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Apple DVI to ADC Adapter

ADC to DVI Adapter

Written by BA from Springville

Oct 17, 2009

I bought it, hooked it up to my 20" iMac, 2.4ghz dual core and my old 23" HD Cinema Display (this also required the mini dvi to dvi adapter which I got on web auction for $5). It works perfectly! The USB ports in the back of my old display work perfectly as well and they power my devices that need allot of power like the iPhone. I chose to buy straight from apple because of the horror stories I read here on the old versions of the adapter, I wanted to be sure I got a new one. I am very happy with my purchase and how well it works.

I don't love having to spend $100 bucks, but now that I have the adapter I can see why it is so much money. I went to buy a firewire cable locally and it was $25 - $35 for a simple cable. So maybe the adapter price isn't that unreasonable since it also has a USB adapter and a power supply built in.

13 of 13 people found this useful

Apple DVI to ADC Adapter

Apple messed this one up in more ways than one

Written by BP from Fort Collins

Oct 6, 2009

I have owned Macs and been a Mac fanatic since the original 128k Mac came out and I have to say that this was the worst thing Apple has ever done. (The "hockey puck" mouse was an ergonomic mess but at least it worked.) First, when you upgrade to their new powerbooks they charge you $100 to get an adapter to use your Apple 30" display. Second, you have to wait months to actually get the adapter. Third when you finally get the adapter it produces noise on the beautiful 30" display to the point that at times (when there was dark background) it was almost unusable. Fourth, when you find out through these posts that everyone is having the same problem Apple does nothing to admit to the problem or contact people that bought these that there is a problem.

Finally with no official word from Apple and all the sometimes contradictory information on these posts (and after waiting for Snow Leopard to come out since some information inferred that it was fixed in software but alas is wasn't) it was finally revealed that there was a firmware upgrade in the new adapters that fixes the problem. So after a trip to an apple store 2 hours away, and some push back about exchanging my old adapter for a new one (since it has been a year since I ordered it), the new adapter does work much better. however I have to say that there are still occasional static streaks visible on black backgrounds.

So after purchasing nearly a hundred Macs over the last 20+ years Apple has really disappointed me on this one.

25 of 31 people found this useful

Apple DVI to ADC Adapter

A charm with PowerBook 17" 1.67 GHz and 23" HD Cinema Display

Written by RL from Victoria

Aug 19, 2009

Debated buying the DVI to ADC adapter for months based on some bad user experiences in the reviews but my product has been solid and wish I had bought it months ago when my PowerMac Dual 2.0 GHz motherboard died. Now my very costly (and soon to be 6 year old!) original Apple 23" HD Cinema display is back in use and flawless as ever, saved by a relatively modest additional expense.

I tested my Cinema display as the secondary display and all features worked with the PowerBook display running as the primary display. Now I keep the PowerBook lid closed so the PowerBook is my temporary 'desktop' computer... until 2010. I hope I'll be able to use the display on next year's Mac Pros but the docs do not specifically say the adapter works with current Mac Pro graphic cards.

Do not know if this product has had any engineering or manufacturing changes in the last year to explain the improvement I see compared to the older reviews. Best to borrow a page from the App Store and associate the version of a product with the review - of course we the consumer don't always know what version of the product we have unless the part number (model) actually changes. Recent reviews should guide your purchase decision.

23 of 23 people found this useful

Apple DVI to ADC Adapter

As advertised

Written by MF from Chesterfield

Jul 22, 2009

Works great connecting my Cinema Display to my Macbook Pro. For those complaining about size, bear in mind that the unit contains the power supply for the monitor. No complaints from this user.

26 of 27 people found this useful

Apple DVI to ADC Adapter

ADC/DVI ADAPTER AND BOOT CAMP

Written by MP from STATEN ISLAND

Jul 8, 2009

I bought the ADC/DVI adapter to use with my original 23 inch Cinema HD Display. With my Mac Pro and the Nvidia 8800GT graphics card it's great in Mac OS. What I didn't expect was that there are no drivers from Apple or Nvidia to support the monitor working through the ADC/DVI adapter in Boot Camp.

I have Win XP Pro SP3 installed and the monitor goes to the dimmest setting and can't be adjusted after the Windows desktop appears. Anyone wanting to use an old ADC Cinema display with a newer Mac Pro in Boot Camp, check it out first. I haven't tried it with VMWare Fusion 2. Otherwise, its a great, though bulky adapter, that keeps a great old monitor working (at least in Mac OS). 1 star lost for the Boot Camp problem.

