Waiting on the new MacBook Pros...

[GT1999]

... seems to be taking forever. I'd take one with an i5, but hell, if by some freak of nature they want to do i3s I'd be all for it. Just a new GPU and CPU please. And can we get a HDMI out? All high end PC laptops have this now. Seriously Apple. This is all I ask!!! And to be released tomorrow.

 

[Ka0t1x]

There's a MDP & Toslink to HDMI cable via Monoprice. There will probably never be an HDMI on it because of the MDP being standardized to the Apple Cinemas.

 

[GT1999]

So will the MDP and Toslink to HDMI cover both video and audio, not just video?

I'm not really up on Apple's proprietary connectors on the MBP, all I have Apple now is an iPhone 3GS.

 

[Kmax82]

If the update to the MBP's doesn't come soon... I'm getting super tempted to buy a 27" iMac.

 

[Ka0t1x]

So will the MDP and Toslink to HDMI cover both video and audio, not just video?

Yeaup, the adapters will merge them into the HDMI cable.. seeing as its just a series of wires its fairly easy. I still use the MDP=>HDMI and then a separate audio cable, but I'll probably pick one of these up really soon.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10428&cs_id=1042802&p_id=5969&seq=1&format=2

That will give you a USB sound card output that will go to your TV.


http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10428&cs_id=1042802&p_id=6331&seq=1&format=2

That will give you Audio via the mini jack/Toslink on most Apple products.

 

[Kadarin]

And can we get a HDMI out? All high end PC laptops have this now. Seriously Apple. This is all I ask!!! And to be released tomorrow.

My Asus netbook has HDMI out.

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

Displayport > HDMI

 

[narreth]

Displayport > HDMI

care to expand on this?

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

HDMI requires licensing fees. Displayport is royalty free.

http://www.edn.com/article/CA6594089.html

 

[TheStu]

HDMI is digital only, whereas DisplayPort (and miniDP) also carries an analog signal, useful for projectors and older monitors. Not every laptop has both HDMI and VGA, usually is is one or the other.

The exact same reason why I stood behind their decision for MiniDVI over HDMI. More connectivity options. Plus, DisplayPort carries a hell of a lot more data, allowing for daisy-chaining of monitors off a single connector (not sure if this extends to MiniDP or not)

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

Yes it does extend to MiniDP. Also, I'm pretty sure that DP has more bandwidth. Plus there are plenty of adapters for DP to HDMI or whatever you need.

 

[TheStu]

Yes it does extend to MiniDP. Also, I'm pretty sure that DP has more bandwidth. Plus there are plenty of adapters for DP to HDMI or whatever you need.

Exactly, the best you can do with HDMI is convert it to DVI.

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

Exactly, the best you can do with HDMI is convert it to DVI.

You can go from HDMI -> DVI -> VGA if you wanted to.

 

[TheStu]

You can go from HDMI -> DVI -> VGA if you wanted to.

I am 99% sure that you cannot without some sort of active adapter since the HDMI pinout has no analog signals. I can test the theory this weekend, I can try hooking the PS3 up to my monitor over VGA, but like I said, I am 99% sure that it ain't gonna work.

 

[secretanchitman]

i want to call it and say they're coming out on the 23rd. wish i was right, but i bet im wrong.

im so ready to sell my mbp...

 

[Kmax82]

I think it will be mid-March... maybe even at WWDC, but I'm thinking mid-March will happen. Maybe even with a look at iPhoneOS 4.

Personally, I think it would've been perfect if they had released new hardware with Aperture 3.. but that didn't happen.

 

[site7000]

DisplayPort has lower power-consumption, lower pin count and higher resolution than HDMI and supports HDCP and DPCP to enable content that requires it. DisplayPort is capable of supporting HDMI/DVI signals. It maintains its speed over significantly longer cable lengths than HDMI and natively supports fiber optic cables. DisplayPort features a scalable bi-directional AUX channel, so future versions can be scaled upwards to support the signals of a monitor’s touch screen, embedded microphone, USB hub, webcam, etc.—over the same cable that carries the video signal. With HDMI, you would need additional cables to be connected to your PC for those devices. Because DisplayPort is packet-based, it uses a slim cable and has an easy development path for future upgrades to the spec. DisplayPort will allow multi-function monitors with a single cable delivering display, audio, and USB connectivity. Version 1.2 (finalized 12/22/09) can transmit data up to 17 Gbits/s, supports multiple independent video streams (i.e. a daisy-chain connection from the same source supporting multiple monitors receiving individualized content), support for stereoscopic 3D and increased bandwidth for the AUX channel from 1 Mbit/s to 720 Mbit/s.

 

[site7000]

I have learned the previous information relative to HDMI is dated. The incoming HDMI 1.4 spec adds:
1) 100 Mb/sec Ethernet AUX channel
2) resolution up to 3840x2160 (aka 4k2k)
3) expanded support for color spaces
4) new Micro Connector (19 pin)
5) a 3D spec
6) audio return channel

To implement these features there are now 5 HDMI cables to choose from! The quality of implementation of high-end features remains unknown. DisplayPort still appears to be the more robust, future-proofed spec, as well as better suited to IT and portable devices (due to packet-based advantages like lower power consumption, fewer pins and thinner cables), but technical advantages don't always guarantee success.

 

[s44]

HDMI won the format war long ago. Apple will drag this out because their die-hards will still pay though (e.g. the much more egregious eSATA omission).

 

[TheStu]

HDMI won the format war long ago. Apple will drag this out because their die-hards will still pay though (e.g. the much more egregious eSATA omission).

I think that the only way that Apple will put eSATA onto their systems (at least the portables) is if they use the eSATA/USB combo ports like on some Dell laptops, they seem to prefer to put ports on there that might have more than just one use, and are small. Putting an eSATA port on there would take up the space that a USB port could be using, unless they do the combo. USB it more versatile than eSATA. Same with Firewire, more versatile than eSATA. The single use ports, like Ethernet, MagSafe, Audio and Display Out are necessary. They aren't going to make the battery any smaller (not unless they find a way to squeeze even more power out of a cell) so I think we are stuck with what we have for now.

Besides, the bandwidth on FireWire 800 (100MB/s) is probably more than enough for now for most externals. Unless of course a person has a fast SSD inside and a fast SSD outside, most transfers would probably be slowed by the write speeds of the internal drive anyway.

The desktop connection standard is still up in the air. The new ATi 5000 series cards utilize DisplayPort (in fact require them) in order to use EyeFinity, the other 2 monitors in the setup can use DVI or HDMI but the third has to use DisplayPort since the cards can only drive 2 DVI/HDMI ports at once.

 

[Emulex]

mac folks don't care about speed it's about usability and looking pretty.

you could probably run usb 2.0 over displayport

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

HDMI won what format war? There was no war. Displayport just started to come out.

You can always add esata by getting an esata expresscard.

Macs always pushed the limits of computers. It was the first to have firewire, usb, displayport.

Apple also support LightPeak as a replacement for USB 3.0.

 

[boomhower]

Apple also support LightPeak as a replacement for USB 3.0.

Why does that not surprise me.

 

[Ka0t1x]

Actually if you watch some of the demos of LightPeak, its pretty impressive.

USB 3.0 is around 400MB/s
LightPeak is supposed to start around 1GB/s (Per channel, has 4), scales to 10Gb/s.


I don't care about the speed until I start developing.. Core 2 Duo isn't enough anymore. Quads and 4gb+ RAM.

 

[GT1999]

Updated, lastest rumors from macrumors.com indicate that there may be HDMI on the newer Macs, at least the Mac Mini. Woo!