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Mini display port to HDMI problem

I have my aluminum Macbook perfectly wired up to my 32 inch RCA HDTV. Nothing will come up on the screen, I've tried detect display, I've tried restarting the computer, unplugging and plugging back in then detect display, turned the tv of and on, but nothing is working. I am currently running Snow Leopard, but when I was on Leopard this process of attaching the TV to the computer just took about 10 minutes of doing desultory processes that I've already described. Any suggestions on how to make it work the first time?

Early 2009 Aluminum Macbook, Mac OS X (10.6.1)

Posted on Sep 28, 2009 1:36 PM

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1,012 replies

Dec 3, 2010 8:16 AM in response to Ponponhead

Same boring problem.
Late 2009 15" MBP connected via Minidisplayport-hdmi adapter and hdmi cable, (both bought from Neet via Amazon) to 22" LG tv.
The mac sees the tv. It is added and removed in Display Prefs as I connect/disconnect the adapter, so there is some sort of communication going on. I have spent hours, including trying every possible combination of resolution and refresh rate in the Prefs pane - being careful to power the tv off and on again after every permutation. The tv constantly reports No Signal. I'm tempted to send it a clear signal with a very heavy object right now.
One thing I haven't seen mentioned here (or anywhere else) is the NTSC/PAL setting. Many of the available resolutions only allow 60Hz NTSC as a resolution. Anything else is greyed out. Here in UK our tv setting is PAL, not NTSC. Is this relevant when setting up a connection with the mac?

I sent an email to Neet cables, and I should say they have been great. Answered within a few minutes, saying they have sold thousands of these adapters and cables and not seen this problem before! They are mailing out a replacement adapter+cable today, and say that failures are v rare but not unheard of. However, because the tv is listed in the Display Prefs pane, I'm not hopeful that a new adapter or cable will help...we'll see. But this is definitely the kind of cust service that will take me back there again in future.
If only Apple would show they care too, and offer some wisdom here.

Dec 7, 2010 1:50 AM in response to Ponponhead

I'm having the same problem as a couple people here, had my 15' Macbook pro plugged into an Asus monitor through HDMI (mini-display port adapter ->HDMI cable). Worked fine until recently, however I noticed that shortly after the 10.6.5? update my macbook could no longer see my monitor, even though it was plugged in. I can use it with my TV fine, it just get a blue flicker, then nothing....

Dec 26, 2010 3:16 AM in response to brunogama

Same problem
I had my MBP 13" 2010 connected to my 32" Samsung LCD until last week without any problems. Whenever i plugged in both TV and MBP recognized the the MiniDP to HDMI connection.

Since last week i cannot connect both these..whenever I do MBP screen goes blue for a few seconds as if it is detecting the HDMI connection and comesback normal...while on the TV it say 'NO SIGINAL'

I click gather display, noting gathers as the second display (TV) is not detected. Earlier when the same was connected, I was able to switch sounds from HDMI to Sound out put port via SYSTEM PREFERENCE->SOUND, but now there is no HDMI option there...so I it a good sign that Apple is not detecting the HDMI connection and it is not a 'display resolution' problem as most people have posted earlier.

I would also like to add that, between last week and now I had luck twice connecting these two, but it was sheer luck that MBP detected the TV via HDMI... There should be a way to get MAC to manually select the display output (similar to how the Audio output can be selected). I have tried replicating the same process when i got it work, but second time it didn't

Dec 30, 2010 6:10 PM in response to romonster

Hi all,

It seems this discussion has similar issues but with conflicting causes. I wish to throw my lot in with the likes of Romonster because I reckon the problem stems from the latest 10.6.5 MAC OS X Update.

I too have had no problem with viewing HDMI on the LCDTV via the MBP since purchasing it in August and *THE PROBLEM COMMENCED IMMEDIATELY AFTER* I installed *OS X 10.6.5*...

- Top quality Mini DP/HDMI adapter and HDMI cable
- HDMI port on LCD TV works find with other HDMI media
- MBP screen flicks blue and then back to normal display when initially connected
- LCD TV Screen blinked off/on intermittently when it first happened
- LCD TV now just 'hangs', either black screen or with the previous HiDef TV image frozen on screen
- MBP doesn't find any HDMI external monitor despite "detect display"
- As a consequence there are no secondary monitor settings to fiddle with further
- No variation of cable/adapter/on-off switch combinations makes an iota of difference

However... the adapter, HDMI cable and audio etc works just fine on my LCD monitor at work ( NOT an LCD TV). Could the problem be unique to LCD TVs for some reason? *Could it be something to do with the LCD TV's inbuilt HDCP (Hi Def Copy Protection) conflicting with the new OSX?*

*APPLE - PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE THIS PROBLEM!!!* And find a solution for those of us who enjoy watching iTunes on the big screen.

We look forward to your advice... (tick tock)

Jan 3, 2011 9:47 AM in response to Ponponhead

Hello all! Can somebody tell me how to quickly find the responses that are 'helpful' or 'solved'?

