|
|
 |
 |
|
PowerMac HDI Video Adapter Dongle |
|
|
|
|
|
I'm theorizing here, since I haven't actually heard this from Apple, but the HDI-45 port appears to be the legacy of a strange experiment that never really took off--the Apple AudioVision 14 Display.
In its never-ending quest to provide user-friendliness regardless of whether or not consumers will pay the added premium for it, Apple created the AudioVision Display, a video monitor that incorporated capabilities for video out, video in, audio out, audio in, and the Apple Desktop Bus (ADB). Since they thought a lot of cables would be unwieldly, they also created the Integrated Desktop Cable (IDC), that carried all these signals together in a high-density, shielded cable with a 45 pin connector (the HDI-45). To ensure the success of the AudioVision display, they made the HDI-45 port a standard connector on what was then the brand new Power Mac series. A user could plug the monitor in once, and then never have to venture into the nether regions at the back of his Macintosh ever again. The AudioVision display had built-in speakers, an audio input port, a video-in port, and two ADB ports, so the user could configure and reconfigure his system from in front of the machine.
Of course, you can use the AudioVision display with non-Power Macs, too, but you'll need to buy an adapter. This part is a sort of fan-out cable that takes the IDC and splits it into its four component parts (I don't believe the video in specification was ever completed.)
There's also the adapter that goes the other way. If you own a 6100, the odds are good that you're using it right now. All non-AV models of the 6100 series shipped with this cable. You can buy it separately, but it's a bit expensive for just an adapter (Apple part #M2681LL/A, about $45 retail if you can find it). It doesn't carry the audio or ADB signals, but it does allow one to attach a standard Macintosh monitor with a DB-15 cable to the HDI-45 port.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
