Apple pushing Mini DisplayPort through no-fee licenses

AppleInsider

Apple is offering no-fee Mini DisplayPort licenses to anyone interested in designing products around the new specification, a move the company hopes will take the fledgling display connector mainstream.



The Mini DisplayPort is a small form factor connector invented by Apple to fully support the VESA DisplayPort protocol. Unlike the Mini-DVI and Micro-DVI connectors common on previous generation Apple products, the port is capable of driving resolutions up to 2560x1600, which is commonly used on 30-inch displays.



In an update to its software licensing page spotted by ArsTechnica, Apple announced that it's not charging for Mini DisplayPort licenses, which can be obtained by filling out a Mini DisplayPort Implementation Agreement [PDF].



The Cupertino-based company notes that Mini DisplayPort is "particularly useful on systems where space is at a premium, such as portable computers or to support multiple connectors on reduced height add-in cards."



Mini DisplayPort can already be found on the latest family of MacBooks, MacBook Pros, and MacBook Airs, in addition to the new 24-inch LED Cinema Display. Apple has also said it plans to implement the connector on all of its future Mac designs.



By offering no-fee licenses, the Mac maker hopes other PC vendors will adopt MiniDisplay port and help build a market for compatible devices. The move also presents the possibility that third parties will develop some well sought-after solutions, like a Mini DispayPort to HDMI adapter for hooking MacBooks up to HDTVs and a connector that will allow older Macs to connect to the new 24-inch LED Apple Cinema Display.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

kaiser777

Yeah... good luck with that.

dguisinger

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kaiser777


Yeah... good luck with that.

They are likely to succeed actually.

Apple sells a very large % of notebooks vs their market share of desktops. So there will be accessory makers and monitors that support this port.



So at a minimum, monitor manufacturers will use it...either in DisplayPort <-> Mini Display Port adapters or on the monitors themselves.



And since Apple isn't requesting money for it, and its fully compatible with the larger size, I would expect others to use it. Many are focusing on these new Netbooks, its perfect for those.

Marvin

But displayport is license-free. Just because Apple like to cram things down to the bare minimum doesn't mean PC manufacturers who don't do this anyway will jump on board with Apple's version of an open standard port.



Methinks the industry will go in whatever direction is opposite to what Apple want.



Also, I don't see what's so 'mini' about the port. It looks like Mini-DVI. The actual displayport connector is half the height of that at least:



http://www.notebookreview.com/assets/21631.jpg



Maybe there's something in the way the port is designed that makes it more compact but the plug doesn't look like much of an improvement.



I can see the PC industry adopting the actual displayport meaning Apple products will all need an adaptor. Apple could get a bad reputation over this given that a decent standard was made, Apple went ahead with a proprietary version and made themselves incompatible.

fellaintga

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marvin


But displayport is license-free. Just because Apple like to cram things down to the bare minimum doesn't mean PC manufacturers who don't do this anyway will jump on board with Apple's version of an open standard port.



Methinks the industry will go in whatever direction is opposite to what Apple want.



Also, I don't see what's so 'mini' about the port. It looks like Mini-DVI. The actual displayport connector is half the height of that at least:



http://www.notebookreview.com/assets/21631.jpg



Maybe there's something in the way the port is designed that makes it more compact but the plug doesn't look like much of an improvement.



I can see the PC industry adopting the actual displayport meaning Apple products will all need an adaptor. Apple could get a bad reputation over this given that a decent standard was made, Apple went ahead with a proprietary version and made themselves incompatible.

Also it can drive much higher resolution displays.

melgross

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marvin


But displayport is license-free. Just because Apple like to cram things down to the bare minimum doesn't mean PC manufacturers who don't do this anyway will jump on board with Apple's version of an open standard port.



Methinks the industry will go in whatever direction is opposite to what Apple want.



Also, I don't see what's so 'mini' about the port. It looks like Mini-DVI. The actual displayport connector is half the height of that at least:



http://www.notebookreview.com/assets/21631.jpg



Maybe there's something in the way the port is designed that makes it more compact but the plug doesn't look like much of an improvement.



I can see the PC industry adopting the actual displayport meaning Apple products will all need an adaptor. Apple could get a bad reputation over this given that a decent standard was made, Apple went ahead with a proprietary version and made themselves incompatible.

I think they have a good shot at it. Apple isn't in the position it was before.

dpackman

It would be nice to see a display adaptor for current Mac pros with

1. this mini display port

2. the ability to support the new vector processing extensions coming in Snow Leopard

3. integration with blu-ray playback

eriamjh

I thought display port itself was open source and therefore license-free. So isn't Apple just offering the "mini" part for free?

tony4d

This is good news. At the very least we'll get some cheap adapters from 3rd parties. If more and more display manufacturers invest in the adapter, all the better.

tenobell

Apple designed the mini Display Port. Its not apart of the official display port project. Until it is approved by VESA, Mini Display Port is Apple's intellectual property.



