Gigabyte Brix with 2x HDMI-Only Display

[afasoas]

Hullo,

I'm looking at using a Gigabyte Brix (GB-BXi3H-4010) to drive two 1080p TVs that only have HDMI inputs.

The Brix is equipped with mini DisplayPort and HDMI connections. I can run two monitors using a mini-DP to regular DP adapter and a HDMI cable. However, when I use a mini-DP to HDMI adapter, there's no display on the second monitor. Neither Windows or Linux 14.04.1 recognise that there's even a second display attached.

I'm suspecting the two cables I've tried have either come from a dodgy batch or that the Brix simply will not work with a min-DP to HDMI adapter. Has anyone else managed to use a Brix with two HDMI-only displays?

Thanks

 

[Mushkins]

Is it a passive mini-dp to hdmi, or an active mini-dp to hdmi?

I had tons of similar issues with a passive mini-dp to DVI with my surface pro 3, the solution was to use an active adapter. The Brix should support two 1080p displays with no issues at all regardless of interface, onboard video has supported multi-display for nearly a decade now.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

OP you probably need an active mini/DP -> DVI/HDMI adapter.

 

[afasoas]

Thanks - I'll try an active min-DP/HDMI adapter

 

[thecoolnessrune]

The above is correct. The Gigabyte BRiX does not support Dual-mode Displayport (DP++). This means that the DisplayPort ports only send a DisplayPort signal, no HDMI.

Keep in mind that your DisplayPort in your computer is 1.2a, capable of 4K resolutions at 60Hz. Most active adapters out there are old, and designed for old MacBooks with ports only capable of 1920x1200 along with 2ch PCM audio, or 5.1 compressed audio.

To keep the most use of your DisplayPort, you'll want to use a DisplayPort 1.2 to HDMI 1.4 converter, which will keep your full 7.1 audio bitstreaming capabilities as well as give you Ultra HD (sort of 4K) at 30Hz. There's one that I know of made by StarTech, model MDP2HD4KS (or DP2HD4KS for regular DisplayPort), and it's available for around $30-40 from many online retailers