Mini display port to HDMI problem

This information worked for me except you have to make sure that you have the resolution on the displays screen set to the same as your televisions. If you have 1080i you have to check that on your computer. Simple as that. Follow his directions then end with adjusting the resolution!! Good luck!!

Very nice suggestion. You may change between integrated and discreet using the free software gfxCardStatus you can download from http://goo.gl/WAx0L

It works just fine on my Macbook. When I switch to discreet I get picture on my TV and when I switch to integrated the TV goes blank (and I save battery). I just wonder why Apple does'nt write this clearly somewhere. Should be in the leaflet included with the cable (I have'nt got mine leaflet anymore - maybe it was there 😮 )

I almost gave up. But I knew it was connected because my computer (macbook) and TV (samsung smart LED) both would flash when I connected/disconnected. Here's what FINALLY did it: Connect via HDMI/adaptor. Do as others suggested-- Go to settings>>displays>>detect displays. Then go to the TV display options (mine showed up with a little icon on the top right of the apple bar) and select Mirror Displays. THEN--- this is what took forever to figure out-- I had to choose 1024 X 640. Of the whole list of options this was the ONLY one that worked, and immediately I could see my computer on the TV. Lastly, I still had to connect audio using the audio cable connection. Don't forget to go into your Sound settings and choose your TV, or you won't get audio output. BTW, I am using a long and cheap HDMI cable and it works great. 🙂

I have been using my MBP Early 2011 HR screen with 3 party Thunderbolt to HDMI 4a, paired with a Sony 4a Flat cable, to a LG LED 32" with no issues...well minor issue exist once in a while where my background picture is default instead of a picture. Mine is with sound if I choose to transfer it to the TV.

Since I my MBP, adapter and cable are stationary, I think the issue here, after some use, could be due to the Thunderbolt connectors internal wires on the adapter getting loose. Most people will just carry their MacBook, etc around while dangling the adapter and the cable. That is quite some weight and force being applied to the tiny Thunderbolt connectors.

I don't believe in cheap cable and went for the best a year ago where HDMI 4a was new. I wanted 1080p and sound but the cable is also able to handle internet thru the cable.. What ever that means. In the long run, it is cheaper for me since I don't have to change/ upgrade my cable for some time :)

Just what I need in my life - another darned techmystery...

For over two years, I have had a MDP/HDMI adapter plugged into the back of my trusty intel iMac and then into my LG widescreen, via an HDMI cable.... and all was just peachy...

Yesterday, without having changed anything at all, I got the dreaded "no signal" message on the TV...

I adjusted the cables... plugged and replugged, fixed permissions, ran applejack, repaired discs, unplugged all the TV connections and power and then did the same for the computer... and then, after ten minutes, plugged it all back in.

nothing changed.

I tried it again, using all the various combinations of the order that I connected all the various permutations of cables and adaptors and on/off switches an channel selectors....

I searched the internet, including this thread.. I reset PRAM and SMC.. no joy.... I discovered that I do not have either the "Mirror Displays" or "Arrange wndows" options under the "Display prefs" but I have no idea if I USED to have those settings - because I never had cause to look for them before.

I ran the same HDMI cable to my Sky box - it workd perfectly...

and so, after reading everything I could find, the consensus was that it MUST be the MD/HDMI adaptor...

so I took two buses to my local Apple reseller and dropped £25 on a brand new adaptor.... and then took two busses back home, quietly confident that all would now, finally, be back to normal.

Confidently plugged it all in.. and got exactly the same response... a brief flash of imac blue screen and then return to iMac desktop normal.. and still the "no signal" mssage on the TV.

I backed up, reinstalled the Snow Leopard system (Haven't moved on up to Lion yet) on a blank partition of the main drive, ran and installed all the updates and nothing has changed.

In other words, for no reason at all, a perfectly functioning, long standing computer to TV monitor operation system has gone Kapputt....

I shall have to SOMEHOW find a workaround, but would appreciate someone (Apple maybe) deternining just what the heck happened and why and, of course, how to fix it...

I started a new thread before I found this one...

Same sad problem as every other Apple owning sod, apparently.

This is driving me nuts!!! I have tried 3 different macs, 4 completely different cables/adapters and they all do exactly the same thing.

