4 ms·

I've travelled with a single 27" iMac, which wasn't much of a problem, but it's a shame that Apple removed the "Target Display" mode [0] from the newer 5K/Retin

I've travelled with a single 27" iMac, which wasn't much of a problem, but it's a shame that Apple removed the "Target Display" mode [0] from the newer 5K/Retina iMacs. What the hell? That would have been perfect, to have a lighter MacBook or even the newer USB-C iPad Pro for outdoors, with the 27" at the hotel, without having to sync data before working on the bigger screen. Or to host a visitor's Mac. But no, now you have to buy a separate 4K monitor if you want to view your Mac or iPad on a big screen, even if you have a perfectly good (and expensive) 5K iMac. On a side note, can somebody recommend a good way to output my Nintendo Switch (or any other console) to a macOS window? I haven't owned a TV in ages, and even if I did being able to play my Switch on my laptop screen would be great while traveling. [0] https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204592 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204592

kryptn 7y ago
I used an Elgato game capture card to play my Nintendo Switch through my PC. I know they also support OSX.
lonelappde 7y ago
To me it seems easier to buy a monitor at my destination and give it away than to deal with traveling with and risking damage to a 27" iMac.
- Razengan 7y ago
  If you pack the iMac in its original boxes (there are 2, one inside the other), with the wrappers and foam and all, with some extra padding (I threw in a seat cushion in front of the covered screen), it should be fine.. You could also get a specialized carry/travel case.
- thijsvandien 7y ago
  If you're serious about taking your iMac to places, look into a tailored flight case. I used to own one from theflightcasecompany.com (no affiliation). Apple staff gave me envious looks when I brought in my machine for service in that. Although I personally wasn't interested in keeping my iMac (mid 2011) after experiencing how flawed the design was, I know the person I sold the case to had—or has?—been happily using it for years.
thijsvandien 7y ago
Years ago, I used to do something slightly crazy, that might or might not be possible still. Rather than my iMac being an external display for my MacBook Air, I put that one in Target Disk mode (over TB1) and booted the iMac from it. Still everything in one place, but actually leveraging the better specs. I believe it was Snow Leopard at the time, which had few issues doing so. While it worked surprisingly well, the main downside was I always had to shutdown to unplug. After about a year of working like that, my iMac got those notorious black spots, and shortly after, the first MacBook Pro retina came out (good times). Since then, I'm back to having a powerful laptop and an external display.
- edude03 7y ago
  This is actually a really good idea!
oneplane 7y ago
IIRC it was removed because neither the TCON or the external ports could process the LVDS or eDP streams that the internal connection uses. The old way was very simple because you practically just mux'ed the eDP to either the inside port or the outside one. I suppose you could do it with two TB3 connections now. But that makes it a whole lot more complex than just a mux and some support parts.
- Razengan 7y ago
  I figured it may have something to do with the different internal circuitry for driving the massive 5K wide-color screen, but I would have settled for some kind of adapter, no matter how bulky. Anything really to save me from buying an standalone screen just for my MacBook.
  - paraselene_ 7y ago
    Get something like a camlink 4K and just plug your laptop into that. And VLC should be able to fullscreen that video feed just fine. And it's about the size of a USB stick (plus HDMI cable of course) so it's actually portable enough.
    - oneplane 7y ago
      Keep in mind that you get some serious limitations; either low frame rate or crappy color. The problem is that at the time there was no realistic way to pump enough data around in a fast enough method. It has to be something like 20Gbit/s with no processing involved, and with processing it has to be even bigger to relax the compression a bit. I think what most capture devices do that have 'realtime' options is either heavy compression/decompression, reduced framerates or lower color capture.

kryptn 7y ago

I used an Elgato game capture card to play my Nintendo Switch through my PC. I know they also support OSX.

lonelappde 7y ago

To me it seems easier to buy a monitor at my destination and give it away than to deal with traveling with and risking damage to a 27" iMac.

Razengan 7y ago
If you pack the iMac in its original boxes (there are 2, one inside the other), with the wrappers and foam and all, with some extra padding (I threw in a seat cushion in front of the covered screen), it should be fine.. You could also get a specialized carry/travel case.
thijsvandien 7y ago
If you're serious about taking your iMac to places, look into a tailored flight case. I used to own one from theflightcasecompany.com (no affiliation). Apple staff gave me envious looks when I brought in my machine for service in that. Although I personally wasn't interested in keeping my iMac (mid 2011) after experiencing how flawed the design was, I know the person I sold the case to had—or has?—been happily using it for years.

thijsvandien 7y ago

Years ago, I used to do something slightly crazy, that might or might not be possible still. Rather than my iMac being an external display for my MacBook Air, I put that one in Target Disk mode (over TB1) and booted the iMac from it. Still everything in one place, but actually leveraging the better specs. I believe it was Snow Leopard at the time, which had few issues doing so. While it worked surprisingly well, the main downside was I always had to shutdown to unplug. After about a year of working like that, my iMac got those notorious black spots, and shortly after, the first MacBook Pro retina came out (good times). Since then, I'm back to having a powerful laptop and an external display.

edude03 7y ago
This is actually a really good idea!

oneplane 7y ago

IIRC it was removed because neither the TCON or the external ports could process the LVDS or eDP streams that the internal connection uses. The old way was very simple because you practically just mux'ed the eDP to either the inside port or the outside one. I suppose you could do it with two TB3 connections now. But that makes it a whole lot more complex than just a mux and some support parts.

Razengan 7y ago
I figured it may have something to do with the different internal circuitry for driving the massive 5K wide-color screen, but I would have settled for some kind of adapter, no matter how bulky. Anything really to save me from buying an standalone screen just for my MacBook.
- paraselene_ 7y ago
  Get something like a camlink 4K and just plug your laptop into that. And VLC should be able to fullscreen that video feed just fine. And it's about the size of a USB stick (plus HDMI cable of course) so it's actually portable enough.
  - oneplane 7y ago
    Keep in mind that you get some serious limitations; either low frame rate or crappy color. The problem is that at the time there was no realistic way to pump enough data around in a fast enough method. It has to be something like 20Gbit/s with no processing involved, and with processing it has to be even bigger to relax the compression a bit. I think what most capture devices do that have 'realtime' options is either heavy compression/decompression, reduced framerates or lower color capture.