Q: Mini display port to HDMI problem

Problem: External monitor flashes on and off at irregular intervals

• Using Mini Displayport to HDMI cable. Same problem with two different monitors (LG and HP).
• Early 2011 13" MacBook Pro.

Changing resolution settings on MBP does not fix the problem.

I've been searching this and other forums for an explanation and solution. No luck.

Plan to try a Mini Displayport to DVI or VGA adapter but that's a suboptimal solution.

For display go to SYSTEM PREFERENCES, DISPLAYS, ARRANGEMENT, and CHECK BOX MIRROR DISPLAYS.

For sound go to SYSTEM PREFERENCES, SOUND, OUTPUT, and CLICK ON YOUR TV'S NAME

this may add insult to injury at how obviouse it it... however I was having the same problem for some time (same model etc.) and i restarted my mac with everything plugged in and the tv on and it all worked! that being said i have to do that every time i plug it in (restart my mac) so hopefully someone benefits from this

Buying this MacBook Pro has been the worst purchasing decision of my life.  It has set me back in more ways than I can count.  And now this. 

I had it hooked up to a large monitor off and on for months and it worked with no problems at all.  Then one day I had it hooked up and it went into sleep mode (as it had many times before) and suddenly the monitor would no longer receive a signal. 

And it appears that this has been going on for 2 years or more with other owners.  What kind of crap is this? 

Hey Apple people - NEWS FLASH - we paid a lot of extra money for these machines because they're supposed to be better.  How can this still not be fixed? 

I've got a late 2009 MBP and have got the same problem. I put the the mini display port into the HDMI cable, then I put this cable into my MBP. The screen on my MBP flashes for like one second (blue) then it returns to the screen before the flash, all normal, but my TV doesn't recognize it, he shows: "no signal". Seems like this problem is going on for a while, like 2 years... But is there still no solution for this?

Thank you very much!

Something very strange happened to me last night, and I'd like to try to understand it.

I've been able to connect my MacBookPro, mid-2009 to my Sony Bravia TV without any problem.  I got a mini-DVI to HDMI converter, and connected the computer to the TV's 2nd HDMI portn using that converter and an HDMI cable.  I had the understanding that sound could not go through the DVI port, so I got a optical cable for sound, which connects the MacBook's mini-TOS port (the headphone jack doubles as an optical audio port) to my stereo's optical input.  The sound for the TV comes from the stereo, which is fine because the stereo sounds better than the TV.

All of this has been working fine.

This month (March 2012) I got a VIZIO television.  I got the same connector for video - a mini DVI-HDMI converter, and an HDMI cable.  I got a mini-plug to component cable for audio - the TV has a Red/White component input for sound, and the instructions say that these inputs are for situations in which the sound isn't delivered through the HDMI cable - exactly what I thought my situation was.

When I hooked this all up to my daughter's MacBookPro - she got hers in mid 2011 - the picture worked fine, but the sound didn't work.  Then I looked at the Sound screen on settings, and discovered that when the DVI cable is plugged in, one of the options is to send the sound to the TV via HDMI.  I selected that option, and sure enough, the sound on the TV started working.  I unplugged the miniTOS - Red/White cable, and the sound still worked.  The sound is going through the miniDVI port!  I thought this wasn't possible.

I should add that my Mac has been upgraded to Lion, while my daughter's Mac is still running Snow Leopard.  After these results, I went back to my connection to the Sony TV to see if something similar was now available, but found that there was no option to send sound over the mini-DVI port. 

Does anybody know what is going on?  Is there something in newer MacBookPro's that allows audio output through the DVI port?  If so, I've got to congratulate Apple - that is a big improvement!

On 13 April 2010, Apple added support for audio out using Mini DisplayPort in their MacBook Pro product line. This added feature allows users to easily connect their Macbook Pros to their HDTVs using a cable adapting Mini DisplayPort to HDMI with full audio and video functionality

I'll say it makes it easier!  Thanks for your response - that clears up the mystery.  Now I've just got to figure out if I can give you some points for taking the time to respond.

