Seeking cable experts

So my brother just got a sweet new tv for his home after enduring about a decade with a 30 inch behemoth of a television. He also has a macbook, I don't know if its a pro, standard, whatever the designation is for the model (I'm a PC guy myself) but I wanted to help him get some cables so that he could use it with his television. He went to the apple store and they sold him a bunch of cables and he ended up paying close to $100 for all that they said he needed. I'm almost 100% positive they overcharged him. So heres a sample of what he bought:

Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter - Apple Store (U.S.) - mini dp to DVI adapter

Belkin HDMI to DVI Cable - 12 ft. - Apple Store (U.S.) - DVI to HDMI video cable

AirPort Express Stereo Connection Kit with Monster Cables - Apple Store (U.S.) - Belkin stereo cables (these are not the exact ones but they are the same type of cables)

Now first thing I thought of was that if there was a cable that omitted the need for DVI completely and by that I mean a cable like this:

For only $8.50 each when QTY 50+ purchased - Mini DisplayPort to HDMI Adapter | Mini DisplayPort to HDMI / DVI / VGA Adapter
- these are mini DP to HDMI and then you just need an HDMI cable to go to the television (which I have extra of so I don't mind giving it to him). I'm wondering though, if his macbook would support this cable ? I'm unsure of why they wouldn't carry a cable like that in the apple store since I don't see the need for a DVI female/male connector in the middle or am I missing something ?

For the alternative path though, if DVI is required in this process then would something like
For only $8.50 each when QTY 50+ purchased - Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter | Mini DisplayPort to HDMI / DVI / VGA Adapter

+

For only $2.10 each when QTY 50+ purchased - DVI-D single link Male to HDMI Female adapter | DVI <--> HDMI

+

hdmi cables

+

stereo cables be sufficient ??

Thanks in advance!

Go to monoprice and save some serious cash. They have a Mini DisplayPort to HDMI cable if that is what you need:

For only $8.89 each when QTY 50+ purchased - Mini DisplayPort Male to HDMI Male 32AWG Cable (Gold Plated Connectors) - 10ft | Mini DisplayPort to HDMI Cable

For the audio you need a standard RCA to minijack or a mini toslink adapter (or a cable with it already built in) if you are going to a receiver or something:

For only $0.48 each when QTY 50+ purchased - Toslink Female to Toslink Mini Male Adapter | Toslink Adapter

After actually reading your links - you are on the right track. Just get the correct cable for the exact type of Macbook he has and the TV he just got. Maybe I am missing it, but you don't mention the audio part of the setup. Are you just going to the TV?

mm yea I was also wondering about that one, my only concern is why they would offer him DVI and so I looked into it a little deeper and apparently if you want 1080p output the DVI cables are the best way to do this but most of this information is 2-3 years old and I'm not sure if they take into account the newer items like the one you listed.

and btw the reason I listed stereo/2 rca's is because I think he wants to plug them into a small Bose receiver (2 speakers/1 sub) that he bought with his system.

I use a Mini DVI to DVI adapter and then a DVI > HDMI cable just because the adapter came with my Mini and I had the other cable. I have it all connected to a 52" Samsung LCD and it works mint. Any minijack to RCA should work. If the Bose system has optical he should use it.

mdfuller said:

I use a Mini DVI to DVI adapter and then a DVI > HDMI cable just because the adapter came with my Mini and I had the other cable. I have it all connected to a 52" Samsung LCD and it works mint. Any minijack to RCA should work. If the Bose system has optical he should use it.

Click to expand...

Forgive my ignorance, but I'm unfamiliar with optical audio cables, any chance you could give me an example ?

Apple sold him exactly what he needs if you're going to purchase that stuff from a retail store assuming he wants to use HDMI and not DVI on the TV.

All of those mini-display port adapters on monoprice came about at the request of a whole lot of Mac users. To date, I believe they are still the only company making the MDP to HDMI. As you have found, monoprice will save you a whole bunch of money on cables.

ah I gotcha, so the whole DVI thing is essentially just a middleman to get output through HDMI which is all the Apple stores offer I guess.

No, that is not the case. I am sure the Apple store would also have a DVI cable. But unless your brother knew what connections his TV had when he was in the store and I am "assuming" this is a HDTV, they were making an educated guess in giving him a HDMI cable as not all HDTV's will have a DVI but they all will have a HDMI.

but the dvi connector comes with a hdmi cord, so the sequence is mini dp/dvi female to dvi male/ hdmi. I guess I just misunderstood.