27'' iMac i7 w/ Mini-Displayport = connection nightmare...

Hi guys
this IS a long post , please accept my apologies & bear w/ me...
when i got my 1st Intel iMac ( white, 17''.. ) i built a desk to stash away cabling & peripherals out of sight yet highly accessible/practical, i learned this pays off when i played in a band & ''managed'' the rehearsal room's/instrument's cabling !
recently i sold my alu 20'' iMac & got a 27'' iMac i7 + Ergotron MX wall mount & wasn't too happy because the Mini-Displayport ( mDP.. ) to HDMI adapter for my plasma TV hang sloppily at the bottom of it but....O.K, i guess i could live w/ that !
later, some extra $ came my way & i got a Wacom Cintiq 21UX + Ergotron LX desk arm. that's when all **** broke loose :
the Cintiq has a DVI-I plug, the iMac's mDP to DVI adapters are plain DVI so an extra adapter cable w/ further 2 very boxy/nasty plugs had to be added.
worse, the iMac only having 1 mDP in/out port means i can't have BOTH the TV AND the Cintiq connected, hence more cables + adapters hanging under the once slick & gorgeous iMac/Ergotron combo.....NOT nice ! since the HDMI cable is 15mm & the Cintiq is another 15mm, the bundle coming off the iMac is thick & makes moving the Ergotron around awkward ….
no problem i thought, time to buy a mDP extension/splitter ! this would :
1 - spare it a daily plug/unplug routine thus preserving the iMacs port's health - mDP don't strike me as the sturdiest of plugs + the price repairing it if it went wrong - ouch !…
2 - given the difference in diameter of the cables i have & the one of a mDP, moving the arm around would become A LOT easier…
3 - would place the adapter plugs - by now there are 5, each 1 prettier than the next.. - out of sight w/ the other cabling
considering Apple's, & quality accessory makers catering for this kind of machine, extensive industrial design experience, this can't be BUT straightforward right ?…..well much to my dismay, no, NOT REALLY !
1st frustration :
after EXTENSIVE web search there are a few extensions out there but i only found one splitter cable - Tripp Lite's P584-001-M2M : http://www.tripplite.com/en/products/model.cfm?txtModelID=4747
however when asked if it would allow to have BOTH my TV & my tablet connected ( but to use 1 at a time..) their answer was :
''....Since the P584-001-M2M is designed for use with devices that will connect direct to the unit via Displayport connection, we cannot guarantee compatibility when using the DVI to Displayport adaptors mentioned in the inquiry...''
in short : it sounds like they don't know & they are NOT alone - so far NO ONE has been able to shed some light on this !!??
2nd frustration :
said splitter is some 20 cm long & the splitter box is as big as a Vicks Vaporub jar : that + the 5 or 6 adapters will look REAL nice & polished hanging from the iMac, right ?
3rd frustration :
the only other way to go ( subject to confirmation it does work.. ) is either this way -
http://www.atlona.com/ATLONA-1x2-MINI-DISPLAYPORT-SPLITTER.html at a cost of £250
or this way -
http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/products/gxm/dh2go/?productTabs=1#specs at a cost of £150 + cables - any one knows/has/works with these boxes ?
4th frustration :
in a day & age where Mac Minis & iMacs are ROUTINELY used as home media centers, NO ONE saw this coming ? hence no one produced the necessary hardware to solve this ?……….i understand DVI-I isn't the most advanced plug format out there BUT if Wacom uses it on the Cintiq 21UX, it's not also so ''last ice age''...
so, PLEASE; PLEASE; PLEASE does anyone know where can i get either :
1 - a 1 meter long cable w/ a male mDP plug & a splitter box w/ BOTH a HDMI & A DVI-I i could plug my stuff into without any adapters
2 - a 1 meter long cable w/ a male mDP plug & a splitter box w/ 2 female mDP plugs i could plug my adapters into but out of sight
3 - ANY other solution/suggestion so i can leave my iMac's mDP plug well alone AND not have a cable bundle as thick as a thigh coming out at the back thus making the Ergotron unusable
ANY help WILL be GREATLY appreciated - many thanks for your patience
cheers
Nuno

Probably best asked in the Boot Camp forum. That is where the Boot Camp and MS Windows guys hang out.