I have the same issue, and am glad to see many others do. SITWAP, but my circumstance was that I had everything running fine (computer below to Samsung 50") through a 'Dynex' mini-DVI to HDMI adapter. The only thing that I did which I have yet to see here is that when I lost the picture and signal on the TV, I closed the lid on my MacBook. Since then, I have not been able to regain the signal.

I don't think it is the adapter itself since the 'blue' conversion screen on video settings flicks anytime I unplug the mini from the computer or the HDMI cable from the adapter end. I know that the HDMI port and cable themselves are fine because they still run my Playstation without a problem.

I am interested in more detail on the how-to with refresh rates etc, and I would LOVE it if someone could tell me how to force my Mac to allow me to see the 'arrangements' panel in the display settings panel regardless of whether Mac is detecting the display....this seems to be a core to the problem - the good old "Mac is intuitive, as long as you intuit their definition of intuitive" syndrome.

Jan 3, 2011 4:53 PM in response to Ponponhead

I've been having similar problems hooking up my Mac Pro to my Dell s2409w monitor via minidisplay port to HDMI. The HDMI port works when connected to the computer via a DVI to HDMI cable. All of my software is up to date and this connection works when I shut off the computer and turn it back on but eventually the screen won't come, flashing blue and black, after the display goes to sleep.

I followed the troubleshooting tips on the Apple website and consulted with Apple via a phone call. If anyone has any advice that would be helpful to solve this problem I would greatly appreciate it.

Jan 3, 2011 6:03 PM in response to tpmccomas

For the record I am having the exact same problem. Mini Displayport to HDMI -> HDMI to LG 42"TV. My experience to date,

Plug in Mini DisplayPort to HDMI converter.
Connect HDMI lead to TV
Change "TV Source" to HDMI
Macbook recognises TV (Screen goes blue and then returns to normal) and show LG TV and a list of resolutions.
Try selecting every combination of TV resolutions and Macbook LCD resolutions to no avail
Turn TV on and off
Unplug lead/plug back in
Turn Macbook on and off
Turn Mirroring on and off

So far nothing I have tried works and I HAVE googled everything I possibly can to do with this issue and haven't found a solution.
And to rub salt in my wound my brother plugged in his 1998 Dell laptop into the same TV and 2 seconds later his Windows screen showed up!

Jan 4, 2011 10:51 AM in response to razorlk81

I'd like to give some input and share my setup...
after much searching I came across this mini dvi > hdmi video display converter

http://www.amazon.com/Griffin-Technology-GC17096-Display-
Converter/dp/B003CK8TZ8/ref=sr 11?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1294165573&sr=8-1

This adapter was better priced than the Moshi found at the apple store and sends both video and audio, also comes with a dvi attachment if hdmi is not needed.
From what I understand, only "late" 2010 macbook pro notebooks support audio output through the mini display port, so early 2010 and older models only support video.
My current setup is with a Macbook Pro 15" i7 late 2010 >
connected to the griffin converter (link above) through mini display port >
griffin hdmi output connected to hdmi cable >
hdmi cable connected to Yamaha receiver input >
Yamaha receiver output through hdmi >
hdmi to LG 32" LCD
I have not had any video flickering or problems with audio quality, when manually connecting it takes a few seconds for my receiver to get the signal and I'm ready to go with a high resolution output as well as hd audio output.
Depending on video and audio sources (mkv files, media players) there may be some needed tweaking to your settings.
I hope this was both helpful and informative!

Jan 4, 2011 7:41 PM in response to kqureshi

kqureshi wrote:
5) Decided I should try a new cable setup. I got the Moshi miniDisplayPort<->HDMI >adapter and an Apple HDMI<->HDMI cable. This cable setup WORKED and I can now get >both audio+video on my TV. The cables below are the ones I used for my setup.


Has anyone else had success with switching to the Moshi adapter, after having this display problem? This seems to be the only Apple-supported MDP-->HDMI adapter, so I'm interested if this is the best adapter out there.

Jan 4, 2011 7:46 PM in response to Seri0usFun

It seems like there are essentially two types of people who have had this problem: those where the cables did not work from the beginning, and those where the cables initially worked great and then decided to randomly stop working.

I myself am in the second group (worked, then stopped working). For those others out there for whom the adapters initially worked and then stopped, did changing the resolution combinations help you solve the problem?

I am having a hard time believing that messing with the resolutions will help at all, given that the display used to work perfectly. I'd really appreciate any feedback on this issue.

Jan 4, 2011 7:57 PM in response to Seri0usFun

No. Changing the resolution would be all very well if you could detect the secondary screen/monitor in the first place. But for my situation, changing the resolution hasn't helped. I've currently got a query logged with the LCDTV manufacturer asking about it being potentially a HDCP protection but it remains to be seen if that's a problem. Some sites suggest HDMI copyright protection controls require 'handshakes' with peripherals like laptops. But rejigging the system to reset the handshake hasn't really helped either. D'oh!

Mini display port to HDMI problem

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