“The high end iMac now supplies a screen larger and with significantly more pixels than [Apple’s] standalone 24″ LED Cinema Display model (which for $899 sports a 1920×1200 resolution), providing a 2560×1440 native resolution nearly as large as the company’s 30″ Cinema Display HD (which delivers 2560×1600 but costs $1799),” McLean reports. “With all those pixels on the new 27″ iMac, Apple couldn’t resist giving users the option to use the screen for more than just the iMac (note that the 21.5″ iMacs do not support video input).”
McLean reports, “Being able to support DisplayPort input also opens the possibility for users to connect a Blu-Ray player, TV tuner, or other device to their iMac for non-computing display purposes. The wide screen display is now a cinematic 16:9 aspect ratio, the same as HDTVs.”
More info in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Dev” for the heads up.]
High 5 !
This makes it convenient to hook up other computers, but I’m not sure if the display will work for a Blu-ray player, due to the onerous DRM shackles required by Blu-ray licensing.
And, by the way, MDN, Apple closed today at an all-time high. I’m anxiously awaiting your celebratory article, together with the Laura Goldman quote and all…
I suspect this is another step toward Apple’s next big revolution.
I bet it will work with a blu-ray player that one would typically use with an HDTV, and the display will be just that a display without the ability to record from the player, etc.
Hmm, I was wondering about replacing my aging powermac (yes, that’s correct!) with a new computer–either an iMac or a mac pro. The big issue for me has been the longevity of the iMac. I’m at 6 years and counting on my powermac, so I keep my computers around for a while… This makes the iMac much more appealing as my main desktop for about 3-4 years: I could then use it as a monitor if I decided to go with a new mac pro at that point.
Interesting!
Next iteration of the AppleTV will have a display port option I bet.
It’s just a pity the only thing you can connect is a Macbook.
If I have a screen that good, I want to use it for a few other things too.
Normally I’m against lots of connectors but really something like HDMI input was a winner here as many would be eying their PS3s and DVRs etc and seeing lots of reasons to excuse the cost.
Oh well, never mind. Maybe next year MacBooks will get a Page Up key that actually moves the cursor.
This great, but it should definitely be extended to the 21″ iMac as well! It really changes the economics for those of us that like to keep using a display longer than the computer.
There’s no information available from Apple here in Canada about whether the mini DisplayPort input includes audio. The mini DisplayPort spec. seems to indicate a pin-to-pin passthrough from standard DisplayPort, so one might think that the mini DP input should be able to accept audio. Would that it could, because I’ve found a few HDMI output to DP input converters for a handful of dollars. This means (in theory at this point) that HDMI can be used as a source for the iMac display. Even if there’s no audio into the mini DP, a splitter (cobbled or manufactured) should do the trick.
Finally, HDTV on my iMac.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” />
Maybe this will let iMac monitor display the soon to be announced mac tablet device. One for home and one for the road…
@PXT,
Why would you say, “the only thing you can connect is a Macbook”? It has a DisplayPort input, which means you should be able to connect a wide variety of sources with DisplayPort and DVI, including MacBooks, MacBook Pros, minis, and PCs (God forbid).
@Trevor,
I highly doubt the connector will support audio… It would need decoding/downmixing hardware, which is unlikely. As for whether you can connect an HDMI source like an HDTV receiver or Blu-ray player, it depends whether the input supports HDCP. I highly doubt that, too.
I’ll be very surprised if the display input capability isn’t relegated to use as computer monitor or as a display for only non-HDCP sources (no HDMI).
Oh, and if you want HDTV on your Mac, just get an eyeTV hybrid from elgato.
@John,
My God, man! Throw the old PowerMac on a shelf, because only $599 stands between you and a Mini w/Snow Leopard and a 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo!
With the modest amount of money a mini costs, you don’t have to worry about using the same computer for 6 years! Put the money in a nice keyboard, mouse, display and storage, and you can upgrade the computer every year or two if you want.
I requested this from Apple when the first flat pannel G5s came out glad to see they have finaly included this anti obsolessense feature.
About time, frankly. I have an iMac G5 with a dead motherboard, it would’ve been nice if it could have continued life as an external monitor. Instead, it’s cheap parts (very cheap, since many iMac G5s suffered the same fate)
@ ecrabb: “just get an eyeTV hybrid”
I have one, but HD off air is all but non-existent here in Toronto (and I’m 43 floors up and should have good access to the signals). Six channels, with only 1.5 worth of reception is not HD. The Hybrid does not accept HD cable or other HD inputs. 🙁
Apple has some ‘splainin’ to do about what the mini DP input port can and cannot accept. There’s no point in saying it accepts mini DP video, if it can’t accept all video coming down those wires. Video is/should be video, even if some lawyer or techie wants to intermix licensing.
