Mac|Life Mini DisplayPort RSS Feed

VESA Standardizes Apple's Mini DisplayPort

Florence Ion — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:18:24 -0600

Yesterday, the Video Electronic Standard Association (VESA) officially launched a Mini DisplayPort standard, following in Apple’s technology licensing footsteps.

  The association also announced that the Mini DisplayPort connector would be included in the next DisplayPort 1.2 update. Though the MiniDisplayPort technology was originally conjured up by apple, the company agreed to license it to VESA to establish a more universal DisplayPort standard.

  The new update will be finalized by VESA and will have double the bandwidth capabilities, up to 21.6 GB/s. It will hopefully support multiple monitors via a single connector, 3D displays and higher resolutions, refresh rates and color depths. Vesa has said that all devices using the Mini DisplayPort connected should meet the specifications required by the DisplayPort 1.1a standard and that cables supporting the standard should meet the exact electrical specifications.

The Mini DisplayPort is also getting an upgrade with new support for resolutions up to 2560x1600, which is common for 30-inch displays. Since it’s inception in 2008, Apple has included it in all revisions of its MacBook lineup, as well as the iMac, Mac mini, Mac Pro and Apple Cinema Displays.

Mini DisplayPort Causing a Ruckus

Danny Estrada — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 16:59:57 -0600

Apple's Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI adapter isn't adapting very well. There have been a numerous of complaints on Apple's Support forums claiming that the adapter has a fault. The new adapter is intended for the latest MacBooks, MacBook Pros, and MacBook Airs with their nifty new Mini DisplayPort. Forums users have been reporting errors ranging from blackouts, to graphic corruptions that look like something out the movie Jacob's Ladder.

Blame has been pointed towards the monitors themselves, wih claims that the adapter will only work with the highest-end Cinema Displays. Glitches are being reported on Apple monitors, as well as high resolution screens from Dell and Samsung. Apple's product page shows that the adapter will function with a 30" screen with a DVI port, but there are images and movies that say different.

It's not certain if this is the adapters fault, but one possible solution is to delete the com.apple.windowserver PLIST files and then reset the PRAM. This solution, unfortunately, hasn't worked for everyone. Apple has just released a NVIDIA graphics update that should hopefully fix the problem.

Apple Looking for Mini DisplayPort Partners

Danny Estrada — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 21:55:32 -0600

Apple wants you to develop products for use with their new Mini DisplayPort in mind. Now, they wont pay you for doing this, but the good thing is that they won't charge you either. Apple introduced their new Mini DP with their newest MacBooks and fancy pants new 24"LED Cinema Displays and is now offering no-fee licenses to anyone interested in creating Mini DisplayPort specific products.

The Mini DisplayPort is an Apple-designed miniature version of the VESA-approved DisplayPort, which totally supports the protocol and offers a more compact, and come on, admit it... cuter, connector. Apple has used a miniaturized versions of VGA and DVI on all previous MacBooks, some iBooks, and the 12" PowerBook G4. The first gen MacBook Air used a Micro-DVI connector. Apple is carrying on their compact tradition of DisplayPorts with this MiniDP but instead of solely dedicating it's use in notebooks, they want to carry it through to their entire platform, and the new 24" LED Cinema display uses the MiniDP as it's sole connection.

Apple wants what is best for all of us. Computer conformity, and hopes that other displays, vendors, and video cards will adopt the Mini DisplayPort. The no-licsense fee is a smart way to encourage vendors to do just that.