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Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter

Disappointing

Written by AP from Burr Ridge

Oct 17, 2008

I can not get this thing to output to my Samsung LN-4042H 40 inch LCD. The old miniDVI to VGA worked no problem with my old MacBook. I have checked and it is not a TV problem, so certainly something hardware or driver related. Also $29.99 for a video dongle seems steep to me.

525 of 723 people found this useful

Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter

Disappointed (and embarrassed)

Written by HE from Parkland

Nov 20, 2008

So I picked up the Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter for my new MacBook to give a presentation at work. I was connecting to a Samsung 52" HDTV display. Keep in mind, I've done dozens of presentations on my previous MacBook Pro with the standard DVI to VGA Adapter and it has always worked flawlessly. Well, needless to say, this new Adapter is worthless. I could not get it to work and, from the looks of the other reviews here, I'm not alone.

Thankfully, my colleague had his PC notebook (running Windows Vista, mind you) and I was able to give my presentation. Unfortunately, I had to convert my Keynote presentation to a PowerPoint presentation so it didn't come out as good. I'm the resident Mac user in the office, so you can imagine there were a lot of PC vs. Mac jokes going on that day.

I hope Apple Inc. is reading these reviews and will come up with a solution, i.e. firmware update, to get this adapter working. Otherwise, I'm back to using a PC at work. Ugh, I'm cringing at just the thought.

94 of 98 people found this useful

Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter

This adapter screwed a major presentation for me today

Written by EL from Stockholm

Feb 20, 2009

Prior to january this year, I had never (10 years) had any problems with getting my Mac to recognize an external display. However, four weeks ago at a MAJOR presentation (research grant funding) my colleague's Macbook air failed to recognize the projector. Thank god we had brought my machine as a backup, and the presentation went fine. Today, the same thing happened to me at an important event. While we didn't lose money, it was _quite_ embarrassing to appear as a 10-year old who doesn't know how to connect a projector, and I had to give my presentation without slides (nobody else had Keynote '09 on a Mac). Apparently there are a number of people claiming this adapter either does not have all ground pins correctly connected, or that it has physical issues that prevents some VGA cables from sliding all the way in.

This is a major issue right now, since there are no other miniDP->VGA adapters out there. For now, I would not recommend anybody to trust a new Macbook for a critical presentation - the next critical time I will play it safe with Powerpoint, just in case...

72 of 79 people found this useful

Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter

Useless

Written by JY from DENHAM SPRINGS

Nov 25, 2008

I've bought this part twice trying to get my Unibody Aluminum Macbook to work with my Samsung LN40A550 40" LCD. Does not work. The Macbook finds the monitor, and even shows supported resolutions and refresh rates, but the TV acts like no signal is getting to it.

Come on, Apple. It's only the most popular television / monitor brand out there. Let's get a fix on the way, please. Or, at least acknowledge the issue.

75 of 85 people found this useful

Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter

Doesn't detect displays and poor color and resolution

Written by DG from Oshkosh

Nov 24, 2008

I just got my new MBPro and had to present at a meeting. I assumed that this adapter would just be plug and play into a Panasonic LCD projector. I was wrong.

I plugged it in and chose (Detect Displays) which it did but the resolution and color were terrible. I grabbed my colleagues HP laptop and it worked just fine and the color was great.

Very concerned as I use this laptop for presentations and spent a lot of money on it. Thankfully my old Macbook Pro (which always worked) is still in my office so I can switch back. Disappointed.

41 of 43 people found this useful

Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter

No go with 50" Samsung

Written by BG from Louisville

Nov 24, 2008

Brand new Macbook Pro Late 2008 using this cable to my 50in Samsung TV - MBP finds the display in the Sys Prefs/Displays but no signal detected on TV. Not sure if the fault is the Mac or the TV? Either way it stinks it doesn't work.

40 of 43 people found this useful

Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter

Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter won't work with Samsung LCD TV

Written by PM from San Jose

Nov 26, 2008

My aluminum Macbook with the Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter won't work with a 46 inch Samsung LCD TV. Apparently lot's of users are having this problem. The Samsung TV won't even switch to the VGA PC mode with the Mini DisplayPort connected, in order to get the Samsung TV in the PC mode you have to unplug the DisplayPort, put the TV in VGA PC mode, and then you can plug in the Mini DisplayPort, but it still won't display any video from the MacBook. My Samsung TV worked fine in this mode with a Windows XP laptop, and displayed 1080p fine. It appears to be a problem with the DisplayPort Adapter, and it's inability to either drive the VGA signals or send the proper serial data stream informing the Samsung TV of it's resolution.
To get around the problem I had to buy the Mini DisplayPort to DVI adapter along with an HDMI to DVI cable. With this solution my Samsung TV worked fine with the cable plugged into the HDMI port, and it displays perfectly in 1080p mode. I think this is the only solution for the vast number of MacBook users out there trying to drive LCD TV's.

