09-27-2010, 06:06 PM

Originally Posted by bobtomay

mrs:

Unfortunately no, you won't be able to make use of that monster cable without spending more money than it would cost to move to VGA. Whether you want to use VGA or S-Video, you would have to purchase a mdp to VGA adapter. To use S-Video, you would then need a converter box instead of just a VGA cable. (You can check out post 7 & 15 if you would like to read more on getting your S-Video to work.)

You've got the right idea, but no, the audio will not be transmitted because you are going to VGA. VGA does not support audio. And while the monitor is only 800x600, you should have a little better picture using the VGA instead of S-Video also.

Best guess is that the VGA uses the red & white RCA plugs for audio. If that's it, then you'll need a 3.5mm (mini-plug) to RCA cable for the audio.

First off, thank you so much, bobtomay, for your very rapid & helpful reply! I have to admit that I had a bit of trouble re-finding this forum (yes, I'm a complete n00b) & thus came across your post only now.

Anyway, thank you for clearing up the monster cable business & sound issue for me - bummer that it won't be transmitted by the VGA. I searched my TV high & low for the red & white RCA plugs you mentioned you thought might be present, but in the end the only audio input I could find on it is a single hole (of a light green colour) next to the VGA connector, as I've tried to capture in the photo below (it's the hole to the right of the VGA, in case that's not evident ;]):



Would you by any chance have any idea as to what it is & what sort of cable I might need to get the audio in from my computer to the TV?

Thank you again for your help, I really appreciate it! Cheers =]

09-27-2010, 06:16 PM

mrs:
That should be the same as is on your Mac, a stereo mini-plug (also called a 3.5mm). So, you'll an audio cable like one of these.

ChickenNoodle:
instead of trying to save about $2, think I'd recommend just getting the one that is linked to in post #4.

09-27-2010, 07:04 PM

grkazan12
Your Mac has a mini displayport and does not pass audio through it, so you'll need a separate audio cable.

You'll need one of these cables to get to HDMI. No matter which of those three you want to connect to, that'll get the video.

Can't help any more than that as neither of those TVs owners manuals are available through the manufacturers websites.

For the audio, you're on your own. You'll need to read through post #3 (and/or any of the multiple specific examples I've already done in this thread) and open up your copy of the owner's manuals to do a little reading.

09-28-2010, 02:26 AM

Originally Posted by bobtomay

mrs:
That should be the same as is on your Mac, a stereo mini-plug (also called a 3.5mm). So, you'll an audio cable like one of these.

Ah wonderful, thank you so much, bobtomay!

Thanks to your help, I think I'm now ready to place my order w/monoprice - I'm going to get this stereo mini-plug & this mini display-port to VGA cable.

Cheers again!

09-30-2010, 08:49 AM

1. 2008 MacBook 2.0GHz (Unibody)
2. Sony Bravia KDL-40EX711 (European model)
3. No audio needed

I'm trying to hook up my MacBook to the Sony with a Mini DisplayPort - HDMI cable. So far I have tried all four HDMI ports, played around with the display settings (resolution, mirroring etc), unplugging/plugging the cable at different times etc. but nothing has worked. The TV screen stays black despite it showing up in the MacBook's display settings. The only time the television actually does something is when I use HDMI 3 and 1920 x 1080 as the resolution. The screen flashes blue for a millisecond and "1080p" appears in the left hand corner. But then the screen goes black again...

I can only find a Russian version of the TV's manual and a US spec EX710 manual, which should technically be the same set. I'll attach a picture of the available connections.

According to the TV's i-manual HDMI 4 is for DVI equipped peripherals but like I said, I've tried all of them to no avail. The cable works with an older LG television. Could there be a compatibility problem with the Sony?

09-30-2010, 09:18 PM

Could be, but I doubt it. Have connected to several and have seen very few issues connecting to any Sony. Think I'd start off using HDMI #4 since that's the one that will work with separate audio.

Does the plug fit tight in the port or will it wiggle?
With it connected, turn everything off - turn on the TV first, then boot the computer.

(If you have that Russian set, what are those two connectors labeled as AV?)

