Start a Conversation

Solved!

Go to Solution

2243

September 4th, 2020 10:00

P2719HC, USB Type-C daisy chain to Asus HDMI in?

I am trying to connect Dell P2719HC daisy chain to Asus HDMI monitor. But it's not working somehow. 

Dell P2719HC connected to MacBook using "Thunderbolt -> Display Port" cable.

Asus monitor connected to Dell P2719HC using "Display Port -> HDMI" cable. 

Any help would be greatly appreciated. 

Thanks

4 Operator

 • 

14K Posts

September 5th, 2020 08:00

@nileshthummar  The reply of mine that was originally here was moved into this thread by a forum admin incorrectly.  That reply made no sense in the context of your question, but I was able to get that moved where it was supposed to be.  But in terms of your question, there are two issues here:

  • DisplayPort requires native DisplayPort signaling along the entire chain. USB-C to DisplayPort is fine since USB-C uses DisplayPort signaling, but DisplayPort to HDMI adapters/cables are not not fine.  The only minor exception to that would be that it's possible to use an active DisplayPort to HDMI adapter to run the last display in the chain, since in that case the system sees native DisplayPort signaling along the entire chain, and the fact that an HDMI input can't "extend" a daisy chain farther down the line doesn't matter for the last display in the chain.  But chances are that an active adapter isn't what you have right now.
  • macOS does not support DisplayPort daisy chaining at all.  There have been complaints about this on Apple's forums, this forum, and elsewhere on the Internet for years.  Ironically recent MacBooks can handle DisplayPort daisy chaining just fine when running Windows via Boot Camp, but not when running macOS.

4 Operator

 • 

14K Posts

September 6th, 2020 08:00

@nileshthummar  Unfortunately that's correct.  If you're using macOS, then as of today the only way to get dual displays running from a single output is to use a solution that taps into Thunderbolt 3 rather than regular DisplayPort MST.  The reason that works is that DisplayPort MST involves splitting a single DisplayPort interface from the GPU between multiple displays.  By comparison, Thunderbolt 3 can carry two full, independent GPU interfaces across a single cable.  In that case, macOS supports allocating one GPU interface to each displays -- although even here, you can only run two displays, whereas a TB3 connection on a PC would be capable of running 3-4 displays from those two GPU outputs because it could use DisplayPort MST on each of those two interfaces running over TB3.

In terms of how you'd use Thunderbolt here, one option would be to use a Thunderbolt daisy chain, but very few displays use native Thunderbolt, and even fewer of them have Thunderbolt output ports to create a daisy chain -- and none of them would be 1080p displays; they'd be higher-end expensive displays.  The other option would be to get a Thunderbolt 3 to Dual DisplayPort adapter.  These devices are made by vendors such as Plugable, StarTech, Sabrent, Sonnet, and OWC -- all of whom are solid vendors with a strong reputation for quality products.  Given the amount of video bandwidth TB3 can tap into, these adapters would allow you to run dual displays up to 4K 60 Hz each.  The downsides are:

  • They're re a bit expensive, so you might consider this solution overkill for your purposes.
  • Since one of your displays is a USB-C display, you'd lose USB data and power from the display by using this adapter, since the adapter only focuses on getting video OUT of your system, not getting power and USB data INTO your system from an external USB-C display.

In your case the best option is probably to get your ASUS display running by connecting it to your system separately, using a USB-C to DisplayPort cable if your display has a DisplayPort input, or a USB-C to HDMI cable if it doesn't.

September 6th, 2020 07:00

Thank you so much @jphughan  for the detailed responses. So if I understand correctly, the steps from the Dell link below won't work with macOS?

How to Daisy Chain Multiple Monitors Using DisplayPort Multi-Stream Transport (MST)

I also tried DP to DP with two P2719HC Monitor but no luck. Thanks.

No Events found!

Top