Q: Mini display port to HDMI problem

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)

I had the same issue. Here is a summary of what I did:

1) I bought a monoprice mini-displayport<->HDMI cable. Here is the URL to that link:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?cid=102&cp_id=10246&cs_id=1024603&pid=5995&seq=1&format=2

2) I tried the monoprice cable on my samsung 23" LCD monitor. Worked like a charm.

3) I moved the monoprice cable to my 55" Sony Bravia KDL-55EX710 LCD TV. The cable DID NOT work.

4) I spent a couple of hours diagnosing it...to ensure the HDMI port on the TV wasn't bad, I used a mini-displayport<->DVI adapter and a DVI<->HDMI cable...this setup worked fine but wasn't ideal as the main reason for using HDMI was to get audio.

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.

http://store.apple.com/us/product/H1824ZM/A?mco=MTY3ODQ5OTY
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC838ZM/A?mco=MTY3ODQ5OTY

Hope this helps. I don't know why the monoprice cable didn't work on my 55" HDTV (but worked on my Samsung 23" monitor) but I wanted to point that perhaps swapping out the cable setup might work for the folks on this forum.

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.

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.

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!

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=sr11?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!

sorry for not posting the link correctly, I'm new to the forums

http://www.amazon.com/Griffin-Technology-GC17096-Display-Converter/dp/B003CK8TZ8 /ref=sr11?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1294165573&sr=8-1

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.

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.

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!

How do you tell if the mini display port is the newer version and supports audio. The Audio tab in preferences says HDMI/display port audio. I have moshi adapter from mini display port to Hdmi but when I go to Audio output tab in only the internal speaker option is available.

Similar for Display, there is no arrangement tab.

Just to add my 2p's worth. I have had similar trouble with my output from mini-display but to VGA not HDMI.

Does anyone get theirs to work with a VGA output and not the HDMI?

I feel it also started around the time I did an update on the OS.(At work at the moment so not sure what 10.6.x it was)

Grant

New update is out, 10.6.6, hopefully it will work better with this update. But if I know Apple close enough, we all know the answer to that

Will post the result asap.

sigh

Same ****, different update. Rolling back to 10.6.2...
It's Apple who's losing money on this, they stop me from using their new Mac Store because of my prioritize towards having my Mac connected to the LCD.

I'd like to state that this is clearly a bug that Apple is aware of, mainly because my Mac refuses to boot up when it's connected to the TV. It's not wrong with my cables, it's not my TVs fault, it's Apple's software **** that causes the whole issue. FIX IT!

Hey guys, this is my first post on here so please be gentle with me

I've connected my MBP to my HD TV with a mini displayport to HDMI adapter, but as mine MBP is late 2009 I don't get any audio. What audio cables do you recommend to solve this.

Thanks guys :thumbup: