Q: Mini display port to HDMI problem

I am having the same problem at the moment. I have a Samsung 40D8000 LED 3D TV and i have been using it with my MacBookPro for 10 days without anyproblems.But somehow this morning when i wanted to work with my macbook it did not work. I couldn't get a signal from HDMI. I have a mini display port to hdmi adapter. It worked fine for 10 days. I even got some work done last night and didnt exprience any problems. Shut down the system properly. But in the morning it decided not to work. I do not use hdmi to get sound i have surround system for it, plugged into my macbook. I am using lion. I tried with other LCD's and still didnt work. I created a new profile on my laptop in order to have brand new untouched preferences but that didnt work either. Screen kept going blue and back to way it was. Didnt get the signal. Is there any way to fix it. I have read many posts but i do not believe its about having a silver or gold output, or having diffrent kind of hdmi cable. It worked for 10 days and suddenly it stopped. I believe it's a software issue. Is there any release from apple about this?

Okay so I was having these problems too where my screen would just stay black and it took me about an hour to figure out, but it is in the HDMI connection/cable/

I have a 3 day old brand new mac 13 inch with everything updated.

Im using a Rocketfish mini display to HDMI and one of the really expensive insignia HDMI cables and it is now working fine. But before I was using cheap HDMI cables and that seemed to be my problem.

Hope this helps, but you might just have to get better HDMI cables depending on the tv, or maybe the new software requires it. Idk but I hope you guys figure it out cause I was pulling my hair out trying to figure this out.

Goodluck

Ok so I had both machines working fine (older macbook pro and a brand new macbook air) until the OSX Lion update. Cable is not the problem. Everything runs and they both push 480P to the tv. Any other resolution it will show on the TV. Flicker for 10 seconds then drop the signal.

this is a SOFTWARE issue. not a cable issue.

I can prove it buy booting into windows on BOTH machines and it displays perfectly on the tv.

Don't buy an expensive cable!

I have a macbook pro from mid '09 that is connected to an Asus VW266h via hdmi (from monoprice). The connection used to work well; but since a couple of weeks ago, the hdmi stopped working. As everyone else here, I essentially tried all methods/combinations but still in vail. What is even more frustrating is that I have always been a hardcore mac fan, but it looks like that Apple will not do anythig about this issue.

This is also an issue for me on my MBP, 2.66 GHZ, the mini digital out will not connect to TV's via HDMI.

APPLE HELP, PLEASE!?

Apple can't help. The problem isn't theirs but with the HDCP handshake. HDMI is a badly designed interface developed for the purpose of controlling content not a superior signal. Since control could not be done with analog connections, HDMI was a new digital alternative to allow whoever wanted to control the content with HDCP.

Problems with HDMI are not usually with the cable but is in the HDCP copy-protection protocol. There was a technical paper from the HDCP group pointing out that some developers of switches are making incorrect assumptions about the way to handle HDMI/HDCP standards. HDMI is being pushed because of the copy protection. High-bandwidth Digital ContentProtection (HDCP) is a form of Digital Rights Management (DRM) developed by Intel Corporation to control digital audio and video content as it travels across Digital Visual Interface (DVI) or High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) connections. The specification is proprietary, and creating an implementation of HDCP requires a license.

I think while your'e technically right, I do believe Apple *can* help. Many of the problems are related to changes in the OS. E.g. system working great under Leopard, but suddenly not working in Snow or Lion.

In my opinion, if identical hardware works on one OS and not the other, there is a driver / handshake issue that was introduced.

It could even be that Apple is doing it more *technically* correct, but it actually works worse.

Bhavesh

Well, unfortunetly I am not able to provide a solution but I am having exactly the same problem since I installed LION. I already tried using different HDMI cables and TVs but still does not work.

Have you tried the cables sold at the Apple Store? I am currently using monoprice (does not work), and am considering to get ones from the Apple Store.

Thanks.

Well, it used to work ... only stopped working after the upgrade.

Get the Moshi adaptor and a Toshiba TV, that combination works, if it's a MacMini you won't need the adaptor.

Hi,

I just upgraded to Lion and the adapter is still working!

BR, Jussi

Thanks for the answer @jussiv,

I found a fix!

Sadly, I need 2 screens today so I went to the nearest apple certified seller and bought the macally cable for 38$ and this one is working fine, sound too. I have a 1 month warranty so if apple release a fix for my old cable, I'll send em back the macally one.

Solution: Have so much money that you'll be able to buy peace and a &$%? too expensive cable!

Hello folks, my 2¢ of summery on how I got this audio/video solution working.

