Belkin's AV360 Mini DisplayPort Converter lets you play Xbox 360 on iMac, costs as much as an Arcade
By Tim Stevens 
posted June 24th 2010 10:51AM
posted June 24th 2010 10:51AM
Update: We got it wrong on the MonoPrice reference here. That adapter goes the other way!
Belkin Introduces AV360™ Mini DisplayPort Converter for 27" iMac
New converter brings HD content from game consoles, cable, or satellite TV boxes to 27" iMac
PLAYA VISTA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Belkin announces its new AV360 Mini DisplayPort Converter that adapts the signal from an HDMI® audio video source, such as a Blu-ray® player, Xbox®, PS3®, or cable box, to a DisplayPort-compatible signal. The new converter supports high-resolution video and audio, allowing customers to display HD content from external devices on the 27" iMac.
"iMac will be available in late June 2010 in North America, Europe, and Asia."
AVAILABILITY
Belkin's AV360 Mini DisplayPort Converter for 27" iMac will be available in late June 2010 in North America, Europe, and Asia.
AV360 Mini DisplayPort Converter (F2CD007) - $149.99
Accepts full 1080p signal, provides 720p to iMac
Delivers stereo audio
HDCP-compliant
Includes the 4 ft. Mini DisplayPort to Mini DisplayPort Cable
Includes 4 ft. USB cable (powered by the USB connection)
Designed to complement supported Apple products
Mini DisplayPort to Mini DisplayPort Cable, 4 ft. (F2CD008tt1.5M) (male to male) - $29.99
Male-to-male cable
Displays content from a MacBook to iMac for an extended desktop
To learn more about Belkin International, Inc., visit http://www.belkin.com/pressroom/about/?sid=36
HDMI is a registered trademark of HDMI Licensing LLC in the United States and other countries. iMac, MacBook, and Apple are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.
$150 for a simple adapter that embeds audio? No thanks.
@whiplash ...though provides the best gaming experience a Mac can currently provide. /half-sarcasm
@whiplash
well if you live in a small room like that, how could you afford a xobx an imac and this 150 adapter?
@whiplash
think how much people could save by not getting imac but rather a regular computer and tv/monitor with hdmi
wow and even with the game console its still cheaper than an iMac!
@whiplash
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.37076
could something like this work? (+ extra male/female adapter maybe?)
@ericrrr It's called living in manhattan
@whiplash HDMI/DVI differ from displayport in the way it passes data. So a simple dongle will not work since nothing's changing the data as it passes through. Products like the AV360 are making it possible because not only does it offer the physical connectivity you need, but it also handles the displayport requirements for the data. It's really Apple just having a hold on its proprietary tech (displayport), but for the now announced i7 iMac at $2200 for a pretty good system, ultra high res IPS display, and low profile for a smaller room--I'd go for it. Buying an HDTV equivalent or close to the iMac's display on top of a system to match it comes out around the same price and you may get a 32" (though most 32" TV's don't have panels that match the iMac's IPS) but you lose the low profile set up as well as the factoring in of OS X (non-hackingtosh).
That's the price you pay for ignorance.
What is so special about this technology that results in a $150 price tag?
I don't understand.
@DoctarPeppar Because it's aimed at Apple customers.
@DoctarPeppar It converts an HDMI signal into a mini DisplayPort signal. Sadly a cheapo adapter from NewEgg won't do the trick if one is wanting to convert HDMI to DisplayPort, otherwise one could save probably 140 bucks.
@za7ch
That doesn't answer my question...I know what it does, I'm not an idiot, I can read the description -- my question is why is the technology so expensive to accomplish such a task? It doesn't make much sense to me...
@DoctarPeppar
It's not expensive. It's just that a the target audience is most likely to buy one at that price.
@DoctarPeppar Belkin Overcharges for everything 112 Dollars for a 12ft HDMI Cable? No thanks.
S. Jobs: This is why we like standars.
@Aguilera
Well, Mini DisplayPort is a standar. I had no idea the iMac had a Mini DisplayPort input. Odd.
Holy Craptastic Ripoff AppleMan!
Belkin...Giving Monster Cables a run for their...MONEY.
Wow, I thought the 27" iMac could only "see" 720p and 1440 ?
Someone please confirm that engadget is not making a mistake and that i can finaly use my ps3 on mine with 1080p res?
@lbmeijer This downconverts 1080p to 720p.
@lbmeijer I added that to the post to clarify.
