Macbook Pro – CSV-5400 – Only One Display Working 3x Dell UltraSharp 24 Monitors

A quick update to my issue for anyone else reading this for troubleshooting advice. When I connected the displays using Mini DisplayPort to DisplayPort cables (which were also included with the displays) everything worked.

That said it is very apparent to me now that DisplayPort is still a relatively new technology and the displays I’m using ultimately don’t work with standard DisplayPort cables only with Mini DisplayPort which the monitor also accepts– go figure.

Paul, one thing I’ve encountered since is the displays not coming out of sleep. In order to get the displays to work I have to either re-scan (when I do this I usually only get two of the three displays back) or re-power the Hub (when I do this all displays will return properly).

Seems like a bit of a nuisance, is that normal behavior?

Okay so I figure I’ll just continually update my thread here with hopes that it can provide others with information and tips or tricks for troubleshooting…

So! Before buying this MST Hub I was using DisplayLink based adapters for my displays. I’ve just realized that I should probably uninstall the DisplayLink v7.8 drivers and Core software because I’m no longer using them and right away I noticed an improvement of operation of the MST Hub.

DisplayLink drivers have known issues inter-operating with other display drivers such as those bundled with VMware. For example, there’s a recent issue where if you have DisplayLink drivers installed and attempt to start a BootCamp volume you will receive a black screen.

So! A heads up to others that might be in the same circumstance–get rid of your DisplayLink drivers if you aren’t using them! 🙂

Quick update almost 4 months in.. Wow, what a pain in the butt this device is. I just DM’d Paul with hopes that there is some kind of new production model of the CSV-5400 or even a firmware update to address the issues, but I have to say in my case, with my config this MST hub just does not work. I did a fresh re-install with a fully up-to-date Win 10 Enterprise 1511 build, latest Nvidia 361.75 and it’s the same ol’ fight to makes things work every single time I plug in.

If I get up from my desk I’ll have to either un-dock / re-dock my machine, power cycle the CSV-5400, re-scan inputs or a combination of all three. It’s a fight just to get my desktop back every single time and I’ve gotten to the point where frustration is the mainstay with this device..

The biggest issue is there is no consistency whatsoever. I’ve trouble-shot this setup for hours on end and if I plug into a combination of ports or enable/disable DisplayPort 1.2 on the monitors there is a different result every single time. It’s the biggest drawback, the fact that no matter what configuration or setup I use it is inconsistent every single time.. It means I can’t get ahead no matter how hard I try 🙁

Hi RapidUSA,

I will check again if there is newer firmware available and let you know

Rev: A0-2.1 FW: 0.45 1507 is still the latest available firmware :-S

Hi, thanks for checking that for me.

Have you heard of these types of issues being related to a hub that might not be functioning correctly? Is it possible that I have a bad hub? 

I guess alternatively it being something related to my specific hardware and firmware setup? These Dell monitors are DP1.2 certified and support display chaining with an input and output Display Port. I’ve tried multiple combinations of connecting and always get different results, with no combination where everything works reliably.

I guess it would be great if there were some kind of guide for connecting Display Port but from anything I’ve ever gathered it’s just supposed to be plug and play. Help! :/

Hi There,
I do know that on some Dell Screens you need to enable DP1.2 Mode manually in the settings of the screen because factory default that would be set to disable.
I have heard of MST Hubs needing a power recycle before screens showing a picture again, mainly after coming out of sleep mode on systems … not found a remedy for that yet. You should be able to just hit the reset button on the back of the hub and “normally” your setup should be back on track. 
I have not heard of a faulty MST Hub that does work like yours, so i don’t think that is it. 
Can you not make a preset of your preferred settings in that Nvidia Software so your systems knows what settings to go back to or manually start that with 1 click ?

Update: After doing the right googling I can finally confirm that the problem resides with the Dell U2414H monitors I am using. Unfortunately I did not have another DisplayPort monitor to test against my MST hub which would have been the ideal way to troubleshoot.

I found a thread and a link to a YouTube video here showing a U2414H DisplayPort issue being resolved by power-cycling the display. I waited until I re-encountered my wake-up issues and instead of power-cycling the hub as I would normally do I power-cycled the power bar the displays are plugged into and they all came back without issue, not like any other result I’d seen before. I found numerous comments now indicating that there seems to be some type of firmware problem with the displays themselves related to their power save features. One commenter in the YouTube post noted “We’ve had 100 monitors replaced enmass, due to this same DisplayPort PowerSave issue. Very frustrating.”

So there you have it! You couple an MST hub, which is still a relatively new device with a relatively new video standard and a poor hardware implementation by Dell and you get a frustrating headache! 🙂

Thanks again for your help and input guys!

To anyone else curious about DisplayPort and the new 1.2 features of Multi-Stream Transport checkout this amazing talk by David Airlie given at a Linux conference in NZ last year. He gives an incredible account of the technology, how it’s used and explains why many problems still exist

I am somewhat pleased to hear the issue does not come from the Club3D MST Hub however sincerely sorry to hear you could not resolve the issue you encountered.
Thank’s a lot for the feedback