15" MacBook Pro Docking Station from Henge Docks

[MrHoiHoi1234567890]

I think that ikea sold this cheap thing

[TheNamesChrome]

this is not worth $70

[123456iambelial]

Hello,

Does the dock have some coating on the inside, where the mbp docks, to protect the mbp from scratches?

Thanks

[myiphoneadventure]

@123456iambelial It does not. I believe the new mba stand does.

[kchhoeng]

Looks cheap.

[dchawk13]

if i get the apple wireless keyboard will it still connect with my MBP when it's docked? Or does it have to connect to the monitor because my tv monitor doesn't have bluetooth. please help anyone!!

[Stevieboy7]

@dchawk13 lol, really? you shouldnt be working with/on computers. bluetooth stays on no matter if the computer is closed or not. No such thing as monitor with bluetooth

[quinnpwnz]

So, you do have to buy a cord to hook this up to a monitor?

[myiphoneadventure]

@quinnpwnz Yes. You do need to buy an adapter and then a cord.

[quinnpwnz]

@myiphoneadventure so, it'd be better to buy a Mini DVI to VGA?

[turkbros]

i just got mine. I hope this helps you all of you. DO NOT BUY THIS THING without any custom miniport monitor cables, if you are planning to hook this up to your monitor (this is the whole purpose right?) otherwise you are out of luck and i was not emphasized no where on the page that you MUST buy one of their custom cables for the monitor. So i paid money for this @@&(#&@* and i have to order custom cable which is OUT OF STOCK at this moment

[myiphoneadventure]

@turkbros Dude....no need to post identical comments on every Henge dock video. LIke I replied in your other post, you don't have to buy their custom display cables. I'm not using their overpriced mini display port adapter. I just bought a generic one off of Amazon and it worked fine; fit in the dock without issue.

[turkbros]

@myiphoneadventure dude, i dont know if you work for henge dock or what. I WASTED TWO MINI PORT CABLES!! one for dvi one for HDMI and they were both THE GENERIC ONES!

Please dont misguide people here and make them buy something that doesnt work with this docking station

[myiphoneadventure]

@turkbros I don't work for Henge docks, but thanks for the accusation. What do you mean that you "wasted" two mini port cables? Are you saying they didn't fit in the dock. BTW, if the adapters didn't fit, I'd just a use file or something and reduce the plastic housing. I guess I'm just confused by your inability to use a generic minidisplay port adapter with this dock; seems pretty straightforward to me.

[turkbros]

@myiphoneadventure i tried to make it "thinner" on both side. it doesnt align perfectly trust me. I dont want to damage my $1800 machine for $65 dollar dock.

[myiphoneadventure]

@turkbros Well, sorry to hear. I can't say that I've had the same experience; I bought a generic minidisplay port to HDMI port off of Amazon and it fit right in without issue (no filing necessary). Actually I've bought two minidisplay port adapters to hdmi adapters from different places (one was purchased at a local computer shop, but was not Apple branded) and both fit fine. One of the adapters had a finicky connection (can't remember which), so I had to buy the second one.

[Stevieboy7]

@turkbros try buying an apple certified cord. rather than cheaping out your "$1800" machine with eBay knockoffs

[turkbros]

@Stevieboy7 thanks bro, thats what i just did the other day, I ruined the dock by pushing the thicker cable hard so its not perfectly aligned. I am waiting on my dock that i just ordered.

[x2thebox]

At the end of this video:

Cons: Can't power up [charge] my device?

This fails as a docking station. This is a great design failing to address a common problem. In my opinion, this is essentially forgetting that laptops are meant to be portable devices. No one charges on the go.

[myiphoneadventure]

@x2thebox - I'm don't think I understand what you mean when you say you can't "charge" your device. The laptop is charged while docked, and the usb ports can be accessed via the provided cables. The only thing not accessible is the SD card slot and the power button (since the power button sits on the inside of the laptop). I think this device is made with portability in mind; I get home, slip my Mac in the stand and I'm ready to go. I slide the Mac back out in the morning and I'm off to work.

[sleazychurchill]

I dont think the price is really that great 70 dollars for a pice of plastic crazy....and you have to buy the adapters as the ones they give are unusable for any practical application....

[Dragonsol]

Thank you for the video.

[myiphoneadventure]

@Dragonsol You're welcome :)

[thatswacknico]

At 2:23 , wow is the wiggle when you put the MBP on the dock that bad?

I'm having second thoughts on getting this one or another stand like the NX Stand or TrayStation, Cooler/Riser in One which are both cheaper for the MBP.

Buying this will set you back about $80 plus for convenience you'll need to buy another power supply for about $80. That's $160 for convenience. IMO

[myiphoneadventure]

@thatswacknico Yeah, the wiggle is not great, however since the macbook is pretty long, there isn't as dramatic of movement at the ports (where it really matters). Regardless, if you placed this somewhere where you might be bumping it frequently, you may want to consider another type of dock since the mac isn't held very rigid.

I already had an extra power supply so this worked out alright for me. But you're totally right about buying another power supply (I should have put that in the "cons").

[myiphoneadventure]

@thatswacknico - I think the problem with the NX and Traystation is that you have to hook everything up every time you dock. My requirements for a dock was that I didn't have to hook up every different cable every time I docked and that my macbook be placed vertical so that I could reclaim more of my desk. The Henge dock fit those requirements, but as you point out, it isn't perfect, nor is it cheap. BTW, if you r considering the NX take a look at the BookArc; it has a nice minimalist look to it

[thatswacknico]

@myiphoneadventure Yea that's on fact to consider. Another thing, I hear people saying that it overheats with the MBP closed. Have you every tried anything CPU/GPU extensive in which you where you using the dock? And did you have heat issues with it?

ha sorry for the questions, I just wanted to get a second opinion before I shell out $50+.

[myiphoneadventure]

@thatswacknico I have done some video rendering and did not have any heat failures, though the bottom does get pretty hot. I would hypothesize that having the macbook vertically exposes more surface to open air, and dissipates heat better (better than closed and sitting on a desk anyways). I'm guessing that having the macbook open is always going to be the best, but I think the Henge dock is probably the best way to operate your Mac in clamshell mode. Sounds like a good test for a vid.

[thatswacknico]

@myiphoneadventure sweet thanks for the replies!

[Spoelstraat]

Do you have to pull it out when you want to start it up?

[myiphoneadventure]

@Spoelstraat Yes, you probably have to pull it out if it is completely turned off since the mbp power button is between the screen and the keyboard. However, there might be a way to turn it on from another machine using "wake on lan". I'm haven't tried it yet, and I'm not sure if it'll work if the machine is completely off (as opposed to "asleep"). If I have the time to try it out, I'll post the results as a comment on this video.

[Spoelstraat]

@myiphoneadventure Thx for that!

[myiphoneadventure]

@Spoelstraat I'm am quite sure there is no mechanism to turn on a mac if it is completely off other than the power button. So, "yes", I can say with confidence that you have to pull the machine out of the dock if it is completely turned off in order to push the power button to turn it on.

[neooutsider]

thanks so much for the quick response :)

[neooutsider]

Does it work well under Windows if you have happened to have tried it?

Also, thanks for the video but honestly I'd rather hear you talk about the points than hear music over the view.

[myiphoneadventure]

@neooutsider It works fine under Windows 7. In fact, the video switches over to the external monitor much quicker than in OS X. Your preference is noted regarding the audio, I'll consider it for the next video whenever that is. Thanks for the input.