4 ms·

So where are the affordable Thunderbolt displays? Will they even exist for this generation of tech?

by RossDM 14y ago

duaneb 14y ago
I would imagine that there are converters to DVI/HDMI.... I hope?
- AdamGibbins 14y ago
  You can't daisy chain pretend thunderbolt ports aka converters. So 1 monitor max.
- mcrider 14y ago
  I believe the only way to get two displays working though is to pass the second display through the first display (via thunderbolt). AFAIK, there is no adapter to split thunderbolt into two DVI/VGA/HDMI cables. Though I hope I'm wrong, I'd buy that in a flash and wire up my second external display to my new air.
- numo16 14y ago
  There are, no worries
- bingbing 14y ago
  Monoprice has this: http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=101&cp_id=10114&cs_id=1011409&p_id=8118&seq=1&format=2 http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=101&c... It doesn't support chaining more thunderbolt devices, though.
  - veemjeem 14y ago
    All this does is split the video into 2 identical signals. Note their fine print: "the two outputs of this monitor will always be the same"
jemka 14y ago
I had no idea people paid ~$1000 for a computer display, let alone buy more than one.
- drivebyacct2 14y ago
  Displays from Dell that rival this in quality are not even $100 less, and don't have the docking powers that a Thunderbolt display offers. I've got a bound pair of cables (power+thunderbolt) that plug into my laptop and all of the sudden my backup drives, both monitors, ethernet and USB hub are connected. The Dell 27" higher-than-1080p monitor is nice, but it can't do all of that sadly.
- outworlder 14y ago
  Unfortunately, the industry pretty much decided that 1080p is all they are going to support. Nowadays, it is pretty hard to find anything above 23" with a decent resolution. Most of the market is now taken by monitor/TV devices, with crappy resolutions (1080p is crappy with a 27" screen). Find me a big monitor that has a decent resolution and uses a good panel and is significantly cheaper than an Apple display, and I'm going to buy one right now. Maybe two.
  - wmf 14y ago
    Supposedly this is the same panel as Apple: http://www.anandtech.com/show/5885/the-achieva-shimian-qh270-a-350-27inch-wqhd-sips-display http://www.anandtech.com/show/5885/the-achieva-shimian-qh270...
    - outworlder 14y ago
      Nice catch. At that price point, it is worth a try.
- veemjeem 14y ago
  it's amazing how much cheaper a monitor is when you go from 2560 res to 1920 res -- the price is less than half the cost. The usual run of the mill 1920x1080 display goes for $300 or so. I'm guessing the reason for the price differential is that the 1080p monitors are mass produced compared to these expensive 27" 2560res displays.
teilo 14y ago
A mini display port to DVI adapter is $30. You could get fully fitted out with three external screens + adapters and cables for under $600.
- tedivm 14y ago
  Thunderbolt and mini display ports aren't the same thing. Although they use the same connection type, thunderbolt has additional features which allow it to transfer far, far more data. It also lets you chain devices together, which is going to be needed for all of those devices. You can't just slap the DVI adaptor and hope it'll work- especially if you need to chain the devices together to support all of them.
  - teilo 14y ago
    I manage 80 Macs at my company. Half of them have Thunderbolt ports. All of them use mini-displayport-to-DVI adaptors, and some of them are daisy-chained together with other thunderbolt devices. If you have other Thunderbolt devices, just "slap the DVI adapter" on the end of the chain. You don't have to "hope it'll work". It's how the damn thing is designed! Go back and study what a Thunderbolt port is, and stop downvoting people in ignorance. http://www.macrumors.com/2011/09/16/apple-thunderbolt-display-with-multiple-monitors/ http://www.macrumors.com/2011/09/16/apple-thunderbolt-displa... http://www.macworld.com/article/1162365/first_look_apple_thunderbolt_display.html http://www.macworld.com/article/1162365/first_look_apple_thu...
krunaldo 14y ago
Thunderbolt supports DMA pretty much unrestricted iirc so it's a stupid standard. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DMA_attack http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DMA_attack http://www.breaknenter.org/2012/02/adventures-with-daisy-in-thunderbolt-dma-land-hacking-macs-through-the-thunderbolt-interface/ http://www.breaknenter.org/2012/02/adventures-with-daisy-in-...