10-01-2010, 01:47 AM

Originally Posted by bobtomay

Does the plug fit tight in the port or will it wiggle?
With it connected, turn everything off - turn on the TV first, then boot the computer.

(If you have that Russian set, what are those two connectors labeled as AV?)

Thanks for taking the time to reply! Still no sign of life unfortunately. I'm starting to think that it's a problem with the cable... it's a cheap one and the build quality may not be up to par.

I don't have a Russian set, but for some reason Sony has decided that Russian and Slovenian manuals are enough to cover all countries in Europe But that's how Sony is over here... you go to your local Sony website and they give you content in a foreign language

Anyway, to answer your question, the connectors marked as AV are the old European SCART connectors, which you guys on the other side of the pond never had. It's slowly being replaced by HDMI, but I guess some people still use SCART to connect their older A/V equipment to the television.

10-01-2010, 04:29 AM

That'd be my next guess, even though it's working on one TV. These types of issues are why I started making sure I had 2 of any sort of cable or adapter I needed in the house many years ago. Makes it real hard to troubleshoot and tie down a problem without them. And connecting a computer to a TV can be a lot more persnickety than any of the other electronics we use.

10-02-2010, 01:08 AM

So I have everything working now, and it looks pretty good. The problem I am having is once I disconnected the macbook from the tv the display is dim on the macbook? I have the brightness turned all the way up and still isn't very bright. Is there something I need to do in the settings to fix this? Thanks

Originally Posted by bobtomay View Post
aaron427:

Almost everything you want to know about your Mac is here.

Your Mac has a mini-DVI port. I would suggest HDMI instead of VGA with that TV.

Video - You'll need a mini-DVI to HDMI adapter and a HDMI cable.

Audio - You need to decide where you want your audio. If it's up to me, it's going to my surround sound and not to the TV.
Connecting to your receiver, about 95% odds, you need a mini plug to RCA cable - you need to verify this.
Connecting to the TV you need a mini plug cable - not one of the first 3 that say "Two 3.5mm".

10-02-2010, 11:43 AM

So I'm at my wits end here.

I have a new 2010 MacBook Pro, 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2, 4GB memory.

My TV is a Mitsubishi 65837 and using a MiniDisplayPort to HDMI cable - all in one, no adapter

The link for the TV and manual is

Mitsubishi WD-65837 Manuals, Support and Troubleshooting - TVs


I'll preface this by saying the cable works fine on the same MAC to a Toshiba TV as well as a Dell monitor so the issue does not seem to be with the cable or MAC but the TV. From reading through it seems the TV is not providing an EDID. I have tried all HDMI ports, set them at various times as PC, Blu Ray, and just standard devices - all with the same result. Blue screen and no info being read from the MAC. I even downloaded a program that allows me to modify the configuration of the profiles (SwitchResX) and was able to set to some of the settings the TV should understand - and confirmed it was sending that a part of the profile through System Profiler. I have an RMA number to send the cable back but before I do so I wanted to climb the mountain to ask for any last minute guidance from the great and knowledgable Bobtomay

I have tried all suggestions in this thread including the above as well as powering off and on TV, the MAC in different order, unplugging / reconnecting the cable, detecting displays etc. Any thoughts on anything I could have missed or does anyone have experience connecting a 2010 MBP to a Mits DLP TV ?

If not any suggestions or thoughts for other options, what would I need if I don't want to connect via digital, what about through a standard RCA video type connection, what adapter or cable would I need for that to connect via the Minidisplay port ?

Appreciate any assistance or thoughts.

Regards

10-02-2010, 02:00 PM

Well' I just doubt it's going to have anything to do with the cable - unless you're returning it because you got it just to connect to that particular TV.

It sounds like you've done everything I would have tried.
Am assuning from what you've said the TV does give you the 'New Device Found' screen.
I'd say try the PC option again, since the manual says you have to use that for it to interpret the signal properly, but it sounds like you've probably already tried it several times.

Only thing I can think of you haven't mentioned is to try both mirrored and extended modes if you haven't.

10-02-2010, 02:50 PM

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I have tried 'Mirror', Extended, Gather Windows etc, without any success.

