06-02-2010, 10:19 PM

Hey,

I have a 15 month-ish white Macbook. It's got the NVidia 9 series graphics card and is fitted with a firewire port, unlike the most recent revision - which has traded it to the 13" Macbook Pro.

Like most things I own, I want to plug it into my HD TV. The notion such a self-professedly 'media-friendly' company does not include HDMI ports on any of its devices is ridiculous.

What are the displayport-HDMI converters like? A techno-illiterate friend who lives too far away to borrow from says the picture from his Macbook white looks bad on his HD TV.

I heard the new Macbook Pros will support audio through their displayport. Is this hardware-based - or will a software update allow my white Macbook's displayport to support audio-out?

- Can you recommend an HDMI converter with good HD output?
- Will it support audio through either the displayport or in conjunction with my optical/3.5mm out?
- If sound is possible, are we talking stereo or 5.1?

Thanks!

06-02-2010, 10:32 PM

Please see the following thread and provide the info requested in the 1st post for an appropriate response.

Connecting your Mac to your TV

As to your friend - if he's not getting an acceptable picture for watching HD video, then he's doing something wrong... wrong cable, wrong resolution, trying to play a 320p youtube video fullscreen on a 1080p TV, etc...

06-03-2010, 07:28 AM

1. Early 2009 White Macbook 2Ghz

2. Panasonic P42X10 720p plasma using HDMI ports

3. I have an optical in on my 5.1 kit which would be nice to use - otherwise stereo via 3.5mm will do.

So any info on the best displayport-HDMI adapter and any potential for sound transfer would be appreciated.

Sounds like just running an optical straight from my optical out into the receiver might be the best option?..

06-03-2010, 07:41 AM

I just plugged my Macbook into my home cinema kit via optical and got sound..

But a test 5.1 video on Metavideo didn't work properly and there seems to be no Windows-style '5.1' configurator in the sound menu.. How do I make this work like my Windows PC does?

06-03-2010, 08:23 AM

Since you're using your A/V receiver - don't need to look up the specific TV.

The early 2009 white MB with the 2.0 Ghz chip has a mini-DVI port, not the mini displayport. You will need a mini-DVI to DVI adapter and a DVI to HDMI cable. I'd recommend monoprice.com or Amazon for decent pricing for both.

When you get it plugged in, set the resolution to 720p to match the TV's native - should be 1366x768 I think.

As to the audio, using the optical is the best way to go. You will only have 5.1 available from 5.1 sources, such as a DVD or some of the iTunes HD videos. You'll not have the option to take a stereo source (like probably all of your music) and output in 5.1 from your Mac. You'll need to do this at the receiver. Most of the decent ones have this functionality built in.

The sound card is not as capable in this regard, for example most of the SoundBlaster series that have that function built in to take a stereo signal and give you an adapted 5.1 output.

As to picture quality, you should find that any DVDs you watch or pretty much any other source of at least 480p will look pretty much as good as your standalone DVD player. Text imho, looks pretty ugly... A great many have no problems with it. I take no issue on computer monitors, but on a TV screen I find it to look blurry and prefer the crispness of Windows font rendering. You can read about it here. Personally, this is one of the reasons I use Win7 for my HTPC. If you've tried playing some of those 320p and lower resolution youtube videos, etc. on your computer in full screen, as bad as they look there, they'll be even worse in full screen on your TV.

As to why Apple never had HDMI out - ??? - but you won't find hardly any other notebook in that price range from early 2009 with HDMI either - don't care what brand you look at. Apple skipped HDMI and moved to displayport which will be the next standard for audio/video connections.

06-07-2010, 10:08 AM

Ah, a Googling reveals you are correct - it is indeed a mini-DVI on my Macbook.

I plug my laptop/PC directly into my TV, as the receiver has no AV inputs - I just use its one optical input with an optical switch, shared between my XBox 360, PC etc.

It appears you can get a straight mini-DVI - HDMI converter, as opposed to using the two together that you suggested? This one seems to have great reviews.

Apple Mini DVI to HDMI adapter cable by Neet®: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo

The 5.1 really isn't important, on reflection. This Macbook is used almost purely for music production - with a little web browsing here and there. I just wanted to know if I had it available.

Your point about text rendering is interesting. I have a Windows PC as my HTPC currently, which is around five years old - although with GFX and RAM upgrades.

I'll need to look at replacing it in the next year or so and was looking at a Mac mini for the job. The main concern I had was whether it could stream movies to my XBox 360 like my Windows PC - but I've now added this to my list of concerns!

Sounds like that HDMI converter will be a useful experiment.

And finally, although HDMI sockets were a novelty when I got My Macbook - I can safely say that any friends who spent close to the £800+ this cost at the same time also got an HDMI output.

My sisters both have £600 Toshiba laptops that are older than have HDMI out!

Partly for this reason I am looking to get a Windows 7 HDMI netbook for all my surfing needs, so I can connect it for occassional YouTubing - and so I can stop taking my Macbook with its precious music work out of the house constantly.

This notion of mini-displayport replacing HDMI is something I haven't heard of - and certainly the HDTVs we've all purchased to cover the next five years don't have them fitted.

For now, HDMI should be included on juicers, nose-trimmers and trainers - let alone any form of computer!

06-07-2010, 10:47 AM

Just ordered that neet mini-Dvi - HDMI converter!

I was concerned by the mixed reviews of most products, so am pleased to see one with an average 5 stars from 14 reviews.