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Ah that's not too bad.

It will be as annoying as a MDP to VGA/DVI cable lol. I've lived with one of those sticking out the side for a while.


Okay... so how do I get my MDP MacbookPro to connect to S-Video/RCA ??

I have tried so many things.
 
Just to note that there are cheaper cards with mDP, e.g. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131397 just not the $29-$79 el cheapo cards.

Yet both of these posts show that mDP is gaining some traction in the higher price ranges where Apple competes.

Well there are, check the other Newegg link, many cards from different brands using miniDP as well.

As far as laptops are concerned, Dell, Lenovo, HP, and Toshiba have also begun using mDP.

Ah yep, I was well aware of that. I was actually referring to monitors, not cards, when I said that Apple seem to be the only ones to use them. Then again, I haven't searched for several months, so they could well be many manufacturers of Mini DP monitors now...
 
I just don't get it. Why can't Apple just make a mini DVI to standard HDMI wire? What is wrong about that? The adapter is so stupid. Just make the thunderbolt to HDMI wire and we will all be happy.
 
My U2410 doesn't look anywhere near as nice using my MDP to VGA cable vs my MDP to DP cable. The color, clarity, and responsiveness doesn't even compare. Maybe that's just me? IDK. I walk by people who use the completely wrong resolution or even aspect ratio with their monitors all the time, so I am probably a lot more picky about these things.

I still can't see how anyone would want Apple to downgrade though, IMO, if you want to use outdated or inferior technology like VGA or HDMI, then you should have to buy the proper adapters. I am glad I don't have to use my MBP on 30+ inch monitors with quality issues because everyone else wanted it to be easy to hook theirs up to their TV. That's what keeps me buying Apple products.
 
Image

That looks ****ing ridiculous. If you pay them their 5 cents per device why can't they be happy?

Just word of advice - when you buy the dongle, you should make sure (ask or check the specs) that the dongle supports both audio and video.

I have got something that looked exactly like the one in the photo (brand called Planex) but it supported only video output. I had to back track and get a Griffin one which supported both audio and video streams.
 
Apple should just stop with their own priority ports and implement a HDMI port on macbooks. Stupid enough that you have to buy an adapter to use any non-apple monitor.

Mini DisplayPort is a Royalty-free specification! HP, Dell, and Lenovo all manufacture laptops with Mini DisplayPort

DisplayPort has an advantage over HDMI in that it is royalty-free, while the HDMI royalty is $0.04 USD per device and has an annual fee of $10,000 for high-volume manufacturers.
 
1920 X 1200 s no high resolution

Well even if mDP is not apple's.. I have yet to set it on any non-apple device. All the HD monitors I have seen have HDMI or VGA (VGA is still the easiest to hook up) or even DVI.

Even so, a HDMI port is useful for connecting to a TV too. Apple surely can squeeze it in, seeing as nearly all new laptops these days have one. My laptop from 2008 has one.

2560 X 1600 used in most 30" displays needs either a dual link dvi connector or the display port/mini display port connector.HDMI just won't cut it.

I could see if argued the mini display port versus the display port connector then you may have something to discuss. But VGA is very old, hdmi is old, dvi is old but capable to be at least up graded to dual link dvi. Display Port has the capability to very high resolutions (3840 S 2400 or maybe even higher) while HDMI is stuck in the dark ages & usable for only TV resolutions. HD means something different to different people.
 
My ones work great, so should I stock up before they stop dealextreme from selling it? Oh wait, they are based in China, good luck stopping them =)
 
[...]With better than 7.1 audio (192 kHz rather than 96 kHz), no license fees, Mini DP's much smaller size and optional Thunderbolt support, why do companies even include HDMI with their products?

Because the average consumer would look at it and say "hmm, no HDMI... I'll buy this one that does"
Even though DP/mDP handle's A/V at high quality, most consumers think HDMI is the best thing out there quality wise.

/trolling :D
 
Why does HDMI Licensing, LLC have influence over sites like MonoPrice?

Why can't retailers continue to sell cables that people want even if the cables don't have an "industry certification"?


I agree that retailers should continue to sell cables that people like me want.

If it works to my satisfaction and I am willing to buy it, then saying that it can't be sold makes no sense.
 
HDBaseT - one cable to rule them all.

I don't think this really means anything. My biggest disappointment in Thunderbolt/MiniDisplay Port is that I really just want to see a universal connector and end the proprietary stuff. The proprietary stuff is more about money than it is about tech. Give me one cable to rule them all.

I want HDBaseT...

http://www.hdbaset.org/
 
I can't believe your post got so many negative votes. It just goes to show how freaking intelligent the average Mac user is. They actually appear to want to use dongles and pay Apple to use them to boot. :confused:

He's probably being downvoted because not only is Mini DisplayPort not proprietary, its existence is validated by other companies adopting it.

That article doesn't differentiate Display Port from MINI-Display Port. There's a big difference (literally). It's also funny how the increase almost directly correlates with sales of Mac equipment. I don't see many others than Apple using mini-display port and I certainly wouldn't call that in any way, shape or form a "defacto standard". Macs are a tiny portion of overall PC sales. And most average consumers don't have monitors that large to even care. My 24" monitors are already huge. If I went much bigger without sitting further away I'd be craning my neck.

