Mini Display port to HDMI male-male cable from dock

[Gregers N.S. Larsen]

Hello all!

I am getting a SP3 with dock from work soon, pretty excited!

I have a question though. I have my really nice 1080p monitor at home I want to connect with the dock. I have a free standing desk and therefore hate cable clutter.

I want to connect my dock and monitor using a short male-male MDP to HDMI. However, I have heard that it has to be active, doesn't have to be active, and what is active. This all in all has left me a little confused.

Looks like this, more or less

Any thoughts on what to get? Also, if you have recommendations for a 0.5 meter cable, that would be awesome!

Thanks,

Gregers

 

[GreyFox7]

IDK .5m (19.6 inches) is pretty short. Depending on your monitor size it may not reach from where it connects to where it connects on the dock. I always get burned with short cables.

Cable Matters has a 3 foot cable (.9 meter)
http://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-Gold-Plated-DisplayPort/dp/B005H3Q59U/ref=pd_bxgy_pc_text_y

 

[Gregers N.S. Larsen]

My idea was to have the monitor just behind (above) the dock, so the two screens are more or less aligned. I'll see when I get the setup done how much I actually need. I'm more concerned about the whole "active" thing, is there anything to that?

 

[GreyFox7]

The cable linked supports up to 4k video which is all an SP3 can push.. Active components are likely enclosed in the large connector head. To me, Active just means it's not a straight piece of wire but has components to smooth/boost the signal. this will clear it up
http://www.cablechick.com.au/blog/active-vs-passive-cables-switches-splitters/
No? It depends on your use case but unless you wanted to do multiple HDMI monitors a simple passive aggressive err passive/active (non-powered by external means or without requiring an adapter/converter) cable is the right choice.

 

[Gregers N.S. Larsen]

Aawesome, thanks!