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I am looking forward to buy the Mac Mini 5. I want to add dual monitors and a projector simultaneously. I also want to run the skype, video camera, audio, and a projector at the same time. Is it possible to run everything on the same time? Does this Mac Mini 5 capable to handle everything simultaneously?
AS far as I know that Mac Minis are least expensive systems available from the Apple market. They are limited with configuration and specs. The limitations also include inability to add multiple monitors. But some users already found workaround for this issue. There are several adapters and USB to video solutions available on the market which will help you to do any kind of setup on this tiny system. You have to find a good Mac compatible USB to DVI or USB to VGA adapter. MAKE sure that those adapters contain DisplayLink chip so that they can be Intel-Mac compatible. Also don’t forget to download the latest DisplayLink Mac Drivers.
Some reports say that any generations Mac Mini has dual video outputs. These outputs might be Mini DVI as well as Mini DisplayPort. However the latest Mac Mini has Mini HDMI and Mini DisplayPort. But here the problem is you cannot connect the VGA display to Mini HDMI, since they won’t support at all.
The only way is to get the USB Displaylink adapter and you can use that adapter for another VGA connection with the Mini Displayport.
I also wanted to build the Mac mini-based home entertainment system. The issue arises when there is need of dual-monitor support and projector. The Mac mini had only one video output. So I came with a good work around for this issue. I thought to mirror the same video to both the DVI projector as well as a DVI monitor. To do this:
- Get a DVI "splitter" cable. Make sure that it has two-female to one-male DVI-D splitter.
- Now connect the monitor to one side of the splitter.
- Then Take the projector cable and rip apart pins 6 and 7. It will remove the monitor sense function. Connect it to the other end of the splitter.
- Set both monitor and projector resolution as same.
If you didn’t purchase the projector yet, there is a option for you:
If you are going to buy a new projector, then make sure that you are getting a projector that has dual-inputs which can be easily switched to pass-through. This is what I done with VGA on a Viewsonic PJ656. You can easily pass the video through the projector even if it is not on at all. Like this way you can get the mirror image easily.
I am using the Mac Mini which also didn’t support Dual Screen but I managed to get two screens via a DVI splitter. By the use of this splitter you can easily run 2 monitors in mirror mode. Right now I have connected 23″ Cinema HD Screen and TV via the DVI to Video Adapter. Everything works perfectly here.