Thanks, can you tell me what brand of adaptor you are using? am surprised the Anker one isn’t working for me on my Mini - but maybe it will work on the MBP when it arrives. I agree it’s confusing as at first I didn’t realise it had defaulted to wifi and I was perplexed by the drop in performance.
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Luna Display Gains PC-to-Mac Mode, 5K Support and More
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I currently have an Apple USB-C to USB-A with an Apple USB-A to Ethernet converter and then ethernet directly to the iMac.
My hope when my amazon delivery arrives is to go to USB-C to Thunderbolt 2, and then thunderbolt 2 to the iMac... however in the week they sent me Thunderbolt 2 to Firewire by accident (and I fear they'll do the same again)
My hope when my amazon delivery arrives is to go to USB-C to Thunderbolt 2, and then thunderbolt 2 to the iMac... however in the week they sent me Thunderbolt 2 to Firewire by accident (and I fear they'll do the same again)
My MacBook Pro arrived today and it’s awesome 
I tried again with the USB-A 3.2 to USB-C adaptor in the hub (and thunderbolt 3 to 2 adaptor and a thunderbolt 2 cable) - this time with my 16” MBP - and it started working when I specified to use Thunderbolt (only). I think the Hub adds a bit of latency (going by the Vitals readout) but with a higher throughput and either way I haven’t in practice noticed a difference in performance, certainly not worse than with the Mini.
So I have it set up with ethernet between iMac and Mini and thunderbolt between iMac and MBP - that way I can plug Luna into either primary Mac and use the iMac as a display with whichever I need at that time.
The upshot being I’m not rushing to buy a Studio Display - and the display on the MBP is so good I actually think the iMac 5k is actually going to be the secondary display.
I tried again with the USB-A 3.2 to USB-C adaptor in the hub (and thunderbolt 3 to 2 adaptor and a thunderbolt 2 cable) - this time with my 16” MBP - and it started working when I specified to use Thunderbolt (only). I think the Hub adds a bit of latency (going by the Vitals readout) but with a higher throughput and either way I haven’t in practice noticed a difference in performance, certainly not worse than with the Mini.
So I have it set up with ethernet between iMac and Mini and thunderbolt between iMac and MBP - that way I can plug Luna into either primary Mac and use the iMac as a display with whichever I need at that time.
The upshot being I’m not rushing to buy a Studio Display - and the display on the MBP is so good I actually think the iMac 5k is actually going to be the secondary display.
Thanks for this thread, joining a bit late. I have a 2015 27" iMac and just bought one of the last 2020 27" iMacs with a decent GPU (5700 XT 16GB) and was interested in using my older iMac as a second 5K screen.
Couple of interesting observations - firstly I already had the mini-DP version from when I tried this a long time ago on the 2015 iMac so I was assuming I would eventually need to buy the USB-C version to fit in my 2020 and enable retina resolutions but before that I wanted to try an adapter. They say ignorance is bliss and I had already ordered this $12 mini-DP to USB-C adapter off Amazon *before* reading all the articles saying adapters won't work. It arrived today and so I tried it anyway and ... it works perfectly.
Then I read through some of the tips here (thank you) and have it connected over ethernet at max rate (320Mbps) using Metal and v3 Engine, set for 5K and 60Hz max. It works perfectly - yes, screen refreshes with a little more lag but totally usable for my use case where I want super crisp text that matches my main iMac 5K panel (side-by-side docs, web articles, PowerPoint etc.).
Question: does anyone think this will get even smoother with a thunderbolt cable direct connection? Which cable type do I need for my 2015<>2020 iMacs?
Couple of interesting observations - firstly I already had the mini-DP version from when I tried this a long time ago on the 2015 iMac so I was assuming I would eventually need to buy the USB-C version to fit in my 2020 and enable retina resolutions but before that I wanted to try an adapter. They say ignorance is bliss and I had already ordered this $12 mini-DP to USB-C adapter off Amazon *before* reading all the articles saying adapters won't work. It arrived today and so I tried it anyway and ... it works perfectly.
