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analog way vs. macs

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Cliff Fuller:
I've got an Analog Way Easy Fade that I'm trying to interface 2 Mac laptops with. The device recognizes that there are 2 computers on inputs 5 and 6 but will only pass input 5 reliably. I've tried different resolutions as well as different combinations of computer/inputs (including input 7) but the best I get is an output from the 2nd laptop that appears to have lost sync or something. If 2 Windows boxes are used everything seems to work perfectly.

Any ideas? Thanks .....

Brad Weber:
Are the Macs actually VGA out or are they mini DisplayPort with an adapter cable?  The mini Display Port to VGA adapter cables seem to be somewhat problematic.

Cliff Fuller:

--- Quote from: Brad Weber on January 26, 2011, 07:53:53 AM ---Are the Macs actually VGA out or are they mini DisplayPort with an adapter cable?  The mini Display Port to VGA adapter cables seem to be somewhat problematic.

--- End quote ---

Thanks for responding, Brad.

These Macs are older, G4 Powerbooks. Their display outputs are DVI-I (with analog RGB). We have tried both, the Apple DVI to VGA dongles and those manufactured by 3rd parties.

I have read about the issues with the mini Display Port adapters. That headache will be for another day after I upgrade my laptop  ;)

Karl P(eterson):
I have almost a dozen macs with mini-display ports and use them in a wide variety of different scenarios. So long as you realize that OSX (like Vista/Win7) obeys EDID religiously and keep the appropriate spoofers around you shouldn't have a problem.

I believe that you are probably seeing EDID issues, although I must admit it has been a very long time since I have used G series hardware. Even so, assuming it is running OSX, it should obey the same rules.

That said, Current I have a variety of Macs with outputs encompassing DVI, Mini-DVI, and Mini-Display-Port. All of them need various adapters to get where they are going. We use mostly Analog Way and older TVOne boxes. They all need a spoofers to work properly.

You should make sure you keep both DVI EDID spoofers (Gefen makes the Detective) or VGA EDID spoofers (I keep Kramer VP-200K around) for these types of jobs/troubleshooting

Hope that helps,

Karl P

Cliff Fuller:

--- Quote from: Karl P(eterson) on February 16, 2011, 11:59:55 AM ---I have almost a dozen macs with mini-display ports and use them in a wide variety of different scenarios. So long as you realize that OSX (like Vista/Win7) obeys EDID religiously and keep the appropriate spoofers around you shouldn't have a problem.

I believe that you are probably seeing EDID issues, although I must admit it has been a very long time since I have used G series hardware. Even so, assuming it is running OSX, it should obey the same rules.

That said, Current I have a variety of Macs with outputs encompassing DVI, Mini-DVI, and Mini-Display-Port. All of them need various adapters to get where they are going. We use mostly Analog Way and older TVOne boxes. They all need a spoofers to work properly.

You should make sure you keep both DVI EDID spoofers (Gefen makes the Detective) or VGA EDID spoofers (I keep Kramer VP-200K around) for these types of jobs/troubleshooting

Hope that helps,

Karl P

--- End quote ---

Some other reading that I've done supports your suggestion, Karl. I finally got my hands on a "spoofer" dongle but it didn't seem to resolve the issue. I did find it interesting that the particular adapter I used didn't need it's optional power transformer if I connected it directly to the computer (after the DVI to VGA adapter) but did need it if connected at the other end of the VGA cable before the switcher/scaler.

Thanks for the suggestions, though.

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