21 of 26 people found this useful

Apple DVI to ADC Adapter

Rebirth of a Relic

Written by DO from YUMA

Jul 4, 2009

Ok, I had this adapter for about 2-months and I’m currently using it for my first generation MacBook Pro. It works without any problems and it brought my old first generation Apple 22-inch cinema display back to Life! Back then, the flat panel cost me 5K!!! Now I’m planning to hook it up to my MacPro that arrives this week. So for those who want miracles, all I can say is that this allows you to retain a quality display with a generous cord on both the brick and your old display. This measures around 7-feet so I couldn’t be more pleased.
Regards,

11 of 12 people found this useful

Apple DVI to ADC Adapter

does not work with Mac Pro

Written by SA from IOWA CITY

Jul 2, 2009

I was told my Apple Cinema HD 23 inch display would work with my new Mac Pro. I was told wrong. It only works WITH this DVI to ADC adapter AND the USB ports don't work, the on/off switch does not work, the Monitor Preferences button does not work, and brightness control does not work. In other words, the DVI to ADC computer does not work well at all on the Macintosh Pro.

8 of 12 people found this useful

Apple DVI to ADC Adapter

Do your research, this is a good product.

Written by JS from Salem

Jun 27, 2009

I don't know why people are complaining so much about this. It works! Thanks to ebay I now have a beautiful 20" apple display coming out of my tiny 13" Macbook and the image is as good as any display I have seen on any tower. It is a bigger box because it is not just an adapter, it is converting the signal and amplifying and adjusting to fit these great old displays. It is also powering the monitor. PSUs take up some space. Just know what you are getting into before you get an old display with an ADC cable coming out of it. If you didn't do your research, you cannot complain.

8 of 9 people found this useful

Apple DVI to ADC Adapter

It works like Apple says it should

Written by AB from San Diego

Jun 24, 2009

I bought this product to connect my new 2009 MBP to a 23" Cinema Display. It is working flawlessly and helping me extend a 2003 purchase (of the ADC adapter) into a long term investment.

The only draw back seems that you can not hot-swap the connectors... you need to start the display when you start up the laptop. For whatever reason, hot swaps do not seem to work (for me).

6 of 6 people found this useful

Apple DVI to ADC Adapter

I've never been more disappointed with an Apple product

Written by WF from San Francisco

Jun 2, 2009

I upgraded from the previous generation macbook pro to the unibody macbook pro, and needed this adapter to drive my 30" display. This device alone makes me regret the upgrade. The display will randomly go completely fuzzy and become unusable until I disconnect/reconnect the adapter. This happens roughly 6 times per work day. About another 20 times a day it will flicker and become fuzzy for less than a second.
There's also something else about the display now that I can't quite put my finger on. My eyes become much more tired since this 'upgrade', even though my display and resolution have not changed.

12 of 26 people found this useful

Apple DVI to ADC Adapter

It Worked!

Written by JG from Oakland

May 14, 2009

I'm using the adapter with a 17" studio display. The picture quality is acceptable (perhaps a little color bleeding, or maybe I'm just not used to 10.5 yet).

Pros: It made an otherwise obsolete monitor usable. Also, it's nice having the extra reach that the adapter offers, since my Mac Pro sits far to the side of my desk in a noiseless enclosure.

Cons: Loss of functionality with the power button on the display. The adapter doesn't appear to be USB2 compatible. If you connect a USB2 flash drive to the port on your keyboard, it will run at half speed. Or perhaps it's Apple displays with ADC that are not USB2 compatible.

Also, the adapter gets *hot*. Bad news if your Mac resides in a place where heat is an issue.

21 of 23 people found this useful

Apple DVI to ADC Adapter

I'm not complaining... quite content, actually

Written by SB from Dallas

Apr 18, 2009

Yes, we all know how annoying it is that video connectors seem to evolve every two years and require adapters to continue working with current workstations. That said, I'm pleased as punch that I can continue using my flawless 20-inch crystal-case ADC cinema display with my new(ish) macbook. At first, I choked a bit on the cost, but I've been using it for over a year now; both it and my cinema display have been chugging along happily. Because I did not have to plunk down double or triple the money on a credit card for a new display, is worth it to me.

