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Video Hub for external monitor - What model works?

My iMac Pro 2017 has 4 Thunderbolt Ports and 4 USB A ports. It's just not enough with all the stuff I have attached. All the ports are already taken.


It is possible to have up to four 3840 by 2160 pixel UHD monitors. I have 2 of them. I want to add a third UHD Monitor, but there are no free Thunderbolt ports.


I think what I need is a Video-Hub with Thunderbolt which would be plugged into the Thunderbolt port number 3 shown in the diagram below. However when i search on line for such a device I am left confused. I see tens of "hubs", some of which are also "Thunderbolt", but the word "video" does not appear.


Does this sort of thing exist, and if so what brand and model would work?


Please see my confuration below:


iMac Pro

Posted on Jul 25, 2024 2:46 AM

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3 replies

Jul 25, 2024 5:05 PM in response to Tricky57

Your iMac Pro (2017) has four Thunderbolt 3 ports.


You can connect two monitors or adapters, with resolutions up to 4K @ 60 Hz each, to one of those ports by using a Thunderbolt dock or hub.


  • The device connected directly to the Mac has to be a genuine Thunderbolt device, and the cable connecting the two has to be a Thunderbolt cable. This provides a data highway that is wide enough that the Mac will be willing to drive two 4K monitors or one 5K monitor over it. (On your Mac, using 5K displays reduces the total number of displays you can have; but with your proposed configuration, that is not an issue.)
  • The Mac has to have enough free display outputs (yours does).
  • Given that, there are many Thunderbolt 3/4 docks and hubs that can drive two non-Thunderbolt monitors. Some bring out a signal on a HDMI port or DisplayPort, and have you use their Thunderbolt daisy-chaining port to hook up a USB-C (DisplayPort) display or adapter. Others split the Thunderbolt chain into several, and let you hook up two USB-C (DisplayPort) displays or adapters.


I would suggest looking at offerings from the following three vendors (all of whom I believe have a lengthy history of offering Thunderbolt products to the Mac community).



SonnetTech has a Thunderbolt Dual DisplayPort adapter (not to be confused with a similar DisplayLink one – which you don't' want), and OWC has a basic Thunderbolt hub that splits one Thunderbolt port into three plus a USB-A port. But there are also any number of more elaborate docks from these vendors, depending on your needs.

Jul 25, 2024 5:16 PM in response to Tricky57

I see in your diagram that you say that you have an OWC Thunderbolt Hub attached to your third Thunderbolt port, but that this device "cannot handle more than one 4K HD display."


I don't think that's accurate. According to OWC's description, it can handle two 4K displays. That's one of the big advantages they show it as having over a plain USB-C hub!

https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/owc-thunderbolt-hub


Currently you have it set up as follows:

  • Downstream TB port 1: Rode microphone
  • Downstream TB port 2: 1080p external display
  • Downstream TB port 3: Logitech HD camera 2
  • USB-A: empty


If you wanted to use it to drive two 4K displays, the configuration would need to be along the lines of

  • Downstream TB port 1: First 4K external display
  • Downstream TB port 2: Second 4K external display (has to be on its own downstream port, not daisy-chained)
  • Downstream TB port 3: (open)
  • USB-A: (open)

You'd then need to figure out how to juggle connections for the Rode microphone and the Logitech HD camera 2, but it seems likely that both are USB (not Thunderbolt) devices, and that one could be moved to the USB-A port.

Video Hub for external monitor - What model works?

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