The Mini-DVI connector is used on certain

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

computers as a digital alternative to the

Mini-VGA Mini-VGA connectors are a non-standard, proprietary alternative used on some laptops and other systems in place of the standard VGA connector, although most laptops use a standard VGA connector. Apple, HP and Asus have separate implementations us ...

connector. Its size is between the full-sized

DVI Digital Visual Interface (DVI) is a video display interface developed by the Digital Display Working Group (DDWG). The digital interface is used to connect a video source, such as a video display controller, to a display device, such as a comp ...

and the tiny

Micro-DVI The Micro-DVI port is a proprietary video output port found in the original MacBook Air. It is smaller than the Mini-DVI port used by its MacBook models. To use the port for displaying video on a standard monitor or television, an adapter must b ...

. It is found on the 12-inch

PowerBook G4 The PowerBook G4 is a series of notebook computers manufactured, marketed, and sold by Apple Computer between 2001 and 2006 as part of its PowerBook line of notebooks. The PowerBook G4 runs on the RISC-based PowerPC G4 processor, designed by the ...

(except the original 12-inch 867 MHz PowerBook G4, which used Mini-VGA), the Intel-based

iMac iMac is a family of all-in-one Mac desktop computers designed and built by Apple Inc. It has been the primary part of Apple's consumer desktop offerings since its debut in August 1998, and has evolved through seven distinct forms. In it ...

, the MacBook Intel-based laptop, the Intel-based

Xserve Xserve is a line of rack unit computers designed by Apple Inc. for use as servers. Introduced in 2002, it was Apple's first designated server hardware design since the Apple Network Server in 1996. In the meantime, ordinary Power Macintosh G3 a ...

, the 2009

Mac mini Mac Mini (stylized as Mac mini) is a small form factor (desktop and motherboard), small form factor desktop computer developed and marketed by Apple Inc. , it is positioned between the consumer all-in-one iMac (Intel-based), iMac and the profes ...

, and some late model

eMac The eMac (short for education Mac) is a discontinued all-in-one Macintosh desktop computer that was produced and designed by Apple Computer Released in 2002, it was originally aimed at the education market, but was later made available as a ...

s. In October 2008, Apple announced the company was phasing Mini-DVI out in favor of

Mini DisplayPort The Mini DisplayPort (MiniDP or mDP) is a miniaturized and less common version of the DisplayPort audio-visual digital interface. It was announced by Apple in October 2008, and by early 2013 all new Apple Macintosh computers had Mini DisplayPo ...

. Mini-DVI connectors on Apple hardware are capable of carrying DVI,

VGA Video Graphics Array (VGA) is a video display controller and accompanying de facto graphics standard, first introduced with the IBM PS/2 line of computers in 1987, which became ubiquitous in the PC industry within three years. The term can no ...

, or TV signals through the use of adapters, detected with

EDID Extended Display Identification Data (EDID) and Enhanced EDID (E-EDID) are metadata formats for display devices to describe their capabilities to a video source (e.g. graphics card or set-top box). The data format is defined by a standard published ...

(Extended display identification data) via DDC. This connector is often used in place of a DVI connector in order to save physical space on devices. Mini-DVI does not support dual-link connections and hence cannot support resolutions higher than 1920×1200 @60 Hz. There are various types of Mini-DVI adapter: *Apple Mini-DVI to VGA Adapter Apple part numbe
M9320G/A
(discontinued) *Apple Mini-DVI to Video Adapter Apple part number M9319G/A, provided both

S-Video S-Video (also known as separate video, Y/C, and erroneously Super-Video ) is an analog video signal format that carries standard-definition video, typically at 525 lines or 625 lines. It encodes video luma and chrominance on two separate channe ...

and

Composite video Composite video is an analog video signal format that carries standard-definition video (typically at 525 lines or 625 lines) as a single channel. Video information is encoded on one channel, unlike the higher-quality S-Video (two channels) a ...

connectors (discontinued) *Apple Mini-DVI to DVI Adapter (DVI-D) Apple part number M9321G/B (discontinued) Non-OEM Mini-DVI to HDMI adapters are also available at online stores such as eBay and Amazon, and from some retail stores, but were not sold by Apple. The physical connector is similar to

, but is differentiated by having four rows of pins arranged in two vertically stacked slots rather than the two rows of pins in the Mini-VGA. Connecting to a DVI-I connector requires a Mini-DVI to DVI-D cable plus a DVI-D to DVI-I adapter.

Criticisms

*Apple's Mini-DVI to DVI-D cable does not carry the analog signal coming from the mini-DVI port on the Apple computer. This means that it is not possible to use this cable with an inexpensive DVI-to-VGA adapter for VGA output; Apple's mini-DVI to VGA cable must be used instead. This could be avoided if Apple provided a mini-DVI to DVI-I cable. The purpose of

DVI-I Digital Visual Interface (DVI) is a video display interface developed by the Digital Display Working Group (DDWG). The digital interface is used to connect a video source, such as a video display controller, to a display device, such as a c ...

is to ensure universal compatibility. *The Apple mini-DVI to DVI-D cable's package shows a DVI-I figure instead of DVI-D and does not specify that it comes with only DVI-D.

Compatibility

As Mini-DVI is pin-compatible with DVI, it supports both DVI and VGA through adapters.

References

External links

12-inch PowerBook G4 Developer Note: External Display Port
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mini-Dvi Digital display connectors Graphics cards Apple Inc. hardware

Criticisms

Compatibility

See also

References

External links