In fact, I'm double-adapted: from mini-DVI on my MacBook to DVI, then to the DVI to ADC adapter. Not a single problem.

I'm not going to complain about the size of the power brick, either; remember ADC displays got their power from the computer's power supply, which is itself quite a bit bigger than the power brick people are complaining about. Your display has to get its power from somewhere. Get an under-desk cable tray, stash it up there, and forget about it.

No problems with sleep; no problems with USB pass-through.

One star denied in the rating, however, because although the price is not outrageous, I do think it's a bit steep.

Oh, and don't blame the product if it doesn't do what you want it to do when the fault is that you didn't do your homework beforehand.

35 of 42 people found this useful

Apple DVI to ADC Adapter

Works As Expected

Written by VD from Franklin

Apr 1, 2009

I replaced my workhorse PowerPC G5 with a MacPro Quad-Core which didn't support the ADC connector on my Cinema HD display. Since the display was working fine, I decided to spend the $100 to buy this adapter. Sure beats retiring a perfectly good display!

The first unit I received was defective, but the Apple Store shipped a replacement overnight, and supplied the free return shipping label.

The replacement unit is working fine. No problems with the USB port as reported in another review. No problems with sleeping or waking. Works for me as expected.

The unit is 5" x 5" x 1-1/4", but comes with long power, video and usb cables so it fits easily under my desk and easily reaches the display, computer, and power plugs.

44 of 45 people found this useful

Apple DVI to ADC Adapter

Works, but USB pass-through is flaky!

Written by YN from San Francisco

Mar 24, 2009

Using it with a late '08 unibody MBP and 23" Cinema Display.

The interface works with the monitor as advertised, but the USB pass-through is unreliable. My USB keyboard and trackball connected to the USB ports in the back of the monitor would become disconnected in about 5 minutes of use. I wound up disconnecting the USB cable from my MBP and connected the keyboard directly to the MBP.

Apart from that inconvenience, the unit is large and expensive. I guess that's the price you pay for trying to use legacy peripherals with a proprietary interface.

11 of 13 people found this useful

Apple DVI to ADC Adapter

Waste of time and money

Written by AT from london

Mar 10, 2009

Waste of time and money

I bought the old version of the apple cinema screen 20" with ADC adapter. The manual says that i can connect my imac (dual) using the mini-dvi port (with a mini dvi to dvi adapter + and a DVI to ADC adapter (£68 in apple store) so a could connect my lovely 20" apple acrylic display. Its was supposed to work and after lots of research and several visits to genius bar nobody could give me a reasonable explanation why was not working. The adaptors and screen tested individually works fine... so for me was a wast of time and money!!!

12 of 26 people found this useful

Apple DVI to ADC Adapter

A Terrific Solution!!!

Written by JC from WELLINGTON

Mar 7, 2009

I had an old "Cube" burn out on me and the Apple Studio Display remained idle until I found out about this adaptor. I connected it up to my MacBook Pro with no problem and it is just about the best accessory that I've ever invested any amount of money in. It is big and bulky, but it exudes strength and is compatible to the nth degree. I would recommend to anyone with a "fallow" Apple Studio Display. Its just too good to be true. The naysayers expect too much and they just don't see the beauty and simplicity of this elegant solution. What's a person to say?...GREAT!!!

12 of 16 people found this useful

Apple DVI to ADC Adapter

Just what the doctor ordered

Written by TG from Bellevue

Mar 2, 2009

This baby is what I needed to hook up my older cinema display with my new Mac Pro tower. I spent $100 instead of $800 for a new display. Works great, sleeps and wakes up. I could care less about the pulsing sleep mode light. I'm going to purchase another older cinema display and another one of these adapters to hook up dual display system. Cool beans. Go for it!!!!!

16 of 19 people found this useful

Apple DVI to ADC Adapter

It works as advertised

Written by EM from Buenos Aires

Feb 13, 2009

Yes, it is expensive, yes it is big; but, it is the only way I could use a very nice 20" Cinema Display with my Quicksilver (fitted with a flashed NVIDIA Geforce 6200)
I was worried that, given the "special" card, perhaps the controls on the display, or the back USB ports would not work.
Not the case, everything works perfectly using the adapter, and the image quality (I'm using Tiger) its amazing.

I don't give it a 5 stars rating because of the price, 100 U$S it is really expensive.

14 of 18 people found this useful