How to Guides

How to connect a Mac to a HD TV?

This question has been asked by many and is one of the main reasons this website was set up, so here is a guide on “how to connect a Mac to a HDTV*”.

* This guide only covers current Mac’s with Mini Displayport and TV’s that accept HDMI but a similar approach is used for older mac’s but using different cables.

With the price of big screen TV’s dropping the increased use of digital video files it makes sence to be able to watch movies from your Mac on your big new HD TV. In typical Mac style you would expect this process to be pretty straight forward as its a Mac, it just works, right? Well in short, Yes. The Mac does everything it needs to on it’s part of the deal how ever getting the video signal to the TV is a little tricky due to the introduction of a little thing called “Mini DisplayPort”.

Mini DisplayPort

As Apple likes to do things its own way, they by passed the HDMI connector standard on their new Mac’s in favor of the newer DisplayPort which is gaining popularity in modern computers and video monitors. However to go one step further and to allow them to use DisplayPort in thin laptops, they created they own scaled down version called “Mini DisplayPort”. So Mini DisplayPort is pretty much a scaled down version of DisplayPort, as per what Apple did with their Mini DVI port.

A possible reason why Apple did this is so they could avoid paying the licenseing fee for using HDMI. This could be true as Apple do not offer a Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter, again possibly for licensing reasons.

Ok, so the first hurdle is to get a video signal from our Mac to our HD TV. As Apple do not have a Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter what are out options? Well you could use a VGA connector but then the resolution may be limited. We could use a Mini DisplayPort to DVI adapter and then run a DVI to HDMI converter cable… a little messy. Or we could give Apple the flick and look else where for a Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter or cable.

So to get a video signal to your TV all you need is a Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter or cable. Plug the Mini DisplayPort end into your Mac and the HDMI end into your TV. Set your TV to display the HDMI source your connected to and with in a few seconds you should have your Desktop showing up on your Mac. You can run an extended display or a mirrored display depending on your settings.

But how do I get Sound coming from the TV?

Unlike HDMI, Mini DisplayPort does not support an audio signal so this is where it gets a little tricky. Getting sound to your TV will depend a lot on the model of TV your using. In a nutshell you will need to get the audio signal from the Mac (audio out port) to the TV. Some TV’s like the Sony Bravia’s allow you to run an external audio signal with a HDMI video stream. If this is the case then all you need to do it connect your Mac to your TV using a simple 3.5mm to 3.5mm audio cable.

This video shows a good example of connecting a Mac to a Sony Bravia.

What if I don’t have an audio input on my TV?

Well if you really really want the audio signal coming from the TV, you need to combine the audio signal with the video signal to provide a complete HDMI signal. You can do this using a Combined Mini DisplayPort and USB audio to HDMI adapter. These things aren’t cheap and they take a little fiddling with the audio settings on your Mac to get going but they are the only option if you want to go down this path.

What are my other audio options?

Well the only other option is to use an external audio source like a surround sound system or amp/receiver. Going down this path gives you a few additional goodies such as a digital audio signal and Dolby surround sound! The audio out of your Mac is actually a combined analog and digital port. If you look closely at the port you will notice a red glow. That’s actually the optical digital signal. You don’t have to use the optical digital signal to get sound to your amp as a simple 3.5mm to RCA audio cable will do the job fine, however you’ll miss out on the digital signal and surround sound.

Going digital audio is only worth while if you have an amp that can make use of it. If your amp has an optical input called TOSLINK then your in business. TOSLink is the standard optical audio connection and its a funny looking square shaped plug. Connecting this type of cable to your Mac requires a TOSLink to MiniTOS adapter which takes the standard TOSLINK connector down to a mini 3.5mm MiniTOS plug which will go straight into your Mac. Alternatively you can get a MiniTOS to TOSLINK cable which is a bit neater.

So in summary you’ll need one or more the following cables/adapters

Video Signal

Option A) Mini DisplayPort > HDMI Cable (The neatest and simplest option)
Option B) Mini DisplayPort > HDMI Adapter (Cheapest option but still requires a HDMI cable)

Audio Signal

Option A) 3.5mm to 3.5mm audio cable
Option B) 3.5mm to RCA audio cable
Option C) MiniTOS to TOSLINK optical audio cable

Enjoy!

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