Reviews for Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter

The 30" Cinema Display shows static, is less sharp that the direct DVI used to
be, and from time to time doesn't detect the proper resolution
(messing up all window sizes and positions from sleep) -- for
which the only solution is to go back to sleep, unplug it, re-plug
and wake the MBP again. Even giving it its independent power through
an USB hub doesn't help.

I find it really disappointing that Apple won't find a solution for this,
even after so many months.

23 of 23 people found this useful

This is a fantastic product. Ignore everybody who gives it 1 star and insists it doesn't work: They're using it wrong!

Dual Link requires more power to transfer its data than the mini display port can provide. That's why this has a USB dongle: Plug it into a self powered USB hub, which will give the USB connection all the power that the monitor needs, and it works great! It makes more sense than requiring that the adapter also have a plug that goes into the wall.

Using my Mac Mini with a Dell 3007WFP, running fast and fine at 2560x1600!

25 of 29 people found this useful

I bought these cables because I had to if I wanted my new Unibody MacPros to drive my great old 30" HD Cinema displays. Doesn't work work at all. (Hmm, maybe they want to force me to dump my perfectly good display and buy a new $3000 display. How green is that!) I buy tons of high end Mac equipment, at least they could provide some support on what is obviously a high end problem. When you guys screww up you do it well. Apple - Take your (eye)Fingers out of your (eye)Aces and give your core customers some decent support on this issue. And DO IT NOW! (Expletives and the letter (I) removed to appease the filters)

31 of 35 people found this useful

I purchased this cable to run my 30" screen from my new 27" iMac.

As an 18 year user of Apple/Mac products this is by far the worst one I've ever purchased. The static lines in black areas of the screen on the 30" are annoying and distracting to say the least. If you have the time to disconnect and reconnect the cable and power on/off the monitor... yes, you will eventually get it to where it does go away. The question is... who has time for that?

This has also been an issue for such a long time I'm floored that it has not been addressed! Can it really be that difficult? Why would you leave DVI connectors for this abomination? Looks like they really jumped the gun on the whole mini-disply port connection.

23 of 26 people found this useful

I use this adapter to hook an NEC Multisync LCD3090WQi SV to my 13" Macbook Pro (June 2009 edition). This monitor includes SpectraView software and an xRite Calibrtion sensor to perform color correction by changing the contents of the LUT in the monitor. For this setup to work, the software has to be able to communicate with the monitor using the DDC, a data channel that's a standard part of the DVI specification. This communication is not possible using Apple's dual-link connector box.

So in order to calibrate this monitor, you have to buy a single link DVI adapter, hook up your monitor, perform the calibration, then switch back to the dual link adapter to get the full 2560 x 1600 resolution. It seems silly that Apple overlooked the need to make DDC work correctly; this monitor is quite popular with Graphics professionals, it seems hard to imagine it was not tested with this adapter.

Other than the frustration of having to keep another $30 adapter around and having to switch back and forth every 2 weeks to re-calibrate, this adapter works as advertised.

14 of 19 people found this useful

I was so excited to get my new 17" MacBook Pro until I realized that this "Pro" product didn't work with my 30" Cinema Display anymore without me dropping another $100. I then get the adaptor to find that it is really flaky, my screen flickers few times an hour and it just seems like the whole thing was an afterthought at best. Really, really disappointed that Apple did this to their core audience who spends the most money on their products.

23 of 24 people found this useful

I had none of the distortion/flickering issues on my Dell 30" that others have reported; the adapter worked as advertised (even with the 1.01 firmware). $100 is too expensive for a simple graphics adapter, though. Also, they really should indicate better that you need to plug in the USB cable to get the thing to work.

5 of 7 people found this useful

I just bought this adapter to run two 30" Apple displays on a 2009 Mac Pro with GT120 video. At first I could get nothing from the mini display port using this adapter. But from reading the other comments regarding usb power, I tried connecting both the usb connector from the adapter and the usb connector from the display directly to the back of the Mac Pro (rather than connecting the display usb cable to the adapter case). That brought both displays to life in full resolution. Only been running a few minutes but seems good. Agree this is a very disappointing product, and as a very big purchaser going all the way back to Lisa (1983) I expect better of Apple.

23 of 24 people found this useful

Not sure why so many reviewers are blaming a wire for the fact that their computer can't connect with an external monitor. The cable is perfect and lets me add a 30in monitor to my new iMac. Don't blame the wire. The wire does just what it's supposed to do. if you use it for what it's not supposed to do, well, it's not the cable's fault.

8 of 24 people found this useful

Using this device to connect my Cinema HD 30 to my brand Macbook Pro I get terrible static flicker. This occurs with or without the GPU turned on. I don't recommend this combination, or this adapter. This is poor execution on Apple's part

22 of 23 people found this useful