Luminous Landscape Forum

Equipment & Techniques => Computers & Peripherals => Topic started by: mlondon on December 21, 2016, 03:49:40 pm

Title: 2016 MacBookPro not supporting Professional display
Post by: mlondon on December 21, 2016, 03:49:40 pm
Hi, I have a 2016 MacBook Pro (with USB-C and TouchBar).
I am NOT able to use it with my NEC PA322UHD high-end monitor (UHD resolution 3840x2160)
The monitor has DisplayPort, DVI-D and HDMI inputs.
 
- I have tried Apple’s new Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter to to connect the NEC MiniDisplayPort to DisplayPort Cable
- Have also tried new Apple’s USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter to HDMI
- And also tried Apple’s older Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter with the new Thunderbolt adapter.
 
None of these work. The monitor works fine with my older 2014 MacBookPro with MiniDisplay port.
Wondering if anyone else has had experience with this issue, and if so, what solution worked for you.
 
Thank you.
Title: Re: 2016 MacBookPro not supporting Professional display
Post by: jvadasz on December 22, 2016, 10:56:31 am
Hi,

Perhaps this will work.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EXKDRAC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It's a USB -C to display port adapter.  It works for me on a non-uhd (but HiDPI) display. 

Hope it helps
--Jeff
Title: Re: 2016 MacBookPro not supporting Professional display
Post by: NancyP on December 22, 2016, 05:11:20 pm
Interesting.
I don't have a solution, because I saw a factory-refurbished 2015 model 15" MBP with decent speed, maxed (16) RAM, 1 tb drive - ticks the boxes - dam' sight faster / better screen / etc than prior 2010 15" MBP. I stopped doing research on the brand new 2016 MBP and am buying a lens and a phone update (also 2010) with the difference. But I will say that MacPerformanceGuide is one of the good places to check for problems of this nature - which dongles and cables work, which don't..
Title: Re: 2016 MacBookPro not supporting Professional display
Post by: Ken Bennett on December 22, 2016, 11:19:05 pm
Well, that's going to be a problem for me, too, since I have a very nice NEC 27 inch monitor and I have a new Macbook Pro arriving any day. I was assuming I would be able to use one of the USB-C to HDMI dongles. Or USB-C to Thunderbolt 2, since I have the T2 cable from my current laptop going to the HDMI input on the monitor.

Sigh.
Title: Re: 2016 MacBookPro not supporting Professional display
Post by: Joe Towner on December 23, 2016, 08:29:44 pm
I've got a client who has the older Apple 27" LCD (the mini-display port model) and he too was very unhappy to discover it will not work. 

The reason is that USB-C doesn't have the ability to talk down to mini-displayport via the current adapters - they weren't using Thunderbolt, they were pulling the displayport signal and re-wrapping it into a viable plug.  In order to use any monitor that isn't USB-C now you'll want to have a USB-C to HDMI/Displayport adapter, not stacking the TB2 adapter & then another to your monitor of choice.

More info: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207266
Yes, it sucks, and Apple should have done a better job communicating & having adapters available at a reasonable cost.
Title: Re: 2016 MacBookPro not supporting Professional display
Post by: Hans Kruse on December 27, 2016, 08:06:35 am
Hi, I have a 2016 MacBook Pro (with USB-C and TouchBar).
I am NOT able to use it with my NEC PA322UHD high-end monitor (UHD resolution 3840x2160)
The monitor has DisplayPort, DVI-D and HDMI inputs.
 
- I have tried Apple’s new Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter to to connect the NEC MiniDisplayPort to DisplayPort Cable
- Have also tried new Apple’s USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter to HDMI
- And also tried Apple’s older Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter with the new Thunderbolt adapter.
 
None of these work. The monitor works fine with my older 2014 MacBookPro with MiniDisplay port.
Wondering if anyone else has had experience with this issue, and if so, what solution worked for you.
 
Thank you.

I use my 4K Dell UP3214Q with the MBP 2016 through the TB3 HDMI adapter and this works. Same resolution as yours so I would have expected it to work.
Title: Re: 2016 MacBookPro not supporting Professional display
Post by: mlondon on January 03, 2017, 11:52:49 pm
Hi All,
OP here, back from holidays....
Thanks for all your responses.

Turns out Apple's Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter strips out the DisplayPort signal :-(
I purchased a USB-C to DisplayPort cable (not an adapter) and it works fine now at the full UHD resolution at 60hz.

BTW, the NEC PA322UHD is phenomenal. Maybe not as good as an Eizo, but for mere mortals it is the best thing going.
And can't complain about the 2016 MacBookPro either, amazing screen for a laptop, and the 2TB internal SSD (with something like 1,100Mbs read/write speed) sure is handy.
Title: Re: 2016 MacBookPro not supporting Professional display
Post by: Hans Kruse on January 08, 2017, 02:59:11 pm
Hi All,
OP here, back from holidays....
Thanks for all your responses.

Turns out Apple's Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter strips out the DisplayPort signal :-(
I purchased a USB-C to DisplayPort cable (not an adapter) and it works fine now at the full UHD resolution at 60hz.

