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MacBook connection to more than 1 monitor

I need to connect my MacBook to 2 monitors, do you know what cables or adapters do I need? I'm connected to one monitor, but it doesn't let me connect to a second one at the same time.

Thank you

MacBook, macOS 10.14

Posted on Jan 29, 2021 11:28 AM

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Posted on Jan 29, 2021 12:43 PM

The computer you have directly supports ONE additional Hardware-accelerated display, qualified for full-size, full motion Video at cinema quality (the only standard Apple espouses.)


If you need more than one external display at full motion video or similar performance, you need more computer than you own now.


If you have less-demanding requirements, you can use a DisplayLink Display provided by software and a DisplayLink Dock. see my post above.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jan 29, 2021 12:43 PM in response to mstremiz

The computer you have directly supports ONE additional Hardware-accelerated display, qualified for full-size, full motion Video at cinema quality (the only standard Apple espouses.)


If you need more than one external display at full motion video or similar performance, you need more computer than you own now.


If you have less-demanding requirements, you can use a DisplayLink Display provided by software and a DisplayLink Dock. see my post above.

Jan 29, 2021 12:23 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

DisplayLink technology creates a "fake" display buffer in RAM, sends the data out over a slower interface to a stunt box with DisplayLink custom chips that put that data back onto a "legacy" interface. It is not a true "accelerated" display, and it suffers from lagging.


It may be acceptable for a second display showing slow-to-change data such as computer program listings, stock quotes, or spreadsheets, but NOT for full motion Video, not for Video editing, and absolutely not for gaming. Mouse-tracking on that display can lag, and can make you feel queasy.


In a pinch, it may even play Internet videos without (as one user put it) "too many dropped frames".


This is in stark contrast to the Apple standard for its built-in hardware-accelerated displays,which are suitable for production/display of cinema-quality video with NO dropped frames, and NO dropouts or partial-blank scan lines due to memory under-runs or other issues.


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It is really nice to know that you can use a DisplayLink display if you MUST have an additional display for some of the types of data I mentioned. But that is NOT the same as the computer supporting a second, built-in, Hardware-accelerated display.


These displays depend on DisplayLink software, and are at the whim of Apple when they make MacOS changes. There have been cases where MacOS changes completely Borked DisplayLink software, and it took some time for them to recover.


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I think the Big Surprise for a lot of Hub/Dock buyers is that they thought they were getting a "real" display, but actually got a DisplayLink "fake" Display. If you got what you expected in every case, I would not use such pejorative terms to describe DisplayLink.

MacBook connection to more than 1 monitor

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