Displayport > Mini DisplayPort – Any quality loss?

[Silly John Fatty]

If I connect my Mac Pro (display port) to a Cinema Display (Mini DisplayPort), could there be any quality loss or other disadvantage (even a very small one) as opposed to if I had a MDP to MDP cable?

Thanks!

 

[Julien]

If I connect my Mac Pro (display port) to a Cinema Display (Mini DisplayPort), could there be any quality loss or other disadvantage (even a very small one) as opposed to if I had a MDP to MDP cable?

Thanks!

No, it a digital signal. 100101100100110 in and 100101100100110 out. It is impossible for an adapter to alter the digital stream.

 

[ColdCase]

Its a common thing, more the other way around. Its the same video and audio signal, just different connectors. no conversion, no degradation of quality (you can get poor quality cables, however). Recommend a cable with miniDP on one end and DP on the other. Reduces the number of connections and things that can go wrong.

 

[Silly John Fatty]

Its a common thing, more the other way around. Its the same video and audio signal, just different connectors. no conversion, no degradation of quality (you can get poor quality cables, however). Recommend a cable with miniDP on one end and DP on the other. Reduces the number of connections and things that can go wrong.

Thanks guys, but you're last sentence says that a MDP to MDP cable would be smarter, right?

 

[Altemose]

Thanks guys, but you're last sentence says that a MDP to MDP cable would be smarter, right?

Any time you can avoid adapters or port switching the better as there is less possibility of problems... A MDP to DP cable is just fine.

 

[ColdCase]

Thanks guys, but you're last sentence says that a MDP to MDP cable would be smarter, right?

I meant that a single cable with a DP connector on one end and MDP connector on the other (so called MDP to DP cable) will work better than cables plus adapters. But you can certainly use what you have handy.

 

[Silly John Fatty]

Yeah I see, that would be ideal then. Because there's this graphic card with DP and HDMI, so therefore I'd also get rid of the HDMI adapter I'm using right now, since none of my Macs had HDMI. Great, thanks all!

 

[deeddawg]

FWIW I'm using a Cable Matters brand mDP to DP cable from my mac mini to my Asus PB278Q monitor and it's rock solid at 2560x1440. Amazon link

 

[Silly John Fatty]

Actually I just found a great graphic card for a good deal that I'll probably buy. It has 2x Mini Displayport so it won't be necessary to have any adapters or DP > MDP cables.

But it's good to know for the future, I'm a bit smarter now I guess 🙂