I'll give it one more try later when I power the TV on but not expecting any success. And yes the reason I am returning the cable was that it was purchased to connect the MBP to this TV. I only tried the others for troubleshooting purposes. Assuming no luck I saw a Mini-DisplayPort to DVI with an associated DVi-RGB cable, I was thinking of purchasing that, eliminating the entire digital option in this - in regards to the TV input. Any thoughts that this may not work, that I could have the same issue, I wouldn't think so with the RCA jacks but never done much with DVI. Attached below is the cable I was thinking of, if you or anyone has other recommendations for another option let me know.

Thanks again for the assistance and reply.

Amazon.com: GTMax Mini DisplayPort Male to DVI-D Female Adapter + 10ft 3-RCA Component RGB to DVI - I Gold Plated Cable M/M: Electronics

10-03-2010, 06:18 AM

No, No, No. Don't buy that.

It'll be a waste of money. This is one of those, what I call, scammer listings. They either have no clue, or they are hoping most people won't bother returning them and they'll get to keep the money.

The DVI-I will not even fit into the DVI-D on the adapter. And even if it would, it wouldn't convert the digital signal into an analog signal without a converter between the two of them. Not to mention that as far as I am aware, the DVI-I to rgb won't work on anything except a few ATI video cards that output rgb through their DVI port and it was pretty limited to a couple of their All-In-Wonder cards. DVI and rgb are inherently non-compatible.

Need to have my coffee first this morning and then I'll do a little more research on your TV and will post back in relation to your other options...

10-03-2010, 01:47 PM

I am just simply connecting my MB(specs below) to my 32" Sanyo DP32648 TV. Obviously since my MB has mini-DVI, I'm just using the Apple mini-DVI to VGA adapter. All is working just fine. I just have a question about resolutions and possibly disabling the display in the MB itself. Everyone knows the MB has a native resolution of 1280x800, my TV has a native resolution of 1366x768. This is the first time I've tried this with any Mac notebook (or running dual displays on a Mac whatsoever) so this is totally new to me.

In Display Preferences, it says my TV is set to my native resolution but the usable resolution is 1280x768. It is obvious, because there are black bars on each side of the TV sceen(I guess to keep it from stretching). It also says my MB display is set to its native resolution, but 1280x768 usable. That causes black bars on the top and bottom of the MB display like watching a widescreen movie.

I am using the TV as my main display, so obviously I'm mirroring the displays. I would like to eliminate the black bars and use my native resolution, even if it means disabling the MB display all together. Is there anyway to do this? If I could set it so my TV was my main display and my MB was my secondary that would be fine as well, but as far as I can see I can only change the arrangement of the displays. When I don't have them mirrored, the black bars on each display go away. This was simple as 123 on my PC with no stretching or black bars. I want all of my screen space; the bars are pretty annoying. :/

EDIT: I found I can close the lid and still wake the computer. I can now use my TV as my main display at its native resolution, no black bars or stretching. This will work for now, but is there still a way to disable the MB display with the lid open? IE: to still use the iSight?

10-03-2010, 08:16 PM

Fillysports:

Some things I'd try before even thinking about trying analog since there is no VGA on the TV. Connect the computer, but turn it off.

1. See pg 69 of the manual and make sure that CEC is turned off on the HDMI port you're using.

2. Also follow the instructions right below that to delete the device from that port.

3. Go ahead and try an A/V memory reset for that port. While viewing the input to reset, press MENU and go to Adjust > Reset - Press ENTER to highlight the Reset icon - Press ENTER again to reset.

Now boot the computer - let's keep fingers crossed you'll get the Found New Device menu can select PC and it works. If not:

Your only option is composite or component on that TV. Personally, wouldn't even bother spending the $40-50 it'll take to get to a composite input. But, you can read post #7 & 15 to find out how to do it.

To get to component, about the best route is going to be using one of the HDFury adapters. Here's their web site. The HDFury II is the one you'll want. The mdp to HDMI adapter will connect to the HDFury II and then in turn to your component inputs. It's going to run you $150 from either Amazon or monoprice. I have not used any of the HDFury adapters, but they typically garner excellent reviews even from end users.

iBeldar:

Nope, sorry - no way to turn off the built-in display except by using clamshell mode.