1. I connect the mac to the DVI to HDMI cable and/or adapter combo, then connect to the projector

2. I get 2-30 seconds of wonderful projector screen usage (it works, picture looks crystal clear)

3. Then POOF! No projector signal, though it appears mac recognizes the projector.

I can repeat from 1 using a different adapter and/or cable and I get exactly the same results, but if I re-use the same cable I used previously, I get no signal at all.

What the $%@! is going on here??? Is Apple black-listing my cables or something??? I'm using everything from cheap-o cables to $$$ cables with exactly the same result.I run this projector with absolutely no problem from a dell desktop via DVI to HDMI.

For what it's worth, I'm connecting to a LG HS201 projector.

using Core-2-duo macs either with pure DVI or mini-DVI

Replying to my own message, but I think maybe, just maybe I have found the culprit.

It would appear that for whatever reason The mac is overly sensitive to cables. I got an adapter with a USB to DVI/HDMI stick I bought recently. Just gave this a try with a very good quality HDMI cable, and it worked for over 5 minutes (I figured anything > 30 seconds was a win)

Maybe...

It sounds more like an HDCP handshake problem. 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. If the projector is an older one it may not recognize the HDCP handshake as correct if it's firmware hasn't been updated.

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 Content Protection (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.

HDCP is licensed by Digital Content Protection, a subsidiary of Intel. In addition to paying fees, licensees agree to limit the capabilities of their products. For example, high-definition digital video content must be restricted to DVD quality on non-HDCP compliant video outputs when requested by the source. DVD-Audio content is restricted to DAT quality on non-HDCP digital audio outputs (analog audio outputs have no quality limits). Licensees cannot allow their devices to make copies of content, and must design their products in ways that effectively frustrate attempts to defeat the content protection requirements

Y'know, this makes sense. One time when I had the (best yet) cable connected, it worked, then flickered (no signal) then went back and forth between working a few times then finally cut out. It might be the "blacklisting" is really just the projector dropping the connection completely. I did discover that a "cold boot" of the projector allowed me to "re-use" the cable. For a few minutes. Projector upgrade, maybe. I'll try borrowing an HDMI display first to see if that works reliably.

Cheers!

Frederic, this is the crux of the problem, and I am grateful you explained it with such clarity.

In all the years of DVI, I have had no trouble connecting my various macs to any DVI-equipped display - projectors, tvs, monitors, etc.

Then along comes HDMI and (even worse) Mini Displayport/Thunderbolt, and we're all plagued with connection problems, flickering issues, random voodoo, etc.

I resent the wasted time Apple causes us, and it diminishes the joy of "personal tech" for me.

Oh well... sob story or not, I pay attention now to other manufacturers who do things right by consumers... my HTC phone with Android 4 currently has me tickled.

Thank you so very much for providing some much needed clarity in why this might be happening - I doubt Apple thought their support community would end up being a good old-fashined support group for those of us plagued by the little bugs Apple sometimes refuses to even acknowledge the existence of - I'll sleep a little better knowing that this is most likely an issue beyond my level of intelligence, lol.

and very lucid an explanation - thank you for that

BUT..

in my own particular case the problem isn't HDMI per se.. I gave up on HDMI and tried buying an MPD to VGA adaptor - with exactly the same results.. I've now tried all the adaptors that can stick into this silly MDP with three different kinds of TV/Monitor.. and get the same result.. a blue screen for qa coupla seconds and then "no signal" and no option to mirror.

It's some kinda hardware glitch....

so I had my local authourised Apple reseller call down to their repair shop in Exeter and was quoted a price of £785 to repair/replace the port strip.. and a price of £690 to simply send the part for me to replace it myself.

All info I can find tells me that this port strip is a daughter board and yet the repair facility swears that the expense is because it's the motherboard that needs replacing...

I think I'll stick to my original plan B and buy another UPnP media box and plug it into the TV.

Hey There

I got my new Macbook Pro yesterday and as like some of u guyz said i had my TV to work maybe once and blue screen and no signal.

I got 2 different cables but same result.

I need to use HDMI out urgent and as i read some of your post no one managed to do it.

I need help to be a Houdini for this problem cos my DJ performances has to have visual too.

Any help vill be much apriciated

Thanks

Actually - if you're DJ-ing, (and in a hurry), my option of an add-on media player with UPnP is probably your best bet, particularly since it does not require a hard wire connection to your computer but rather to the projector/monitor/TV. I use a failry cheap one made by O!Play and a program called Playback... and it all works simply and effectively.

I haven't found any solution on the net for this stoopid Apple MDP issue.