7 ms·

The one thing I keep missing on my 5k iMac is some form of video-in. Would be great if I could connect my MB Pro to it and use the iMac as a display. Perhaps ev

by _ph_ 6y ago

The one thing I keep missing on my 5k iMac is some form of video-in. Would be great if I could connect my MB Pro to it and use the iMac as a display. Perhaps even in a window and all mouse and keyboard events to the window get passed to the connected MacBook.

pier25 6y ago
Yeah, and once something goes wrong with the iMac you could still use it as a monitor.
- wiredfool 6y ago
  I had one of the appropriate era, and ultimately, the display went. (After roasting several drives, thermal management was not a high point on those machines)
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
gnicholas 6y ago
Yeah my 2008 iMac had this functionality, and I was supposed/bummed to hear they got rid of it a few years later. I’d think Apple would keep the feature around, if only to make it easier for people to buy both a Mac laptop and Mac desktop. My wife would totally use one at work if it were easy, and I’d love to have one for us at home. But instead we just get laptops with fans that come on all the time, and SSDs that are far too small.
askafriend 6y ago
This is the reason I went Mac Mini + LG 5k display. It's much more expensive but I needed to be able to hook in my work laptop to a 5k display while working and switch easily to my home setup with a single cable when I want to. Ended up being perfect! It's paying off big time with COVID and WFH.
- _ph_ 6y ago
  I had a Mini before the iMac, but the Mini had the problem of the lacking GPU. Also, at the time I got the iMac (2015), the Mini was really falling behind. The iMac gave me a quad-core i7 and a GPU. I wished the Mini was available with hardware comparable to the 16" MB Pro. (8 cores, GPU) If Apple only offered a desktop class Mac, I would even start thinking about the pro display.
  - cactus2093 6y ago
    In some ways the outlook for the Mac is much better today than it was a couple of years ago. But I agree it does suck that you can't get a decent desktop that's not an all-in-one iMac. Users have been asking for it for years, and Apple's response was "Fine, you want upgradeability? Here's the entire kitchen sink with terrible base specs for $6000. Oh that's too expensive for you? Guess you're not a real pro after all so shut up and buy the consumer level products we sell you."
    - rewgs 6y ago
      It's maddening. If they put an i9 and non-ECC RAM in an upgradable desktop, I wouldn't have built my PC. And as the other commenter said, I'd maybe even consider the new display. Too bad for them. They're missing a huge chunk of the market.
  - nouveaux 6y ago
    Have you considered an external GPU?
    - _ph_ 6y ago
      Only looked briefly at it. Combining the tiny Mini with a huge external GPU seems a bit off, and unfortunately, for all the size, they don't integrate any storage space. Also, currently the Mini doesn't offer good CPUs. Anyway, I will wait now with my next purchase till there are good Apple Silicon offerings.
woobar 6y ago
I use Luna Display[1] for this. It is a bit laggy and some keyboard shortcuts are broken. But it let me use my 5K iMac (and it's keyboard) as a second display for the MBP. It is a shame that iMac does not provide normal video input. [1] https://shop.astropad.com/ https://shop.astropad.com/
ollysb 6y ago
oof, that is brutal. I just ordered one and assumed it would support it. My imac from way back in 2012 supported it and with connectivity only improving since then it never crossed my mind that it wouldn't support it.
- MultusSalus 6y ago
  I think that went away with the jump to 5k. I remember some intent to readd it when possible, but I haven’t seen it yet.
  - RubberShoes 6y ago
    Apple brags about their custom timing controller a minute into the original 5k iMac intro vid: https://youtu.be/6vBEiPaegjM?t=60 https://youtu.be/6vBEiPaegjM?t=60 This is most certainly why video input does not exist. What's ridiculous is they clearly figured it out to support the LG 5K display which is the exact same panel and over TB3 which the iMac fully supports.
    - smallstepforman 6y ago
      More likely Apple dont supply it since it ruins the aesthetic of the back having so many ugly ports. I mean, they've also done questionable things for aesthetic reasons like putting the USB port at the back, the power button at the back, the headphone jack at the back. All these ports need to be facing the user, not behind the screen (I have an iMac 2014, so this is speaking from experience). I honestly believe that an artist determined that iMac cannot be used as external monitor. Just say "No" to the product. I'm not making the same mistake again.
