Combined audio & video from iMac mini DVI & headphone ports to HDMI to TV

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Combined audio & video from iMac mini DVI & headphone ports to HDMI to TV

I presently have my iMac connected to my Sony Bravia tv so that the video goes from the mini DVI port through a converter to HDMI to a 25 foot cable, a HDMI coupler and another 25 foot cable to the TV. The video quality is good since I use 24 AWG cables. The audio goes from the headphone port through a 50 foot 3.5 mm cable to a converter to RCA stereo cables to the tv. The audio quality is not very good with this setup and I would like to send the audio over the HDMI cable with the video so that I would have only a single cable over the 50 foot run and could use a HDMI wall plate for a neater installation. I am wondering whether anyone has tried this somewhat expensive solution to my kind of problem, and whether it worked. Atlona DVI + Digital Audio to HDMI Converter. Model: AT-DVID-HDMI

iMac, Mac OS X (10.6.1)

Posted on Jan 11, 2010 7:33 AM

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Answer 1

Jan 11, 2010 12:56 PM in response to manawakian

Not sure if it would work. The audio input is described as +audio (SPDIF) input+ which is not analog or the Toslink optical digital. SPDIF is a digital format, so you would need another converter. And since the video input is full DVI, you'd need a different adapter for the iMac's video output.

Considering the complexity, additional adapters, rather long travel length, and $199 price for the Atlona device, depending on what you want to show on the HDTV, you may want to consider an Apple TV. The older 40GB version is $149 at the Apple +Special Deals+ page. You can then stream your content wirelessly, and not have to worry about any cabling. But obviously, an Apple TV does not stream everything that that iMac can play, so it would only work if what you want to show is stuff you can play in iTunes. Plus you may want to see what Apple introduces at the 1/27 special event.

The iMac's audio output port doubles as an optical digital port, with a Toslink adapter, so if the Sony Bravia has optical digital input, you may be able to run a Toslink cable. I believe 50 feet is too long, so you would need some type repeater at the midway point.

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Answer 2

manawakian Author

Level 1

13 points

Jan 11, 2010 3:47 PM in response to Kenichi Watanabe

Thanks for the input Kenichi.

After the previous post I came across the Atlona USB to HDMI Converter. Model: AT-HDPiX which seems to be a simpler and cheaper solution. I think I'll wait awhile and see whether someone (Apple) comes out with a mini DVI to mini DisplayPort adapter then try the Kanex solution which others with newer iMacs have tried and liked.

Marshall

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