Chaining Thunderbolt Displays over wide Distance

I have one MacBook Pro and two Thunderbolt displays. One display sits right in front of me alongside my Mac, and the other I'd like to place 15' away in my office. Chaining the two displays when they are side by side is no problem. But how do I power/light up, i.e., chain the 2nd Thunderbolt when the distance is much greater than the cord length on the device? If one answer is to place a 2nd Mac in front of the 2nd Thunderbolt well that can happen but I'd like to see if I can drive this from my main Mac first.
Thank you for your suggestions!

Now my next question will be about getting my cable tv to display on one of the Thunderbolts.
I have a Comcast cable box with all sorts of output ports, including optical and HDMI. I also have the latest Apple TV. What do I need to do to: 1) display my Comcast cable on my Thunderbolt as if it were my TV.
I think the general answer here is forget about HD out from your comcast box. HDCP will prevent that. But you can use component, composite, or s-video. Look at Elgato products for TV support for input to your computer.
You won't be able to attach the TB displays to anything other than TB source so I don't know where that leaves you with respect to using it on anything other than the TB computer. Maybe appletv can handle it but I know nothing about that.

Similar Messages

Imac 5k daisy chain thunderbolt display?

Hello everyone. Quick question on iMac 5k. Can I daisy chain 2 thunderbolt displays to an iMac 5k? I currently have one thunderbolt display connect to it, want to see if i can add another thunderbolt display. Thank you for the help.

I believe you may do that provided the iMac is at the end of the chain, so the external drive must be able to pass through the port. But Apple's information on chaining is in relation to their standalone displays which must terminate the chain. So I am assuming that may also apply in your case even though the iMac isn't a standalone display.
It may be much simpler to use an USB external drive.

Does the new Thunderbolt display have any advantages over the current 27" iMac

Other than being 3kg lighter and including a sub (2.1 stereo system) rather than just stereo speakers, are there any advantages of the new Thunderbolt display over the current 27" iMac?
We need a new desktop very soon, and will eventually upgrade to an Mac Pro (not until a post Lion version comes out with Thunderbolt built in). We were contemplating a MacMini Server and a Thunderbolt display, but for only a little extra (weight and cash) we could get a more powerfull 27" iMac. Are there any benefits of the Thunderbolt display that are not included in the top end 27" iMac? I'm assuming it's just the same 27" LED backlit TFT LCD with IPS...
In the end we would probably end up using the iMac or display as a display for a Mac Pro (we're photographers), so if there are significant benefits of the Thunderbolt Display, we'll just get it with the Mini as a stopgap.

The only real advantage of the new 27" ACD is that you can easily move it from one unit to another (Mini to MBP to Pro, etc). If you bought a 27" iMac you could always hook up another display to the iMac and run dual monitors fairly easily.
The advantage of the Pro is that you can add a bigger video card, lots more RAM and up to 4 hard drives. If you plan on buying a Pro as soon as it comes out, get the Mini, if not get the iMac (it will save you a bit of space over a ACD and a Mini). I think the real question is, what do you think you are going to use more in the future.
And yes, the 27" iMac and the 27" ACD use the same IPS screen.

Dual Thunderbolt Displays in Windows 7? Retina Macbook?

I understand you cannot daisy chain thunderbolt displays in Windows 7 to have dual monitors? Is there another way to run Dual monitors? I have a mid 2012 Macbook pro with on Thunderbolt display. I see the Retina Macbook has two thunderbolt ports. If I got one of those, could use dual Thunderbolt displays then in Windows 7, and then just hook each monitor up to it's own Thunderbolt port instead of daisy chaining?

No, you still cannot drive 2 Thunderbolt Displays in Windows with the MBP Retina.
However, you can use 1 Thunderbolt display (for USB hub and LAN connection), and then use 1 Cinema display as the 2nd screen. You can chain the USB ports, but not the displays, so you do have 1 extra connection to the MBP, but that's fine.
Windows 7 will drive this setup without problems.

Dual 27" Thunderbolt Displays on 13" MacBook Pro Retina

I'm thinking of buying two Thunderbolt Displays and make my 13" MacBook Pro Retina my main desktop computer. So the question is:Can the 13" MBP handle two chained Thunderbolt Displays without getting slower or will the Intel HD 4000 just melt down?
I might wait until Apple announces the next generation of Thunderbolt Displays tho as I think this will happen soon (probably when the new Mac Pro is released?)...

You could try changing the DPI. If you use startx, use this:
startx -- -dpi 100
Try experimenting with different DPI values.

Thunderbolt Display works with MacBook Pro but not iMac. Huh?

I have a Thunderbolt Display, which I normally keep connected as an "extended desktop" to my MacBook Pro -- no problem.
Starting today, I'm using a borrowed iMac and I had hoped to switch my Thunderbolt Display over and do the same arrangement: "extended desktop." However, the display does not come on when I power up the iMac, and clicking the "detect displays" button in the Displays Preferences window does not help.
This iMac was previously set up with an a different Thunderbolt Display in its original home, and seemed to work fine. I saw it with my own eyes. My own Thunderbolt Display still works fine when connected to my MacBookPro. It's only the combination of my monitor to the borrowed iMac that doesn't work.
Both the MacBook Pro and the iMac are running OS X Version 10.7.3. The MacBook has an AMD Radeon HD 6770M card, and the iMac is using an ATI Radeon HD 5750.
Ideas?

Both the mini-displayport plugs and TB plugs are physically compatible which is why you can plug it in. But if the iMac has a mini-displayport for video it won't work with the TB display.
Check your System Profile to see if it tells you whether you have a TB port. And if there is no information about that post here or look up for yourself the kind of ports for that model of iMac. System Profiler will give yo that information (click Hardware on the left). From the model information it can be definitively determined whether that imac supports TB.
Also, so long as the Displays system preferences is not showing an Arrangement tab then it is not detecting the second display.

Can I daisy chain two Thunderbolt displays to the new MacBook Airs (July 2011)?

I have last year's MacBook Air -- probably the best Mac I've ever had and I've had a few. I looked at using multiple displays last year, but the reviews for the major 3rd-party solutions really demonstrate how little is possible.
I see Apple says you can double up on displays for the MacBook Pro (I have a pre-Thunderbolt one unfortunately), what about the new (July 2011) MacBook Airs?
Anyone tried? Anyone know?
(I have a 30" Dell display, but it is, and always has been, very flakey when it comes to connecting to a Mac laptop).

You can thank Intel for that.
The sandy bridge chips all have integrated graphics, and before they were released -- they took nvidia to court claiming they didn't have a "license" to make GPU chipsets for the sandy bridge line. Intel won, and consumers lost.
The solution most manufacturers are using for notebooks is graphics switching (nvidia optimus like technology) -- which basically uses a discreet GPU along side the intel integrated GPU, and switches between the two instantaenously based on the workload and \ or battery life -- this is how the macbook pro's with the ATI gpus work.
Since there isn't enough space physically inside a macbook air for a discreet GPU, and since no company in the world is allowed to make a shared GPU for intel's sandy bridge chipsets -- the only solution is to use the integrated graphics that is in the processors -- Intel HD 3000. Intel basically has the monopoly here...there is no legal solution in the world another company can provide thanks to our wonderful court system
Wanna know the really sad part about the Intel HD 3000 GPU? The Nvidia 320M (the GPU used in the previous model 2010 macbook air -- chip was released to the market in April of last year) actually out performs it in some benchmarks -- that's right, a 1+ year old shared gpu from nvidia outperforms Intel's 2011 integrated graphics.
Intel ***** at graphics, period.
The only other solution I can think of is for you to get the "Echo Express" product from Sonnet:
http://www.sonnettech.com/product/thunderbolt/index.html
It's basically an external bay that will allow you to put a PCIe GPU inside it, and it would then connect via thunderbolt to the macbook air.
You would then use the minidisplayport connectors on the PCIe GPU to connect to the apple displays -- I believe any modern ATI or Nvidia GPU can support up to 3 or 4 external displays.
Unfortunately, sonnet's bay is not released yet, and you'd also have to make sure the PCIe GPU you get supports both thunderbolt AND os x....so yeah, kind of slim pickens right now
EDIT:
So apparently the macbook pros can daisy chain two thunderbolt displays -- Apple has a picture of it on their site:
http://storeimages.apple.com/1867/as-images.apple.com/is/image/AppleInc/MC914_AV 7?wid=1200&hei=1200&fmt=jpeg&qlt=95&op_sharpen=0&resMode=bicub&op_usm=0.5,0.5,0, 0&iccEmbed=0&layer=comp
I just bought a new mac air too...I was gonna get a mbpro but they are just too expensive -- the one I configured was at around 3000$
Wanna know what's lame about using the thunderbolt display with the mac air? So the new mac air has the magsafe connector on one side and the thunderbolt connector on the other -- they're not on the same side like the macbook pro is (see picture) -- so basically the cable is going to have to slack around the back of the macbook air -- who designed that? Must have been smoking some good meth ;p
Message was edited by: NiqueXyZ