  - gnicholas 6y ago
    Actually, my research shows that the 2009 iMac was the last one that offered this functionality, which is described in 2009 as "27-inch models also support input from external DisplayPort sources (adapters sold separately)." This matches my recollection that my 2008 iMac had this feature, and the one my wife got in 2012 did not. 2009 Tech Specs: https://support.apple.com/kb/sp696?locale=en_US https://support.apple.com/kb/sp696?locale=en_US 2010 Tech Specs: https://support.apple.com/kb/sp588?locale=en_US https://support.apple.com/kb/sp588?locale=en_US
m463 6y ago
You know, there are a few key features about macs that have made them much better computers. Target disk mode. Target display mode. Boot from an external drive using option. Boot from the network. And you know the "decision makers" don't understand how much nicer it makes the computers to administer. (understand in the sense they would defend them for real in a feature-cutting meeting) Instead we get dongles. sigh.
- alcidesfonseca 6y ago
  Can't you boot from an external drive (time machine backup) using option, on Catalina? I was under the impression booting from external USB was how you would format the mac.
  - m463 6y ago
    I don't know about time machine. I suspect you might. To be clear, I wasn't saying they were taking out the option boot-picker. I was saying these lesser known features - although they will never be used by a general audience - make the mac significantly easier to administer for people who have been using macs for years and know what they're doing. I will say I'm glad you can upgrade an older system to a new usb-c style thunderbolt machine using target disk mode - but the dongles/cables to achieve this feat are ridiculous.
simonh 6y ago
It made sense on the original 5k because display port at the time didn’t support enough bandwidth for 5k output.
- _ph_ 6y ago
  Right. But now that all Macs support even 6k output, there is no longer a justification. Also, they could have allowed target display mode in a lower resolution or in a window on your iMacs desktop, if they had tried hard enough.
prewett 6y ago
I researched why the 5k iMac doesn't have video-in, and it seems that the reason is that the display has so many pixels that it needs to pieces of hardware to drive it. Getting the timing and color calibration and what-not clearly wasn't going to happen externally, so rather than have a suboptimal experience they just took video-in out. There's also the issue that few video cards can drive that resolution. https://www.quora.com/Why-cant-the-iMac-27-5K-be-used-as-an-external-monitor-even-though-it-has-Thunderbolt-3-0-support https://www.quora.com/Why-cant-the-iMac-27-5K-be-used-as-an-...
- mixmastamyk 6y ago
  Those problems are typically rectified in a year or so. Presumably the hardware should last longer. Perhaps the antiport faction got their way.
- baddox 6y ago
  There are external 5k displays on the market, including one that Apple has sold.
  - _ph_ 6y ago
    Which external 5k displays are on the marked except the one that Apple has sold and alledgedly LG has discontinued?
munificent 6y ago
This one kills me. With COVID, I'm now stuck working from home. I literally spend all day staring at my work Macbook Pro's small screen with a glorious but unused iMac screen sitting five inches behind it.
- chrstphrknwtn 6y ago
  Why don't you work on your iMac?
  - cowsandmilk 6y ago
    Many people are only able to work on machines provisioned by their companies. Even if you could get your home iMac provisioned during Covid, you may be wiping out all your personal data and now you are dedicating a machine you paid for to your company.
  - munificent 6y ago
    It's my personal machine and I can only use work-provisioned computers for (entirely reasonable) security reasons.
  - nivenhuh 6y ago
    Cmd-f2 on your iMac (while plugged into your MacBook over usb-c), will allow you to use your iMac as an external display.
    - _ph_ 6y ago
      This doesn't work on iMacs after 2015 to my knowledge. Do you have any reference, that Apple brought the feature back?
- _ph_ 6y ago
  Same here - using my MacBook Pro when working from home. I was very fortunate though to get me a Dell 2415Q in January. While not being quite as good as the iMac, it is a good "retina" screen. Can only recommend it. Previously, I would sometimes use screen sharing to use the desktop of my MacBook onto my iMac, but due to its slow speed, that is only an emergency measure.

