Hi guys
this IS a long post , please accept my apologies & bear w/ me...
when i got my 1st Intel iMac ( white, 17''.. ) i built a desk to stash away cabling & peripherals out of sight yet highly accessible/practical, i learned this pays off when i played in a band & ''managed'' the rehearsal room's/instrument's cabling !
recently i sold my alu 20'' iMac & got a 27'' iMac i7 + Ergotron MX wall mount & wasn't too happy because the Mini-Displayport ( mDP.. ) to HDMI adapter for my plasma TV hang sloppily at the bottom of it but....O.K, i guess i could live w/ that !
later, some extra $ came my way & i got a Wacom Cintiq 21UX + Ergotron LX desk arm. that's when all hell broke loose :
the Cintiq has a DVI-I plug, the iMac's mDP to DVI adapters are plain DVI so an extra adapter cable w/ further 2 very boxy/nasty plugs had to be added.
worse, the iMac only having 1 mDP in/out port means i can't have BOTH the TV AND the Cintiq connected, hence more cables + adapters hanging under the once slick & gorgeous iMac/Ergotron combo.....NOT nice ! since the HDMI cable is 15mm & the Cintiq is another 15mm, the bundle coming off the iMac is thick & makes moving the Ergotron around awkward .
no problem i thought, time to buy a mDP extension/splitter ! this would :
1 - spare it a daily plug/unplug routine thus preserving the iMacs port's health - mDP don't strike me as the sturdiest of plugs + the price repairing it if it went wrong - ouch !
2 - given the difference in diameter of the cables i have & the one of a mDP, moving the arm around would become A LOT easier
3 - would place the adapter plugs - by now there are 5, each 1 prettier than the next.. - out of sight w/ the other cabling
considering Apple's, & quality accessory makers catering for this kind of machine, extensive industrial design experience, this can't be BUT straightforward right ? ..well much to my dismay, no, NOT REALLY !
1st frustration :
after EXTENSIVE web search there are a few extensions out there but i only found one splitter cable - Tripp Lite's P584-001-M2M : http://www.tripplite.com/en/products/model.cfm?txtModelID=4747
however when asked if it would allow to have BOTH my TV & my tablet connected ( but to use 1 at a time..) their answer was :
''....Since the P584-001-M2M is designed for use with devices that will connect direct to the unit via Displayport connection, we cannot guarantee compatibility when using the DVI to Displayport adaptors mentioned in the inquiry...''
in short : it sounds like they don't know & they are NOT alone - so far NO ONE has been able to shed some light on this !!??
2nd frustration :
said splitter is some 20 cm long & the splitter box is as big as a Vicks Vaporub jar : that + the 5 or 6 adapters will look REAL nice & polished hanging from the iMac, right ?
3rd frustration :
the only other way to go ( subject to confirmation it does work.. ) is either this way -
http://www.atlona.com/ATLONA-1x2-MINI-DISPLAYPORT-SPLITTER.html at a cost of £250
or this way -
http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/products/gxm/dh2go/?productTabs=1#specs at a cost of £150 + cables - any one knows/has/works with these boxes ?
4th frustration :
in a day & age where Mac Minis & iMacs are ROUTINELY used as home media centers, NO ONE saw this coming ? hence no one produced the necessary hardware to solve this ? .i understand DVI-I isn't the most advanced plug format out there BUT if Wacom uses it on the Cintiq 21UX, it's not also so ''last ice age''...
so, PLEASE; PLEASE; PLEASE does anyone know where can i get either :
1 - a 1 meter long cable w/ a male mDP plug & a splitter box w/ BOTH a HDMI & A DVI-I i could plug my stuff into without any adapters
2 - a 1 meter long cable w/ a male mDP plug & a splitter box w/ 2 female mDP plugs i could plug my adapters into but out of sight
3 - ANY other solution/suggestion so i can leave my iMac's mDP plug well alone AND not have a cable bundle as thick as a thigh coming out at the back thus making the Ergotron unusable
ANY help WILL be GREATLY appreciated - many thanks for your patience
cheers
Nuno
this IS a long post , please accept my apologies & bear w/ me...
