Q: Daisy chain two display port monitors (Dell U2913WM) to new Mac mini Thunderbolt?

Well stated.  I agree

Just got two new Dell U2414H monitors.  Both are Displayport 1.2.  I cannot get them to daisy chain on a nMP.  They work great plugged in to separate ports. The only thread I have come across that clarifys the issue points to the fact that a Mac running Windows will daisy chain montitors that support it.  Which then leads to the conclusion, the hardware definitely supports daisy chaining, it's OSX Mavericks 10.9.2 (I run this and it still doesn't work) that doesn't yet support it.

Displayport 1.2

https://discussions.apple.com/message/23655430#23655430

From the Discussion.....

Cheule 

 

Re: Displayport 1.2

 

   Feb 19, 2014 8:48 PM    (in response to Bagellord) 

Bagellord, I have a brand new Mac Pro (late 2013, cylinder) and Mavericks 10.9.1.  The OS does not support DisplayPort 1.2.  I have a DP 1.2 monitor (LG 29" Ultrawide), and the monitor functions properly while set to DP 1.2 mode under Windows 8.1, but not under Mavericks.  So that indicates to me that the hardware (Mac Pro) and Windows 8.1 support it, but 10.9.1 does not.  Shame.

 

Mavericks 10.9.3 is now out and is supposed to amongst other things improve support for 4K video which in turn implies better support for Displayport 1.2

Have you tried 10.9.3 with daisy-chaining your monitors?

I haven't had a chance yet. Possibly over the weekend I'll give it a try.  Fingers crossed!

Yeah I was curious as well after applying the update this morning.

Unfortunately, the daisy-chain behavior is the exact same as before -- mirroring with no option to tell the OS to treat the monitors as separate.

I'm resigned to believing this feature isn't now, nor will ever be on Apple's radar.  I'm resigned to believing that the only solution to my two-thunderbolt-ports-monopolized-by-my-two-monitors problem is the Sonnet Echo 15... once they release it with Thunderbolt 2 support -- which will be never but that will still be sooner than Apple providing DisplyPort 1.2 daisy-chain support.

*sigh*

Before i bought my MBP last October, a friend and Mac user warned me that Apple doesn't like supporting third-party hardware.  I thought he was exaggerating, given how successful Apple has been as a company.  Turns out he really wasn't exaggerating.

If as per posts by other users a new Mac Pro supports DisplayPort daisy-chaining under Windows 8.1 via Boot Camp but the same new Mac Pro and monitors do not work under Mavericks then clearly this is not a hardware issue.

I have not been able to find definitive evidence, but if Apple have signed up to be officially certified or complaint with the Displayport specification then it could be argued they are in breach of the specification since daisy-chaining aka. multi-stream transport (MST) is part of the Displayport 1.2 specification.

Note: Mini Displayport is part of the Displayport 1.2 specification and 4K display support requires Displayport 1.2. As Apple do support 4K displays clearly they are using Displayport 1.2 which is known to be supported by Apple's hardware as proven in Windows and by the fact that the manufacturer specifications for the video chips used by Apple list this which again is proved by the fact it works in Windows using the same hardware.

What is even more puzzling is that according to this article http://www.anandtech.com/show/7603/mac-pro-review-late-2013/11 support for 4K displays is achieved by using MST to send two streams to a single 4K display in order to support the extra number of pixels.

So it appears Apple are supporting MST with their own Mini Displayport and Thunderbolt displays, and are also supporting it with third-party 4K displays, but apparently are deliberately blocking it with other Displayport displays.

This if true is outrageous behavior on Apple's part. Perhaps we should send complaints to the Displayport organisation. See http://www.vesa.org/displayport-developer/compliance/ (there are some email contacts listed)

The original thread asks about daisy-chaining two Dell monitors via Displayport on the current Mac mini. As far as I can see this is not possible not only because people are posting here with problems trying to do it, but due to the specifications of the current Mac mini (2012).

The current Mac mini has an Intel HD 4000 video chip, this video chip uses Displayport 1.1a and Displayport 1.1a does not support a function called MST. MST stands for Multi Stream Transport and lets you send multiple video streams over a single cable, in this can one would be used per screen.

See this page for Intel's official description of their video chip capabilities which shows the HD 4000 only does Displayport 1.1

https://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/quick-reference-guide-to-intel-process or-graphics

The new Mac Pro and Retina MacBook Pro, both support Displayport 1.2 and both support MST. In fact MST is also used to drive a 4K display at 60fps, a single stream can only do a 4K display at 30fps so to get 60fps two streams are used. In theory therefore the new Mac Pro and Retina MacBook Pro should be able to do daisy-chaining with Dell screens. I have seen posts suggesting this does indeed work on these Macs in Windows8 but apparently not in OS X.

I can confirm that daisy chaining DP monitors does not work on a Late 2013 maxed out rMBP. All it will do is mirror the display that is connected to the computer. I got apple to verify it does not work. Their reason was it had to do with the graphics switching and the power needed for the displays. I have even tried 10.10 in hopes that they would come to their senses.. No luck... Please make this work Apple!!!! We are very limited on ports as it is we shouldn't have to either buy thunderbolt displays or not be able to run more than two displays just to be able to have Ethernet.

Well people have said it DOES in fact work - with Windows on a Mac.  So what's up with that?  It's an OSX issue if that is the case.

It is absolutely an OS X problem, all they have to do is stop blocking it in their proprietary set of drivers. I can mirror all day long in OS X. It is a complete dick move. There has got to be some mid level work around for this. Come on, if windows can do it easily on crap hardware but with a graphics card that supports 1.2 then my $2800 piece of awesomeness should be able to handle it fine without degrading the os.

I have a Mac mini (late 2012) and I hope to use dual monitor system of two dell U2713H.

My boss has already promised that he will buy them for me.

However, I was very disappointed after reading this threads.

The current Mac mini has an Intel HD 4000 video chip, this video chip uses Displayport 1.1a and Displayport 1.1a does not support a function called MST. MST stands for Multi Stream Transport and lets you send multiple video streams over a single cable, in this can one would be used per screen.

 

See this page for Intel's official description of their video chip capabilities which shows the HD 4000 only does Displayport 1.1

 

https://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/quick-reference-guide-to-intel-process or-graphics

I've read the article, so I've given up daisy-chaining.

However, how about USB-DisplayPort connecting?

For example, http://www.tripplite.com/usb-3.0-superspeed-to-displayport-dual-monitor-external -video-graphics-card%20adapter-512-mb-sdram-2560x1600-1080p~U344001DP/

One monitor uses mini-displayport(thunderbolt), and the other uses usb port with this adapter.

Is there anyone who tests this way?

If so, could you please share the information?

Thank you.

Yes it will work if the monitor is less that

• Supports video resolutions up to 2560 x 1600 @ 60Hz

Anybody know if there are any changes/support added for this with Yosemite?

Same problem here;

Trying to use 2x30" daisychained dells on a mid-2012 15" macbook; only works in windows ...

This is really annoying ... any news ?

"Yes it will work if the monitor is less that

• Supports video resolutions up to 2560 x 1600 @ 60Hz"

Are you saying that both monitors need to have the 2560 X 1600 @ 60 hz to be non-mirrored?

I'm afraid I don't understand your comment.