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Luna Display Adapter

Zeke D

Zeke D

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The macrumors blog has a post about the Luna Display Adapter, reviewed by Dan. It looks really cool, and since I'm getting a black friday 2018 iPad, I thought it'd be cool to be able to control my 2010 Mac Pro via my new iPad. (It would almost make my macbook redundant.)

So here's the rub: My cMP has a GTX680 that has the full-sized display port, and the LDA only comes in USB-c & miniDP. Their site says no adapters.

I've never ran more than one graphics card in my mac pro, and I have a GT120 lying around somewhere. Would running my 4k monitor off the 680, and the iPad off the 120 work? Could I still game on the ipad?
 
mattspace

mattspace

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Zeke D said:
So here's the rub: My cMP has a GTX680 that has the full-sized display port, and the LDA only comes in USB-c & miniDP. Their site says no adapters.
Click to expand...

Would a male displayport to female mini-displayport cable be an adapter? I'd assume the support issue would be around converting different types of connector to mini-dp eg hdmi -> mini-dp
 
Zeke D

Zeke D

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mattspace said:
Would a male displayport to female mini-displayport cable be an adapter? I'd assume the support issue would be around converting different types of connector to mini-dp eg hdmi -> mini-dp
Click to expand...
that's my thought as well. i emailed tech support, and am waiting for a response. i went ahead and ordered it anyway, since they had a black friday discount
 
SoyCapitanSoyCapitan

SoyCapitanSoyCapitan

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mattspace said:
I'd be surprised if there was a difference between a female mDP on a card, and a female mDP on a cable, it's a standardised port, afterall, and the cables that go from DP male to mDP female are commonplace.
Click to expand...

It is standard but some software communicate with pin outs differently. Try and let us know. You can always refund.
 
B

bookemdano

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Jul 29, 2011
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SoyCapitanSoyCapitan said:
It's unlikely the adapter would work as intended.
Click to expand...

On what basis do you make that prediction?

DisplayPort cables and ports may have either a "full-size" connector or a "mini" connector. These connectors differ only in physical shape—the capabilites of DisplayPort are the same regardless of which connector is used. Using a Mini DisplayPort connector does not affect performance or feature support of the connection.
Click to expand...

The Mini DisplayPort (mDP) connector is a 20-pin single-orientation connector with a friction lock. Unlike the full-size connector, it does not have an option for a mechanical latch. The mDP receptacle has dimensions of 7.50 mm (width) × 4.60 mm (height) × 4.99 mm (depth).[38](§2.1.3.6, pp27–31) The mDP pin assignments are the same as the full-size DisplayPort connector.[38](§2.1.3)
Click to expand...

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DisplayPort

I think by "no adapters" they're referring to things like mDP->DVI, mDP->HDMI, or mDP->VGA. There should be absolutely no difference between a mDP and a DP connector. I don't think the Luna could even be able to tell the difference.

That said, I have no idea if that device would actually work on a cMP, but if it doesn't I don't think it would have anything to do with adapting DP to mDP.
 
Zeke D

Zeke D

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So I heard back from Luna tech support.

The reason we say no adapters is because if we didn't there would need to be a giant text block explaining which adapters work and which don't. We also don't have the resources to test every possible configuration. There are also different types of adapters (passive vs active). So officially, we don't support adapters. Having said that...

The mDP connector has the same pins as a regular DisplayPort, just in a different form factor. A few of our engineers (myself included) bought a mDP to DP adapter to try because we had a few customers ask about it. The cable we bought was able to be detected because its a passive adapter (wires only, no electronics).
Click to expand...

The tech suggested the following adapter: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007580WGC/

I'd already purchased an adapter expecting that this would be the case: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014DV2RGG/

The iPad and display adapter are scheduled for delivery today, and the LDA tomorrow. I'll report back then.
 
mattspace

mattspace

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Zeke D said:
So I heard back from Luna tech support.



The tech suggested the following adapter: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007580WGC/

I'd already purchased an adapter expecting that this would be the case: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014DV2RGG/

The iPad and display adapter are scheduled for delivery today, and the LDA tomorrow. I'll report back then.
Click to expand...

