JazzAV Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 Just trying to get a general view on this, I work with Macs a lot but have on occasion had issues using newer MBs and MBPs with the mini display port adapters to DVI. Interested in views from people who use them on larger live set ups, involving AV switchers etc. Issues tend to centre around the EDID, even when the Mac says that it knows what it is plugged into, it doesn't necessarily give the resolution options you would expect also signal can seem quite messy with various distortions. Any thoughts/comments? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredfish Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 I have used Switch Res X to control the output of newer macbooks, and have found it very versatile. it has the option to input custom resolutions and refresh rates. Also bear in mind you can get mini display port to VGA adapters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grizzly Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 I've used adaptors for Mini DisplayPort to VGA, DVI & HDMI, and haven't encountered any problems with any of them so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHYoung Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 its a sensible move to use a edid minder such as a parrot or Kramer unit to avoid the mac second guessing your resolution,. The Mdp adaptors are an annoyance, apple used to include one, now its another 25 quid, but worse than that the dvi adaptor is actually a single link DVD-d adaptor which means that all my dual link dvi I cables are useless, and if you want vga out, you have to spend another 25 for yet another adaptor. thats just rude in my book... also its sold as a DVI adaptor and in my book DVI means DVI - I unless stated. Also if you want higher resolutions it doesnt work being single link, so you need to spend another 100 quid on the active Mdp - dvI adaptor. therefor anyone who had the cheek to give apple well over the odds for their big cinema displays and decided to buy the new mac pro found that they didnt work and had to shell out, bad enough apple not supporting 3rd party products but they wont even support their own.... I was quite happy with the locking, solid DVI connector that became a 15pin vga with a 2 quid adaptor and supported high resolutions via dual link,,, Im not aware of the benefits of MDP other than emptying the wallet. Anyone Know the pros? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete McCrea Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 We've had a few issues with them, but could have been down to the EDID reporting from the display. Mostly running non Apple MDP-DVI we haven't had any problems, certainly on the Mac Mini's we're using a lot with our MicroTiles. I'm also aware that Apple did tweak the way that they implemented HDCP in one of the recent OSX updates, so that too could be causing issues. Display Port is hoped to be the new VGA standard apparently, superseding DVI, which is a 'Legacy' format. The white Paper I saw recently did say that due to the +5v rail there are options for powered convertors from MDP to DVI, HDMI, VGA etc, though I think it will be a while before they are actually in the market place. One nicety of the DP I think is the locking connector, as opposed to the Shoddy HDMI connector... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHYoung Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 white Paper I saw recently did say that due to the +5v rail there are options for powered convertors from MDP to DVI, HDMI, VGA etc, though I think it will be a while before they are actually in the market place. apples own active mdp - dvi convertor requires a usb connection to power it so not sure whats going on there, and as far as im aware all the dp - vga/hdmi/dvi is "passive" and done at the graphics card. With regard to locking, whilst DP is possibly a decent connector, id bet that due to size and cost its MDP that gets used, that seems currenty the case with apple,and im sure it will be the same for others . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelgrian Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 apples own active mdp - dvi convertor requires a usb connection to power it so not sure whats going on there, and as far as im aware all the dp - vga/hdmi/dvi is "passive" and done at the graphics card. With regard to locking, whilst DP is possibly a decent connector, id bet that due to size and cost its MDP that gets used, that seems currenty the case with apple,and im sure it will be the same for others . The VGA and single link DVI adaptors work by reconfiguring the video chip to use the display port pins for either VGA or DVI and are otherwise passive. Dual link DVI cannot be done like this because the data rate is too high. The dual link adaptor is active with the video chip outputing display port protocol and the adaptor converting that protocol into dual link DVI. The processing to do this at the required speed is quite hefty hence why the adaptor is a honking great big thing which requires extra power from a USB port. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Mawer Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 BTW, our US office has written a paper about connecting Mac Minis with AV systems, which looks into some of the peculiar things that Macs have been doing with HDCP, and how to manage this issue. I would be happy to share it with anyone who wants a copy. Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete McCrea Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 Yes Please.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mac.calder Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 I would be really interested in it too please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard_cooper Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 As I'm just considering going this route for a project, I'd appreciate seeing a copy too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JazzAV Posted March 4, 2011 Author Share Posted March 4, 2011 Hey Nick would love to see a copy of that too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techywhizz Posted March 5, 2011 Share Posted March 5, 2011 yes please.. would love to see Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Lee Posted March 5, 2011 Share Posted March 5, 2011 Another yes please Nick. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian H Posted March 5, 2011 Share Posted March 5, 2011 Yes Please here too... I have installed 13 Mac minis connected to 65" plasmas by HDMI in the last year . no reported problems yet. They are all networked and run Catalyst software in TV studios running between 6 and 12 hours a day... if thr crew remember to shut them down. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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