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Your display may not be on the "approved" list, or was removed from it.
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<http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/AppleDisplayConnector.jpg>
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Hello.
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Message was edited by: dbmtx

Well, a bit confused here, maybe TB...
http://www.apple.com/thunderbolt/
19. How do I connect my Mini DisplayPort monitor or monitor using a Mini DisplayPort adapter to my Thunderbolt-equipped Mac when I have other Thunderbolt devices connected?
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http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5219?viewlocale=en_US#12

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HT3492 What do I need to do to use the iMac as a monitor from my HP laptop? I have my HP connected to the Mini DisplayPort to VGA adapter which is plugged into a Thunderbolt port.

What do I need to do to use the iMac as a monitor form my HP laptop? I have my laptop connected to the Mini DisplayPort to VGA adapter which is plugged into a Thunderbolt port.

vga may not be a compatible port
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2246912?start=0&tstart=0
more hits
https://www.google.dk/search?source=ig&hl=da&rlz=1G1TSEH_ENDK367&q=use+imac+as+m onitor+for+pc&oq=use+imac+as+mon&gs_l=igoogle.3.0.0l10.2417776.2420497.0.2421354 .15.11.0.2.2.0.316.1723.0j4j3j1.8.0...0.0...1ac.-OkFwmTKBg0

Connecting two 27" iMacs via mini DisplayPort

Juz a thought. Wonder if possible.
Since the 27-incher iMac does video input and output, instead of buying two 30" displays ($1799 each), might as well buy two of these 27" iMacs ($1999 each) and connect them via their mini DisplayPorts. Wonder if it's possible to use one 27-incher for computing and use the other as a second monitor, and switch around whenever it's needed. Kinda cool to have two 27-inchers and Macs on one table top.

There is no reason why that would not work. It would be the same as connecting a MacBook or a Mac mini or a Mac Pro (any Mac with a Mini DisplayPort) that same way to use the 27-inch iMac's big screen as a second display, which is the primary purpose of this feature. It should not matter if the primary Mac happens to be another 27-inch iMac.
And the second iMac would not be "just the display to extend my screen." It is fully operational, so it can be doing tasks in the background. It can be acting as a file or web server, or processing video, or downloading/uploading files. I believe there is a keystroke to toggle the display, and you can probably even control it using +Screen Sharing+ from the other iMac (as long as the two are connected over a network).
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Connecting a January mini DisplayPort MacBook Pro to the display of a May Thunderbolt iMac

I generally had the impression that Thunderbolt displays will have some level of compatibility with Macs shipped before the Thunderbolt transition which began with the February 2011 MacBook Pros, and awaiting on the Mac Pros. This impression of mine was a reason for purchasing a Thunderbolt iMac as opposed to a DisplayPort Cinema Display and a Mac mini combo. If I buy a Thunderbolt cable, is it possible to connect a mini DisplayPort Mac to a Thunderbolt display, such as that of the Thunderbolt iMacs?
Inevitably, during the transition, we are going to have a mixture of displays and Macs of the two interface varieties. No one is going to throw away everything pre-Thunderbolt, just because they bought a single Thunderbolt product. If not compatible, is there an ETA for the DisplayPort-Mac-to-Thunderbolt-Display compatibility bug fix?

The TB display specifically calls for the System Requirements of a "Thunderbolt enabled Mac"...
From the product specs on Apple's page:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC914?mco=MTgwOTQzMzk#overview
BUT!!!!! You may have been confused by peoples reference to Legacy devices since the new Mac's (w/ TB) CAN be connected to old "Legacy DISPLAYS" (mDP).
So if you have the older (mini Display Port) display, you can still use it by plugging it into the TB port of a newer Mac (w/TB).
But the opposite is Not true... Older machines (without TB) can Not power and utilize the newer Thunderbolt Displays.

Comment connecter un iMac (port mini displayport) avec un écran Thunderbolt ?

Bonsoir,
Je souhaiterais connecter mon écran Thunderbolt à mon iMac. Malheureusement mon iMac n'a pas de port Thunderbolt, mais il a un port mini Displayport.
Lorsque je connecte mon écran Thunderbolt à mon iMac avec le cable Thunderbolt intégré à l'écran, rien ne s'affiche.
Je vous demande donc de l'aide, pour choisir une connectique adaptée me permettant de connecter mon iMac avec l'écran Thunderbolt.
Merci de votre compréhension

27'' iMac i7 w/ Mini-Displayport = connection nightmare...

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