Connect Thunderbolt Display to Mini DisplayPort?

@jaimeandalex the TB display won't work with Mini displays-port, You will diffinitly need a TB enable Mac to drive that TB display, I know because I bought the TB Display a week ago and tryed it on my 2010 Mac Pro and all I got was a blink screen, took it back this past saturday and exchange it for a LED Cinema Display.

basically what needs to be done is that Apple, or a third party, makes an adapter that goes from Thunderbolt to MiniDisplay Port, disableing the PCI-E function inside the Thunderbolt cable, so only the Monitor part can come true, without bugging. This way we can buy the Thunderbolt Display, hook it up to our old MacBook Pro's and when our laptops fail or die, we can replace them and as a reward get all the functions the display has to offer with Thunderbolt.

Why is this so difficult Apple? Is it not clear hundreds of people are having complications with your monitor? Sell the old display, place is out of stock, and go on selling ónly your new display, and let people know that the thunderbolt options (USB, Ethernet etc) won't work withouth a Thunderbolt Mac (OBVIOUSLY) and we will all understand, buy the display anyway, and soon upgrade to a new Mac model.

..

Anyway. Please, if somebody here finds a way, by using an adapter of some sort (and I'm sure it must excist)!!! let us know. Or if you are good with electronics. make Thunderbolt - MiniDisplay Port and become our hero.

How about you plug that ThunderBolt cable into this:

http://www.datapro.net/products/mini-displayport-extension-cable-male-female.htm l

Perhaps it will disable the PCI-E options inside the cable, but still transmit the MiniDisplay Port (monitor, and perhaps audio) signal.

Did you try this?

http://www.datapro.net/products/mini-displayport-extension-cable-male-female.htm l

I'm not saying it will work, but it might disable the PCI-E signal inside the TB-cable.

@TH_Architecture: This looks like a plain old passive extension cable. In other words, just a few strings of copper wrapped in a piece of plastic. Why would you think it has the brains to convert one protocol into another? Come on.

Because Thunderbolt is downward compatible and there is a MiniDisplay Port signal inside the TB cable, so why should that MDP-signal not be picked up once it is connected to a MiniDisplay Port cable?

It actually sounds pretty logic that the cable will receive the MDP-signal and has no idea what to do with the other, killing the TB-signal from continueing. You don't agree?

And I'm just trying man, fishing for a possibility because it hás to be possible. It is impossible one cannot get the MDP signal out of that TB-cable. There simply has to be a way,for everybody else who has a 2010 MBP but reallyyy wants to buy the TB-Display instead of the same priced Apple CD because they all know they will get a TB-Mac eventually. So why not get the display in advance and 'unlock all it's features' later.

The "Correct Answer" above is absolutely incorrect.

TH_Architecture wrote:

Because Thunderbolt is downward compatible and there is a MiniDisplay Port signal inside the TB cable, so why should that MDP-signal not be picked up once it is connected to a MiniDisplay Port cable?

The cable itself doesn't do anything. If the plug is the same for TB and MDP, which it is, and all the pins are connected on both sides there is no difference from hooking up your thunderbold plug to the macbook directly. Every pin on one side is connected to the same pin on the other side.

I think what is meant with "downward compatible" is that you can connect a TB source to a MDP destination. The TB side being smart enough to pass only video in the way normal MDP would work. This is downward compatibility. Newer devices being able to talk to older ones.

The problem we're having here is more an issue of "upwards compatibility". The MDP must stream to a newer TB device, which is the other way around. Apparently a MDP port doesn't know how to do that, which sounds quite logical to me.

It actually sounds pretty logic that the cable will receive the MDP-signal and has no idea what to do with the other, killing the TB-signal from continueing. You don't agree?

No, not really. Maybe if the cable didn't connect the "TB part" of the wires and only connected the pins used by MDP, but in this case all pins are connected and I highly doubt its a matter of which pins are what anyway.

