|
|
This topic comprises 2 pages: 1 2
|
|
Author
|
Topic: Apple Cinema Display monitors on a PC
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Joel N. Weber II
Expert Film Handler
Posts: 115
From: Somerville, MA, USA
Registered: Dec 2005
|
posted 05-09-2007 12:00 AM
Most DVI monitors, up to 24", use a differential pair for red, a differential pair for green, and a differential pair for blue.
Dual data link, used by the 30" LCDs, adds three extra pairs of wires to increase the available bandwidth over the DVI cable without having to keep increasing the bandwidth over each pair.
Unless your video card explicitly says it does dual data link, it probably doesn't. Unless it explicitly says it does dual data link on both ports, it may only do so on one; when dual data link cards first came out, one brand was shipping cards that only did dual data link on one port, the other did dual data link on both. You might want to double check exactly what your G5 has.
The specs on the Matrox card explicitly list `` Digital, 1-2 monitors: 1920 x 1200'' as the max resolution, which looks to me like it's incompatible with the 30" LCD monitors. (The 30" LCD monitors generally do not have analog inputs at all.)
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
Stephen Furley
Film God
Posts: 3059
From: Coulsdon, Croydon, England
Registered: May 2002
|
posted 05-09-2007 08:26 AM
Most of the cards that have two dual-link DVI connectors seem to be for PCI Express bus, but I suppose that most people wanting to use two monitors that need it are likely to have a newish pc, that probably has it.
Those are nice monitors, but a bit beyond my price range at the moment, though they have come down by about 25% since they were introduced. I've got one of the older 22 inch cinema displays which use a ADC connector, basically DVI+power+USB over one cable, so I have to use an adapter to connect it to a pc. The new ones are standard DVI, and so can connect directly to a pc but I think I remember that there's still a single cable going to the monitor that breaks out into separate power USB and DVI connectors at the other end, so the cable is permanently attached to the monitor. However, if you need to extend this, any additional DVI cable has to be dual-link capable as well. There are three rows of pins; if each row has two sets of three pins with a gap between then it's single-link. If each row has two extra pins, making a total of eight pins in each row, then it should be dual link, but I have seen cables with all the pins which are not. There's a large flat blade at one end, if there are four small pins grouped around this then it's DVI-I, which carries analogue signals as well; if those extra pins are not there then it's DVI-D, which only carries the digital signals.
There is something that looks like DVI, but longer, with ten pins in each row; this is M1, EVC or P+D, which also carries USB and Firewire connections. They are mainly used as inputs to projectors. Adapters to standard DVI are available.
The Apple ADC also has the extra pins in each row like M1, but the outer shell of the connector has rounded ends, and it uses clips rather than screws to hold it in.
Then there's DFP, now obsolete, but still found on some older equipment, which uses the same signals as single-link DVD-D, but on a different connector.
Open LVI is totally different, and is used by some older Silicon Graohics monitors. It needs a 'Multilink adapter' to convert standard DVI or VGA signals for use with it.
Apple are notorious for the number of different monitor connections that they've used over the years; I have an old shoe box at home completely full of various adapters.
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
Jon Miller
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 973
From: San Diego, CA, USA
Registered: Sep 1999
|
posted 05-09-2007 07:26 PM
quote: Brad Miller
Does anyone have any specific recommendations for a KVM or video card?
If you have about $450 to burn, the 2x1 DVi DL Switcher from Gefen Inc. may be just the ticket. I have one at work to share a 30" Cinema Display and keyboard between a PowerMac G5 and a Dell Dimension PC and, other than the R/C going bad, the switcher works well. I equipped the Dimension with an ATI Radeon X1600 Pro graphics card to handle the big screen.
FWIW, I tried the 30-incher with standard DVI video cards on the PC and, while it worked for a short while at a lower resolution, the image deteriorated into a snowy, split-screened mess. No joke, that dual-link card is necessary!
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
All times are Central (GMT -6:00)
|
This topic comprises 2 pages: 1 2
|
Powered by Infopop Corporation
UBB.classicTM
6.3.1.2
The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion
and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.
|
Home
Printer-friendly view of this topic