4 ms·

This is something I just can't comprehend. For work, I am using a 16" MB Pro and I had to get a separate screen for it as I cannot connect it to my iMac for dis

by _ph_ 6y ago

This is something I just can't comprehend. For work, I am using a 16" MB Pro and I had to get a separate screen for it as I cannot connect it to my iMac for display. One would think it isn't too uncommon for iMac owners also to have a laptop. And if I could use my iMac as a screen, I might have grabbed a M1 Mac already. Instead I am waiting on a refreshed iMac.

aequitas 6y ago
I use Screen Sharing to have my Macbook screen show on my iMac. Works flawless over Gigabit, except that cmd-tab sometimes lags. There are tools available[0] that allow you to set a higher resolution for a screen than what would be sensibly supported by the LCD panel. Although it doesn't do retina this way. [0] https://github.com/Eun/DisableMonitor https://github.com/Eun/DisableMonitor
- veidr 6y ago
  That's interesting to hear, because my experience is that I really really _want_ to use Remote Desktop / Screen Sharing but the performance has gotten worse and worse over macOS releases, and it currently abysmal over gigabit, and even 10-gigabit, wired Ethernet. (I could not see any difference between 1Gbps and 10Gbps which made me think bandwidth is not the problem). I'd love for this to be some flaw in my own setup, though. I used to use this setup circa Mac OS X 10.6 and it worked very well (1Gbps wired connection). I could leave my home office and screen share in from the living room via my MacBook Pro from the living room, when I had to watch my kids or whatever. Today, I don't even try that. Command-Tab lags, yes, but almost everything lags to the point of being super-annoying to use. Even typing lags. I also have a Windows box in my office, and this setup basically works (even from my MBP). So I've been assuming this is one of those features that Apple has let degrade to the point of unusability. But am I wrong? I'd like to be. Are others using Screen Sharing or Remote Desktop on macOS with success beyond like click... wait... click... whew I got a system update installed? I mean, for like typing emails or coding? (One thing I'd been thinking of debugging was whether my office Mac having 3 5K screens is an issue — I am only trying to screenshare one of them, but maybe they have a bug or something where total pixels of the host kill perf even if those pixels aren't being shared.)
  - neurostimulant 6y ago
    Maybe try using a 3rd party remote desktop system with focus on performance instead of the standard vnc server included in mac? Parsec might work for your use case. The disadvantage is these kind of remote desktop system achieve the performance by utilizing lossy codecs instead of lossless compression used by vnc, so you might notice some banding/artefacts depending on your network condition / compression level. The advantage is the hardware encoding/decoding is very fast, even fast enough for gaming. https://parsec.app/ https://parsec.app/
  - aequitas 6y ago
    One issue I had is that it was constantly using the WiFi connection instead of the wired one. So I created a shortcut where I replaced the hostname with the wired IP address, this solved a lot of problems for me. For my usecase of development, it works fine. No noticable lag, even as I type this comment, also video calls and web browsing/scolling/youtube are fluid on 2560x1440 using around 7MB/s. With 3 5K screen I could image video memory or some GPU bandwidth being an issue, limiting the screensharing although sharing only 1 screen. But the problem must be either one of lag or one of bandwidth. Maybe try measuring network throughput and ping?
- _ph_ 6y ago
  I have used it, but over wifi it is a bit laggy. Works for emergencies, but isn't really a replacement for a proper monitor connection.
sgt 6y ago
It's about respect. How would you feel if you were an iMac and people just wanted to plug into you to use you as a screen?
- neurostimulant 6y ago
  Apple already has Sidecar that turns your iPad into a monitor. It's not a stretch to enable that feature on Mac so you can turn your Mac into a monitor too whenever you need it for some reason.
  - _ph_ 6y ago
    That is another sad story. As far as I know, Sidecar works in both directions, you can use it to make your iMac a monitor for another mac. However, there is a huge catch: those two devices need to run on the same Apple ID. Which of course makes it impossible when trying to connect your work with your private computer. Of all companies, Apple should have an understanding of keeping your work files in a separate environment :p.
madeofpalk 6y ago
I think it was just at the time when 5k iMacs were introduced there was no (good?) way to support that resolution over a thunderbolt or what, so support was dropped. Then it was just never added back...
- bzzzt 6y ago
  The 5k iMac was really ahead of it's time in late 2014. I remember reading some technical blog talking about the custom designed driver board for that panel. The 2015 MacBook pro could drive a 5k panel using two displayport cables (some 5k monitors from that period supported that solution for full resolution at 60Hz), and with modern displayport there should be no problems, but maybe Apple does not really want their computers used as 'dumb' displays anymore...

