Connecting your Mac to your TV

No problem. Sometimes the obvious things are not so obvious until you've done it a few times or until it's jumped up and bit you in the rear. I know i've had my fair share of being bitten.

I have a Macbook pro I bought last summer, processor speed is 2.26.
My tv is a LG 50pq10, and I would like for the audio to come out of the tv.

I thought I had figured the puzzle out, but I have no aux in connection. The picture is coming through hdmi if that matters.

thanks alot.

baseballstud512:
Sorry, but your TV does not support a separate audio-in in combination with it's HDMI ports.

My best suggestion is going to be to grab yourself some computer speakers to use with your MBP when connected to that TV.


edit:
Take that back - you could grab one of these adapters - link
This will combine your audio and video into the HDMI signal.

I am "assuming' here when you say you bought it last summer, you bought it new and it is indeed a summer '09 model with mini-displayport.

You will also need a standard HDMI cable to go along with the above adapter.

Hi

Hi, I have a 2008 Macbook 2.4 GHz
The TV is a Samsung 500 Series LCD TV.
Support for LN46A500 SAMSUNG

Lastly I want to connect my sound to my TV.

I have the Mini-DVI to HDMI cable, and the picture is fine. For my audio however, I have a mini-toslink to toslink cable and I plug that cable one end into the optical port and the other to my macbook headphone jack. The wire is fine since there is a light but there is no audio. Thanks


Edit: Thanks a lot, found a spare cable and now it works great. Thanks again!

ApplePie:
Haven't seen any TV that allows for toslink input in conjunction with their HDMI ports. Could be one and I just haven't seen it. Give me 5-10 minutes to check it out and I'll post back here.


Back again:
Yep, as suspected... the toslink on the TV is for output only - it's not going to receive anything.

To get a separate audio input with HDMI, you must use the HDMI # 2 for the video.
Then you'll use a stereo mini-plug to RCA cable for the audio - like this.
It'll plug into the port right next to HDMI 2 and says "DVI IN (HDMI2)" on it.

(outdated link removed)

Keep that toslink cable though - it'll come in useful when you get ready to grab a 5.1 receiver to go along with your system.

Hey I'm looking to connect my Macbook Pro to my tv. I was wondering if you can tell me what cables I will need to make that happen. I have a 2010,MBP,2.4. The tv I'm connecting to is http://www.thebigscreenstore.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/46G300U_spec.pdf. I'm looking to have the audio come out of the tv. Thanks.

Mac15:
You have several options since your Mac supports audio out through the mini displayport. I'll give you 2 of them.

Option 1 - single connection to your Mac - about $45:
mini displayport to HDMI adapter from Apple - here - do not buy this adapter anywhere else at this time unless you are assured it is version 2 that supports audio - add a HDMI cable and plug it into any HDMI port on the TV

Option 2 - using 2 connections on your Mac - $12-$15:
mini displayport to HDMI cable - here
stereo mini-plug cable - here - you do not want the first three in that list - they are splitters, you want a male to male (M/M) cable
You must use HDMI #1 in this case - see pic.

(outdated link removed)

Thanks

Hey thanks for the two options. I'm going to go with option one with the single connection.

Connecting mini mac to Sony Bravia

Please can someone tell me what I'm doing wrong! I've connected my mini mac to my new Sony Bravia, but the music was still playing out of the mac and not the telly. I've just bought a Monster I Cable from Apple which says that it connects the mac to my home audio system. It's still not working - what am I doing wrong?

bobtomay said:

...

Therefore, when you ask:

"Hey, I have a Mac and a TV. How do I connect them?"

We have a dilemma. It is not possible to provide a correct answer with that information. Yes, there will be someone pipe up and say buy this, it's what I used. Well, I hope you have the same Mac and the same entertainment system they have.

Bottom line - in order to provide "definitive and specific" recommendations that will work on "your" equipment, you'll have to assist us a little with the following info:

1. What Mac do you have? Personally, I prefer to have the year, model and processor speed. Example: 2008 iMac 2.8, 2006 Mac Mini 2.0, or 2009 MBP 2.6.

2. What TV do you have? This means make and model #. (A web link to your owners manual would be very helpful.)
No, providing the ports you have on the TV will not allow us to provide a "definitive and specific" recommendation.

(No, providing the ports will not provide the required information for a correct assessment.)

3. Where do you want the sound? On the TV, a stereo, a 5.1 A/V receiver? If you want it someplace other than the TV, you'll need to provide the make and model of that piece of equipment also.

Click to expand...

You'll need to provide the above info along with what type of cable you are currently using to connect the video to the TV.

Connecting my iMac to my TV

Hello everyone,

It's my first post! I'm interested in streaming videos/content from the internet from my 27-inch iMac to my Sharp Aquos 52 LC52D64U 1080p LCD HDTV.

My TV has:
HDMI™ Input 3 (1 side, 2 rear)
HD Component Input 2 (1 side, 1 rear)
PC Input 15-pin RBG x 1
S-Video Input 1
Composite Video Input 3 (1 side, 2 rear)

What would you guys recommend? My iMac is about 12 feet away from my TV. Cords are not an issue but I would like to avoid them.

What would you recommend? Thanks in advance for your help.

i would either do the hdmi or the VGA (pc connection) i would go with the VGA because you would have to have to 1 adapter and not 2 for the HDMI. the quality is going to be the same it's that VGA is analog HD. but either way you go you'll need to run another audio cable from your computer to your tv for sound because the adapters won't carry the audio.

