Talk:Mini DisplayPort

Tech specs
Have there been any technical details about this released at all? Like whether it's proprietary, and if any third parties will be using it. It seems important, considering one of DisplayPort's pluses is supposed to be being open and royalty-free. --Ddoomdoom (talk) 19:17, 16 October 2008 (UTC)


 * After holding an actual DisplayPort connector, I have come to the conclusion that Steve Jobs is a greedy melonfarmer who created MiniDP for the sole purpose of extracting additional money out of MacBook buyers. Ordinary DisplayPort is the same height as Mini and at most twice as wide. We're talking a few cubic millimeters of difference in volume for the internal wiring of the two ports. It boggles me. - Frankie (talk) 18:18, 12 December 2008 (UTC)


 * Bad conclusion. Mini DisplayPort is a royalty free standard. As a consequence, third-party adapters are inexpensively sold. Honeycraft (talk) 18:06, 29 August 2009 (UTC)

Is this a VESA standard or an Apple standard?
It's not clear whether Mini DisplayPort is an Apple-only custom port—perhaps a proprietary connector that shares DisplayPort's wires and signaling—or an official VESA standard. There is some interesting debate about this in the comments posted in response to a MacWorld article. The author claims that an Apple PR rep told him that Mini DisplayPort is part of the official spec; however, some of the commenters refute this, citing the fact that there is no mention of Mini DisplayPort anywhere in the VESA documents for the spec. Indeed, there isn't even one mention of Mini DisplayPort anywhere on the VESA website. On the other hand, the displayport.org website does mention something about a "mini-connector":

DisplayPort Future Enhancements: Mini-Connector


 * Enable DisplayPort use on ultramobile PCs


 * Complements standard DisplayPort connector


 * Simple passive adapter supports use with standard DisplayPort cables

If "mini-connector" and "Mini DisplayPort" are two different names for the same thing, then perhaps the real story is this: Mini DisplayPort is expected to become an official standard but isn't just yet, and Apple is simply an early adopter of this standard-to-be. Vocaro (talk) 04:25, 18 October 2008 (UTC)

According to this macuser forum thread Mini DisplayPort will be part of the DisplayPort 1.2 spec. "Fabio" quotes an e-mail communication with a DisplayPort representative: "You are free to mention that the mini-DP is in development at VESA and will be part of version 1.2. It is no secret." --91.97.62.139 (talk) 16:33, 23 October 2008 (UTC)

Here's another forum thread, where a user has received emails from Molex saying "The connector is not propriatary [...] it will be included as part of version 1.2 of the Displayport specification". It also includes some very detailed drawings of what claims to be a "Mini Display Port Plug". 85.225.161.39 (talk) 00:22, 18 November 2008 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.225.161.39 (talk) 00:19, 18 November 2008 (UTC)

Sgasparini (talk) 16:43, 4 January 2010 (UTC) Looks like the question is now solved as VESA officially adopted min-DisplayPort an DisplayPort spec 1.2 many link of this on the web here some (unfortunately no press release from vesa.org however a specification is already available "VESA Mini DisplayPort Connector Standard Version 1 October 26, 2009" available from here http://www.vesa.org/Standards/free.htm (1st link at the time of writing).

http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/10/apples-mini-displayport-gets-vesa-stamp-of-approval/ http://www.neowin.net/news/main/09/11/10/vesa-accepts-apples-mini-displayport-standard http://news.techworld.com/personal-tech/3206098/apple-mini-displayport-monitor-standard-adopted-by-vesa/

Looks like to me the dispute should be closed, as no matter what some may think about technical limitation or issue of this port, the mini displayport is a VESA standard now.

Connector Information
The connectors on the laptop mother board and adapters that Apple is selling are manufactured by Molex. In a discussion with a regional sales rep on this topic I was told that their current production runs are done under a contract manufacturing arrangement with Apple but they have a preliminary spec and drawings they sent me for their own version of the plug they will release on their own.