by _ph_ 6y ago

aequitas 6y ago

I use Screen Sharing to have my Macbook screen show on my iMac. Works flawless over Gigabit, except that cmd-tab sometimes lags. There are tools available[0] that allow you to set a higher resolution for a screen than what would be sensibly supported by the LCD panel. Although it doesn't do retina this way. [0] https://github.com/Eun/DisableMonitor https://github.com/Eun/DisableMonitor

veidr 6y ago
That's interesting to hear, because my experience is that I really really _want_ to use Remote Desktop / Screen Sharing but the performance has gotten worse and worse over macOS releases, and it currently abysmal over gigabit, and even 10-gigabit, wired Ethernet. (I could not see any difference between 1Gbps and 10Gbps which made me think bandwidth is not the problem). I'd love for this to be some flaw in my own setup, though. I used to use this setup circa Mac OS X 10.6 and it worked very well (1Gbps wired connection). I could leave my home office and screen share in from the living room via my MacBook Pro from the living room, when I had to watch my kids or whatever. Today, I don't even try that. Command-Tab lags, yes, but almost everything lags to the point of being super-annoying to use. Even typing lags. I also have a Windows box in my office, and this setup basically works (even from my MBP). So I've been assuming this is one of those features that Apple has let degrade to the point of unusability. But am I wrong? I'd like to be. Are others using Screen Sharing or Remote Desktop on macOS with success beyond like click... wait... click... whew I got a system update installed? I mean, for like typing emails or coding? (One thing I'd been thinking of debugging was whether my office Mac having 3 5K screens is an issue — I am only trying to screenshare one of them, but maybe they have a bug or something where total pixels of the host kill perf even if those pixels aren't being shared.)
- neurostimulant 6y ago
  Maybe try using a 3rd party remote desktop system with focus on performance instead of the standard vnc server included in mac? Parsec might work for your use case. The disadvantage is these kind of remote desktop system achieve the performance by utilizing lossy codecs instead of lossless compression used by vnc, so you might notice some banding/artefacts depending on your network condition / compression level. The advantage is the hardware encoding/decoding is very fast, even fast enough for gaming. https://parsec.app/ https://parsec.app/
- aequitas 6y ago
  One issue I had is that it was constantly using the WiFi connection instead of the wired one. So I created a shortcut where I replaced the hostname with the wired IP address, this solved a lot of problems for me. For my usecase of development, it works fine. No noticable lag, even as I type this comment, also video calls and web browsing/scolling/youtube are fluid on 2560x1440 using around 7MB/s. With 3 5K screen I could image video memory or some GPU bandwidth being an issue, limiting the screensharing although sharing only 1 screen. But the problem must be either one of lag or one of bandwidth. Maybe try measuring network throughput and ping?
_ph_ 6y ago
I have used it, but over wifi it is a bit laggy. Works for emergencies, but isn't really a replacement for a proper monitor connection.

sgt 6y ago

It's about respect. How would you feel if you were an iMac and people just wanted to plug into you to use you as a screen?

neurostimulant 6y ago
Apple already has Sidecar that turns your iPad into a monitor. It's not a stretch to enable that feature on Mac so you can turn your Mac into a monitor too whenever you need it for some reason.
- _ph_ 6y ago
  That is another sad story. As far as I know, Sidecar works in both directions, you can use it to make your iMac a monitor for another mac. However, there is a huge catch: those two devices need to run on the same Apple ID. Which of course makes it impossible when trying to connect your work with your private computer. Of all companies, Apple should have an understanding of keeping your work files in a separate environment :p.

madeofpalk 6y ago

I think it was just at the time when 5k iMacs were introduced there was no (good?) way to support that resolution over a thunderbolt or what, so support was dropped. Then it was just never added back...

bzzzt 6y ago
The 5k iMac was really ahead of it's time in late 2014. I remember reading some technical blog talking about the custom designed driver board for that panel. The 2015 MacBook pro could drive a 5k panel using two displayport cables (some 5k monitors from that period supported that solution for full resolution at 60Hz), and with modern displayport there should be no problems, but maybe Apple does not really want their computers used as 'dumb' displays anymore...