JSAUX USB Type C to Mini DisplayPort Adapter 4K@60Hz, C to Mini Display Port Dongle Cable, Compatible with MacBook Pro 2019 2018, Dell XPS, Samsung Galaxy S21 S20 Plus-Grey
JSAUX USB Type C to Mini DisplayPort Adapter 4K@60Hz, C to Mini Display Port Dongle Cable, Compatible with MacBook Pro 2019 2018, Dell XPS, Samsung Galaxy S21 S20 Plus-Grey
www.amazon.com
Then I read through some of the tips here (thank you) and have it connected over ethernet at max rate (320Mbps) using Metal and v3 Engine, set for 5K and 60Hz max. It works perfectly - yes, screen refreshes with a little more lag but totally usable for my use case where I want super crisp text that matches my main iMac 5K panel (side-by-side docs, web articles, PowerPoint etc.).
Question: does anyone think this will get even smoother with a thunderbolt cable direct connection? Which cable type do I need for my 2015<>2020 iMacs?
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Thanks, this does appear a bit more snappy but I find that Luna/MacOS forgets the 2560x1440 resolution when it restarts and text is zoomed in as a result - it requires it to be changed back each time. Do you see the same thing?
Not to go off on a different tangent, but I was about to trade my iMac 27 late 2014 in, and decided on luna... and although the speed wasn't great it's okay(ish) although the fans have a tendency to fire up when it's animating anything.
This all lead me to thinking what about 'Universal Control' ... but you can't get Monterray on a late 2014, unless you hack it, which I don't want to do.
I then saw an advert for Logitech flow, but don't really want their hardware... so looked around and found 'Synergy', and basically I can just move my mouse up into my iMac from my MacBook Pro and still use the keyboard and mouse on my laptop... it's amazing (having to keyboards was doing my head in)
I'm about to also add my Surface go... so I'll be able to access them all from my Mac seamlessly... amazing!
This all lead me to thinking what about 'Universal Control' ... but you can't get Monterray on a late 2014, unless you hack it, which I don't want to do.
I then saw an advert for Logitech flow, but don't really want their hardware... so looked around and found 'Synergy', and basically I can just move my mouse up into my iMac from my MacBook Pro and still use the keyboard and mouse on my laptop... it's amazing (having to keyboards was doing my head in)
I'm about to also add my Surface go... so I'll be able to access them all from my Mac seamlessly... amazing!
I’ve been using Luna with my new MBP and my old 5k iMac.
It performs better with my M1 Max MBP than it did with my M1 Mini - so that is a bonus.
I am using it in 5k and retina mode via thunderbolt.
I also have my iPad Pro connected to the MBP via sidecar and use the iMac keyboard, trackpad and mouse to control all three when Luna is running.
It performs better with my M1 Max MBP than it did with my M1 Mini - so that is a bonus.
I am using it in 5k and retina mode via thunderbolt.
I also have my iPad Pro connected to the MBP via sidecar and use the iMac keyboard, trackpad and mouse to control all three when Luna is running.
If my PC is connected directly to a 4K display and I connect my M1 MacBook Pro 16" 2021 to the PC via Luna Display, under what maximum resolutions will the MacBook Pro 16" be running when I want both screen to display different things (i.e. extended screen mode rather than mirroring mode)?
I just tested ethernet versus thunderbolt and frankly could see no difference. So I'm sending the TB adapter and cable back, saved me $100. The bandwidth slider looked the same on both (maxed out at 320Mbps) - am I missing something to increase the throughput?
That was my impression too when using the M1 Mini. I do feel that the M1 Max MBP performs better - but I don’t have anything objective on that so might be imagining it lol. Of course if it is performing marginally better that may be due to either the MBP GPU or the TB4 controllers in the MBP or the TB4 hub. I haven’t even played with those “debug” options yet (so it is on auto), will do so.
Guys,/gals, i ve been reading all this comm from the entire thread i i just wanted to confirm, with your integrity on the line. I m trying to buuy a base mac studio and use iMac 5k i5 from 2017 as a main display. Should i pull the trigger on the base mac studio? I saw a gentleman state that he succeeded with luna display on 4k with 60hz, i believe that should be enough for video 4k editing. I anybody can confirm i would greatly apreciate it. Thanks a lot !!
