Thinkpads Forum

Does anybody here happen to know if the W520 supports audio over the Displayport? I'd like to be able to park my old self in my Laz-y-boy recliner in front of my 46" Sony HDTV and use the new W520 that I plan on purchasing real soon now and I was hoping that I could convert the Displayport signal over to HDMI and get sound as well as video.

Thanks!

====EDIT
I may have been reading too many datasheets of late. It appears that the W520 has an HDMI port.

My eyes are bleeding from going over computer specs...

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- subsequent edit....

No, it appears that it has displayport. Don't believe everything you read on the manufacturer's web site.

G'Day Mike*;
I / WE have written and BEGGED Lenovo to install DHMI ports on W Series for nearly 2 years now ....... and seems the GLOBAL PRODUCT MANAGER of TP = either dont care or couldnt be bothered......But he (name withheld) seems quick to call whenever we stop ordering 1200+ a year ......and get some DELL M Series !

I be getting my FIRST W520 MOnday ; am told so wil be keen to get my hands on one to test the so called HDMI !!

We only need this port for doing Presentations to business etc - sadly I will have to buy my OWN one for hoime use!

Cheers
Mike

Howdy Mike!

I had this very odd vibe that perhaps with the way things sometimes go for Lenovo and their suppliers, as is witnessed by the WIRELESS USB in my T61p, that perhaps the HDMI port on the W520 is an INPUT.

Sadly, I have to buy my own for home use as well. The folks in IT where I work get them for free, but I work as an Industrial Maintenance Technician and we get old T42s and T43s to use to go over ladder code for the multitude of PLCs on the plant floor. At least they are nice old computers and I don't have to buy one, like I have to do for my Fluke meters.

Please let us know how the HDMI works for you. I'd like to know if my recliner plan is going to work, of if I had better plan on getting another PS3 to plug into that HDMI input.

Kind regards,
Mike

Hello all. I am new to the forum.

I am trying to decide between the new w520 and last years w510 for home/business use to run autocad. This would be my first Lenovo as well.

Can anyone verify if the w520 actually has the hdmi port?

Does it mean the Displayport is gone?

Please wait while we connect with you with a Lenovo Chat Representative.
You have been connected to _Jerry O.
_Jerry O: Hi, how are you doing?
David: Okay, thanks.
David: Wondering about the video port on the Thinkpad W520
David: Datasheet says it's HDMI; tabook says it's DisplayPort. Which is it really?
_Jerry O: display port
David: Oh, okay. The gallery photo shows HDMI. Weird.
David: http://www.lenovo.com/shop/americas/con ... 520-9L.jpg
_Jerry O: its display port
David: I believe you

I was wrong about the datasheet; it doesn't say one way or another. I had been thinking of the gallery photo.

I would have preferred HDMI; seems more likely I'd encounter that on a TV when traveling. Otherwise, I have the dock's dual DisplayPorts. Not a big deal. Someone probably makes a DP->HDMI adapter.

HDMI would replace Displayport, so it looks like it is gone.

johnt - I was reading a review of the W520, and it looks like if you are doing extremely intensive work, the W520 is the way to go (This guy said it was twice (2x) as fast as his W510 when encoding a 720p video). It looks (judging by pictures in the review referenced) that it is still displayport, not HDMI, which makes sense - I don't believe that there is a HDMI to displayport adapter, but it works the other way around, and lenovo has been encouraging the displayport infastructre for a while, it would not make sense for them to change it now.

@craigmontHunter - thanks for your reply and the review link.

@davidhbrown - Thanks for verifying the lack of the HDMI. Here is a link to the adapter Lenovo sells: http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/cont ... u_area=yes

Does anyone know if the Displayport on the W520 supports audio?

My guess would be yes it works since it worked on the W510. Also audio out through Displayport to HDMI adapter also works.

