DVI Monitor Recommendations

I'm getting tired of the dim VGA video output of my mini and am considering a new DVI screen. I don't want to pay more than I have to, but I want a decent monitor that somebody knows from experience looks good on the mini. I am probably limited to a 17" budget (under $300, less is better), but I really want something bigger. Maybe I'm being picky, but I really don't want a beige or black cabinet either. There are just so may monitors out there, how does one choose?

Thanks all, but I would really rather not have to order it sight unseen. I bought a Sony SDM-HS75P/S yesterday and it is beautiful (and REALLY bright!) but it also glares quite a lot from the shiny screen finish. I don't know for sure if I am going to keep it yet, but I really love its looks and style! A bit more than I wanted to pay (well, a good bit more actually...). I know the Dells are probably my best buy, but I just don't want a Dell anything. I looked at the Viewsonic VX910 ($300 at CompUSA) but was unimpressed, also the HP f1905 (nice but no DVI cable and short 1-yr warranty), the LG l1720P (only $280 at Best Buy) and the Sony. The Sony blew them all away for brightness and clarity, so I got it. Still can't decide though...really wanted a 19" for my poor aging eyes.

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Does any have a solution for supporting 2 DVI monitors on an Intel xServe

Can anyone tell me how to configure two DVI monitors to a mid-2009 Apple xServe3.1 running OS X Server 10.5.8 that only has a miniDisplayPort?

Before recommending using a PCI Express 2.0 video please identify any such solution with a manufacture and model identification of the adapter that will work with this series of Apple xServe. I.A.W. Apple reps. there no PCI Express video adapters that are available presently that will work with the Intel based xServe systems.

Portege R500: cannot connect the remote DVI monitor via Dynadock

Hello,
I just connected Dynadock (DVI) with my Portege R500. The notebook would be supported -- according to Toshiba -- but my experiment confirms that Dynadock is not able to access DVI port. This implies, that Dynadock is nothing more than USB HUB.
My setup: Vista 32b Business (CZE edition), latest fixes, Toshiba R500.
Software: latest dynadock software 2.3c.
Symptom: I cannot connect to the remote DVI monitor via the dynadock, only two external panels with 800x600 are available, but Vista does not allow me to choose them.
More info: Dynadock Software requires to run without Microsoft Defender, else it blocks service:DisplayLinkService; file:C:\Program Files\DisplayLink Core Software\DisplayLinkService.exe
If you disable MSDef, the message "error 2738" appears when you connect the dynadock and when Vista tries to install a missing drivers for you.
Yes, I do know the VBS issue, and the problem is not caused by VisualBasic -- VBS "Hello World" runs.
If you still believe, that Toshiba Dynadock is compatible with Toshiba R500, then press Fn-F5 and peek at your logs and you must find something like:
In English: igfxext.exe throws an exception 0xc000000d, offset 0x0000f9f8.
I welcome any comments, hints etc. If you are able to pass this bug report to a responsible engineer, do so please.

Hello again Leo
I still believe you are wrong. Toshiba Dynadock is not designed for Toshiba products only. It is universal product and can be used on every notebook. To be honest I believe it is better to use it with new, more powerful, notebooks.
When you sat your notebook model is listed as compatible I believe you. Why not? Toshiba can list all newer notebooks. No problem at all. To be honest I am also interested to buy Dynadock but after reading your posting I wanted to see how it works exactly.
I have contacted my friend because he works in one big electronic store and I was lucky because he had Portege M500 too.
He was very nice and offered me to test Portege M500 SSD model with Dynadck PA3542EY1PRP. I hope you have the same model. It is DVI model. So I have done follow:
- Portege was preinstalled with clean Vista OS (factory settings started for the first time)
- I have installed latest Dynadock Utilitiy for Vista 2.3c
- Installing this software you must pay attention about installations steps and the installations procedure should not be interrupted
at one step there is window Installation Complete but it is not complete and must be continued with
Display Link Core Software installation
Video Dock installation
at this point the Dynadock must be connected to favorite USB port NOT FROM THE BEGINNING
- At the end I have restarted notebook
The installation was finished properly and I have connected 20 Toshiba Tekbright LCD display (DVI cable). The native resolution is 1680x1050. in Display properties there are shown three displays. Display number 3 belongs to display connected to the Dynadock.
Resolution 1680x1050 was there and display shows perfect picture. I have tested it as extended desktop and it works without problems. I didnt test it playing some movies.
I have also tested it with FN+F5 key combination. It does not work as it should be but there is definitely no error message. I know that FN+F5 key combination is not designed for external graphic card and I know that it can not work well.
At the end I can sat that Dynadock works well with Portege M500 SSD and there is definitely no error message. It works with Vista very well. I have tested it with screen saver and with few restarts. Nothing changes. Everything was OK.
So after this test I can say that you have done some mistake. If you want to use it again I recommend you to install Vista again using recovery image. After doing this you will have clean preinstalled OS. Install software but please follow the menu on the screen and be sure all three components are installed properly. If I am remembering well when you see message about USB audio device installation you must connect Dynadock and continue installation.
PLEASE FOE DYNADOCK USE ALWAYS THE SAME USB PORT!!!
Sorry for this long story but I can say for sure IT WORKS PROPERLY!!!
Have a nice day!

What adaptor do I need to connect from mini display port to a dvi monitor

I want to connect a 2nd monitor to my mac mini via the mini display port, will the Apple adator do this ok or will I need an active adaptor

I had trouble with different Mini DisplayPort to DVI adapters, including a couple of Apple branded ones.
When I mentioned the problem to the Apple rep. at Fry's. He walked straight over to the rack, handed me a > Kanex Mini DisplayPort to DVI-D Adaper grined and said, I've never had one of these baby's come back.
After that my 2010 Mac Mini has been very stable running Dual 21.5" Samsung DVI monitors. One in on the Apple Supplied HDMI to DVI adapter, the other now on the Kanex Adapter has been rock solid for over a year.

Does Mac Mini's HDMI-to-DVI cable support analog DVI monitors?

The Apple website shows that the new (late 2012) Mac Mini comes with an HDMI-to-DVI adapter cable in the box :-)
The DVI video connector standard supports both analog and digital video signal modes, but not all models support both modes.
I have an old PC monitor with a DVI connector, which is probably analog only. Will this work with the new (late 2012) Mac Mini?
In other words: does Apple's HDMI-to-DVI adapter cable support all DVI monitors, or only those with a digital input?
Many thanks!
- Martin

Your right about the DVI standard support both analogue and digital. The three types are
DVI-A (analogue only)
DVI-D (digital only)
DVI-I (supports both)
In this case the HDMI to DVI adaptor will only support digital DVI. This is because the HDMI port only supports digital.
Generally monitors with a DVI port support digital DVI, if you compare the socket and pins layout on the monitor to the one on the Mac adaptor if they are the same layout then that should indicate the monitor indeed supports digital DVI.
Note: The maximum resolution supported by the Macs HDMI port is 1920x1200, if your monitor supports a higher resolution then you should get a Mini Displayport to DVI adaptor or if needed a Mini Displayport to Dual Link DVI adaptor (for the highest resolutions).
The following may help http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Visual_Interface

Mini Displayport to DVI Adapter not sending signal to DVI Monitor

I have a dell monitor connected to my Thunderbolt Display that will not get a signal. The component string looks like this
MBP - Thunderbolt Display- Mini Displayport to DVI adapter- Dell 22" DVI monitor.
I would like to use this monitor as a third monitor instead of collecting dust. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,

Hello fuzzymelton,
The article linked below details a number of useful troubleshooting steps that may help get the additional monitor to function.
Apple computers: Troubleshooting issues with video on internal or external displays
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1573
Cheers,
Allen

Don't setup an XServe with a DVI monitor if you intend to use a VGA monitor

Hi Forum Folks.
A bit of a "gotcha" to warn others about, with XServes, and VGA vs DVI monitors.
We Recently re-setup (erase + install a fresh OS) on a 2008 XServe Xeon, with a DVI (Digital) monitor connected. All worked fine, and we went to move the server into the production environment.
However, when we moved + plugged the XServe into it's new home (a rack), it would not boot (flashing question mark).
Moving the Xserve out of the rack, and back to it's work-bench setup, made it work again.
We traced the problem to the monitor we used... If we hooked up a digital (DVI) monitor, the XServe worked fine (with the mini DVI to DVI connector). If we hooked up a VGA monitor (with a mini DVI to VGA connector) that's when the XServe wouldn't boot. We tried a variety of common techniques to solve the problem, including resetting various settings, re-installing Mac OS X 10.5.6 Server over the top etc.
The solution:
(Although I'm sure there are simpler solutions):
We setup the server again (from scratch) using the VGA monitor combination from the very start of the setup, and all worked fine (on VGA or DVI monitors). The server is happily in production now, with it's VGA output.
So the lesson here: Always set up your XServe using a VGA-based monitor in the first instance.
Hope this helps someone else.
Cheers,
Derek

So the lesson here: Always set up your XServe using a VGA-based monitor in the first instance.
... or don't use a monitor at all
I don't think I've ever used a monitor when setting up a server - maybe used a KVM if I've re-installed or upgraded the OS, but for the main part every install I do is run remotely.
Still it's good to know, especially since it defies logic.

Can I use the Apple VGA to DVI adapter to connect a PC to a DVI monitor?

Hi
Any idea of the Apple VGA to DVI adapter would work to connect a PC's VGA output to a DVI monitor?
Is it a simple pass through? Or are there drivers needed.

That adapter is for connecting a VGA display to a computer's DVI-I port. A DVI-I port has both digital and analog video pins. The adapter passes just the analog video to a VGA connector. It will not work in the reverse direction because a VGA computer does not provide digital video.
There are VGA to DVI converters that will connect a DVI display to a VGA computer.
<http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=101&cp_id=10114&cs_id=1011401&p_id=8214&se q=1&format=2>
<http://www.aten.com/products/Professional-Audio/Video/Converters/VGA-to-DVI-Conv erter~VC160A.html>
No drivers needed.

External DVI monitor not working with new iMac 27"

I recently purchases a 27" iMac and i'm trying to get it working with a 3rd party DVI external monitor. I got the Apple mini display port (thunderbolt) to DVI adapter and connected everything via a new DVI-D cable. The iMac detects there is a monitor and even shows the display as it should.. however, the monitor has a large amount of static/snow/noise (red coloured), so much so that the monitor is unusable. There is also a considerable amount of flickering.
The monitor works fine when connected to a Mac Mini with the Mini DVI - DVI adapter, (old set up) so I know the monitor's connection is not faulty.
Also, the monitor connects fine to the iMac when using a mini display - VGA adapter. The problem really seems to be with the combonation of DVI cable and adapter.
Has anyone had any experiences with DVI monitors connected to new iMacs via the thunderbolt port?
(System: iMac 27" 2011, 3.4GHz i7, 16GB RAM, Graphics AMD Radeon HD 6970M 2GB. All system updates installed, running OSX 10.7.2)

I think that your assessment is right, the ATI must be on for DVI to work (so far I've only tested with an older T61p and the Quadro graphics are always running). Can't you set the machine so that when docked the ATI is used, but on battery the internal video is used? That would be what I would try.
T61p, T400
formerly x23, x40

Mac Mini does not detect DVI monitor on boot but does so on awake

Hi,
my Mac Mini fails to detect a monitor on the DVI port when it boots (monitor says no signal).
If I leave it a few minutes to boot, then put it to sleep and awake using the power button, then the display appears.
This problem does not occur with the DVI-to-VGA adapter, and I have tried with 2 separate DVI monitors (different brands) and cables (both monitors are fine with Windows PCs).
I have tried various resolutions and color depths, to no avail.
Any ideas about how to resolve this?

What brand and model of monitor do you have?

Switch 2nd monitor between dvi monitor and hdtv

I have an Intel iMac and I use the mini-dvi output to have a second monitor for working on the computer and also to watch online videos on my hdtv. Both work great. The problem is I have to reach around the back of the iMac to unplug the dvi monitor and plug in the tv and then do it again when I want to get back to work. I am pretty sure that the mini-dvi socket is not built to be used twice a day or more, so I am eager to find a better solution (preferably cheap).

