Connecting a macbook to the tv

Scuba Ste

Hey,

I want to connect my macbook to the tv to watch movies etc. I have had a look at similar threads but there seems to be a lot of variation in the cables needed depending on the model of the mac and the tv and what cables each will take.

I have a black macbook model macbook4, 1 with a mini DVI port.

The TV is a newish Samsung with 2 HDMI, 2 DVI, a PC in (looks like VGA) and components ports.

I'm thinking a mini DVI to HDMI is enough, something like this.

I'm not sure about audio though, whether I need another cable or if HDMI is enough.

Anyone have any experience with this or know what I need.

Thanks.

Sad Professor

A mini-DVI to HDMI cable should do the trick, but you will have to carry the audio separately - any old phono to RCA cable should work. However, since HDMI is just DVI plus audio, you might as well get a mini-DVI to DVI cable and save your HDMI port.

Colonel Panic

Depending on the model you have, you might get overscan issues via HDMI too which would chop off parts of the image.

Typically on Samsungs if you use HDMI1 and rename the input source to "PC" it should be fine.

Scuba Ste

Thanks for that.

So DVi doesn't carry audio and I'll need one of these for that. Where do I connect these.

The DVI connection on the TV however is not like this. It's like the RCA connections. Actually my TV is quite similar to this. You can see the DVI In(HDMI 2) on this one has two connections. And there are more connections on the side of the TV; AV In with S-video and three more coloured connections in red, yellow and white if that makes things any clearer.

Would I be better off just going with the HDMI.

Also how important is cable quality. The ones I've linked seem cheap enough compared to some prices (particularly from Apple) but they're fine I'll get the cheapest.

Sad Professor

Scuba Ste wrote: »

Thanks for that.

So DVi doesn't carry audio and I'll need one of these for that. Where do I connect these.

The black phono end goes in the Macbook's headphone jack, the red and white connectors go in the TV.

The DVI connection on the TV however is not like this. It's like the RCA connections. Actually my TV is quite similar to this. You can see the DVI In(HDMI 2) on this one has two connections. And there are more connections on the side of the TV; AV In with S-video and three more coloured connections in red, yellow and white if that makes things any clearer.

Then it doesn't have a DVI video port. Those two "DVI" ports are for carrying audio from a DVI source, so that's where you connect the RCA cable. They are obviously used in conduction with one of the HDMI ports, as seen in the picture.

Would I be better off just going with the HDMI.

Since your tv don't actually have DVI, yes.

Also how important is cable quality. The ones I've linked seem cheap enough compared to some prices (particularly from Apple) but they're fine I'll get the cheapest.

When it comes to digital signals, cable quality doesn't really matter.

Colonel Panic

You can get DVI -> HDMI cables. I personally prefer that option because I can connect my machines to a secondary monitor too. Cable quality isn't that important for a digital signal.

Scuba Ste

Ok, thanks a lot for that lads.

Sad Professor

Colonel Panic wrote: »

You can get DVI -> HDMI cables. I personally prefer that option because I can connect my machines to a secondary monitor too.

Yeah, but that means getting an extra cable. So the OP would need a mini-DVI to DVI cable and a DVI to HDMI cable.

Placebo

hey guys, is there an official mac hdmi adaptor?
otherwise is there any that do audio as well?

example:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Apple-DisplayPort-Adapter-cable-Neet%C2%AE/dp/B002ERBFYM/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1317553810&sr=1-1


not sure how good that is

Sad Professor

There isn't an official Apple HDMI adaptor, no. But recent Macs can output audio via the mini DisplayPort, provided the third-party cable supports it.

Placebo

cheers sad professor, will try get one that supports audio !

ladyjuicy08

Did you manage to get audio I have same prob have mini dvi to hdmi but getting audio thru laptop