Reviews for Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter

I read all the bad reviews, but had to buy the adapter anyway -- when I upgraded from my old MacBook Pro to the new MBP with mini displayport, this adapter was the only way to get my 30" Dell monitor to work.

I never had any problems plugging the DVI directly into my old MBP, the monitor was crystal clear and never had a single issue. Since using the adapter, there is a constant flicker of red, green and blue pixels that are hard to notice, but if you're looking at a very dark screen they're very apparent.

The adapter will also just die at random times, displaying a distorted picture, vertical lines, or both. I'll have to completely disconnect and reconnect to get it running again.

For $100, you'd think it would be made better. Very disappointing especially since it's the only way to get my MBP to work with my monitor.

Why do people increasingly buy Apple kit ?
Because it just works out of the box.

Given the negative reviews here I obtained a guarantee before purchase from my local Best Buy manager that it may prove to be a poor product and I would be able to get a refund should the adapter prove to be faulty.
Took it home, got my Macbook Pro 15 unibody and Cinema 30 inch display whilst also connecting the USB lead and it works perfectly.
The adapter, as it is listed in the System profile utility, lists the firmware as revision 1.03.
Prior to this review I had to have a warranty replacement of my beautiful 30 inch display therefore it is a recently manufactured unit.
No distortion, no fuss no muss.

Great product, does what you expect - 'Just Works!'

I bought this product yesterday and was disappointed that it caused a lot of red/green video noise with a 30" Apple display. It was the same with 2 different MacBook Pros (both unibody - one Core i7, one Core 2 Duo) and System Profiler showed that this brand new adapter came with obsolete firmware version 1.01 installed.

After trying several suggestions in the Apple discussion forums, including rerouting video cables away from sources of electrical noise, using a separate USB "wall wart" power supply, and even wrapping the video adapter with aluminum foil to shield it from noise, I gave up and returned it to the other local Apple store (it's closer to my house) where it was cheerfully exchanged.

From the packaging, it's impossible to tell which firmware version is on the hardware inside the box. Though the store manager was a bit reluctant to let me open the adapter to check the firmware version in-store, he said I could exchange it again if there was any problem.

Fortunately, with the new adapter the video quality was immediately better. There were no green and red dots dancing all over my screen and firmware version 1.02 showed in System Profiler.

Steve Jobs, if you read these reviews, it would be helpful if you had one of your Quality Managers work to get all of the old stock out of your stores. As an Apple shareholder I am concerned at the number of problems people are having with this device. One of the highest ranking reviews online calls this "The Worst Apple Product Ever?" and the store manager who helped me with my return could only say "wow!" when he searched for a way to update the firmware.

This is a good product that would be great if it didn't come with "known buggy" firmware installed. At theminimum there should be a way to update the firmware, but neither Software Update nor a search of the Apple Support Forums / Knowledge Base yielded any results.

this adapter is plagued with problems. screen flickering, resolution issues, firmware problems, etc. i've gone through 3 of them so far. problem is that i need them for my two 30" cinema displays. i figured apple would make a better product than this, but i was wrong. all in all, you have no choice but to buy one if this is the adapter you need. when you do, you might get lucky and have minimal issues, or like me, you'll wonder why apple even sells it.

Just got back from an Apple store with a replaced adapter, but the issues are the same.

3 year ago I got 30" HP LP3065 and I was using it with a 2007 15" MBP - this worked just perfect. A year ago my girlfriend bough a 13" unibody macbook and I got a couple weeks ago a new 2010 13" MBP, which raised a need for a dual dvi adapter to use the 30" screen.

Unfortunately quality of a picture, that one is getting on a screen now is really bad - just as an example: there is a significant flickering in areas, where active window drops shadows - both on vertical and horizontal edges. On pictures, where there should be a perfectly smooth gradients there is a flickering + color noise.

I went to Apple shop and was successful with getting this adapter replaced. Unfortunately with a new one the problems are exactly the same. I also tried attaching to other new macbooks and the problem stays.

It is a great pity, that a pro-users have a problems with a setup, that 3 years ago (with no adapter) worked just perfect. I hope Apple will be able to solve problems with the dual dvi adapter quickly, since current issues make work on 30" screen close to impossible.

Really disappointing...

Unlike the negative complaints, I have had no issue with the dual-link DVI adapter. I have an HP LP3065 and one of the new i7 macbooks. My only complaint is the insane price!

just bought this cable plugin from my new mac mini to NEC 30" multsync 3090 monitor. It works so far without any problem.
No flick
No noise
No problem after sleep.
The 2460x1600 res is very detail and line is very sharp and fine showing on my monitor.
Before I bought this cable, I had tried this cable with a apple cinema 30" in an apple store also no problem.
I think it does the job..

I don't like just it is too expensive but 30 " with 2460 res need this so I have no choice and I don't even know what else cheaper can replace this.

Also not many staff in apple store I have been know this cable well.
I heard someone can't get this cable work is because the firmware of this cable is not 1.03. Also no one in apple store can confirm to me the one I bought is 1.03 or not.

Luck I have my one work and I think my one is the latest firmware

I swear this thing bugs out at least 2-3 times per week and sometimes 4-5 times per day. I have it connected to a 30" HP LP3065c monitor.

It consistently "goes weird" and the monitor starts showing a bunch of squiggles and is completely unreadable. I have to unplug it, wait a few seconds for my laptop to adjust to having one display and then plug it in again.

It isn't my computer - I've had three different machines and it acts the same way with all of them.

I'm ordering another connector today to see if that makes any difference - but I doubt it will.

Of course there isn't an alternative - very frustrating that Apple would sell junk like this.

Like many other users, I too am experiencing consistent flickering and bands of video noise on any portion of the monitor that is being rendered as black when I use this cable. Now that I purchased a 2010 i7 MBP, I HAVE to use this cable and it's driving me crazy! My old 2007 MBP with a straight DVI connector worked great with this monitor. This is totally unacceptable for an apple product connecting two other apple products together!