The pins are as follows: If someone wanted to purchase a third party displayport monitor right away then you would need to purchase an Apple adapter and cut it open in order to make your own cables. For anyone interested in the pin configuration they are as follows: Pin, Signal Type, Pin name

1 - GND - GND 3 - OUT - ML_Lane 0(p) 5 - OUT - ML_Lane 0(n) 7 - GND - GND 9 - OUT - ML_Lane 1(p) 11 - OUT - ML_Lane 1(n) 13 - GND - GND 15 - OUT - ML_Lane 2(p) 17 - OUT - ML_Lane 2(n) 19 - RTN - Return

2 - IN - Hot Plug Detect 4 - CONFIG - Config 1 6 - CONFIG - Config 2 8 - GND - GND 10 - OUT - ML_Lane 3(p) 12 - OUT - ML_Lane 3(n) 14 - GND - GND<BR> 16 - I/O - AUX_CH(p)<BR> 18 - I/O - AUG_CH(n)<BR> 20 - Power Out - DP_Pwr<BR>

When looking at a plug with the angled edges pointed down pin 1 is in the top left corner, pin 2 is on the one below. Pin 3 is next to pin 1 on the top row, pin 4 is next on the bottom row etc. With the final pins on the right side being pin 19 on top and pin 20 on the bottom. QueBall (talk) 18:42, 31 October 2008 (UTC)


 * Why are the millimeter dimensions for DisplayPort not included on the live version of its info box? Also, could someone provide the corresponding sizes for Mini-DP? - Frankie (talk) 19:25, 24 November 2008 (UTC)

Merge with the DisplayPort page?
Why isn't this page merged with the DisplayPort page same as HDMI and mini-HDMI, and USB and mini-USB? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.79.9.181 (talk) 09:08, 21 October 2008 (UTC)

I say we wait until we know if Mini DisplayPort is part of the VESA spec or not, it actually changes the fact of being just a mini version or a proprietary Apple format. Candelabre (talk) 00:12, 22 October 2008 (UTC)

Is it really the case that DisplayPort and Mini Display port are not compatibile? There is a (as of Feb 14, 2009) uncited statement indicating that you can't connect the two together. If that is the case, then DisplayPort and Mini-Display port are unrelated to each other, as far as I'm concerned, and it's unclear why they even have the same name. --Ghshephard (talk) 00:14, 15 February 2009 (UTC)

Now that mini-DisplayPort is part of the VESA 1.2 spec, it doesn't make any sense for this article to be separated from the main DisplayPort page. comment added by Wettej01 (talk • contribs) 19:02, 9 January 2010 (UTC)

Other Portable Manufacturers?
Now that Apple has decided not to charge for licensing the connector, do we know if other hardware manufacturers have decided to include the connector? Someone suggested Dell already did, but I couldn't find any evidence for this when I searched the web. --AJ Mas (talk) 16:04, 16 December 2008 (UTC)
 * I'd kill for a link to a mdp to svideo or composite connector…--Jonathan Williams (talk) 22:24, 17 December 2008 (UTC)


 * Page really needs to be updated to include more recent display card vendors supporting this standard, e.g. Matrox offers a number of video cards each of which can output to up to 8 displays over mDP connectors, with drivers for current versions of Windows and Linux. Roby Gamboa 20:33, 04 November 2011 (PDT)

Neutrality
The compatibility section contains a lot of, well, whining. "rendering thousands of dollars of investments [...] incompatible". Comparisions to previous Macs and what adapters they shipped with is pretty irrelevant. I don't think we need that detailed information on how many cables are needed for what kind of connection. Maybe just a sentence or two saying that industry support is low, and adapters are only sold by Apple. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.135.48.16 (talk) 12:51, 5 January 2009 (UTC)


 * disagree. This is useful information. 128.143.145.11 (talk) 15:35, 26 August 2009 (UTC) R.E.D.