@lbmeijer
Would have been nice if it up scaled to 1440p :P
@lbmeijer
right, i saw 1080p and i flipped! anyway, it's a huse waste of money! I already have one of these connecting my ps3 and imac and it looks terrible! unless you don't care about massive pixels on your pretty imac screen
This is why I would never own a All-in-one desktop computer. Hell a Mac Mini and a LCD TV would be cheaper than most iMacs. Plus then you could just plug your xbox 360 into a free HDMI plug on the TV. Seems like a much more practical solution.
@KAL326 Seeing as how the Mac Mini won't provide the specs and functionality of the iMac in it's lowest forms, let alone upgraded, and the LCD TV won't provide as nice a picture...I fail to fully recognize your pricing comparison, these are different product classes. Yes, most of us will continue with what we are currently doing to hook up our console to our TV.
The iMac makes sense in plenty of scenarios where the Mini doesn't.
@juanvaldez I used the Mac Mini as its the only none integrated display Apple computer that doesn't cost more than an iMac. Just using a SFFPC with significantly better specs dollar for dollar and infinitely more flexibility in implementation would also makes sense in a lot of scenarios where Apple doesn't.
Actually: http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10428&cs_id=1042802&p_id=6331&seq=1&format=2
That should do the trick.
@lollerpants Unless you're being sarcastic, that cable does exactly the opposite of this one.
@iamhelvetica Yeah I realized, was referring to the previous link which is now crossed out.
Umm... I think you guys aren't covering this correctly because you're confusing people with the monoprice line.
Belkin box does this:
Xbox 360 (or other HDMI) -> iMac (so you display picture on the iMac)
Monoprice cable does this:
iMac/MacBook/MacBookPro -> TV with HDMI (audio passed only on 2010 models).
The former is MUCH harder than the latter, because the iMac display is dumb when in slave mode and doesn't scale the image. Without a scaler, it'd only accept 720p content I believe.
@Jeff Kibuule Sure enough, I got it wrong. I've updated the post above.
@Jeff Kibuule
I was just headed in here to make that statement. The writer totally missed the point. Don't rush to judgement and mislead your readers.
thanks TimSteve, i already have one of those, compleet waste of money if it downconverts to 720p, which looks terrible! don't get it!
....200 for an xbox, 100 for wifi, 3,000 imac, 150 adapter... being able to play games on your mac... priceless
Apple = paying premium for what everything can do for a far cheaper price. I can pick up a used monitor to hook up for that price, or go to newegg or tigerdirect and get a cheap HD monitor new.
I Realy want one......... I think ill put one of kidneys on ebay first
You know, on the 20 articles that are on the front page right now, 10 of them are Apple related in some form. Christ.
@coredump Well, it is iPhone 4 day. Hope you'll forgive us.
@coredump
Maybe Apple have a lot of electronics-related news.
That is what they do, after all. They wouldn't be doing a very good job if there was no Apple news out.
Is there a reason that this wouldn't work on a Macbook Pro as well?
@Thunder82
Says right on belkin's page that it'll work with macbook pros as well.. my bad :)
Make them $50 and I can see a use for them. Until then, my future tiny bedroom will have to have one extra screen for my Xbox.
Until then, my 360 will play on this:
http://www.maggioweb.it/tv486_0000.jpg
Not really related, but I just got a MacBook Pro and was bummed about the lack of HDMI out and the fact that I'd have to buy a funky USB audio + Mini DisplayPort converter to do HDMI.
... not true! Finally Apple started supporting audio over Mini DisplayPort as of April 2010, so I just picked up the Griffin DisplayConverter for $25, one little dongle to do MDP->HDMI. Sweet! I'd still prefer an actual HDMI out, but if I'm gonna have to carry an HDMI cable when I travel, the tiny flexible Griffin adapter is hardly an extra burden.
That price is bull crap :/ Never had good experiences with Belkin hardware in general.
Just to be clear, Kanex has a similar product at the same price, while no one else has anything close to what this does. The price is high, but if you're connecting a PS3/Xbox to a 27" iMac, it's the only way to do it.
Uh... buying a secondary screen is probably a better way to spend your money. Unless you HAVE to see your Xbox 360 running on your iMac.
@Eruanno
What 27" secondary screen are you getting for 150 bucks?
The product is for people who have an imac ... and dont want to buy a second display or a tv to hook up their XBox .. or Cable Box or whatever.
I think the real question is how much lag it creates while converting to 720p / mini display port signal. any lag in an online FPS makes it kinda pointless
Buy the Kanex XD. Much better design and same price.
You could just download Steam for mac and enjoy a small selection of excellent games, free online multiplayer, cloud sync for saves, constant game updates, game bundles and discounts.