Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

MiniDisplayport

J

joeltcaron

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 19, 2009
3
0
TX
Anyone else think the MiniDisplayport is the worst decision apple has ever made? I love their computers and own a few of them. I was considering upgrading to one of the newer unibody MBPs, but I just learned the the minidisplayport is the only way to get video out of it. I use a Matrox Triplehead2go frequently and this does not support it. At least they could have left the DVI port on the machines.

Oh yeah, and $100 for a Mini Displayport to Dual Link DVI that has its bugs.

DVI accepts higher resolutions, anyways.
 
it has stopped me buying one. :( My Rev A Macbook is falling apart. :eek: Hopefully New iMacs are released with the goods. i will get one instead. Yes I know they are also going to have MDP.
 
Don't mean to burst your bubble here mate, but the DisplayPort spec that the Mini DP is based on can support 30-bit color, 3840x2160, @ 120Hz. Or 4 1920x1080, or the same number of pixels in the other configurations you can think of.
 
raymondu999 said:
Don't mean to burst your bubble here mate, but the DisplayPort spec that the Mini DP is based on can support 30-bit color, 3840x2160, @ 120Hz. Or 4 1920x1080, or the same number of pixels in the other configurations you can think of.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but it requires expensive, cumbersome dongle adapters (some of which don't exist yet/ever). And to get the full resolution, you need a $100 adapter that has a two-star rating on apple's website (http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB571?mco=MzA3MDgxNw) and that is described as faulty all over the web.

They should have gone with the standard DisplayPort, it's not that big.
 
I do have to agree I preferred DVI to Display Port.

1. No monitors I have are Display Port compatible
2. The dongles to make it compatible cost money and are of a questionable quality
3. Display Port was an answer to a problem that no one had. DVI was fine.

I have a 30" 2560x1600 Display that I'd like to use with my new Unibody MacBook Pro 17" but I'm not willing to pay out £70 for a connector that most likely wont work anyway. It is hard to stomach the price of the adapter but combined with a large chance that it wont work at all is enough to make me stay away.

I hope for some cheaper more reliable 3rd party Dual-Link DVI adapters soon.
 
Right now it's a case of Premature Specification.
Apple should've held off until it was mature.
They sure do love playing around with display connectors - see ADC.
 
Minidisplayport

No offense taken. I hope you are right. Where is that spec located at? I looked around on the net and I guess I was viewing inaccurate data.
 
This argument is pretty flimsy for a number of reasons:

1. Newer monitors are being updated to also include DisplayPort (even if Apple uses it exclusively)
2. Newer computers with DP or MDP can use an inexpensive adapter to get to VGA or DVI inputs on monitors.
3. Those who need dual-link (30 inch monitors) and a more expensive adapter can usually afford it.

The only place where it may be ahead of its time is with Apple monitors that only have DisplayPort inputs -- that requires a computer with DP output, and those are pretty new.

p.s. Apple had DVI on it's Powerbooks long for years while everyone else was using crappy VGA.
 
I had to buy two adapters - MDP to DVI and MDP to VGA.

But I prefer Mini DisplayPort. It is so much easier to pop in the tiny adapter than it was to have to lung in a big awkward cable like DVI.
 
Grimace said:
This argument is pretty flimsy for a number of reasons:

1. Newer monitors are being updated to also include DisplayPort (even if Apple uses it exclusively)
Click to expand...

Only Apple don't have the most obvious adapter - Mini-DP -> regular DP at all!

I don't know if it's the hardware or the adapters, but there seem to be all kinds of problems with them even with Apple's own monitors.
 
Quu said:
[...]
3. Display Port was an answer to a problem that no one had. DVI was fine.
[...]
Click to expand...
I agree. By the time DisplayPort becomes a true standard (meaning that many screens provide that interface), these notebooks will be obsolete.

Furthermore, a Display Port would have been (almost) fine. There is a mini Display Port and you will still need an adapter when DisplayPort is a standard.

- thistle
 
Kilamite said:
I had to buy two adapters - MDP to DVI and MDP to VGA.

But I prefer Mini DisplayPort. It is so much easier to pop in the tiny adapter than it was to have to lung in a big awkward cable like DVI.
Click to expand...

You have to pop in the adapter AND "lung in a big awkward cable"
 
lordthistle said:
What about different monitors on different desks? Like home - office...

thistle
Click to expand...

If I had two monitors, home and office, then I'd probably buy two adapters just for the convenience.

Same reason I have two chargers - one stays at my desk and one for on the road.
 
Quu said:
I do have to agree I preferred DVI to Display Port.

1. No monitors I have are Display Port compatible
2. The dongles to make it compatible cost money and are of a questionable quality
3. Display Port was an answer to a problem that no one had. DVI was fine.

I have a 30" 2560x1600 Display that I'd like to use with my new Unibody MacBook Pro 17" but I'm not willing to pay out £70 for a connector that most likely wont work anyway. It is hard to stomach the price of the adapter but combined with a large chance that it wont work at all is enough to make me stay away.

I hope for some cheaper more reliable 3rd party Dual-Link DVI adapters soon.
Click to expand...


re: 3
Actually the often asked question of:
can I play Blu-Ray... (which might be solved in the future after all models get DisplayPort).

The $100 adapter is a bit silly though. I won't be upgrading my 17" MBP anytime soon.
 
Kilamite said:
If I had two monitors, home and office, then I'd probably buy two adapters just for the convenience.

Same reason I have two chargers - one stays at my desk and one for on the road.
Click to expand...

Obviously you can buy two or more notebooks, a dozen of adapters, ten chargers, ... that's not the point.
 
lordthistle said:
Obviously you can buy two or more notebooks, a dozen of adapters, ten chargers, ... that's not the point.
Click to expand...

Calm down.

All I said is I'd buy two adapters if I were to work at home and office using external displays.
 
Grimace said:
3. Those who need dual-link (30 inch monitors) and a more expensive adapter can usually afford it.
Click to expand...

Whether or not a person can afford something is not justification to price gauge customers.

Unless I'm getting gold plated connectors, 99.99% pure copper wires, no justification to pay more for something that's $1 to manufacture. Even with said enhancements, still not justified since it's all digital—it works or it doesn't; in this case it doesn't.
 
alphaod said:
Whether or not a person can afford something is not justification to price gauge customers.

Unless I'm getting gold plated connectors, 99.99% pure copper wires, no justification to pay more for something that's $1 to manufacture. Even with said enhancements, still not justified since it's all digital—it works or it doesn't; in this case it doesn't.
Click to expand...
Sorry, that's not quite true in this case. The dual-link dvi converter is an active processor converter, not a simple adapter, so it certainly costs more than $1 to manufacture. The real reason to be upset here is that Apple made this change that requires an active converter in the first place.
 
danny_w said:
Sorry, that's not quite true in this case. The dual-link dvi converter is an active processor converter, not a simple adapter, so it certainly costs more than $1 to manufacture. The real reason to be upset here is that Apple made this change that requires an active converter in the first place.
Click to expand...

So maybe I exaggerated the cost of materials a bit, but the idea is it's not even close to $99.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back