The 17″ CRT, 15″ LCD digital flat panel and 22″ Cinema Display that Apple began to sell last summer all come equipped with an Apple Display Connector (ADC) interface, rather than a more conventional VGA or DVI cable. The ADC combines power, USB and a video signal into one cable that comes from the computer.
This has made it impossible for Mac users to connect the new monitors to older Macs, since only newer AGP-equipped systems incorporate the hardware necessary to support ADC monitors. It also makes it impossible for newer Macs to support multiple newer Apple monitors on a single machine.
Recently, however, companies have come forth with solutions to this problem, which enable ADC monitors to work on Macs equipped with digital visual interface, or DVI. DVI is a more common industry standard used both on older Apple-installed video cards and provided as an alternative connection on popular third-party Mac video cards, as well.
DVIator is just such a solution — the cable connector breaks DVI video, USB and external power out from the ADC cable, making it possible for a Mac with a DVI-equipped card to support an ADC-equipped display. Because DVI cards can work on PCI slots, it also makes it feasible for a Mac user to connect more than one ADC-equipped display on a single Mac, as well, by using the DVI connection on a second PCI card.
Dr. Bott says that DVIator has been tested for compatibility with Macs all the way down to the venerable Power Mac 7200, one of the first PCI-based models to hit the streets.
Dr. Bott expects to begin delivery of the DVIator this month with a retail price of US$149.95. More details are available from the Dr. Bott Web site.