Yeah that's an expected reason, and the cable isn't really what most people would think of as an "adapter" - a dongle box type thing. Here's hoping it works.
 
Zeke D

Zeke D

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i got it installed today, and so far it appears to be working. theres a little bit of lag, but there's a lot of wi-fi congestion in my area. it would be nice if i could use the iPad keyboard instead of the OS X on-screen keyboard, and i could direct the audio to the iPad, but the luna display works well enough for playing runescape.
IMG_0271.jpg

[doublepost=1543360190][/doublepost]an issue i have noticed is that the luna display mac app doesn't remember settings, so i have to set it up again and again when i want to use it.
[doublepost=1543360603][/doublepost]i'm not sure if the luna display adapter is causing this, but my mac pro seems sluggish. not lag, but beach balling, bouncing apps, etc.
 
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Zeke D

Zeke D

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Unfortunately, Duet doesn't seem to have any information about how the process works. Their site is just a flashy movie of some people maybe using the duet. From all that I can gather, the Duet allows an ipad to be a monitor and touchpad while tethered to another mac. While this would be advantageous to someone using the ipad as a solo display to a mac mini or something, I'm looking for completely wireless autonomous control of my Mac Pro. Plus, Apple Pencil support on Duet requires a monthly subscription.

Despite my complaints about the Luna Display, it still more closely matches my desired usage. If the weird beachballing and delayed app launch on my Mac Pro while using the Luna Display were resolved, it would go a long way toward suiting my needs. As it is, I'd rate the LDA 3/5 stars.
 
kkinto

kkinto

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Apr 29, 2011
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Hey guys - for connecting a Luna to a cMP 2010/RTX 580 (2x DP ports) which mDP to DPadapter would you recommend purchasing? There are two mentioned by mattspace in this thread but no feedback on which worked?
Hoping to use this with Illustrator but cant find much feedback from cMP users as to how well this works.
Thanks.
 
Zeke D

Zeke D

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Nov 18, 2011
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kkinto said:
Hey guys - for connecting a Luna to a cMP 2010/RTX 580 (2x DP ports) which mDP to DPadapter would you recommend purchasing? There are two mentioned by mattspace in this thread but no feedback on which worked?
Hoping to use this with Illustrator but cant find much feedback from cMP users as to how well this works.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
I got this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014DV2RGG/ works just fine.
 
adam9c1

adam9c1

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I have had Duet Display to use as a secondary display when mobile.

It used to be perfect for my needs.
It was a huge improvement over the Wi-Fi solutions available back then.

Having said that I’m pretty sure you need a primary display for Duet to work. Also in the last probably 3-4 os versions duet stopped working or the installation got tricky. Had to install it twice on a new 2018 MBA.
 
M

Mr Ski 73

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Dec 11, 2007
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I have the same config with cMP plus 680 graphics card. The comment that worries me is slight lag. I am pondering an upgrade.
 
Zeke D

Zeke D

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Mr Ski 73 said:
I have the same config with cMP plus 680 graphics card. The comment that worries me is slight lag. I am pondering an upgrade.
Click to expand...
If you refer to upgrading your cMP, I don't think that it would alleviate the beach balling. My specs aren't maxed out, but they're pretty substantial:

2x 2.93 hex core Xeon
4x 8GB ECC RAM
MSI Twin Frozr 2GB GTX680 (mac flashed with the evga bios)
256GB Samsung AHCI M.2 SM951 in slot #2 (16x adaptor)
OSX Sierra
 
M

Mr Ski 73

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Dec 11, 2007
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Thanks for the reply. Mine is per signature which is massive overkill for what I need now.
 
Susurs

Susurs

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Some time has passed...
Has anyone successfully used eGPU with DP to Mini DP extension / adapter on any recent mac? Like Mac Mini 2018 + eGPU with DP out + extension + Luna MDP?
 
Zeke D

Zeke D

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Original poster
Nov 18, 2011
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Arizona
Susurs said:
Some time has passed...
Has anyone successfully used eGPU with DP to Mini DP extension / adapter on any recent mac? Like Mac Mini 2018 + eGPU with DP out + extension + Luna MDP?
Click to expand...
I've used it on my 2018 MB with no issues, and that included a USB-c adapter.
 
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