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Apple's Mini DisplayPort Officially Adopted By VESA
DJRumpy writes "The Video Electronics Standard Association officially issued its Mini DisplayPort standard Tuesday, based on the technology licensed from Apple. VESA said that all devices using the Mini DisplayPort connector must meet the specifications required by the DisplayPort 1.1a standard, and cables that support the standard must also meet specific electrical specifications. It's a formal confirmation of the news from earlier this year, when VESA announced the Mini DisplayPort connector would be included in the forthcoming DisplayPort 1.2 specification."
We know this has nothing at all to do with Linux or OS X, but this has never stopped this jolly crowd from doing "granny attacks", lunging from under their stones, when the topic is related to Apple. Set forth, gentleboys!
What happened to HDMI? Lots of monitors and computers already have it, it supports audio over the connection (Mini-DP doesn't), and it can support the resolutions the article mentions. There's even already a mini version of it in use. It's a standard in home video and had plenty of adoption with computers. Is there something that Mini-DP does that HDMI doesn't?
Agree fully. I still drop my jaw everytime I see a laptop from the past 3-4 years still sporting a friggin' VGA connector, or even worse, from some "PC" manufacturers, a parallel port.
Sadly, there will always be that crowd of conservative oddballs and anal retentives, barking like old dogs refusing to learn how to sit, for keeping old standards, trying to justify it by reasons of pointless, smelly compatibility that is long past its expiry date.....and everyone knows they are the ones who contribute to nothing but stagnation, not the ones who help driving the world forward.
Yeah, just like people using serial ports to program Cisco gear or people in EE using serial ports to program microcontrollers by plugging the RX and TX pins directly to a serial port. And what about those people presenting their research at conferences around the world wanting to use a display connector that's supported on every single projector around the world in all convention centres instead of carrying a suitcase of adapters. We all know those aren't the people who help drive the world forwards, right?
Jean-Francois Im's blog
DVI connectors are clunky and have that 18th century finger destroying screw-on mechanism. Anything with screws on computers should be abolished for good.
Typical response from you so-called "computer user" kids these days. Back in my day, everything had screws! From the case to the cards to the plugs and sometimes the boxes everything came in! And our fingers were perfectly good enough for the job! Even the ones that weren't thumbscrews! Any one of the old-timers could grind your mabmly-pambly little soft, precious, pampered thumbs to dust, bones and all, with nothing but our bare fingers, and we wouldn't even flinch!
Now get off my lawn! Durn whippersnappers...
Demanding constant attention will only lead to attention.
What's wrong with having a VGA output? Many older projectors and monitors, which are still perfectly functional and don't need to be replaced, use VGA. Why force people to buy a new monitor and a new projector just because they got a new laptop/PC?
Let me introduce you to a new concept - an adapter cable. They cost 20 or 30 bucks at most, and are available for older display technologies and with either male or female style vga/dvi/whatever connectors.
#DeleteChrome
Why force people to buy a new monitor and a new projector just because they got a new laptop/PC?
What? There's no need to buy a new monitor or projector. DVI/DisplayPort will drive a VGA device without any problems at all. But the reverse is not true. It really is bizarre that they still make laptops with just VGA output, when the digital alternatives offer VGA and more, with smaller connectors.
... and then they built the supercollider.
There are a lot of oddball reasons to have those legacy ports for special circumstances; developer kits that require parallel cable hookups, serial I/O hookups (although the latter you can generally get away with a USB converter as long as its standard serial I/O and not manual bit toggling), using older monitors, etc. Heck, it's much simpler to conjure up a computer controlled hardware hack (I/O) on a parallel port than with USB. Many TV's still come with "PC" (i.e. VGA) inputs, although this is moving over to HDMI. Odds are though, that for the average consumer, none of the legacy I/O ports are needed any more. You can walk down to Staples or Best Buy and get replacement USB mice/keyboards. CRT's are pretty much a thing of the past, and most, if not all flat panels have DVI and/or HDMI inputs.
What? There's no need to buy a new monitor or projector. DVI/DisplayPort will drive a VGA device without any problems at all. But the reverse is not true. It really is bizarre that they still make laptops with just VGA output, when the digital alternatives offer VGA and more, with smaller connectors.
This is only true for DVI-I (Integrated) ports. DVI-D (Digital) doesn't have the VGA (analog) output. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Visual_Interface for details
Avoid the MS tax, always buy I.B.M. PC's (I Built-it Myself)
Yeah, just like people using serial ports to program Cisco gear or people in EE using serial ports to program microcontrollers by plugging the RX and TX pins directly to a serial port.
Specialists will always need specialist equipment. The vast majority of us don't.
And what about those people presenting their research at conferences around the world wanting to use a display connector that's supported on every single projector around the world in all convention centres instead of carrying a suitcase of adapters.
As one of those people, I can confirm that we normally carry our presentations (ppt or pdf) on a USB stick instead. Much easire than fiddling around with display connections between each talk. Most conferences don't allow you to use your own computer.
And how many laptops actually ship with DVI-D only connections? Close to none, I would think.
... and then they built the supercollider.
I know of a support call where the customer tried to install a Microchannel card without a screwdriver or even removing the PS/2 cover. They tried to shove it in through the back where the bracket blank was. I guess they somehow thought it was like a Cardbus device. That took a while to resolve because initially the customer simply said "your card does not fit".