The differences between DP and mDP comes down to only two things: the size of the connector and the lack of a locking mechanism in mDP. Otherwise, they are both 20-pin connectors running the same signals. It's not a big difference. Adoption of mDP has been increasing as manufacturers begin to phase out VGA.

Vesa also has a history of failed "standards". Display Port was developed in secret and not free to access. Almost NO ONE uses it. Apple is the reason MINI-Display Port is becoming widespread, but it's hardly a standard. HDMI probably has 10,000x the penetration of it. Yes, HDMI is no good for a 30" monitor, but if you need a professional display that size you probably have a video card to support it. Anything over 27" for the consumer (used as a monitor, not sitting further away as a TV) is overkill, IMO. Your mileage may vary.

Apple isn't the reason mDP is becoming widespread. Apple isn't the one forcing other PC manufacturers to adopt it; they're adopting it because they see merit to the connector. Plenty of people use DP. Most consumers don't, but that doesn't mean almost no one uses it. If that were the case, my store wouldn't have sold any DisplayPort cables. Guess what? We sold a good amount of them.

Ah yep, I was well aware of that. I was actually referring to monitors, not cards, when I said that Apple seem to be the only ones to use them. Then again, I haven't searched for several months, so they could well be many manufacturers of Mini DP monitors now...

Well, you should've specified that, then.

The purpose of mDP, at least as stated by Apple, is to offer a portable-optimized connector for displays. As such, the point of mDP, the way I see it, is to be used on notebooks, not on monitors. Now, if Thunderbolt is adopted more widely, then the situation may change. But as it currently stands, manufacturers that make both notebooks and monitors (Apple aside because Apple is weird) seem content to outfit monitors with full-size DP and notebooks with mDP. Clearly, those manufacturers see merit in the mDP connector and realize that it's not necessary for a monitor.
 
Glad I got mine while I could. A dongle is ridiculous. Apple just might consider adding an HDMI port to notebooks. It's not too inconvenient to get a mini-display to HDMI cable, but I am not doing the dongle thing again.

"not too inconvenient"... yet. Apparently that's about to change. Glad I got one too. I was wondering why no electronics store carried these.

Apple will never support HDMI, at least not until consumers flip a lit about it. They are in a format war with HDMI. I promise them HDMI is going to be around for a while. DP is probably superior but that's really the point.
 
Well, you should've specified that, then..

Read my post again. I wrote it in the context of monitors. I wasn't talking about graphics cards. I even quoted someone who was talking about monitors, and then said that only Apple seem to use Mini DP.

The purpose of mDP, at least as stated by Apple, is to offer a portable-optimized connector for displays. As such, the point of mDP, the way I see it, is to be used on notebooks, not on monitors.

And yet Apple don't even sell an adaptor so you can connect to DisplayPort monitors.
 
Read my post again. I wrote it in the context of monitors. I wasn't talking about graphics cards. I even quoted someone who was talking about monitors, and then said that only Apple seem to use Mini DP.

Fair deuce. Either way, mDP for a monitor is unnecessary since there are no space constraints. The LED Cinema Displays using mDP is part of Apple's arbitrary forced obsolescence scheme.

And yet Apple don't even sell an adaptor so you can connect to DisplayPort monitors.

Apple doesn't, but other companies have mDP to DP cables. Why do we have to rely on Apple for cables and adapters?
 
"not too inconvenient"... yet. Apparently that's about to change. Glad I got one too. I was wondering why no electronics store carried these.

Apple will never support HDMI, at least not until consumers flip a lit about it. They are in a format war with HDMI. I promise them HDMI is going to be around for a while. DP is probably superior but that's really the point.

They support it with the iPad 2 and the Apple Digital AV Adapter...

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC953ZM/A?fnode=MTc0MjU4NjE&mco=MTcyMTgxNTk

So why wouldn't they support it with the Thunderbolt/MDP connector?
 
electrically there is no real support for HDMI to DP without a translator. Hence it needs to be an active device (dongle) not just a simple cable, in order to comply:
DP to HDMI dongle, then HDMI-HDMI cable.

Oh wait, that's how it's done at the moment!

Apart from some unscrupulous suppliers that try and sell a DP - HDMI cable to the public even though this *will not meet the HDMI or DP specs because there is no way to do it correctly with a simple cable*

A ten-second glance at wikipedia would have saved you looking stupid.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DisplayPort#Compatibility_with_HDMI.2FDVI

The only active DisplayPort adapters you can buy currently are for converting to dual-link DVI. Every other dongle and mDP <-> HDMI cable has the exact same passive electronics on the HDMI end, which is why the HDMI connector on these cables is so much larger than any pure HDMI cable.

Presumably HDMI LLC is complaining about how there's no testing process for certifying this class of cables to work for a given bandwidth. For HDMI cables there's Standard vs. High Speed; a cable being marked as one of these is certified to work up to at least a given maximum bandwidth. This doesn't really matter for adapters that are 3" long; it's only long distances that are hard to do.

Certainly the mDP <-> HDMI cables on Amazon claim an odd maximum supported bandwidth (225MHz per channel, vs. 75MHz for standard HDMI and 340MHz for high speed.) And judging by the reviews it's hit and miss whether a given 15' cable can do even 1080p60, which needs at least 125MHz per channel. Having certifications to meet would cut down on that confusion.
 
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