by _ph_ 6y ago

pier25 6y ago

Yeah, and once something goes wrong with the iMac you could still use it as a monitor.

wiredfool 6y ago
I had one of the appropriate era, and ultimately, the display went. (After roasting several drives, thermal management was not a high point on those machines)

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

gnicholas 6y ago

Yeah my 2008 iMac had this functionality, and I was supposed/bummed to hear they got rid of it a few years later. I’d think Apple would keep the feature around, if only to make it easier for people to buy both a Mac laptop and Mac desktop. My wife would totally use one at work if it were easy, and I’d love to have one for us at home. But instead we just get laptops with fans that come on all the time, and SSDs that are far too small.

askafriend 6y ago

This is the reason I went Mac Mini + LG 5k display. It's much more expensive but I needed to be able to hook in my work laptop to a 5k display while working and switch easily to my home setup with a single cable when I want to. Ended up being perfect! It's paying off big time with COVID and WFH.

_ph_ 6y ago
I had a Mini before the iMac, but the Mini had the problem of the lacking GPU. Also, at the time I got the iMac (2015), the Mini was really falling behind. The iMac gave me a quad-core i7 and a GPU. I wished the Mini was available with hardware comparable to the 16" MB Pro. (8 cores, GPU) If Apple only offered a desktop class Mac, I would even start thinking about the pro display.
- cactus2093 6y ago
  In some ways the outlook for the Mac is much better today than it was a couple of years ago. But I agree it does suck that you can't get a decent desktop that's not an all-in-one iMac. Users have been asking for it for years, and Apple's response was "Fine, you want upgradeability? Here's the entire kitchen sink with terrible base specs for $6000. Oh that's too expensive for you? Guess you're not a real pro after all so shut up and buy the consumer level products we sell you."
  - rewgs 6y ago
    It's maddening. If they put an i9 and non-ECC RAM in an upgradable desktop, I wouldn't have built my PC. And as the other commenter said, I'd maybe even consider the new display. Too bad for them. They're missing a huge chunk of the market.
- nouveaux 6y ago
  Have you considered an external GPU?
  - _ph_ 6y ago
    Only looked briefly at it. Combining the tiny Mini with a huge external GPU seems a bit off, and unfortunately, for all the size, they don't integrate any storage space. Also, currently the Mini doesn't offer good CPUs. Anyway, I will wait now with my next purchase till there are good Apple Silicon offerings.

woobar 6y ago

I use Luna Display[1] for this. It is a bit laggy and some keyboard shortcuts are broken. But it let me use my 5K iMac (and it's keyboard) as a second display for the MBP. It is a shame that iMac does not provide normal video input. [1] https://shop.astropad.com/ https://shop.astropad.com/

ollysb 6y ago

oof, that is brutal. I just ordered one and assumed it would support it. My imac from way back in 2012 supported it and with connectivity only improving since then it never crossed my mind that it wouldn't support it.

MultusSalus 6y ago
I think that went away with the jump to 5k. I remember some intent to readd it when possible, but I haven’t seen it yet.
- RubberShoes 6y ago
  Apple brags about their custom timing controller a minute into the original 5k iMac intro vid: https://youtu.be/6vBEiPaegjM?t=60 https://youtu.be/6vBEiPaegjM?t=60 This is most certainly why video input does not exist. What's ridiculous is they clearly figured it out to support the LG 5K display which is the exact same panel and over TB3 which the iMac fully supports.
  - smallstepforman 6y ago
    More likely Apple dont supply it since it ruins the aesthetic of the back having so many ugly ports. I mean, they've also done questionable things for aesthetic reasons like putting the USB port at the back, the power button at the back, the headphone jack at the back. All these ports need to be facing the user, not behind the screen (I have an iMac 2014, so this is speaking from experience). I honestly believe that an artist determined that iMac cannot be used as external monitor. Just say "No" to the product. I'm not making the same mistake again.
- gnicholas 6y ago
  Actually, my research shows that the 2009 iMac was the last one that offered this functionality, which is described in 2009 as "27-inch models also support input from external DisplayPort sources (adapters sold separately)." This matches my recollection that my 2008 iMac had this feature, and the one my wife got in 2012 did not. 2009 Tech Specs: https://support.apple.com/kb/sp696?locale=en_US https://support.apple.com/kb/sp696?locale=en_US 2010 Tech Specs: https://support.apple.com/kb/sp588?locale=en_US https://support.apple.com/kb/sp588?locale=en_US