So where are the affordable Thunderbolt displays? Will they even exist for this generation of tech?

by RossDM 14y ago

So where are the affordable Thunderbolt displays? Will they even exist for this generation of tech?

duaneb 14y ago

I would imagine that there are converters to DVI/HDMI.... I hope?

AdamGibbins 14y ago
You can't daisy chain pretend thunderbolt ports aka converters. So 1 monitor max.
mcrider 14y ago
I believe the only way to get two displays working though is to pass the second display through the first display (via thunderbolt). AFAIK, there is no adapter to split thunderbolt into two DVI/VGA/HDMI cables. Though I hope I'm wrong, I'd buy that in a flash and wire up my second external display to my new air.
numo16 14y ago
There are, no worries
bingbing 14y ago
Monoprice has this: http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=101&cp_id=10114&cs_id=1011409&p_id=8118&seq=1&format=2 http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=101&c... It doesn't support chaining more thunderbolt devices, though.
- veemjeem 14y ago
  All this does is split the video into 2 identical signals. Note their fine print: "the two outputs of this monitor will always be the same"

jemka 14y ago

I had no idea people paid ~$1000 for a computer display, let alone buy more than one.

drivebyacct2 14y ago
Displays from Dell that rival this in quality are not even $100 less, and don't have the docking powers that a Thunderbolt display offers. I've got a bound pair of cables (power+thunderbolt) that plug into my laptop and all of the sudden my backup drives, both monitors, ethernet and USB hub are connected. The Dell 27" higher-than-1080p monitor is nice, but it can't do all of that sadly.
outworlder 14y ago
Unfortunately, the industry pretty much decided that 1080p is all they are going to support. Nowadays, it is pretty hard to find anything above 23" with a decent resolution. Most of the market is now taken by monitor/TV devices, with crappy resolutions (1080p is crappy with a 27" screen). Find me a big monitor that has a decent resolution and uses a good panel and is significantly cheaper than an Apple display, and I'm going to buy one right now. Maybe two.
- wmf 14y ago
  Supposedly this is the same panel as Apple: http://www.anandtech.com/show/5885/the-achieva-shimian-qh270-a-350-27inch-wqhd-sips-display http://www.anandtech.com/show/5885/the-achieva-shimian-qh270...
  - outworlder 14y ago
    Nice catch. At that price point, it is worth a try.
veemjeem 14y ago
it's amazing how much cheaper a monitor is when you go from 2560 res to 1920 res -- the price is less than half the cost. The usual run of the mill 1920x1080 display goes for $300 or so. I'm guessing the reason for the price differential is that the 1080p monitors are mass produced compared to these expensive 27" 2560res displays.

teilo 14y ago

A mini display port to DVI adapter is $30. You could get fully fitted out with three external screens + adapters and cables for under $600.

tedivm 14y ago
Thunderbolt and mini display ports aren't the same thing. Although they use the same connection type, thunderbolt has additional features which allow it to transfer far, far more data. It also lets you chain devices together, which is going to be needed for all of those devices. You can't just slap the DVI adaptor and hope it'll work- especially if you need to chain the devices together to support all of them.
- teilo 14y ago
  I manage 80 Macs at my company. Half of them have Thunderbolt ports. All of them use mini-displayport-to-DVI adaptors, and some of them are daisy-chained together with other thunderbolt devices. If you have other Thunderbolt devices, just "slap the DVI adapter" on the end of the chain. You don't have to "hope it'll work". It's how the damn thing is designed! Go back and study what a Thunderbolt port is, and stop downvoting people in ignorance. http://www.macrumors.com/2011/09/16/apple-thunderbolt-display-with-multiple-monitors/ http://www.macrumors.com/2011/09/16/apple-thunderbolt-displa... http://www.macworld.com/article/1162365/first_look_apple_thunderbolt_display.html http://www.macworld.com/article/1162365/first_look_apple_thu...

krunaldo 14y ago

Thunderbolt supports DMA pretty much unrestricted iirc so it's a stupid standard. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DMA_attack http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DMA_attack http://www.breaknenter.org/2012/02/adventures-with-daisy-in-thunderbolt-dma-land-hacking-macs-through-the-thunderbolt-interface/ http://www.breaknenter.org/2012/02/adventures-with-daisy-in-...