2 thunderbolt displays worked fine daisy chained, moved one to work in other room, now only one will work. both work independantly or both plugged into my macbook pro.

I have 2 thunderbolt displays and have had them daisy chained for months where I only would plug one into my macbook pro 15" retina and both displays have worked great. The other day I moved one of them into the conference room, connected also a HDMI cord to a projector to do some work with staff on software design.
I brought my thunderbolt back into my office and plugged it back into the other thunderbolt dispay, then plugged the other display back into my macbook and started it up and now I can only get one to work daisy chained. They both work great independantly or if both of them are plugged into my macbook pro, but not daisy chained any longer.
Is there a setting I need to look at to maybe reset so that my macbook pro will use both thunderbolt displays daisy chained?
Thanks for anyones advice and sharing any similar issues and how you fixed the issue.

Hi there,
The first thing that I would recomend is resetting the PRAM on your portable.
OS X Mountain Lion: Reset your computer’s PRAM
http://support.apple.com/kb/ph11243
If the issues persist, then you may need to force the device to detect displays.
OS X Mountain Lion: About the Display pane of System Preferences
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht5369
How can I detect displays?
If the detect displays option is not available, hold down the Option key while you are in the Display pane.
- Griff W.

I want to daisy chain my 15 inch mid 2012 non retina macbook pro to a 2012 27inch imac and then to a 27 inch thunderbolt display

I have a mid 2012 non retina 15inch macbook pro, and a 27inch 2012 imac, and a 27inch thunderbolt dsplay and I want to use the imac and the thunderbolt display as dual monitors for my macbook pro and daisy chain them together. I have an extra thunderbolt cable, How would I go about doing this, every time I try to connect it via Target Display mode it only shows up on the imac and the thunderbolt diplay shows the imac screen but I cannot access anything on it. I would love some help, I am probably just missing something simple.

Yes there is on Mac computers that do not come from the factory with "Built In", Note the Words Built In, DVD drive.
On all Mac computers that come with Built In DVD drive Apple has Restricted the installation of Windows from ONLY That Built In drive and Only when it is Physically installed inside the system.
Many people have tried what you want to do and to my knowledge None have been successful.
It is something that is Hard Wired, Written, into the Firmware of these Mac computers.
Some have tried installing Windows on the standard HDD and then moving that HDD to the optical bay or leaving it in the main bay and installing a SSD into either the main drive bay or optical bay and have been greeted with the system not booting to either OS or not booting to Windows.
Something about how boot camp sets up the drive and possibly makes changes to the Firmware or EFI partition on the drive that Windows is installed to or to both that restrict it. You can't even make another Mac OS X partition on that drive without screwing up the Windows install.
To your last post the Answer is NO as stated above.