Either that, or Apple should make clear which formats the mini DP input can and cannot accept. To say, without caveats, that the port can accept video is hugely disingenuous, even misleading, if the port cannot accept some forms of video.
I don’t understand the logic behind the ability to use the display on the iMac past the useful life of the iMac’s computing components. With a separate set-up, when your old computer is,well, old, you replace it with a new one, connecting it to the old display, keyboard and mouse. The old computer goes on eBay and fetches some $$$, or gets pressed into some media server service. Whichever way, the old computer is not thrown away, but its value gets reused, one way or the other.
When and iMac is too old, you cannot sell its computing guts and keep the display. If you want to continue to use its display, you’ll be buying a new computer and keeping the old one. Now, the old iMac (actually, its computing parts) is wasted there, unused. Why would anyone want to do this?
We all know how Macs keep their value much longer. Well, so do iMacs. So, when your iMac becomes very old, you can still sell the whole thing on eBay and fetch decent money for it; much more than if you had a similarly old PC, together with a LCD monitor, keyboard and mouse. It is not like the display component of an iMac holds more value than the computing guts part.
Could somebody explain the argument here?
@Mike – why would you need to hook an AppleTV to this? it already has Front Row which provides the same thing as ATV? Just add Hulu and Boxee and you are all set with the iMac.
I know there have been several iterations of EyeTV hybrid, but my version allows for me to connect my cable, and it will decode Clear QAM, which is HD that is not encrypted.
@Trevor,
Bummer about your off-the-air. Another possibly solution for you for recording/displaying HD… Did you know elgato has drivers for the Hauppage HD PVR? Check it out.
As for the whole iMac DisplayPort thing, Apple doesn’t say anything about video that I can find. The only two quotes I can find are these:
27-inch models also support input from external DisplayPort sources (adapters sold separately).
On the 27-inch iMac, the same port offers input, too. So you can connect any external source that has DisplayPort output — including a MacBook or MacBook Pro — and use your iMac as a display.
Based on those quotes, I’d say HDMI is probably out. It looks like the functionality is primarily there for multi-computer households, so Joe Sixpack can hook up his MacBook Pro to Susie Sixpack’s iMac display to do some work on the big screen without buying an additional display. Pretty nice if you ask me, even if you can’t use it as a consumer electronics display. I think it’s something the iMac should have had a long time ago.
@Predrag
Macs may hold value better, but not all that well, especially since Apple keeps upping the processor speeds and tech so often (1-2 times a year). Considering the type of computer you will be able to buy in 5 years for the same money, I would expect that the display of an aging iMac WOULD be worth more than the computing guts.
I have a 10-year old 22″ cinema display. Still works fine on my 5+year old dual G5 tower. The tower isn’t worth all that much, since it’s pre-Intel. That said, I was hoping to get rid of both with the next Mac Pro revision. But a 27 inch display hits the sweet spot for me. I’m almost tempted to just buy an iMac now and hold off on the Mac Pro until the next time I upgrade (in 5 years or so) – and I’ll still have a good display with a decent back-up computer in case of emergencies.
Man, what are you guys doing that you even need a MacPro anymore? An iMac, mini, or MacBook are great for everything but perhaps professionally (meaning all day) editing HD or 3D modeling/rendering. (Some even get by perfectly for those things). Is that what you guys are doing?
It’s crazy… You used to have to buy at the higher-end ($3500-4000, PLUS RAM and display) to do design or photo work efficiently. The $5000 for all that stuff was a lot more money back then, too!
But now, even the most basic computers are great if they’re decked out with RAM and drive space. A $2000 iMac is more than adequate for most people doing most things now, and even an $800 mini is an incredibly capable computer. Amazing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Displayport
DisplayPort is a royalty-free VESA standard that carries video, clock, and optional audio signals.
It can pass DVI and HDMI signals.
I have a buddy with a mini using a mini-DisplayPort to HDMI adapter to then connect to a LCD television. The aforementioned article suggests that it should work the other way, too.
@John, hey I’m still using my 6 year old 15” Powerbook G4 as my main computer. I’m not sure what to upgrade to. I love my Firewire 400 & 800 ports too!
Sounds like this is designed to rather more than just a computer. Signs of things to come perhaps especially with that revolution.
@Predrag,
You missed the part in my comment where the iMac’s computing components themselves were dead.
At $800 for out-of-warranty replacement service, about all it would be good for is a second screen.