Connecting MacBook Pro 13" to Sony Bravia 40"

Hardware and Software environment:

• MacBook Pro: 13" i5 Thunderbolt/DVI, early 2011, running OSX Lion 10.7.1
• Sony Bravia: 40" LED with ex520 panel. Four HDMI-in ports with one 3.5mm Audio-in port for HDMI

Accessories used:

• mini DVI to HDMI connector: DVI male, HDMI female
• HDMI to HDMI cable: both male
• 3.5mm stereo audio cable: both male

Hardware setup:

[Turn off Bravia while you do the cable fiddling and connections.]

1. Connect DVI male into the Thunderbolt port of MBP

2. Connect one end of the HDMI port with the DVI connector's female, and the other end to any of the HDMI-in ports of Bravia

3. Connect one end of 3.5mm audio cable MBP's headphone jack, and the other end to the audio-in port for HDMI found at the back of Bravia. (The back panel has a proper indication mentioned for this port. Other way of figuring this out is to look for a female pin that is of plastic and is not shiny like other metal plated component input pins etc.)

Software settings:

1. On MBP: Go to System Preferences > Displays and check "Show displays in menu bar"

2. On MBP: Go to System Preferences > Sound and check "Show volume in menu bar" if not already checked. Keep this window open

3. On Bravia, navigate to Home > Settings > Sound and scroll down to "HDMI/DVI Audio Source". Choose "PC Audio" as the option.

4. Next, scroll to "Speakers" and ensure "TV Speakers" is selected. Also ensure that Bravia is not on mute.

Video:

5. Power on Bravia. Navigate to the HDMI port where the MBP has been connected.

6. The "handshake" between the two devices is typically a brief blue screen on MBP, and OSX Lion's Andromeda Galaxy wallpaper being displayed on Bravia. [It is really as simple as this.]

7. In case your see different results on the screens, click on the monitor icon on MBP menu bar. "Sony TV" should be an item group on the list, with 1080p and other resolution options. If not, try to go through the above connection steps once again.

8. Now, Start playing a video clip on MBP and drag the window beyond the right-hand edge of your screen. You should see the window creeping on the Bravia screen. Pull it all the way on to the Bravia screen. This is the MBP's "TV Desktop". [Check the other relevant posts on this forum for Mirroring, Camshell mode, etc.]

Audio:

9. On MBP, remove the 3.5mm audio cable from the headphone jack. Use headphones or external speakers to check if the sound is playing from the video clip.

10. Insert the 3.5mm audio cable back into the headphone jack. On the menu bar, you may notice some change in volume levels when you insert the cable.

11. On MBP, again go to the "System Preferences" window for "Sound". Navigate to the "Output" tab. The default and selected option should be "Headphone". You should also see "Sony TV" as one of the listed devices with "HDMI" as its device type. Select "Sony TV" on this list.

12. Viola! You may notice the volume control on the menu bar being grayed out, and now the sound should be from Bravia speakers which you can control with your TV remote.

Conclusion:

• The devil is in the details, really. For windows users who are used to see the desktop screen being projected on the LCD "As-it-is", the advanced and default Apple display features for hi-def video could be overwhelming.
• This solution should work with VGA interface as well. I see no apparent reason to think otherwise. Replacing the HDMI connectivity with VGA in the above. Previously, I could mate an LG 50" with an MBP using VGA for video, and an RCA Y cable for audio.
• Do try with cheaper connectors first. I have used the most basic and rather cheap cables while I was figuring things out things. The oeverall solution costed about $15 or so. Those with Gold plated ports and Platinum leads may have their advantages, but I see no reason why one should start one's fiddling with them to begin with.
• Contrary to popular belief, a DVI port can output audio as well. Hopefully, among future updates Apple may enable this thunderbolt/DVI ports that streams audio data as well.
• The headphone jack of MacBook Pro also doubles as an elegant optical port for 5.1 digital output. There are connectors in the market which can combine DVI and headphone jack into a single HDMI female output. One can connect this with HDMI cable to the LCD and both audio and video are taken care of. While this sounds a better solution, I have not tried it myself.

Hope this helps.

Cheers / Mil.

There seem to be two groups with this problem: those whose macs do not detect their tv at all, and those whose macs detect their tv, but the tv does not recieve the signal.  Most of the people who have found fixes didn't say which problem they were having.  I'm in the latter camp-- I've got an MBP 8,2 running Lion, an LG LCD tv and an Inland hdmi/mini display adapter.  My mac detects the tv--It comes up in my display settings, and I can move my cursor off screen, etc.  My tv, however, just says No Signal. My mac is plugged in, and I've tried gfxCardStatus, all the display settings, and all configurations of cords.  I've never gotten even a flash of a screen on my tv.  Is a more expensive hdmi cable likely to fix it?