Seiki tv as second display
What do I need to have my Seiki SC22HY07 serve my MacBook Air (early 2015) as a second display? What cable(s) settings, etc. My eyesight is failing me, so I REALLY need help.
MacBook, macOS 10.12
Question marked as
Sure, Granny007, I'd be delighted to help you out....
My mom's husband is having big troubles with his eyesight, so this is what I did, as well as buying him a high visibility keyboard...
You have a thunderbolt 2 port on your MacBook air, which is OK with miniDisplayPort. So you'd need a MiniDisplayPort to HDMI
cable if your Seiki tv isn't too far away (about 6 feet, maybe 10 feet ) , otherwise go with a minidisplay port to hdmi adapter, and get a regular hdmi cable.
Here is how to connect them together:
1- on the Seiki TV, you'll have to go into its menu, and label one of the HDMI inputs as "MAC" or "MACBOOK". save it or say "OK"
2- both TV and MacBook have to be off when you connect them.
3- plug one end of the cable into the hdmi input on the back or side of the TV. one side is bigger than the other, and it can be a bit of a pain to get the plug in there. It only goes in one way. If you have a grandson, son, niece or nephew, I'm sure they'd be willing to help you out.
4- the bigger end of the cable is the HDMI, the smaller end is the mini DisplayPort. If you're using an adapter with a standard HDMI cable, just plug the other end of the HDMI cable into the socket on the adapter, and plug the little end into your MacBook air.
5- turn on your MacBook air, and then turn on your Seiki TV.
6-go to system preferences, then Display. If you hold down the option key, you should get many choices, pick one that looks ok to you . If you want, this also activates Detect Display, which you can click on.
7- Mirroring should be ON, I think.
8-using the Seiki TV's remote, press the video input button until what you see on the TV matches what you see on your MacBook Air.
that's really it
I usually go with monoprice for hdmi cables, as they tend to be cheaper, and shipping is free. However, you're welcome to buy them from whoever you like. For the adapter itself, Granny007, there's one last thing to remember: it should be active.
I just checked and monoprice doesn't make a MiniDisplayPort to HDMI cable longer than 6 feet. However, as I mentioned before, you can get an adapter, and a regular HDMI cable and it'll work, or try amazon. I don't know how far away your Seiki tv is, so can't really say what length of cable you need to buy.
take care
john b