when i got my 1st Intel iMac ( white, 17''.. ) i built a desk to stash away cabling & peripherals out of sight yet highly accessible/practical, i learned this pays off when i played in a band & ''managed'' the rehearsal room's/instrument's cabling !
recently i sold my alu 20'' iMac & got a 27'' iMac i7 + Ergotron MX wall mount & wasn't too happy because the Mini-Displayport ( mDP.. ) to HDMI adapter for my plasma TV hang sloppily at the bottom of it but....O.K, i guess i could live w/ that !
later, some extra $ came my way & i got a Wacom Cintiq 21UX + Ergotron LX desk arm. that's when all hell broke loose :
the Cintiq has a DVI-I plug, the iMac's mDP to DVI adapters are plain DVI so an extra adapter cable w/ further 2 very boxy/nasty plugs had to be added.
worse, the iMac only having 1 mDP in/out port means i can't have BOTH the TV AND the Cintiq connected, hence more cables + adapters hanging under the once slick & gorgeous iMac/Ergotron combo.....NOT nice ! since the HDMI cable is 15mm & the Cintiq is another 15mm, the bundle coming off the iMac is thick & makes moving the Ergotron around awkward .
no problem i thought, time to buy a mDP extension/splitter ! this would :
1 - spare it a daily plug/unplug routine thus preserving the iMacs port's health - mDP don't strike me as the sturdiest of plugs + the price repairing it if it went wrong - ouch !
2 - given the difference in diameter of the cables i have & the one of a mDP, moving the arm around would become A LOT easier
3 - would place the adapter plugs - by now there are 5, each 1 prettier than the next.. - out of sight w/ the other cabling
considering Apple's, & quality accessory makers catering for this kind of machine, extensive industrial design experience, this can't be BUT straightforward right ? ..well much to my dismay, no, NOT REALLY !
1st frustration :
after EXTENSIVE web search there are a few extensions out there but i only found one splitter cable - Tripp Lite's P584-001-M2M : http://www.tripplite.com/en/products/model.cfm?txtModelID=4747
however when asked if it would allow to have BOTH my TV & my tablet connected ( but to use 1 at a time..) their answer was :
''....Since the P584-001-M2M is designed for use with devices that will connect direct to the unit via Displayport connection, we cannot guarantee compatibility when using the DVI to Displayport adaptors mentioned in the inquiry...''
in short : it sounds like they don't know & they are NOT alone - so far NO ONE has been able to shed some light on this !!??
2nd frustration :
said splitter is some 20 cm long & the splitter box is as big as a Vicks Vaporub jar : that + the 5 or 6 adapters will look REAL nice & polished hanging from the iMac, right ?
3rd frustration :
the only other way to go ( subject to confirmation it does work.. ) is either this way -
http://www.atlona.com/ATLONA-1x2-MINI-DISPLAYPORT-SPLITTER.html at a cost of £250
or this way -
http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/products/gxm/dh2go/?productTabs=1#specs at a cost of £150 + cables - any one knows/has/works with these boxes ?
4th frustration :
in a day & age where Mac Minis & iMacs are ROUTINELY used as home media centers, NO ONE saw this coming ? hence no one produced the necessary hardware to solve this ? .i understand DVI-I isn't the most advanced plug format out there BUT if Wacom uses it on the Cintiq 21UX, it's not also so ''last ice age''...
so, PLEASE; PLEASE; PLEASE does anyone know where can i get either :
1 - a 1 meter long cable w/ a male mDP plug & a splitter box w/ BOTH a HDMI & A DVI-I i could plug my stuff into without any adapters
2 - a 1 meter long cable w/ a male mDP plug & a splitter box w/ 2 female mDP plugs i could plug my adapters into but out of sight
3 - ANY other solution/suggestion so i can leave my iMac's mDP plug well alone AND not have a cable bundle as thick as a thigh coming out at the back thus making the Ergotron unusable
ANY help WILL be GREATLY appreciated - many thanks for your patience
cheers
Nuno