Q: Thunderbolt and ADC

third-party ADC-to-DVI adapter

It does not matter whose name is on the ADC adapter, but it MUST produce the required 28 Volts at up to 4 Amps Power, since the ADC Cinema flat panel with polycarbonite frame does not contain a power supply itself. A simple cable adapter will not do the job.

DVI-to-Mini DisplayPort adapter

Mini DisplayPort is not just another DVI -- it is a completely different protocol. But it does have a backward-compatible DVI-mode built in -- provided you have the correct adapter. What kind of adapter are you using there?  because that is the difference between the two set-ups.

EDIT: The other problem commonly encountered is not fully seating the Mini DisplayPort connector. Essentially ALL the metal of the cable must disappear inside the jack on the iMac.

Hello, Adding to this thread.  My new 2.3 i7 with Thunderbolt isn't working with my displays Apple Acrylic ADC Cinema Displays. 

http://www.everymac.com/monitors/apple/studio_cinema/specs/apple_cinema_hd_displ ay.html

http://www.everymac.com/monitors/apple/studio_cinema/specs/apple_cinema_display_ 20.html

I have 2 i5 2.4 (no thunderbolt) Power Macs that I use with the 2 Acrylic ADC displays with no problems. They get power from a Dr. Bott adaptor.

The i7 does not see the display at all in the displays prefs. and does not turn on.  The power light will turn on though with usb connected.

I tried an Apple minidisplayport to dvi adaptor (to the dr. bott adc adaptor) with no luck. All running 10.6.8.

Thunderbolt is supposed to be backward compatile. Why are they not working together and how can it be fixed?

Dave

Yours is the first report I have seen of a possible incompatibility, at least in the Mac Pro forums.

Consider the possibility that you may have a bad port.

Thanks for the input.  I'm going to see what the geniuses at the apple store have to say about it tomorrow evening. 

For the record, the upgrade to Lion and its included Thunderbolt firmware update has not fixed the problem.

Things I've tried:

resetting PRAM

power cycle the monitor

putting the computer to sleep and plugging in before waking up

clicking detect displays

using an Apple minidisplayport to dvi adaptor

Just back from Apple, I brought a video of three computers working with the dispalys but not the new i7 2.3 with Thunderbolt.  Was thinking it was probably the computer and would get a replacement.  Maybe not, the guy blames the Dr. Bott/System power supply.  I have another appt tonight and will bring a display down there for a final test.

He hooked it up to an aluminum DVI display and it worked.  They dont have any ADC monitors around to test with but have a power supply if I bring one in.  Yet Apple does not sell the supply anymore so this is just to get a diagnosis.

If the Apple supply works with my ADC monitor, I wonder what the difference is that is making it not be seen by the new i7?

Anyone care to speculate?

At the Apple store with my display, and some fiddleing the i7 finally recognized it with the Apple ADC power supply.  We reset the PRAM and restarted.  Not sure if it was plugged in or not while resetting pram but that did the trick.

Too bad Apple isnt selling the power supply anymore.  Curous if anyone will come up with a tweak for the Dr. Bott system to make it work.

Sent an email to the Dr of Dr. Bott.  Here's what he says:

Good day Mr. Grishaver,

 

thank you very much for your kind words!

 

Unfortunately is the DVIator not compatible to MiniDisplayPort and to Thunderbolt. Please keep in mind that the DVIator design is around 10 Years old. And the design survived many generation of Macs and PCs with DVI-Video out.

 

The Apple Converter is a different Product with a complete different technical basis, this is the reason why this product may work and the DVIator not.

 

With best regards

 

Dr. Jens Dietrich

 

We know that a simple unpowered adapter from Mini Displayport to Single-Link DVI has problems, probably with signal levels, in certain circumstances. This appears to be why the ACTIVE, POWERED adapters are required on certain ATI cards such as the 5770 and 5870, especially when using multiple Mini DisplayPort to DVI adapters.

IF the Dr. Bott adapter does not Re-drive the ADC signals, but merely wires up the DVI input signals to the correct ADC output pins, and the Apple DVI-to-ADC adapter re-Drives the signals as well as connecting them, this could explain why the Apple adapter works and the Dr.Bott DVI-ator does not work.

Suggestion for further experiments:

Using an ACTIVE, POWERED MiniDisplayPort to DVI adapter MAY see success with the Dr. Bott DVI-to-ADC device. Apple's ACTIVE Dual-Link adapter (US$100) or the Accell ACTIVE Mini DisplayPort to [Single-Link] DVI Adapter may be worth trying.

Great points Grant.  Hopefully someone will try that and post results... 

I purchaced an actual Apple ADC power supply on Ebay and it is working with an Apple, or non Apple mini DVI to DVI adaptor.

Had to fiddle with it quite a bit, resetting pram, restarting and plugging unplugging at the computer and at the ADC port before the monitor was recognised and began to operate normally.

Best,

Dave

I have a new 15" Macbook Pro with the latest everything (OS, all firmware updates, etc.). This is directly connected to a 23" HD Cinema Display using an Apple-branded MDP-DVI adapter. I have serious flicker problems when waking up from sleep. Once it's up, it's up, but getting it up (easy, fellas...) is a real challenge and frustrating as ****.

Took the whole lot to the Geniuses. Computer and monitor check out 100%. Suspect is now the adapter. I'm no engineer, but I suspect it's not adequately passing the proper amount of power or data or both, especially as my 17" Studio Display has no problems (fewer power/data requirements).

Looking into the Accel UltraAV MiniDisplayPort to DVI-D Single-Link Active Adapter as suggested in a previous post.

Thanks all for the discussion - it answered my questions about what I can try next - I have OEM Apple ADC-DVI adapters and still have the ADC displays kicking around and had to replace my powermac with a mac mini - would like to dual monitor it with existing displays so will try what folks are suggesting. Thanks again.