor, and have the DisplayLink App installed. Here's the info on their latest release:

::C.3 Changes in 1.4.0 release::
----------------------------
- Improved rotated-screen performance (32926)
- Added notarisation to the Login Screen Extension uninstaller, removing security warning during removal
- Added a welcome page to the support ticket creation wizard
- Fix for missing cinema/DCI 4K (4096x2160) resolution on Apple M1 computers (33069)
- Fixed issue with erroneously showing clone mode when extended is set (32848)
- DisplayLink Manager will start automatically after installation and updates



And according to this support page, looks like everything should work fine? I'm having no issues at the moment, and I've been on the macOS 11.5 betas.
Click to expand...
What displaylink adapter do you havre?
 
gank41 said:
I’m connected to the dock via USB-C and the monitor’s connected to the dock using a cable from BestBuy.
Click to expand...
So it works native without any adapter? :eek:
I have the DisplayPort free in my dock so I can install that software and then connect my display with the DisplayPort cable?
 
5425642 said:
So it works native without any adapter? :eek:
I have the DisplayPort free in my dock so I can install that software and then connect my display with the DisplayPort cable?
Click to expand...
I'm not guaranteeing anything for you, but that's what I'm doing.
 
gank41 said:
I'm not guaranteeing anything for you, but that's what I'm doing.
Click to expand...
Don't forget that 5425642 already has a display (LG Ultra Fine 4K) directly connected to the dock. Since he's using an M1 Mac that only allows one display from the Thunderbolt ports, he must use a DisplayLink adapter for his 1440p/170hz display.
 
joevt said:
Don't forget that 5425642 already has a display (LG Ultra Fine 4K) directly connected to the dock. Since he's using an M1 Mac that only allows one display from the Thunderbolt ports, he must use a DisplayLink adapter for his 1440p/170hz display.
Click to expand...
I did notice that so what displaylink adapter do you recommend me?
 
5425642 said:
I did notice that so what displaylink adapter do you recommend me?
Click to expand...
I don't know. Check the DisplayLink products guide.

https://www.displaylink.com/products

I don't think they have any that can do 1440p/170Hz - that requires DisplayPort 1.4, doesn't it? Or does it use chroma sub sampling? Maybe you should connect the LG to DisplayLink instead since the LG only requires DisplayPort 1.2 but you would need to add a DisplayPort to USB-C adapter like the Wacom Link Plus. There's no reason to do that unless you are able to get 170Hz from your 1440p display while it's connected directly to the M1 Mac. Have you tried that yet?
 
Just be aware of the Displaylink 1080p limitation for HiDPI. Anything above that your going to be in lowres and things will be slightly blurry. Nothing you can do to fix that unfortunately.
 
tommiy said:
Just be aware of the Displaylink 1080p limitation for HiDPI. Anything above that your going to be in lowres and things will be slightly blurry. Nothing you can do to fix that unfortunately.
Click to expand...
Makes sense. for 1440p HiDPI mode, they would have to add code to use the GPU to scale a 5K frame buffer to 4K. Is scaling a difficult thing to do for a virtual display? Doesn't Screen Sharing do that to improve performance? Questions to ask the DisplayLink people.
 
anshuvorty said:
IMHO, if you have already have a Thunderbolt dock, you don't need to install the Displaylink app.
Click to expand...
You do need DisplayLink if you want to connect more than one display to a M1 MacBook Pro or M1 MacBook Air or M1 iMac (or more than two displays for a M1 Mac mini).
 
Yes if you have a M1 you only get to use Displaylink to have multiple displays. Then your limited really to the native display resolution or 1080p and below. For myself, with a 4k monitor, trying to use displaylink left the text too large at 1080 and too small at 4k. There has been a feature request for Displaylink to add higher resolutions because it should be capable of it but there is no response after almost 10 months to the voted request. even 2560x1440 is still within the realms for HiDPI but I guess there is some thing with MACOS and/or Displaylink.
 
tommiy said:
Yes if you have a M1 you only get to use Displaylink to have multiple displays. Then your limited really to the native display resolution or 1080p and below. For myself, with a 4k monitor, trying to use displaylink left the text too large at 1080 and too small at 4k. There has been a feature request for Displaylink to add higher resolutions because it should be capable of it but there is no response after almost 10 months to the voted request. even 2560x1440 is still within the realms for HiDPI but I guess there is some thing with MACOS and/or Displaylink.
Click to expand...
Above 1080p you should be able to use non-HiDPI modes like 2560x1440 if the display supports it?
 
Yes you can but the text is blurry. Its a rather poor thing to try and read for 8hrs a day. You need to try and refocus all the time. I gave up in the end after no response from displaylink on the suggestion to add HiDPI @ 2560x1440 and simple returned the M1. I'd rather use my intel Mac and be able to work with 2 displays all day than use the M1 and end up with headaches from eye strain half way through the day. Maybe I'll look at updating when Apple have a new machine that supports more than 1 display.
 
joevt said:
Above 1080p you should be able to use non-HiDPI modes like 2560x1440 if the display supports it?
Click to expand...
I use DisplayLink for my third monitor on my m1 Mini. 2560x1440 is not blurry at all for me. It's not as crisp as my central 5K UltraFine, of course, but there's no lag--it's my usual screen for watching baseball games on the side.
 
colinsky said:
I use DisplayLink for my third monitor on my m1 Mini. 2560x1440 is not blurry at all for me. It's not as crisp as my central 5K UltraFine, of course, but there's no lag--it's my usual screen for watching baseball games on the side.
Click to expand...
Is the display a 1440p display or a 4K display? I suppose 1440p (not HiDPI) might look better on a 1440p display than it does on a 4K display.

I'm still using my Apple 30" Cinema Display as my main display (2560x1600), even though I'm surrounded by two 4K displays and a 5K.
The 30" is old and yellow and hot and has a line of pixels with no blue but it's bigger and is mounted on a monitor arm. Those other displays are only 27" (one is 24").
 
4k display so there is a need for macos to do subinteger scaling which appears that is limited on the M1. I believe if you have native 2560x1440 its looks better. However, there is a noticeable difference between an intel mac and an M1 on the screen using the same displaylink dock. One has HiDPI and the other doesn't...just unplug one and plug the other in so not cable, dock related etc.
 
colinsky said:
I use DisplayLink for my third monitor on my m1 Mini. 2560x1440 is not blurry at all for me. It's not as crisp as my central 5K UltraFine, of course, but there's no lag--it's my usual screen for watching baseball games on the side.
Click to expand...
Hi there, which adapter are you using for your third monitor ?
 
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