m463 6y ago

You know, there are a few key features about macs that have made them much better computers. Target disk mode. Target display mode. Boot from an external drive using option. Boot from the network. And you know the "decision makers" don't understand how much nicer it makes the computers to administer. (understand in the sense they would defend them for real in a feature-cutting meeting) Instead we get dongles. sigh.

alcidesfonseca 6y ago
Can't you boot from an external drive (time machine backup) using option, on Catalina? I was under the impression booting from external USB was how you would format the mac.
- m463 6y ago
  I don't know about time machine. I suspect you might. To be clear, I wasn't saying they were taking out the option boot-picker. I was saying these lesser known features - although they will never be used by a general audience - make the mac significantly easier to administer for people who have been using macs for years and know what they're doing. I will say I'm glad you can upgrade an older system to a new usb-c style thunderbolt machine using target disk mode - but the dongles/cables to achieve this feat are ridiculous.

simonh 6y ago

It made sense on the original 5k because display port at the time didn’t support enough bandwidth for 5k output.

_ph_ 6y ago
Right. But now that all Macs support even 6k output, there is no longer a justification. Also, they could have allowed target display mode in a lower resolution or in a window on your iMacs desktop, if they had tried hard enough.

prewett 6y ago

I researched why the 5k iMac doesn't have video-in, and it seems that the reason is that the display has so many pixels that it needs to pieces of hardware to drive it. Getting the timing and color calibration and what-not clearly wasn't going to happen externally, so rather than have a suboptimal experience they just took video-in out. There's also the issue that few video cards can drive that resolution. https://www.quora.com/Why-cant-the-iMac-27-5K-be-used-as-an-external-monitor-even-though-it-has-Thunderbolt-3-0-support https://www.quora.com/Why-cant-the-iMac-27-5K-be-used-as-an-...

mixmastamyk 6y ago
Those problems are typically rectified in a year or so. Presumably the hardware should last longer. Perhaps the antiport faction got their way.
baddox 6y ago
There are external 5k displays on the market, including one that Apple has sold.
- _ph_ 6y ago
  Which external 5k displays are on the marked except the one that Apple has sold and alledgedly LG has discontinued?

munificent 6y ago

This one kills me. With COVID, I'm now stuck working from home. I literally spend all day staring at my work Macbook Pro's small screen with a glorious but unused iMac screen sitting five inches behind it.

chrstphrknwtn 6y ago
Why don't you work on your iMac?
- cowsandmilk 6y ago
  Many people are only able to work on machines provisioned by their companies. Even if you could get your home iMac provisioned during Covid, you may be wiping out all your personal data and now you are dedicating a machine you paid for to your company.
- munificent 6y ago
  It's my personal machine and I can only use work-provisioned computers for (entirely reasonable) security reasons.
- nivenhuh 6y ago
  Cmd-f2 on your iMac (while plugged into your MacBook over usb-c), will allow you to use your iMac as an external display.
  - _ph_ 6y ago
    This doesn't work on iMacs after 2015 to my knowledge. Do you have any reference, that Apple brought the feature back?
_ph_ 6y ago
Same here - using my MacBook Pro when working from home. I was very fortunate though to get me a Dell 2415Q in January. While not being quite as good as the iMac, it is a good "retina" screen. Can only recommend it. Previously, I would sometimes use screen sharing to use the desktop of my MacBook onto my iMac, but due to its slow speed, that is only an emergency measure.