Alright,

I've been using an adapter for my HDMI cable to my LCD tv and it's been working for the last year without any problems.. used it less than 20 hours ago and this morning when I tried to plug the adapter into my MacBook it flashes blue very quickly and TV says connecting... No Signal..

I've been unplugging the hdmi cable from the adapter and the MacBook reacts.. so there's nothing wrong with either the adapter or HDMI cable then I reckon?

and the TV reacts on the HDMI being plugged in... just don't get how to fix this since it doesn't seem to be either the cable or adapter..

Anybody have a clue?

What's solved the issues for me was booting up once in Safe Mode. I'm not totally clear on why, but I think it clears out certain preference settings or performs a reset of some sort.

My problem was not getting a signal, but instead not getting a display on the full screen everytime, either after a reboot, waking from sleep, or switching user accounts. Knock on wood, ever since I had booted that one time in Safe Mode, it's been 100% reliable. Of course, always, YMMV.

This is a 2009 MBP 15" machine hooked to an LG monitor. On my computer, audio via HDMI is not supported, so that is a moot issue for me.

HTH

Unless you try a different cable/adaptor it won't be possible to tell whether or not the problem lies there. But first, disconnect all peripherals and restart the computer, reconnect the cable/adaptor.

I've tried resetting the pram and nvram on bootup, but didn't help.. Also reset the user settings on my TV..

I've restarted, resetted settings, tried to unplug cables and plugging them again.. tv and laptop reacts as usual but the TV doesn't seem to get a signal from the MacBook... Don't know where the faulty lays and if I should try with new cables or not.. but it's weird how they could "break" just overnight just laying there..

emiiily wrote:

 

I've tried resetting the pram and nvram on bootup, but didn't help.. Also reset the user settings on my TV..

I've restarted, resetted settings, tried to unplug cables and plugging them again.. tv and laptop reacts as usual but the TV doesn't seem to get a signal from the MacBook... Don't know where the faulty lays and if I should try with new cables or not.. but it's weird how they could "break" just overnight just laying there..

About the only thing you haven't tried (it seems) is a different cable/adaptor, and that's what I suggest you try.

As for them 'working' yesterday, well, everything works the day before it is broken, there is nothing unusual about that.

Buy different cable/adaptor, try each item individually, if no change take the new ones back for a refund.

<Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter>

I recently had a very much same experience that many people reported here.  I started connecting my MacBook Pro (Early 2011 w/ Mac OSX 10.7.3) to a Sony Bravia TV two months ago. It was working fine until last week when my Mac suddenly quit connecting to the TV.

I tried almost all remedies recommended in the discussions.  My issue was that System Preference of Mac OSX could no longer detect the TV automatically.  Therefore "ARRANGEMENT" button became completely invisible on DISPLAY page.  It seemed that my MacBook Pro was not getting the TV signals at all, and that most vulnerable hardware between my Mac and the TV was my generic (J-Tech) Mini Display Port to HDMI adapter, which was design to convert the signals between two different formats.

Tonight, I replaced the old adapter with a new adapter (KANEX iAdapt V2: Mini DisplayPort to HDMI Adapter w/Audio Support), and it FIXED the problem immediately. In fact, the connection to the TV became smoother than before, i.e. less waiting time or flickering.

I cannot say which brand of the adapters works best or last longer.  Nonetheless, it may be worthwhile to try a new adapter if anyone encounters the same issue; a sudden dead-connection syndrome.....  And most important, the discussions by many people here gave me a courage to experiment one more step to solve my problem. Thank you!

Hey!

Decided to post this and add up to the already very long list of users who have trouble with the mdp-hdmi cable/adapter.

I will narrow it down as much as i can:

I have a late 2011 macbook pro 13', i5 4gb ram and a Samsung T24A550.

-Kanex cable: lasted a month

-Griffin adapter lasted 20 days aprox.

-moshi adaptar lasted 4 days

-NEW moshi adapter: went and got a new one after the last one lasted 4 days, they insisted this one was the best of them all, it has been working 4 days none stop, started to flicker when bent this morning, so i try to keep it as straight as possible. Maybe it will work until next monday? =P

So, seeing as i live in argentina i don't have as much brands available, these are pretty much it. i'll keep going back to the store for a refund it seems.