Mini Displayport: Can it be Explained?

[hollyw0od]

Did Apple offer the mini displayport just so they can convert it to DVI? Because they sure don't offer a mini displayport to displayport adapter.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding something but this makes no sense, since as far as Apple is concerned, you can't even utilize displayport technology through their "mini displayport."

 

[JNB]

DisplayPort's been around since 2006 and I've seen it exactly… nowhere. MDP as implemented by Apple provides a more appropriate form factor for notebooks, is fully compliant with and is, in fact, included in the DP 1.2 standard. It does however, have limitations as far as backward compatibility with other connections, and also allows for inclusion of DRM-enabled protection.

On one hand, it's a standard "upgrade" to ensure a continuing flow of accessory needs as well as giving the capability to enforce DRM. On the other hand, it's also likely Apple pulling the industry along well after a standard was created without widespread adoption, a la USB.

Or more succinctly, it's Apple being Apple. Been there, done that for the last 34 years.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DisplayPort

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini_DisplayPort

 

[hollyw0od]

DisplayPort's been around since 2006 and I've seen it exactly… nowhere.

I'm not so sure about that. It's commonly known that DP will soon replace HDMI because it's a better technology. The last Radeon 5750 I bought for a PC included DP, my nec ea231wmi monitor has display port and no HDMI...

The question would not be necessary, but they include no adapter from MDP to DP. That must to say something about their intentions.

 

[JNB]

I'm not so sure about that. It's commonly known that DP will soon replace HDMI because it's a better technology. The last Radeon 5750 I bought for a PC included DP, my nec ea231wmi monitor has display port and no HDMI...

The question would not be necessary, but they include no adapter from MDP to DP. That must to say something about their intentions.

Or maybe their view of DP's long-term viability in the market.

Samsung, the single largest producer of consumer TV's, had a single 30" DP model 2-1/2 years ago, and today has none that accept it. LG (#2), also does not appear to have a single model supporting DP. So it looks to be limited to PC monitors for a good while.

Now, while it may end up being the case that TV's support it widely in the long run, all that's happened mostly is that everyone keeps saying it's taking over, then nothing happens. There's seemingly no TV's, A/V receivers, set-top boxes, or tuners that offer it, so there's a huge gap there between promise and delivery.

HDMI's got at least 5-7 years before a competing standard will be acceptable to the people willing to pay for the transition on a large scale. Keep in mind, you're not talking one component, but at least two or three that have to be replaced in every household (because most of those components that were just purchased in the last few years don't support DP). It's not as simple a proposition to the consumer as just replacing the old Zenith was a few years back.

If you're talking strictly the monitor market, DVI's not broke and VGA, while old, is still perfectly serviceable. That's why you still see nearly every monitor out there today supporting one or both.

Standards rarely get adopted because of superiority. They need to be timed right, more than anything in the lifecycle of what they purport to replace, and must offer a logical progression in a sound financial way to the consumer. Plus, if you're breaking new ground technologically (not "just" the connector), it's a lot harder. Even USB is merely an evolution of a 38-year old standard. I just don't see a compelling reason to expect a mass switch to DP anytime soon. In fact, if DP doesn't gain significant traction in the next three years, you can write it off as a successor to anything, tbh.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

Samsung, the single largest producer of consumer TV's, had a single 30" DP model 2-1/2 years ago, and today has none that accept it. LG (#2), also does not appear to have a single model supporting DP. So it looks to be limited to PC monitors for a good while.

This fits in with Jobs' view of the computer as the entertainment center. If it had HDMI, you could use the computer to supplement the entertainment center, not be it.

 

[hollyw0od]

As long as VGA has stuck around, I'd agree, and say that HDMI will be around for a while, but that doesn't mean it's the best technology to use. This article seems to do a good job of explaining it.

It's possible that we'll see DP making some jumps in the next few years, obviously, or Apple wouldn't have implemented it. Maybe they are waiting for DP to take off before they make an adapter. And that was my point really, that there is no adapter (made by Apple) to utilize the technology.

After this conversation, I think I understand the situation a little better. Thanks!

 

[JNB]

As long as VGA has stuck around, I'd agree, and say that HDMI will be around for a while, but that doesn't mean it's the best technology to use. This article seems to do a good job of explaining it.

It's possible that we'll see DP making some jumps in the next few years, obviously, or Apple wouldn't have implemented it. Maybe they are waiting for DP to take off before they make an adapter. And that was my point really, that there is no adapter (made by Apple) to utilize the technology.

After this conversation, I think I understand the situation a little better. Thanks!

Interesting article; it's not without a little irony that I note it's precisely two years old, and the prognostications made there have failed to pan out in any promising way.

I agree, the specs and potential are a vast improvement over the HDMI standard. I think DP's biggest "failing", if you will, is poor timing and a lack of a good initial entry into the marketplace. Apple's been on both sides of that argument, and they've lost the standards wars as much as they've won them.

Imagine what the scene would be now if Apple adopted DP in 2007…