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if you are connecting them to a non-Mac Monitor,

Why do you assume everyone stuck using a Mac is also going to have an Apple monitor? Apple doesn't make any kind of monitor we would use. Usually we're connected to the Barco ScreenPro II, ImagePro, PresPro, or Analog Way's Pulse 300. For some small rooms they go straight to the projector, usually NECs or Panasonics. Most of our gear has VGA inputs, limited DVI, and is only starting to be more upgraded to HDSDI or fully-capable DVI.

you need only one of two possible adaptors for the past five year... either MiniDisplayPort to SVGA or MiniDisplayPort to DVI depending on what monitor you want to connect. That's it. The Macs that come without built-in Monitors ship with the two adaptors included. So there's another lie.

Really? Because I've seen larger MacBooks with dvi out (usually needed to adapt to VGA), newer ones with miniDPort, some with full DPort, and some with miniVGA (that's the one with the squared U-shape inside the connector). And from my experience with presenters, most never got the Macdaptor with their laptop, it's an extra purchase. Either that, or they were too dumb to know what it was, in which case there is quite a lot of not-so-bright people buying Macs.

What Macs are you talking about that needed "MacDongles?"

Every single Mac laptop. The ONE exception being the older 17" (19?) big ones, that had DVI. Back then, however, you usually still had to adapt it to VGA, because most gear wasn't equipped with a fully useable DVI input.

The Mac will auto detect the best resolution the monitor is designed for and adjust best color settings for that model. So you are LYING through your teeth. They also work if you want to add a second monitor to an iMac or Macbook Air or Pro. So exactly WHAT are you blithering about?

EVERY laptop does that, it's called EDID and it only works if your monitor or switcher supports it. Also, if you have a longer run so you're converting VGA to 5wire, you lose any EDID capability. So now the Mac knows nothing about what it's sending video to. Then I'm not even sure if DVI-over-CAT5 or DVI-fiber passes EDID through. Also, for some of our gear, you have to know a decent bit (and it's extra steps) to set up EDID on the inputs, and most of our techs don't know how (or why) to do this. Most Macs refuse to do 1280x720 naturally, you can ONLY get that resolution if your EDID forces it. (And even then, sometimes it doesn't work.) But like I said, you don't always have EDID, and the only 16:9 resolution a Mac can do is 1080. Which is outside the boundaries of a lot of gear, making it somewhat useless since you don't always have a scaler to change the Mac's 1080 to a 720 signal, and doing so also degrades your video quality more than if the source is natively 720. And while I agree that 16:10 is a much better aspect ratio, Every basic screen owned by every AV company is built as 16:9 (or 4:3). So to do everything properly, you need to have that 16:9 signal flowing through from the source.

both adaptors are only $29 each. . . not $40-$50 as you exaggerated, showing again, you don't know what you are talking about.

My bad, I've never had to buy one, so I don't know the actual price, just that they are ridiculously expensive for what they are. Monoprice sells cheap crappy ones for $7, So multiply that by 5 to get an actual price. $35. Then include Apple's 20% overcharge cause it's Apple, I just assumed they were in the $40-50 range. But even $30 is a huge oversell compared to $7. The quality's not that much better.

May I suggest you stop doing any work at all on Macs?

Unfortunately, PlaybackPro Plus only runs on Macs, and is the industry standard for video playback. VLC just doesn't do professional production quite as well. Also, when the client brings in their own Mac, I can't really tell them we simply don't support/allow that. Customer service is somewhat important to some of us. I'd be perfectly happy if I didn't have to use Macs. The metal body is nice, but the user interface isn't friendly, the file system architecture is a pain to navigate, and their stupid mice didn't even come with two buttons! (Obviously, the last point is a joke. They have more than one button. Now.)

Why do you anti-Apple trolls have to lie? SHEESH!

I swear, you Apple fanatics are even more rabidly fanboi than those idiots who think Glock is better than sliced bread. Maybe you should understand that not everyone is only using their computers to go home, plug in to their Apple TV, relax on their iCouch, drink a cold iBeer, and then watch movies on iTunes. I'm not anti-Apple, I just don't agree with how many people buy their overpriced products for no reason other than "it's a Mac!", and I have no reason to like them more so than any other computer manufacturer.

EVERY laptop does that, it's called EDID and it only works if your monitor or switcher supports it. Also, if you have a longer run so you're converting VGA to 5wire, you lose any EDID capability. So now the Mac knows nothing about what it's sending video to. Then I'm not even sure if DVI-over-CAT5 or DVI-fiber passes EDID through. Also, for some of our gear, you have to know a decent bit (and it's extra steps) to set up EDID on the inputs, and most of our techs don't know how (or why) to do this. Most Macs refuse to do 1280x720 naturally, you can ONLY get that resolution if your EDID forces it. (And even then, sometimes it doesn't work.) But like I said, you don't always have EDID, and the only 16:9 resolution a Mac can do is 1080. Which is outside the boundaries of a lot of gear, making it somewhat useless since you don't always have a scaler to change the Mac's 1080 to a 720 signal, and doing so also degrades your video quality more than if the source is natively 720. And while I agree that 16:10 is a much better aspect ratio, Every basic screen owned by every AV company is built as 16:9 (or 4:3). So to do everything properly, you need to have that 16:9 signal flowing through from the source.

What a load of hilarious crap. Do you know how ignorant and idiotic you are coming across? I told you I have been supporting BOTH Windows and Macs for over my entire career. . . and you have the GALL to blow smoke at me??? WOW! What loads of lies! Macs can only support 1080 degraded to 720? Where did you get that gem? Apple Macs can easily support 4K monitors you idiot and can do multiple resolutions. As i stated, Apple includes whatever adaptors required to hook up to Industry standard Monitors with their computers.

Here is a standard Apple Preferences Display Selector Pane to show how full of BS you are. . .

Note the resolutions far beyond your idiotic claim of refusing to do 1280 by 720

. . . What a crock of bovine excrement. You seem to be completely oblivious to the fact that Apple's are used regularly in video and other movie work. . . in fact Apple Macs were used to do the dailies in the Making of the Lord of the Rings in full resolution. . . so that Peter Jackson could see what the special effects looked like. The new MacPro can render the scenes in real time. . . and you claim they can't do better resolution than 720????? The new iMac has a TRUE 5K screen built in, you idiot. That's 5120 x 2880 and YOU are blithering about Macs not being able to do 720????

You want to talk about rabid? Rabid anti-Apple TROLLS will go to any extent to lie about stuff they know nothing about.

The metal body is nice, but the user interface isn't friendly, the file system architecture is a pain to navigate, and their stupid mice didn't even come with two buttons! (Obviously, the last point is a joke. They have more than one button. Now.)

Not a joke since at least 2000, as if you knew anything at all about Macs, you just went to system preferences and turned the second button on. Navigating the file system is easy. . . easier than Windows. The structure is essentially the same, but more flexible. It is UNIX™. As to the User Interface, you just are used to Windows. Most people who bother to take the time to learn the Mac find it a lot easier to use than Windows.