BTW, the NEC PA322UHD is phenomenal. Maybe not as good as an Eizo, but for mere mortals it is the best thing going.
And can't complain about the 2016 MacBookPro either, amazing screen for a laptop, and the 2TB internal SSD (with something like 1,100Mbs read/write speed) sure is handy.

The only thing with a 4K display and the Mac is the scaling does not fit that well. I'm changing from a 4K monitor to the new 5K LG, so that scaling fits perfectly.

I agree that the MBP 2016 is a great machine as I have had for slightly more than a month now. The screen is great and it runs very quiet in contrast to my previous 2015 MBP which is now on the desk of my wife :)
Title: Re: 2016 MacBookPro not supporting Professional display
Post by: hjulenissen on January 09, 2017, 07:56:37 am
I have tried interfacing a 2013MBPr with a Dell 2.5k 27" at native resolution, but I gave up. There is a known issue with the display going to suspend, and Apple and Dell evidently blaim each other.

I am told that the display works fine for Windows PCs, even if you boot Windows on the mac.

-h
Title: Re: 2016 MacBookPro not supporting Professional display
Post by: Hans Kruse on January 09, 2017, 08:39:47 am
I have tried interfacing a 2013MBPr with a Dell 2.5k 27" at native resolution, but I gave up. There is a known issue with the display going to suspend, and Apple and Dell evidently blaim each other.

I am told that the display works fine for Windows PCs, even if you boot Windows on the mac.

-h

I have used a Dell display 30" 2560x1440 resolution using a mini display port cable. It worked on the 2014 MBP, but sometimes there have been issues waking up from sleep which I also have had using the 4K monitor. So my workaround was to open the lid on the MBP and turn the power off on the monitor and then back on and then the MBP would display on it again. Annoying and many have complained about it, but I have lived with it.
Title: Re: 2016 MacBookPro not supporting Professional display
Post by: Ken Bennett on January 09, 2017, 07:58:17 pm
Well, that's going to be a problem for me, too, since I have a very nice NEC 27 inch monitor and I have a new Macbook Pro arriving any day. I was assuming I would be able to use one of the USB-C to HDMI dongles. Or USB-C to Thunderbolt 2, since I have the T2 cable from my current laptop going to the HDMI input on the monitor.


Following up, I got my NEC PA272 to work using the HDMI dongle, but it's limited to a fairly low resolution and the monitor looks soft. Also, I'm unable to calibrate it with the Spectraview puck - the software crashes in the middle of the calibration. The uncalibrated monitor looks awful so I just unplugged it. So, no go at the moment.

Ordered a USB-C to Displayport cable, we'll see if that will get me the resolution and the calibration. If it even works.

The OWC dock that is supposed to ship in February has a Displayport port, and I'm fairly confident that they'll get that working before they ship it. (I'm far too trusting....)
Title: Re: 2016 MacBookPro not supporting Professional display
Post by: Hans Kruse on January 11, 2017, 09:26:59 am

Following up, I got my NEC PA272 to work using the HDMI dongle, but it's limited to a fairly low resolution and the monitor looks soft. Also, I'm unable to calibrate it with the Spectraview puck - the software crashes in the middle of the calibration. The uncalibrated monitor looks awful so I just unplugged it. So, no go at the moment.

Ordered a USB-C to Displayport cable, we'll see if that will get me the resolution and the calibration. If it even works.

The OWC dock that is supposed to ship in February has a Displayport port, and I'm fairly confident that they'll get that working before they ship it. (I'm far too trusting....)

That's weird as I'm using the TB3 HDMI adapter and I run 4K on the Dell 32" monitor although it says 30Hz refresh rate the cursor is not especially jumpy. I have calibrated the screen using a Spyder 4. So software calibration and not the supported hardware calibration.
Title: Re: 2016 MacBookPro not supporting Professional display
Post by: Ken Bennett on January 12, 2017, 08:17:16 am
Final followup here, I bought the Plugable USB-C to Displayport cable from Amazon for about US$30. It works with my NEC Multisync PA272W -- I get the full resolution, and I am able to calibrate using the NEC puck and the Spectraview application. It did take a couple of tries to get the computer to find the screen - I just unplugged it and plugged it back in.
Title: Re: 2016 MacBookPro not supporting Professional display
Post by: Hans Kruse on January 12, 2017, 09:49:48 am
Final followup here, I bought the Plugable USB-C to Displayport cable from Amazon for about US$30. It works with my NEC Multisync PA272W -- I get the full resolution, and I am able to calibrate using the NEC puck and the Spectraview application. It did take a couple of tries to get the computer to find the screen - I just unplugged it and plugged it back in.

Thanks for the followup. Can you tell us which brand the adapter was? I have read that some adapters does not work, but not sure if it true or not. I decided not to buy one since I have the HDMI adapter which I need anyway for my travel projector and get the LG 5K monitor. But it would be nice to know still.
Title: Re: 2016 MacBookPro not supporting Professional display
Post by: Ken Bennett on January 12, 2017, 02:58:16 pm
"Plugable" is the brand of the cable, model USBC-DP.

I did try an HDMI cable using the Apple HDMI dongle, and could not get full resolution nor could I calibrate the screen.