"Current Mini DisplayPort adaptors do not support audio (although the port itself does)." This is because DVI and VGA don't support audio! Gatortpk (talk) 19:30, 9 February 2009 (UTC)GatorTPK

This is not because DVI and VGA don't support audio! A minidispayport macbook pro to minidisplayport apple display doesnt carry audio unless its provided by a secondary usb cable. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 97.102.70.234 (talk) 14:46, 15 March 2009 (UTC)

The "Compatibility" part is clearly not neutral, and should be completely reworked: 1/ HDCP is seen as a drawback on miniDisplayPort, but this is the same with HDMI ouptuts. This has nothing to do here. 2/ MiniDP to DP connection, is the same as MiniHDMI to HDMI, MiniUSB to USB, I don't see the point of tunring this into a clear drawback as this is normal situation. We should mention this, but not with such a tone. 3/ Same for the S-Video & other compatibility. Do you have the same comment for DVI ? HDMI ? No, so remove it here. 4/ Finally, the audio issue is not a problem from miniDP connector, but from Apple PC architecture. Moreover, there is no sound on DVI, and most of HDMI PC output do not have sound eiter... I really don't like the tone of this "Compatibility" part which is clearly against miniDP, and does not present simple facts. This part should be removed for me, or completely rewritten... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.80.39.42 (talk) 13:34, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

3 Years later, I feel the Compatibility section remains negative. The given impression is that MDP is a unreliable, ill-conceived format. I would argue that the article's negativity is enough to be misleading; it's also way out of date. The general whining serves to obscure useful compatibility facts, such as HDCP restricting DRM content from playing on non-supported displays. Wording is also awkward, with too many "Howevers" as the reader is led around various tacked-on corrections. Should I trim some weeds? Triplight (talk) 20:09, 23 January 2013 (UTC)

Monoprice.com?
I was able to find regular Display Port stuff there but no mini display port --Jonathan Williams (talk) 05:14, 12 January 2009 (UTC)

Monoprice now lists 2 mini display port offerings

MINI DISPLAY PORT to DVI Adapter (5106)

MINI DISPLAY PORT to VGA Adapter (5107) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.106.45.254 (talk) 21:36, 29 January 2009 (UTC)

I have found another listing for mini DisplayPort adaptor from Monoprice.com

Mini Display Port to HDMI Adapter (Product ID: 5311) for $14.25. Gatortpk (talk) 04:47, 10 February 2009 (UTC)GatorTPK

Well let us know if you spot MDP to DP adapter... Antony.stubbs (talk) 21:43, 25 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Here it is. http://estore.circuitassembly.com/products/Mini-Displayport-to-Displayport-Adapter-Cable.html —Preceding unsigned comment added by 97.117.128.124 (talk) 00:17, 31 May 2009 (UTC)

Also appears to be a notable lack in adaptors to go from a computer equipped with a DVI graphics connector, to a Mini DisplayPort monitor. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 192.150.10.200 (talk) 19:10, 18 June 2009 (UTC)

Mini DisplayPort is going to be part of VESA spec
It seems that part of the debate is resolved. Read here:

http://www.betanews.com/article/The_case_for_VESA_DisplayPort_Both_open_and_shut/1231616098

"Also included will be Apple's Mini DisplayPort connector, which it has donated to the effort. The DisplayPort 1.2 standard is expected to be adopted in 2009."

http://www.heise.de/newsticker/DisplayPort-in-der-Fassung-1-2-angekuendigt--/meldung/121473

Really no audio??
It seems questionable if the statement on lack of audio with Mini DisplayPort is true. Rather, it is more likely that Apple at present just doesn't use the audio capability to send audio to their new displays because the graphics card doesn't support it. See e.g. this article: http://lowendmac.com/ed/fox/09ff/displayport-audio.html

---> I'm not disputing that in the point in the limitations. We know that Mini DisplayPort can transmit audio, but as of July 09 there is no computer on the market capable of taking advantage of it. Hence, a huge balls-up for Apple and anyone that wants to use HDMI from a Macbook. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.111.227.255 (talk) 19:49, 14 July 2009 (UTC)

---> DisplayPort and Mini DisplayPort have the same limitation with audio, and that's the Intel chipsets. They are not currently capable of audio output over DP pathways. Intel is expected to remedy this in future mobile chipset releases. The graphics bus, for obvious reasons, wasn't designed to carry audio. The same is true of most Intel HDMI chipsets. -- Dharadvani (talk) 21:23, 9 August 2009 (UTC)

