Zotac releases DisplayPort to dual HDMI adapter
by Kristian Vättö on August 2, 2011 2:23 PM EST- Posted in
- Displays
- ZOTAC
- DisplayPort
- HDMI
Zotac has released two new products: Mini DisplayPort and DisplayPort to dual HDMI adapters. These adapters are first of their kind and simply have one (Mini) DisplayPort input and two HDMI outputs, which allows users to use one DisplayPort port for two HDMI equipped monitors.
Unfortunately the HDMI outputs are limited to 1920x1080 which indicates that this adapter might be based on older, 1.1a or earlier, DisplayPort (DP) version. A monitor with 1920x1080 resolution, 60Hz refresh rate and 24-bit color requires bandwidth of ~4.43Gb/s whereas DP 1.1a provides 10.8Gb/s, which is fine for two 1080p monitors. However, if DP 1.2 was supported, then the adapter should in theory support two monitors at 2560x1600 since they require ~8.75Gb/s each and DP 1.2 provides 21.6Gb/s.
Mac users should be pleased with an adapter like this because many Macs have only one video output, hence allowing only one external monitor. Zotac's Mini DisplayPort adapter should give Mac users an option of running two 1080p monitors on any Mac with mDP. Currently Mac users have been limited to USB video adapters and Matrox' products, which both have their limitations (USB ones are generally slow and Matrox are expensive).
Zotac has not unveiled availability details but their product page is already up so we would expect imminent availability. Suggested retail price for these adapters is $49.99, which makes them significantly cheaper than other alternatives. Zotac claims that all graphics cards are supported, including IGPs, and evidently all operating systems are supported as well.
Source: Zotac
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Assimilator87 - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
So theoretically, one could have 10 monitors hooked up to the ASUS 6970 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8... using these adapters. I'd love to see someone test it just for fun.hinsung - Monday, September 15, 2014 - link
I know a displayport splitter is able to be expanded to 12 displayports so you can connect six displayport splitters at same time. You can see it on http://www.hinsung.com/pro_info_148.htmlstvcmty - Wednesday, August 17, 2011 - link
The adapter probably uses an IDT VMM1402. The VMM1402 has a displayport input, and 2 DVI/HDMI outputs. It can combine 2 physical monitors into a single logical display attached to the graphics card.This is nothing new, the VMM1300 boxes have been doing it for a while. They have 1 displayport in and 3 DVI outs, allowing a 3 monitor setup. The big difference is price. The Zotac box is about 1/3 the cost of a VMM1300 box, and it does not need USB for power.
dhanson8652 - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
So you could use this with two LCD monitors that have DVI by going from:1 display port to 2 HDMI by way of this adapter
then HDMI to DVI cables to the monitors
Still tons of LCDs sitting around with DVI but no HDMI or Displayport input so I'm sure someone will want to do this.
-=Hulk=- - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
"Unfortunately the HDMI outputs are limited to 1920x1080 which indicates that this adapter might be based on older, 1.1a or earlier, DisplayPort (DP) version"99,9% of the available displays don't support more than 1920x1080 on their HDMI inputs, even the 27" and 30" Dell screens.
-=Hulk=- - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
Sorry, not 1920x1080 but 1920x1200.Kristian Vättö - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
HDMI to dual-link DVI adapter might still work though, if Zotac supported 2600p over HDMI. See my earlier post in the comments, it was merely an observation and I'm aware that 1080p is pretty much what you get from HDMI anyway.Chizzel - Wednesday, August 24, 2011 - link
Hey all, I have a 2010 macbook air with 2 monitors that have only dvi connectors. If i use this adaptor and grab 2 hdmi-dvi cables, will I be able to operate split screens?Chizzel - Thursday, August 25, 2011 - link
Will 2 dvi-hdmi cables connecting to 2 monitors function with this adaptor?