MacBook to TV

Hey everyone, I'm trying to connect my MacBook to my Mintek flatscreen. I have one of the original MacBook's with all of the ports on the left-hand side, including a FireWire 400 and Mini-DVI port. My TV has both a "PC Input" VGA plug and HDMI plug. Any ideas on what cord I need? I'm not sure if there's something out there that connects the computer to the HDMI or not? Please let me know if you have any ideas! I'm dying to get this hooked up today. Thank you

 

you need the miniDP to hdmi adaptor, and since your model will not pass audio through your DP port ( 2010 models ONLY ) a cable something like this:

Amazon.com: Mini Displayport Male and USB Male Audio to HDMI Female Converting Adapter for Macbook: Electronics: Reviews, Prices & more

 

So there's nothing I can buy that goes straight from the mini DVI to the VGA/HDMI? Meaning, I have to have some sort of adapter? And do you know of any electronics store that carries this sort of thing instead of ordering online? Thank you for your help!

 

you can ONLY go straight to miniDP to HDMI with an adaptor or adaptor cable. there are 2 kinds one which will move audio from your audio port or USB and another which has no audio support at all.

as for electronics stores that will have one on the shelf ... I rather doubt it many will have the Apple one that does video only.

 

you do NOT want a MiniDP adapter...

if your macbook is that old and it has mini-DVI, do not get Mini DP.... mini DP is what the newer ones use... make sure in your specs which one you have.

YOu'll need to find either a mini-DVI to VGA adapter, or maybe there is a mini-DVI to HDMI available somewhere, but it wouldn't carry audio... of course the VGA doesn't either

 

Thank you for pointing that out, you're right, I do need mini-DVI to VGA or HDMI. I just went to Best Buy to try and find the cords and they had the standard Apple mini-DVI to VGA and then I would need a VGA adapter to attach it, plus the audio cords which totaled to almost 75$ which is absurd so I came home empty handed I know I can find it somewhere online cheaper I just didn't want to wait and make sure I have the correct cords...

 

Dont get them from bestbuy, they will rip you off.

The only expensive cord, will be the mini-dvi to vga(as this is kind of a specialty cord). If you buy locally that is (from bestbuy/apple) monoprice has it for 5$ though.

Otherwise you can get them from monoprice/ebay/local computer store.

You should spend less then 20-30$ for all the cables you need.

 

thank you for the suggestion, I think I'm going to go with monoprice. Is there a difference in picture quality between using the VGA or HDMI connection?

 

I thought I found a mini-dvi to HDMI cord but it was mini-DP. Why must apple make everything so complicated?

 

mini dvi was apples older standard on the 13" macbooks. they had a variety of other connections on all their products.

Now they have displayport, which allows the same cables to be used across pretty much all macs.

Its just what they used i the past.

This looks to be the cable you need for vga, and this for hdmi.

Just note, that hdmi from mini-dvi wont have audio, so make sure your setup can accept audio from a separate source.

You'll get a better quality picture from hdmi, though it will be comparable to vga. One is just digital while the other in analog.

 

You could use Mini DVI to DVI, and then a DVI on one end and HDMI on the other end. that will get your 1080P and then 1/8" to RCA to get sound or spdif cable to optical for digital sound.

 

DisplayPort is a competing standard to HDMI... in many ways its actually better. The mini version of the plug was made by apple, but released royalty free for anyone to use. Although no one ever knows for sure.. it seems Apple will stick to MiniDP or DP for many years to come now.

 

thanks for the advice guys, I ended up ordering a Mini-DVI to HDMI Adapter and then a 28AWG High Speed HDMI Cable w/Ferrite Cores to attach to the adapter and connect the HDMI input on my tv. Picked up a 3.5mm Stereo Plug/2 RCA Plug Cable to handle the audio. All for $15 including overnight shipping! What a rip-off Best Buy is. I hope it works!