Daisy chain 2 thunderbolt displays by direct connect

I was hoping to hook up 2 thunderbolt displays to a mac mini. With the way the screens are set up, they will be nearly 6' apart from each other, which makes connecting the pigtail of screen two to screen one impossible. I havent' been having a lot of luck with finding reviews of reliable extention cables that are known to work, but I have been seeing a ton of thunderbolt to thunderbolt cables (6' and 9'). Is it possible to daisy chain from the 1 open thunderbolt port on display one to display two and leaving the pigtail detached?
Thanks!

Much obliged!

Daisy chain 3 thunderbolt displays to MBP 15"

Hello,
A simple question here,
I would like to know if there is a way to daisy chain 3 (three) thunderbolt displays to a 15" MacBook Pro, maybe if the laptop is in clampshell mode?
Thanks for any help

Two:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4885

Daisy-chain a thunderbolt external drive & thunderbolt display?

Although you can't daisy chain multiple thunderbolt displays to the new (mid 2011) Air's are you able to connect a thunderbolt display and daisy chain a thunderbolt external hard drive?

1. As stated in the questions and answers section of the link you posted, no.
2. Connect it to the MacBook Pro, start File Sharing from the Sharing pane of System Preferences, and use the Connect to Server command in the Finder's Go menu on the iMac.
(102303)

Daisy Chain 24" Monitor to 27" Thunderbolt Display

Hi everybody,
I have the 2011 MBP with the 6750m and I want to buy the new 27" Thunderbolt Display. Currently, I'm using a Samsung 24" DVI Display with the Display Port to DVI adapter that I bought with the MBP.
I was wondering if I can continue to use the 24" and daisy chain it to the Thunderbolt Display?
Best,
Luka

Kevin can you confirm this? Do you have a Thunderbolt Display, with a MiniDisplayport to DVI hooked up to your Dell laptop? I presume this works, but that you only have the monitor and speakers working, without the USB/Ethernet/TB port that are on the back of the display?
I am waiting for somebody to test this so I can decide to buy the display yes or no so please let me know asap : )
Thomas.

There is no display on Apple Thunderbolt display, when Daisy chain connect with six LaCie Little Big Disks.

Hi, Everyone,
I have aquestion with Thunderbolt daisy chan.
I have six LaCie Little Big Disks and Apple Thunderbolt Display to make daisy chan and I got a problem.
I place the Apple Thunderbolt Display at the end of the chain, and six LaCie Little Big Disks infront, and Apple Thunderbolt Display does not show anything.
If I plac the dell u2711 (DP1.1) Display at the end of the chain, and six LaCie Little Big Disks infront , dell u2711(DP1.1) displays.
If I place the Apple Thunderbolt Display at the end of the chain,and five LaCie Little Big Disks infront. Apple Thunderbolt Displays well.
Is it because the hardware limitation that Thunderbolt daisy chan can only have maximum 6 Thunderbolt deivce?
Apple Thunderbolt Display Should be DP1.2, why it doesn’t display?
My workstation running Windows 7x64 or Windows8.1x64
Thanks ,Myron

if you reduce the number of disks to 5 and the display works, I think we'll have your answer.

When playing any audio the audio quality on my Thunderbolt display steadily worsens over an hour period and becomes garbled. Restarting the media player fixes it. Does not occur when MacBook Pro is undocked.

When playing audio/video on my MacBook Pro docked to Thunderbolt display the audio quality steadily worsens until it is garbled beyond understanding. I don't know if it occurs when using the MacBook undocked. It takes about an hour to become noticeable and steadily worsens. Simultaneously when the computer speaks the time this is also gargled. As the problem develops it sounds like there is a static halo around each spoken word.

Hi GeoChester,
Welcome to the Apple Support Communities!
I understand that you are experiencing some sound issues on your Mac that worsens over time. In this situation, the first troubleshooting step that I would recommend would be to reset your computer’s PRAM. To do this, please follow the instructions in the following attached article.
OS X Yosemite: Reset your computer’s PRAM
Best regards,
Joe

Chaining Thunderbolt Displays over wide Distance

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for