There is a 4k / 60Hz setting but I didn’t feel it was any smoother (mouse pointer moving for example) than the 5k / 45Hz - so I guess it all boils down to personal subjectivity of what is acceptable. I’d be much more inclined to say it’s good to use an old iMac you already have as a second monitor - especially as I don’t know how you would set up the software etc. on a Mac Studio without a screen…
You need to have the Luna Secondary software running on the iMac and then launch the Luna Primary software on the Mac Studio (when you don’t have the iMac as a screen). Whilst you could do this with another monitor the first time and then not turn the Mac off - every time you did restart the Mac Studio you would have the same problem if you need to log in to the Mac for example. My Mac Mini is in this state - I even have it set to not go to sleep so I don’t have to keep waking it up and using an attached keyboard (so you probably want a separate keyboard /mouse for the Mac Studio too). I was able to do this as I use a Thunderbolt Display in addition to the iMac and have old keyboards/mice around.
I’ve not used mine as much as I thought I would since I got the MBP as the MBP screen is so good - obviously if I’d got a Mac Studio it would be different.
Of course you have a 30 day return window on the Apple Studio - but probably not on the Luna Display hardware.
You need to have the Luna Secondary software running on the iMac and then launch the Luna Primary software on the Mac Studio (when you don’t have the iMac as a screen). Whilst you could do this with another monitor the first time and then not turn the Mac off - every time you did restart the Mac Studio you would have the same problem if you need to log in to the Mac for example. My Mac Mini is in this state - I even have it set to not go to sleep so I don’t have to keep waking it up and using an attached keyboard (so you probably want a separate keyboard /mouse for the Mac Studio too). I was able to do this as I use a Thunderbolt Display in addition to the iMac and have old keyboards/mice around.
I’ve not used mine as much as I thought I would since I got the MBP as the MBP screen is so good - obviously if I’d got a Mac Studio it would be different.
Of course you have a 30 day return window on the Apple Studio - but probably not on the Luna Display hardware.
Just got back from the local apple seller, Timisoara/Romania, where both sellers assured me that my imac would work as a display for the mac studio. I don t know wether to laugh, be happy or cry. `Am I missing something?
Old iMacs (pre 2015) have target display mode - perhaps they are confused about that? Won’t work for retina 27” iMacs obviously.
An update folks, Luna Display has an updated version that apparently fixes the major issue I mentioned earlier.
What you need is version 5.1.5 of both Luna Primary and Luna Secondary. You can download these from the Astro website - please note that Luna Secondary 5.1.4 for me would not update to 5.1.5 - I had to uninstall it and download from the website.
What you need is version 5.1.5 of both Luna Primary and Luna Secondary. You can download these from the Astro website - please note that Luna Secondary 5.1.4 for me would not update to 5.1.5 - I had to uninstall it and download from the website.
wait you mean you returned the $100 luna dongle? You can get their software to work without their wifi dongle?
I have a Luna Display mac to mac (USB C). I am trying to use it to connect from my new Apple Studio (max) to my old 2015 iMac 27". It works (not soo well) over wifi but for the life of me I can't get it to work over ethernet or thunderbolt. I have tried different ethernet cables and it still won't connect. For ethernet, when I go into settings/network on both computers it looks ok (Ethernet is green and "connected" on iMac and amber and "self-assigned IP" on the Studio. I have tried rebooting both devices. The latency over wi-fi is terrible so I'm really keen to get it working over ethernet (or thunderbolt). Does anyone have any ideas?
Have you found the settings where you can choose to specify what sort of connection i.e. Thunderbolt only?
I found that I needed to use that, and try closing the apps and re-opening them a couple of times to get it to not try to use a wifi connection. Turning wifi off temporarily on both machines might help with that too.
I found that I needed to use that, and try closing the apps and re-opening them a couple of times to get it to not try to use a wifi connection. Turning wifi off temporarily on both machines might help with that too.
Sure he meant he was sending the Apple TB adapter and cable back and sticking to ethernet connection.
Thanks for your response. I tried all of that but unfortunately, neither ethernet nor TB will work. Are you using yours via ethernet or TB?
I have used it with both ethenet and thunderbolt, but just use it on thunderbolt now. The adaptor (tb2 to tb3) and tb2 cable are from Apple. I would try using the Apple screen sharing (VNC) feature over ethernet with wifi turned off to check the ethernet cable - I guess just file sharing over ethernet would test that too though?