For those who have been criticizing mini display port. i told you Apple did not intend for it to be proprietary only to Apple.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eriamjh


I thought display port itself was open source and therefore license-free. So isn't Apple just offering the "mini" part for free?

tenobell

Since Display port is brand new. Few have yet adopted it. The mini port has many advantages.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kaiser777


Yeah... good luck with that.

jeffdm

At the very least, it offers reassurance to cable makers that they can make cables based on this standard. The status of mini-DVI looked ambiguous to me, and almost no one made cables with mini-DVI on the ends, and I think only one company that wasn't Apple offered adapters. I would much prefer to have a direct cable than use clunky adapters, so if I ever do get another Mac notebook, I might have a shot at that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marvin


Also, I don't see what's so 'mini' about the port. It looks like Mini-DVI. The actual displayport connector is half the height of that at least:



http://www.notebookreview.com/assets/21631.jpg

The width of the port is probably the biggest issue in terms of edge space on their notebook, and mini displayport looks to be about half that width.

tenobell

Oh yeah they go in the total opposite direction of Apple.



PC laptops are becoming sleeker and thinner. Dell and Gateway building iMac like AIO desktops. Dell using a black border around the bezel of its monitors. Sony using MacBook like keyboards on its newer laptops.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marvin


Methinks the industry will go in whatever direction is opposite to what Apple want.

bweston

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marvin


Also, I don't see what's so 'mini' about the port. It looks like Mini-DVI. The actual displayport connector is half the height of that at least:



http://www.notebookreview.com/assets/21631.jpg

.

The mini-DisplayPort is actually about 1/4 the size of a mini-DVI port?*I thought the same as you until I saw the little booger up close. I tend to agree that it's a pain in the rear standard, however, at the prices Apple charges for adaptors... $29 each is absurd. Not to mention the fact that there is no video output options (for Composite or S-Video) like there was with the older standards.

uzilite

Apple should have done this with F i r e w i r e ages ago.

tenobell

Apple willing to give up firewire, why in the world would you expect them to continue to support composite and S-Video? The audio video industry is moving on to component and HDMI.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bweston


(for Composite or S-Video) like there was with the older standards.

wiggin

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeffDM


At the very least, it offers reassurance to cable makers that they can make cables based on this standard.

That's the critcal part as far as I'm concerned. Display makers can go ahead and put the full-size DisplayPort (or DVI) on their displays since space isn't an issue. As long as you can get a reasonably priced cable without needing an adaptor, that's fine.



More important (to me) would be to get a mini-DisplayPort to HDMI cable, supporting HDCP, since I'd be interested in getting a Mac mini as a HTPC if/when it's upgraded (assuming that gives me the ability to buy/rent HD content from iTunes). And as long as I'm making MacWorld wishes, a blu-ray drive in the mini would be nice, except the DisplayPort standard doesn't support Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD audio. Can either of those be output on the digital audio outs in Apple's computers and combined with DisplayPort into and HDMI cable/signal?

felix01

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marvin


Also, I don't see what's so 'mini' about the port. It looks like Mini-DVI. The actual displayport connector is half the height of that at least:

You must be jesting...or looking at photos which aren't the same scale.



When I hold my new MBP over an older one with DVI connector, I'm amazed at how small the port actually is. Slightly less than half the width of a USB port and not as high. The old DVI port is downright cavernous by comparison.

melgross

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wiggin


That's the critcal part as far as I'm concerned. Display makers can go ahead and put the full-size DisplayPort (or DVI) on their displays since space isn't an issue. As long as you can get a reasonably priced cable without needing an adaptor, that's fine.



More important (to me) would be to get a mini-DisplayPort to HDMI cable, supporting HDCP, since I'd be interested in getting a Mac mini as a HTPC if/when it's upgraded (assuming that gives me the ability to buy/rent HD content from iTunes). And as long as I'm making MacWorld wishes, a blu-ray drive in the mini would be nice, except the DisplayPort standard doesn't support Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD audio. Can either of those be output on the digital audio outs in Apple's computers and combined with DisplayPort into and HDMI cable/signal?

Adapters are a fact of life. Every standard actually has several different connector designs that need adapters. Why should this be different?



Look through these pages to see what I mean.



http://www.cyberguys.com/templates/s...20&%20Adapters

ascii

There was nothing wrong with the original DisplayPort - it was already very small. Apple has taken what could have been a single standard for everybody and split it in two. Very bad form. Bad engineering.

tenobell

The standard display port is likely too big to fit the MB Air. This is good design in the sense that it standardizes a size port across all Apple's devices.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ascii


There was nothing wrong with the original DisplayPort - it was already very small. Apple has taken what could have been a single standard for everybody and split it in two. Very bad form. Bad engineering.