Welcome! I guess it depends on the output quality you desire from the iMac--and that, consequently, begs the question of what you want to display on the TV.

In essence, how much of a concern is quality? If it's a sizeable concern, I'd go with a DisplayPort-DVI-HDMI solution; if it isn't, I'd follow devoult's suggestion. It's a fine line, in the end, between output quality and number of cords/adapters.

Good luck!

haute88 said:

Hello everyone,

It's my first post! I'm interested in streaming videos/content from the internet from my 27-inch iMac to my Sharp Aquos 52 LC52D64U 1080p LCD HDTV.

My TV has:
HDMI™ Input 3 (1 side, 2 rear)
HD Component Input 2 (1 side, 1 rear)
PC Input 15-pin RBG x 1
S-Video Input 1
Composite Video Input 3 (1 side, 2 rear)

What would you guys recommend? My iMac is about 12 feet away from my TV. Cords are not an issue but I would like to avoid them.

What would you recommend? Thanks in advance for your help.

Click to expand...

My recommendation is to go here:


http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/other-hardware-peripherals/193239-connecting-your-mac-your-tv.html

Clay

Good one Clay - think I'll move it over there...

You don't want to use VGA - why? Two reasons:

First, because the max resolution accepted by that TV via VGA is 1360x768 - and all text, whether browsing the net or anywhere else is going to look, uhm, well, let's just say not good. Video, watching a DVD or iTunes HD will look great, no problem.

Second, because you're going to need at least an 18' cable to get it from your Mac to the TV. 3' from the Mac down to the floor, 12' across the floor and another 3' back up to the TV. VGA with many video cards is going to start having issues when pushing more than 10-12' or so. Sometimes, it has to do with drivers, sometimes the card itself just can't push the signal that far with out adding on a signal booster in the path.

Quite frankly, I've not used a VGA cable at home in at least 7 years. I have no idea whether your Mac will push a signal via analog that far, but I wouldn't suggest spending the money on a VGA cable to find out either.

You are in luck in one respect, all of the 27" iMacs support audio as well as video through their mini displayport. What you'll need is the mini displayport to HDMI adapter - make sure you get it from Apple at this time, none of the earlier versions of this adapter support audio. If you decide to get it somewhere else, make sure the specs say it supports audio.

Then grab yourself an HDMI cable - at 20' you're going to be looking at a pretty heavy duty cable designed for in wall installation - It'll be pretty stiff. If you can make do with a 15', probably not quite as stiff and about $6 instead of $22 at monoprice.com. Don't go with the 15' if it's going to make it easier to pull one of your $2k pieces of equipment off it's table.

Hey I went with option one. I picked up the mini displayport to HDMI adapter from the Apple Store, but I'm having a issue. My Mac (2010,MBP,2.4) detects the tv but the tv receives no signal from the mac (no picture). I get the resolutions from both the tv and mac. I put it in mirrored mode and still had no signal on the tv. I was wondering if you can tell me what I'm doing wrong. Not sure if it has something to do with both the resolution settings or not. Thanks.

Am assuming you have changed the input on the TV to the one your Mac is connected to?

1st thing to do is always unplug all the adapters and cables and plug them back in - even if they all look tight.

What resolution do you have selected for the TV? Try both 1920x1080 and 1360x720.
You should still be able to run the Mac at it's native resolution, though you may have to reselect it.

Toshiba is one of the manufacturers that says to turn on the TV first, then turn on the device connected to it. So you might go ahead and try this also.

Try a different HDMI port on the TV - particularly #1.

Toshiba has a disclaimer that some computers won't connect to this TV. Had no problems with the Regza I owned a couple years ago though.

I have a Macbook Pro Unibody. I'm trying to hook it up to my old JVC via composite cables. I bought the minidisplay port to DVI, then DVI to video converter cables. When I plug it in, my mac enters mirror mode yet the TV screen remains blank. I have tried reconnecting the cables, switching inputs, and turning systems on in specific order. I have also tried this on a Sony Trinitron. When buying the cables I didnt know the difference between DVI and VGA. I figured since I was really just trying to convert minidisplay to video that it wouldnt matter. This is really stressing me out, please help if you can.

Haymose:

The mdp to DVI adapter outputs digital only. Which means there is no signal being sent to the video adapter as it is expecting an analog signal to be passed through the DVI. The Apple DVI to video adapter will only work on the older MBPs that shipped with a DVI port.

There is no such thing as a DVI to video "converter" cable. Those that sell them are scamming their customers, if that's what you really bought. Adapters and converters "are" two different and distinct things - even though some unscrupulous sellers interchange these terms.

Your answer can be found in post # 6.

A word of warning, imho, it's going to look like caca when you get done making that connection with composite.

bobtomay said:

Haymose:

The mdp to DVI adapter outputs digital only. Which means there is no signal being sent to the video adapter as it is expecting an analog signal to be passed through the DVI. The Apple DVI to video adapter will only work on the older MBPs that shipped with a DVI port.

There is no such thing as a DVI to video "converter" cable. Those that sell them are scamming their customers, if that's what you really bought. Adapters and converters "are" two different and distinct things - even though some unscrupulous sellers interchange these terms.

Your answer can be found in post # 6.

A word of warning, imho, it's going to look like caca when you get done making that connection with composite.

Click to expand...

This is an awesome forum. Next time I will stop by before I spend $30 on cables. My priority was movies, which I will continue to stream to my xbox using mac apps. Thank you much.