Is Thunderbolt cable also mini-DP cable?

[maartendc]

Hi all,

 

I've got a Macbook Pro Late 2013 that has Thunderbolt 2. As far as I understand, Thunderbolt 2 can support displayport signal, and the connector is a mini-displayport connector.

 

I am trying to plug in:

 

Thunderbolt 2 port >> Apple Thunderbolt cable >> Monitor's mini-displayport connection.

 

...I get no signal however. Very confused about this, I thought it was supposed to work. Perhaps my monitors' port is broken?

Is a thunderbolt cable capable of handling a mini-displayport signal? Or do i need a "specific" displayport cable?

 

When I plug in:

 

Thunderbolt 2 port >> Mini-DP to standard DP-Cable >> Monitor's standard displayport connection

 

...It all works fine. So either my MiniDP port on my monitor is broken, or my Thunderbolt 2 cable doesnt work for Mini DP?

 

Thanks!

 

[Glenwing]

3 minutes ago, maartendc said:

Hi all,

 

I've got a Macbook Pro Late 2013 that has Thunderbolt 2. As far as I understand, Thunderbolt 2 can support displayport signal, and the connector is a mini-displayport connector.

 

I am trying to plug in:

 

Thunderbolt 2 port >> Apple Thunderbolt cable >> Monitor's mini-displayport connection.

 

I get no signal however. Very confused about this, I thought it was supposed to work. Perhaps my monitors' port is broken?

Is a thunderbolt cable capable of handling a mini-displayport signal? Or do i need a "specific" displayport cable?

 

Thanks!

 

Thunderbolt ports can double as a Mini DisplayPort output, which they do when connected to a DisplayPort monitor. However for that, you need to use a DisplayPort cable, not a Thunderbolt cable. Although they have the same connector, Thunderbolt cables have additional electronics inside, and are meant for connecting to Thunderbolt devices. Just get a regular Mini DisplayPort cable.

[minibois]

As far as I know, a Thunderbolt port will support a mini displayport cable. But a mini displayport port won't support thunderbolt cable (via a mini displayport connector), unless it specifically is a thunderbolt port. 

So yeah, a thunderbolt cable won't work on a mini displayport monitor

[maartendc]

4 minutes ago, Glenwing said:

Thunderbolt ports can double as a Mini DisplayPort output, which they do when connected to a DisplayPort monitor. However for that, you need to use a DisplayPort cable, not a Thunderbolt cable. Although they have the same connector, Thunderbolt cables have additional electronics inside, and are meant for connecting to Thunderbolt devices. Just get a regular Mini DisplayPort cable.

 

2 minutes ago, Minibois said:

As far as I know, a Thunderbolt port will support a mini displayport cable. But a mini displayport port won't support thunderbolt cable (via a mini displayport connector), unless it specifically is a thunderbolt port. 

So yeah, a thunderbolt cable won't work on a mini displayport monitor

Ah, okay thanks for clearing that up!

 

It is so counter-intuitive, since the port on the PC will do both, and the cables look identical. I wish they made the cables "backwards compatible" to miniDP so to speak.

 

Thanks guys! Guess I will buy a miniDP to miniDP cable.