Can't use Z1 Workstation as external monitor

[Gamelord_Cecil]

I am having the same issue. I am trying to connect an Xbox One S via a Displayport to HDMI converter. No success. Anyone able to help??

[Skylarking]

There are a few versions of Z1.

I know that the early Z1s had a combo DP input/output that could, via the keyboard Ctrl+Shift+S+D keystroke, be uses to toggle the DP port between input and output mode. That is, use the Z1 DP port for connection to a second monitor or use the Z1 itself as a second monitor with another system.

Obviously this required the Z1 to be powered up, the OS to be runing and the Z1 keyboard to be accessible so one can type Ctrl+Shift+S+D! Hardly a great design when an inbuilt KVM would have been oh so much better. 

So, if you had a 'DP source' (laptop) connected to the combo DP port on the back of the Z1, try toggling the mode by pressing Ctrl+Shift+S+D on the Z1 keyboard so that the port acts as a DP sink and you see the laptop screen mirrored on the Z1.

But note that the XBOX One S is not the same as a laptop as it support output via HDMI electrical level signalling and HDCP protocol over it. So unless you use an active converter that supports HDMP -> DP electrical conversion, and use the Ctl+Shift+S+D keystock on teh Z1 keyboard, it will not work.

Oh, and don't fall into the trap of thinking that a converter are like a garden hose, that is you can connect either end to a TAP (source). You must note that a DP->HDMI converter is different to a HDMI->DP converter.

Added to such complexity, some DP ports on some motherboards are actually DP++ capable ports. This means one can use cheap passive (=mechanical) converters rather than expensive (=electrical) converters since the circuirty on the mobo can handled sending either DP and HDMI electrical levels. That's why sometimes a cheap passive connerter works and why sometimes they don't work - not all DP/DP++ ports are equal.