Mac users want that distinctive green, blue or pink tint that only an Apple dongle can give you when they hook up to a standard projector.
Sounds like you don't know how to properly attach a connector.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
Possibly an Acorn user. Acorn computers supported expansion boards on 'podules' which had the slot in line with the hole on the case, so you fitted them just by pushing them into the slot. As I recall, they used a very similar physical connector to Microchannel, just with a different orientation.
I am TheRaven on Soylent News
The idea is that the new standard goes on the laptop, and from that nicely small connector, you can adapt to any standard, including new ones with much higher capacity.
Want a VGA adapter? Done. Want ah DVI adapter? Done. Each $30 at the Apple Store, and soon probably cheaper elsewhere. Other adapters possible. More capacity in the standard, for other folks who want to hook up to something else. Small connection to help keep your laptop small.
The only reason you actually need an ungainly VGA connector on your laptop is if you either refuse to pay $30 for an adapter, or you expect that you might lose the adapter yet still have your laptop for that super-important presentation.
Since I have not needed one, I have not shopped.
However, 30 seconds of Google and I found 2 serial and 1 parallel in a single PCIe card: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001TH78QC
Amazon also has them in ExpressCard formats. Need me to do any other shopping for you? :)
Grammer Nazis - I mod you "troll" unless you actually add something on-topic. Yes, I know I have mispellings in my sig.
Sure. The 95% of the time that I carry my laptop for my own use only, I have a slimmer machine that I throw in my backpack. That's convenient.
When I might make a presentation, I can throw in a small cable and I have full-sized VGA. Another small cable gives me full-sized DVI. Other cables will come that provide other standards/sizes.
When I'm going to a conference where I will make a presentation, I'll have my big laptop bag with all of those connectors, and I'll have a USB stick with my presentations on it, and a DVD, too, burned in PDF as a lowest-common-denominator.
Lugging around a laptop with a VGA (which size) port and also a DVI (which size) port on it all the time is inconvenient.
If only it were as simple as getting one adapter cable. John Graham-Cumming explains the situation -- with the recent proliferation of standards, you need a bundle of adapters to handle all the combinations.
I'm holding out for the Micro DisplayPort standard. I'll bet that Apple will announce such a thing within a year.
Actually I'd use a USB attached one, personally. I have a few and they're quite handy.
- Michael T. Babcock (Yes, I blog)
Let me give you a history lesson. For a while there, Apple used to provide industry-standard display ports on their computers. They even included DVI to VGA adapters for people with "older" technologies. Then they started slapping this new port on their laptops. So now I can no longer plug a monitor directly into the computer. I have to attach an adapter to it. An adapter I have to carry around and keep track of. And I have to buy separate VGA and DVI adapters because apple's DVI adapter is digital-only. No fair using your existing DVI to VGA adapter. So now customers have to pay an extra $60 (if you buy apple-branded adapters) to get the same functionality that used to be included in the base price of the machine.
How the hell is THAT progress?
I don't give a damn if they've paid enough money to get their new port adopted by VESA. It's not a standard used by display manufacturers. It's just another cable to buy and another adapter to throw in the kit.
The adapters are fine, software-wise, if you use Linux or another OS with a generic USB-to-serial driver. They're a bit hit-and-miss in Windows, but you probably don't care about that anyway.
It's just not reasonable to carry around a USB-to-serial plus serial-to-RJ45 for the various vendors. Why can't they agree on a serial-over-RJ45 standard anyway? But that's a different rant. Anyway, always having to juggle two cables is too inconvenient and time-wasting. I'm definitely not getting rid of a real serial port until all network equipment comes with USB sockets or proper ethernet management ports.
Finally! A year of moderation! Ready for 2019?
HDMI is adaptable only to DVI-D, and more and more laptops are coming with HDMI out...
IIRC, serial ports offer lower latency than USB, and certain real-time guarantees. So, for example, you use a GPS unit with a serial port connection to deliver a pulse-per-second output to your computer, which ntpd can then use to calibrate your clock pretty accurately. It works much worse with USB.
Are you adequate?
I'm all in favor of something that does the job better than HDMI. If you need closed captioning in the US, HDMI doesn't work for you. It omits the necessary data from the video source.
I guess you have never used jtag.
It's very easy to create a simple device to reflash firmware via a parallel port.
For example adding the codes to your hardware to a one for all universal remote.
Or recovering from a failed flash of some firmware.
It can be quite difficult to recreate a fully working parallel port via usb.
Another fun thing is to use the data lines for I/o controlling what ever you want.
I don't expect many people to appreciate the uses of the parallel and serial ports but on slashdot ? ...
Blarney Quality Restaurant, Plants
Phasing out VGA a decade after its replacement came to market doesn't merit the descriptor "already". More like "at last".
Benford's Corollary to Clarke's Law: "Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced."
You know, one of the best mice I own was hooked up to a parallel port. When that went away I had to get a parallel to serial port adapter. Then that became uncommon, and I had to get a serial port to DIN adapter. Then a DIN to PS/2 connector. Then a PS/2 to USB connector.
Granted, I have hook it up to four adapters, but gosh darn it, I'm too stubborn to buy one of those newfangled mice.