36 of 36 people found this useful

Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter

Design Flaw: Check before buying!

Written by SN from Hawthorne

Sep 19, 2009

The adapter cannot be secured to a VGA cable. You can tell just by looking at the holes; the first few millimeters of the holes are smooth plastic and the threads are recessed. This results in the adapter not having the ability to be secured to the cable, and every time it moves, the video becomes distorted. After discovering the flaw, I went back to the Apple store and looked at the rest of the Mini DisplayPort VGA adapters...they all had the same flaw. Wait until they fix this before you buy one.

41 of 48 people found this useful

Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter

Works but is poorly engineered

Written by JG from Hawthorn Woods

Aug 29, 2009

The adapter works, but it adds to the clutter due to apple's putting all the connectors on the left. To make up for the poor placement of the display port, this cable should be at least a foot long to get some of the clutter behind the computer. the display port (usually always connected when on the desktop) is the front most port, getting in the way of the USB ports (which usually get plugged in and out). A 3-6 foot cable would be better to clean the cable mess.

46 of 58 people found this useful

Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter

Same as others

Written by JS from Clinton

Nov 15, 2008

My JVC tv worked just fine with my old macbook using the mini DVI to VGA. No luck with this product and my new macbook pro. I used the same resolution as before and got nothing. I thought I was upgrading!

35 of 37 people found this useful

Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter

Poorly designed connectors

Written by CY from Los Angeles

Aug 13, 2009

I do a lot of video work and these adapters don't securely connect to most VGA cables I've used. The two threaded holes are too deeply recessed so the VGA cable bolts don't connect (sorry for the weird terminology, but Apple appears to have censors that block the word "s see are ee double u). I end up needing to tape the two cables ends together to keep them attached.I never had this problem with Apple's DVI/VGA adapters. My recommendation: don't waste your money.

31 of 35 people found this useful

Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter

Can Apple Help??

Written by TO from Providence

Feb 26, 2009

Can Apple weigh in on this? I have a Samsung LCD and the VGA cable I have worked fine with my PC. Then I bought this when I got a new 13" aluminum Macbook and it doesn't work. Lots of people say it has to do with grounding pins on the VGA cable, but why does that same cable work with my PC? Why doesn't the Macbook work? Help!

29 of 33 people found this useful

Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter

Rubbish

Written by RW from Putney

Feb 6, 2009

Just acquired a new Macbook pro (really nice bit of kit). Connected it to my Samsung 22" monitor via this converter. Now get the old blank sync screen every five mins. Makes me want to put my head through the screen. Is there anything I can do to fix this?... After reading the other reviews appears not. Please fix this Apple!

27 of 29 people found this useful

Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter

Another user with Samsung issues

Written by JO from San Carlos

Oct 24, 2008

This connector also does not work with my Samsung LCD TV, at ANY resolution output. Model LN-T4065F.

I suppose I'll try the DVI version, then go DVI-->HDMI.

26 of 29 people found this useful

Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter

Bad connection design

Written by MW from Lewes

Apr 26, 2009

The mini output works fine, but the Achilles heel of this adapter is the thick plastic that encases the VGA side of the plug, so the VGA connector will not securely thread in to the adapter so the cable is easily disconnected when one shifts their laptop slightly or if cables are bumped.

23 of 26 people found this useful

Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter

It comes off about once a day.

Written by SL from fort lee

Oct 18, 2009

The display adapter is so small and lacking any fasteners it falls off very easily just from the weight of the VGA cable.

I ended up just taping the adapter to the Mac.

Its such a obvious design flaw. Because of this I cannt really recommend using a Mac for mission critical assignments. Once the cable falls out, it often crashes the system.

Just a little shake of the table or someone bumping into the Mac will cause the adapter to slip out, losing all work on the system. Even with the tape the adapter slowly comes lose.

28 of 37 people found this useful

Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter

pointless

Written by MR from bluemont

Nov 1, 2008

This is completely useless equipment. I opened this, plugged it in, and the computer is incapable of detecting my 24inch VG2030 monitor. Older Macbooks work just fine. If you own a new Macbook pro, chances are you can't use your VGA monitor. This is merely another attempt by apple to force us to buy THEIR products and not use our own.

25 of 31 people found this useful

Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter

Junk

Written by SH from Arlington

Jun 6, 2009

Physically, the design of this adapter barely allows you to get a good solid connection to a VGA cable. Apple was too concerned with making it pretty and the flush surface just gets in the way. It does NOT work at all with my Samsung plasma HDTV, and when connected to my smaller Toshiba 720p TV, the picture periodically drops for a second or two every several minutes. This new Mini DisplayPort they stuck us with on the new MBP's is just a FAIL all around from everything I read.

21 of 24 people found this useful