"Audio over DisplayPort

This may have already been solved over on the forums, but I have long since stopped following “that thread.” I have a note in my inbox that says without a doubt that our 2010 Caplella machines will carry audio over DisplayPort."

http://www.lenovoblogs.com/insidethebox ... -and-ends/

"Yes, I tried it out on my new w510 and it works great. You have to do things in the right order. First connect the Displayport adapter and HDMI cable between your w510 and your TV. Then go to Windows7 Control Panel -> Hardware and Sound -> manage audio devices. Right-click your TV/monitor, which should appear in the list, and choose "Set as default device." The sound should pop out of your TV. Make sure you have the TV set to take its audio input from HDMI."

http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/W-Series-Th ... 5AE2567072

Thank you for the info on the Displayport audio. I feel better now.

Ever since the xx10 series, the DP on the T/W series is a DP++ (check the logo next to the port), which means it is a port that can carry out both native DP and native HDMI signals on a port that physically looks like DP. Which is why a simple adapter works.

I realize I'm a bit late to this thread but I have plans to buy a $10 male/male DisplayPort to HDMI cable on Amazon.

Combine this with a wireless gamepad/keyboard/mouse and you will have a nicely souped up pseudo-Xbox360 (although without quite the same selection of games).

kb3edk wrote:I realize I'm a bit late to this thread but I have plans to buy a $10 male/male DisplayPort to HDMI cable on Amazon.

Combine this with a wireless gamepad/keyboard/mouse and you will have a nicely souped up pseudo-Xbox360 (although without quite the same selection of games).

I'm doing the exact same thing here, but not for gaming. I already bought the wireless keyboard and trackball as well as an HDMI cable that supports audio and ethernet. I'm waiting for the W520 to arrive so I can make sure that I order the correct displayport to HDMI converter cable.

Amazon cables are great for the money. I have several here already.

johnt7225 wrote:Hello all. I am new to the forum.

I am trying to decide between the new w520 and last years w510 for home/business use to run autocad. This would be my first Lenovo as well.

Can anyone verify if the w520 actually has the hdmi port?

...

I notified Lenovo of the mistake on the product page for the W520. It has been corrected. All W520's have a Dual-Mode DisplayPort and a VGA DB-15.

Passive converters are available to take the Dual-Mode DisplayPort output and convert to either HDMI or single-Link DVI-D for attachment to tvs or monitors.

Might been better if the HDMI port to be INCLUDED and delete (older)DP stuff !!!
lots easier to connect via HDMI , and everyone else seems to have one - even the cheapest 399$ models have them !
~~ ONE DISSPOINTED CUSTOMER ~~~ ,,,,,,,,,,are you listerning LENOOOOOOOOOOOOOvo~

Ain't gonna happen... DisplayPort is considered the business standard, HDMI is consumer standard. You will continue seeing HDMI on multimedia models, and DP (DP++) on business models (Lenovo, DELL, even HP shifted there from being all-HDMI).

dr_st wrote:Ever since the xx10 series, the DP on the T/W series is a DP++ (check the logo next to the port), which means it is a port that can carry out both native DP and native HDMI signals on a port that physically looks like DP. Which is why a simple adapter works.

Does this mean the DP on xx00 (specifically X200 UltraBase) won't work with these DP->HDMI/DVI adapters/cables?

Tricky question.

From what I figured out, the DP port on the Ultrabase is just a passthrough. Support or not is determined by the laptop. Apparently, X200 will support HDMI video through an adapter (may depend on adapter, and display, not sure), but not audio. X201, however will output audio as well, on the same Ultrabase.

E.g., http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=89694

I don't have a TV to test with but there are two audio output devices in the W520, the regular one and a HDMI audio one: Its likely that HDMI audio out is passed through the DisplayPort connector.

ausmike wrote:Might been better if the HDMI port to be INCLUDED and delete (older)DP stuff !!!
lots easier to connect via HDMI ...

I was thinking that HDMI would be convenient, too... but given how easily and inexpensively DPP can be turned into HDMI and I'd have to have brought along a HDMI cable anyway... well, one of those $10 DPP=>HDMI adapter cables is on its way to me.