---> UPDATE: It appears, from user reviews of [this product] at the apple store, that SOME users with macbooks are reporting audio is transmitted to their TVs over mini displayport alone. Other users report that no audio is transmitted, and they need a separate cable. It seems likely it depends on the TV model, and perhaps the MacBook model too. We need to do some more digging, and the article almost certainly needs updating. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.173.43.200 (talk) 15:13, 1 March 2010 (UTC)

Really no analog?
The page says that the connector does not produce an analog signal which is why there are no offerings for component, composite, and S-Video connectors. That can't be completely right because there are VGA adapters for it which must get an analog signal from some place. I imagine that there is something about component/composite/S-Video which isn't available through the connector, but it isn't the lack of "an analog signal". --Flarbear (talk) 00:00, 11 June 2009 (UTC)

There is indeed no analog signal coming out of the Mini DisplayPort. Many users have tried a MDP to VGA adapter, connected to a VGA to S-video adapter, only to end up with no usable analog signal... because no such signal comes out of the MDP in the first place. Connectivity to an analog video device requires the MDP to VGA adapter, plus a scan converter box. 163.231.6.86 (talk) 17:36, 10 July 2009 (UTC)Max

No, whether an analog signal comes out is the video card's design choice. DisplayPort chipsets support analog output in the form of a VGA signal. None of them support NTSC analog output via composite or S-video. Those connections have simply been abandoned. It's 2009, and they just no longer care. There's no reason why they should. If you need a legacy video connection to an obsolete monitor/projector, keep a legacy video option around. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Dharadvani (talk • contribs) 21:27, 9 August 2009 (UTC)

It's just whining. The DisplayPort protocol doesn't do analog, you need a firmware translator (which the Apple Mini-DP to VGA has embedded inside, which is probably a big reason why it's rather expensive). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.1.4.143 (talk) 05:00, 13 June 2009 (UTC)

Please include a side-by-side picture to size compare to regular DisplayPort
Hello, could somebody that has both regular DisplayPort and Mini DisplayPort plugs provide a side-by-side picture? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.201.198.245 (talk) 11:43, 13 October 2009 (UTC)

Passive adapter

 * With a passive adapter, the Mini DisplayPort can drive display devices with VGA, DVI, or HDMI interfaces.[3][4][5]
 * http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB571Z/A/mini-displayport-to-dual-link-dvi-adapter

This adapter is very large. It should be an active adapter. Rx5674 (talk) 12:30, 13 August 2014 (UTC)

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Explain why you can't connect mini displayport male to HDMI
I want to connect the HDMI output of my Chromebook/PC/normal computer to an Apple Cinema Display. But the latter unfortunately has a cable already coming out of it with a male mini displayport endpoint. So if you aren't plugging that cable straight into a Mac, it seems that you would need an adapter/cable with a female mini displayport on one end and HDMI on the other. But that doesn't seem to exist, and I read at the end of Q: Can someone recommend a Mini Displayport Female to HDMI cord/adapter? this statement:

Nov 9, 2017 8:22 PM in response to inconspicuousduck No combination of cables and simple adapters will let a Mini DisplayPort display work with a computer's HDMI port. It needs a converter, such as the Kanex XD. http://www.kanex.com/files/XD_English.pdf (Note that it runs at half resolution (1280 X 720) with 27" displays.)

Given that there are cheap passive male mini displayport to HDMI cables out there, why would it be the case that you can't use a passive cable with the opposite gender? ★NealMcB★ (talk) 00:41, 26 June 2019 (UTC)

Because HDMI don't have the capability to transmit DP signals, therefore it requires a device inbetween to receive the HDMI signals and transmit the equivalent DP signals. Unlike a DP port, which can transmit HDMI signals, requiring only a simple adapter to change the connector. When the HDMI standard adds support for DP output, it will become possible to make simple HDMI to DP adapters, but for now only DP to HDMI can be done without conversion. GlenwingKyros (talk) 16:15, 14 April 2020 (UTC)