Yes indeed - I mentioned this back on October 23rd in Post #19. The company that is supposed to be the world leader in providing operating systems especially well-configured for the graphics arts and photography community is AT LEAST a year behind the curve in providing support to the latest 10-bit display technologies being made available by Eizo, NEC, HP, etc., etc. Adding insult to injury is Apple Computer's totally intransigent, opaque attitude to providing ANY information about when they will provide this functionality. If it weren't for iTunes and iPhones and iPads, Apple Computer would not have the financial wherewithall to support this kind of arrogance and expect to return profits to their shareholders in the computer business, but they do and they do, so we will have a choice of putting-up and shutting-up until in their own goodness of time they catch-up technologically and make 10-bit display rendtition possible.
But perhaps more important than that for the time being is the basic operational functionality of Apple's mini-DisplayPort technology. The DisplayPort issue is connected to the 10-bit issue because it is only through a DisplayPort connection that 10-bit image rendition is possible if the OS could support it. So we will need this when the company finally wakes-up and provides it. My own experience, and that of numerous others as reported on various forums is that users of both Eizo and NEC displays have experienced connectivity problems because of cable design problems to convert from Apple's beloved mini-DisplayPort as provided on the graphics cards available for the Mac Pro to standard DisplayPort as provided on the displays. In the NEC PA series displays where 10-bit functioanlity is available, pin #20 needs to be left open, but neither Apple nor NEC provide cables supporting this requirement. As a result, we ran into big problems with using our computers. I have pursued both Apple and NEC vigorously to fix this. While Apple has been totally unresponsive and useless on the matter, NEC has diligently researched the problem and determined that three items (two cables and an adapter) are suitable for this purpose. Unfortunately none of them are available at the moment. NEC informs me that within a month or so we should expect them. There are at least two other adapters which users have claimed to be adequate, however I would only install hardware explicitly recommended by either Apple or - in my case - NEC. As Apple has nothing to recommend for solving the problem they created, I shall await availability of NEC's recommended hardware and continue to use the display on DVI to DVI. I won't get 10-bit functionality anyhow for the time being. One could also use the Apple-branded mini-DisplayPort to DVI converter readily availabhle in any Apple store. I use this for the secondary display, not the good NEC display, because the adapter is buggy. Periodically it needs to be unplugged and re-plugged when it starts producing jitters and vertical stripes on the display.
I'm not intending to divert this discussion into a rant about foibles with Apple's display technology, but it is important for readers to understand that these issues are related in respect of producing 10-bit display rendition, and the genisis of these problems has one address with a locked door. Perhaps the more users who apply pressue on Apple by spreading the message widely about how messed-up this is, the sooner they will get their act together and solve it all.
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