By the way, HDMI dates from 2002; DisplayPort from 2006, so it's HDMI that's the older stuff. Possible it took longer for HDMI to reach you "down under;" wouldn't know about that

Oh, and you can also get a fairly inexpensive DisplayPort to DVI adapter cable, too. Hmm... even VGA adapters. So it seems like DP++ is really the way to go for maximum value from the space given over to the port.

davidhbrown wrote:Possible it took longer for HDMI to reach you "down under;"

Things are freaking slow and outdated down here.

Moved here about 9 months ago...and man, it's like traveling back in time...5 years at least.

Try mentioning DP to anyone local...and it's like "Never head of it. HDMI is the best, and it's what I use..." So, we're around 2006 here I guess. ausmike is one of them.... :-p

dr_st wrote:From what I figured out, the DP port on the Ultrabase is just a passthrough. Support or not is determined by the laptop. Apparently, X200 will support HDMI video through an adapter (may depend on adapter, and display, not sure), but not audio. X201, however will output audio as well, on the same Ultrabase.

Lenovo has DP->DVI/VGA adapters and, as usual, they list compatibility:
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... 70321.html

According to this, both X200 and X201 support both of these adapters. As you say, HDMI will work as well with right adapter with the exception of audio on X200.

@thread

Sorry for OT...

dr_st wrote:and DP (DP++) on business models (Lenovo, DELL, even HP shifted there from being all-HDMI).

Except Dell seems to have gone with HDMI on the new Latitudes along with the 'consumer' styling.

Things are freaking slow and outdated down here.

Moved here about 9 months ago...and man, it's like traveling back in time...5 years at least.

Try mentioning DP to anyone local...and it's like "Never head of it. HDMI is the best, and it's what I use..." So, we're around 2006 here I guess. ausmike is one of them.... :-p

Ummmm...wonder WHY Australia inherits the WHINGERS of the WORLD ,,,,,and yet they and all OTHERS are DYING to move here !!

Maybe thats why the so called the most "Advanced Place" is soon to be run by the new world curreny called "Yuan".......nothing to mention that reason HDMI is king = is its a REAL HIGH DEF AUDIO & VIDEO output........ but than i much rather keep the 'lowtech' Aussie way it is for a bit longer - without the (as they say here) THE FAKE BOOBS & HOLLYWOOD........Blah blah....

still been nice to have a REAL HDMI port on W520 > am a ONE DISSAPOINTED user !

Strictly speaking, DP is not any less hi-def than HDMI. In fact, one might even say it is a bit "more hi-def" - while HDMI was for a long time limited to 1920x1080 resolutions (only in the recent revision allowing 2560x1600), DP was there from the start, and it still supports certain things better than HDMI does (daisy-chaining?).

The problem with DP is not that it's functionally bad or anything. It's just that it missed its train - by the time it was only emerging, HDMI was already a well-established and popular standard, and with the added benefit of full compatibility to the other common standard of DVI. And for the average home/business user, DP brings very little added value to convince them to change. This is why I think it never _really_ took off.

FWIW, Got the DP++ to HDMI cable today; works fine with my TV, including audio. Didn't even have to visit any control panels; it just started mirroring at 1920x1080 and the notebook speakers muted, too.

davidhbrown wrote:FWIW, Got the DP++ to HDMI cable today; works fine with my TV, including audio. Didn't even have to visit any control panels; it just started mirroring at 1920x1080 and the notebook speakers muted, too.

Thanks for the report back, good news, it does what it is supposed to do!

For the price of a couple 16 oz. Aussie beers, ausmike can get a dongle to convert that dual-mode Displayport to HDMI, and then all will be good. I intend to use a 1080p flatscreen to present sales and training videos to small groups, this should work just fine.

davidhbrown wrote:FWIW, Got the DP++ to HDMI cable today; works fine with my TV, including audio. Didn't even have to visit any control panels; it just started mirroring at 1920x1080 and the notebook speakers muted, too.

Care to share what adapter you purchased with us? I need to grab one of these too. Thank you!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002CSRF9M -- but there were several similar options and different sellers.

(mods, I reread the rules, and I think that's okay to post; if not, I also PM'd MikeM with the info, so deletion is okay.)