And I'm just trying man, fishing for a possibility because it hás to be possible. It is impossible one cannot get the MDP signal out of that TB-cable. There simply has to be a way,for everybody else who has a 2010 MBP but reallyyy wants to buy the TB-Display instead of the same priced Apple CD because they all know they will get a TB-Mac eventually. So why not get the display in advance and 'unlock all it's features' later.

I wish too that this was possible, and I'm hopeful that someone will build an adapter eventually, but I believe it will be an active one and I fear it will take a while for the first to appear.

I was just at the apple store last night and one of the employees told me it would work since it is backwards compatible but then went and checked with a genius bar employee and found out he was wrong...it is not compatible with a mini display port.

Here is something else...why is the price of the non thunderbolt LED screen still the same price as the thunderbolt screen? Isn't the original old technology, in a sense? Plus it does not has an HD camera like the TB screen...so many if they would bring down the price of the non TB LED screen I would actually buy it.

Well, finally the Thunderbolt displays have arrived in stores here in The Netherlands, and even though Apple Support has 'garanteed' me that it would work, it seems they have some critical misunderstanding in their company.

There is no way to get the Thunderbolt Display to work as a monitor on a non-Thunderbolt device. The guys at the Apple store and I tried everything (the MDP female-male thing, changing TB to HDMI and back to MDP into the MacBook Pro etc.) and my MacBook Pro didn't even flinch when connected, leaving the monitor completely black. I am very disappointed and so far there is no connector that captures the display signal from a Thunderbolt Cable. So buy the Cinema Display, at the same price, and when you upgrade your computer, sell your MacBook Pro together with your Cinema Display and do a big upgrade by changing everything you have.

I believe we can close this thread now, until somebody invents something to enable the monitor on MDP-devices.

So. Correct answer to question:

No, it is not possible to connect a Thunderbolt Display to a MiniDisplay Port.

@turteboy ran in the same problem when I went to the Apple Store but at least in your situation the Apple employee went to the genius bar but in my case the Apple employee just let me buy it and I took it home and it didn't work, took it back and exchange it for a LED Cinema, There are cheaper prices for the Apple's LED Cinema Display, The Apple Store is not the only place you can get them

Best Buy- $939

MacMall-$939

B&H Photo- $899

Sears-$989

Electronic Supercenter- $729.27

These Apple 27-inch LED Cinema Displays are new in the box just need to learn where to shop, but my thing is and this might not be true but I think Apple is trying to get rid of all there stock of the 27-inch LED Cinema Display because now it takes Apple to ship the LED Display in 5-7 business days, I think but not for sure either Apple or a third party will develop a adaptor when exactly is still a mystery, and I don't think Apple is going to make anymore Apple LED Cinema Displays, it might be discontinued soon, So if you need a display and if you don't have a thunderbolt enable mac don't buy the thunderbolt display it doesn't play nice with mini display port, my advice to eveyone is if you have a mini display port mac buy the LED ACD while there still available to purchase or just buy a new Mac , maybe just wait for a adaptor to be develop if your not in a hurry

Thanks Darrell. I'm not in a rush for a new display. My current one works great...I was just looking for a larger screen for when I am running multiple programs. I think I'm going to wait until an adapter is made. Thanks again

I have a new 2 week old 15 inch MacBook Pro. I have been using a 20" Apple Cinema Display with my older version MBP using a mini-display port to DVI adaptor. This display works fine with the older MacBook pro but will not work through the Thunderbolt port on the new one.

Just got off the phone with Apple. Renee... a senior advisor said that theoretically it should work but it isn't a configuration they are supporting at this time. She recommended this cable.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/search.asp?keyword=dvi+to+thunderbolt&x=0&y=0

I am ordering one and will post back if it works.

It should work fine "as is". Make sure you have your monitor connected with MacBook plugged in and install the latest updates for lion. There are also some drivers for the display itself however I believe the lion update supersedes that.

Hey Adam. Did you manage to try out the adapter cable you noted yet?

Would be great to know if you or anyone else has spotted or tried out anything new which fixes the problem...