I am using the apple mini-dvi to dvi adapter with a dvi-hdmi cable to connect to the visio 42" hdtv and the same apple mini-dvi adapter with a regular dvi cable to connect to the Sceptre 22" monitor. The TV is in the next room, so it is not really practical to use as a second monitor, besides sometimes my wife wants to watch TV while I am working.
I think what i am going to do is get a small dvi extension cable and leave that connected to mini-dvi adapter which I will leave plugged into the iMac. That way I will just be plugging and unplugging into the dvi extension cable (which is more robust than the mini plug) which will be much easier than reaching blindly behind the iMac. If the extension wears out I can just get a new one rather than having to get the iMac repaired.

External DVI monitor while on battery?

Most of the time I have my powerbook closed and I use a USB keyboard/mouse and a Dell 21" DVI monitor.
I noticed my battery was showing the forever "calculating" and I thought that was strange because the PB is only a couple months old.
Well for grins I unplugged the power adapter figuring I would run on battery for a while. I was quite shocked to see my video on the Dell display disappear and since the lid was closed the PB basically went to sleep.
At first I thought the battery was toast or something. But opening the cover revealed a nice login to unlock from screen saver.
I did that but video was only on the PB display and not the Dell. I enabled mirroring and that worked to get the Dell alive again but not quite at the resolution I was using.
I had to reboot and reset everything back to use the external monitor but I'm really curious why it couldn't drive the external Dell monitor while on battery? Is that normal?
Mark

According to this article, that is normal:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=88064
It says it is this way because of the increased power demands...

What do I need to hook up an external DVI monitor to Thunderbolt?

I want to hook up an external DVI monitor to my new iMac.
It has a thunderbolt connection.
http://www.amazon.com/Apple-Mini-DisplayPort-Adapter-MB570Z/dp/B001IF5YLQ/ref=sr _1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1309558497&sr=8-1
Is the above link what I would be looking for? I notice this is for "Mini DisplayPort" and not Thunderbolt?
Just a little confused Thanks.

You are quite correct. That's the device you need. Take a look at your plug and the plug in Amazon's picture for a final check. If that looks good, click "buy"!
ThunderBolt supports "mini display port".
Since adapters have been around for a while, they typically don't say anything about ThunderBolt - it's too new. They talk about "mini display port" only.

What do i need to hook up 2 dvi monitors to a mac mini

what cable do i need to hook up a second dvi monitors to a mac mini

XLR8off wrote:
I think I figured it out... use the HDMI to DVI (supplied) and get a Mini Display to DVI cable for the second monitor...?
You are correct. Get the Mini Displayport to DVI adapter, in addition to using the supplied HDMI to DVI adapter.
Mini Displayport is physically identical to the Thunderbolt, and a video signal (for one monitor) can be passed through the Thunderbolt port.
Also note the max. resolutions under "video support" on Mini's tech specs:
Thunderbolt port with support for up to 2560-by-1600 resolution
HDMI port with support for up to 1920-by-1200 resolution
That may determine which of your monitors you hook up to which port. Also don't go nuts with monitors, the mini might not be able to drive them to their max resolutions.

2 DVI Monitors and HDMI TV

Hi there,
I recently purchased a new 6 core mac pro with the standard Radeon 5770 card. I'd like to be able to hook up my two DVI monitors (Dell 2405FPW and SP2309W) as well as a Panasonic HDMI 32inch TV to it. I was wondering if this was possible.
Had a live chat with "TECH SUPPORT" at monoprice.com, and they suggested I purchase the Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter, as well as the Mini DisplayPort to HDMI (with digital audio) adapter. I purchased the Apple version of the Dual Link adapter and monoprice's HDMI adapter.
I hooked them all up, but am not able to use all three monitors simultaneously. I've read apple's support pages and have seen how you may need TWO Dual Link adapters for DVI displays. but...then how do I get the HDMI tv to work?
Has anyone been able to do this.
Thanks in advance.

<http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4279>
When using three displays with one card, all Mini DisplayPort adapters must be the active type. All dual-link DVI, VGA, and some single-link DVI adapters are active, but there don't seem to be any active Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapters.
You can use a DVI to HDMI adapter with the DVI port on the card, or with an active Mini DisplayPort to DVI adapter, but that won't provide audio over the HDMI link because there is no audio on DVI. You can use a separate cable for audio, or use a special DVI to HDMI adapter that can add the audio from the Mac Pro's optical output to the HDMI link:
<http://www.apogeeinc.net/products/item.aspx?item=2745>

DVI Monitor Recommendations

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