HDMI to TB3 cable/connector?

[Benobi37]

Hi there. I have a Mac Mini M1 and need to connect this to an LG Ultrafine 5k 27 inch monitor (27MD5KA) that only has a Thunderbolt 3 interface. Is there a cable or connector that will allow me to utilize the HDMI port on the Mac mini instead of the TB port? There are only 2 ports available and I need to reserve both for other devices.

I’m being told I could get a TB dock but these are pretty steep compared to the cost of a cable (if it exists!) - if a dock is the only way, can anyone recommend one that is reasonably priced please?

Cheers

Ben

 

[apostolosdt]

Search “Connect to HDMI from your Mac” in the Apple Support pages.

 

[Benobi37]

Search “Connect to HDMI from your Mac” in the Apple Support pages.

Thanks but that doesn’t fully clarify. It suggests using the Apple USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter if connecting an HDMI device to the TB port on the Mac. I want to know if the adapter works the other way around (HDMI on Mac to TB3 on monitor) - can you confirm if it works bidirectionally?

 

[PaulD-UK]

The 27MD5KA version of the LG 5K Ultrafine is the original 2016 version.
It connects with two Thunderbolt streams over a single TB cable, so it is impossible to connect it with any other connection type. HDMI won't work.

You need to get a TB3 dock to connect it to you Mac mini, if you want to have other ports available.

Any Mac-compatible TB3 dock should be OK, but a 2019 or later with an Intel Titan Ridge JHL7440 controller is better.
A second-hand one would be fine, if cost is a problem.

 

[pws442]

Hi there. I have a Mac Mini M1 and need to connect this to an LG Ultrafine 5k 27 inch monitor (27MD5KA) that only has a Thunderbolt 3 interface. Is there a cable or connector that will allow me to utilize the HDMI port on the Mac mini instead of the TB port? There are only 2 ports available and I need to reserve both for other devices.

I’m being told I could get a TB dock but these are pretty steep compared to the cost of a cable (if it exists!) - if a dock is the only way, can anyone recommend one that is reasonably priced please?

Cheers

Ben

I have a Mac mini M2, and the same LG Ultrafine monitor and I use the 3 extra USB3 ports on the back of the monitor for external HDDs. Would that work for you?

 

[Benobi37]

I have a Mac mini M2, and the same LG Ultrafine monitor and I use the 3 extra USB3 ports on the back of the monitor for external HDDs. Would that work for you?

Nope - don’t work unfortunately. I have a Western Digital TB2 hard drive that has a TB3 adaptor… works fine when connected directly to the Mac TB4 port, but it doesn’t work when connected to any of the 3 expansion ports on the LG.

 

[chrfr]

Nope - don’t work unfortunately. I have a Western Digital TB2 hard drive that has a TB3 adaptor… works fine when connected directly to the Mac TB4 port, but it doesn’t work when connected to any of the 3 expansion ports on the LG.

As post 4 in this thread says you have to use Thunderbolt to connect this display to your Mac. The extra ports on the LG display are not Thunderbolt so you won't be able to use a Thunderbolt-only disk on those. You do need a Thunderbolt dock to connect all these devices to your mini.

 

[PaulD-UK]

If you want to connect both the monitor and the TB2 HD to a dock, you have to use a Thunderbolt 4 dock, as only TB4 docks can have more than one downstream TB port.

You would need a TB4 dock with at least two TB output ports, and an upstream TB port to connect the dock to the Mac.

If you use a TB3 dock to connect the monitor then the TB2 HD has to be connected directly to the Mac, or to a second TB2 or 3 dock connected to the Mac.