# Mini DVI to HDMI, iMac



## The Doctor (Apr 17, 2008)

I have an 2GHz Intel Core Duo iMac, With 1.5GB RAM, Running 10.5.2 (every info helps).

I sort of know what I want, but i'm a tad confused. I've got a lovely 27" HD TV in my Room, and on the other end of it a lovely iMac. Hey what's this? ... I want to connect them! 

So how do I connect my iMac to my TV. All I no is that 1) I need at least one convertor a Mini DVI to DVI convertor, 2) My TV is a little bit further away, there's a few bends .. so a longer cable would be nice.

Also, cheaper is nicer. And i'm right in thinking that HDMI supports sound too?

Any replies will be appreciated! (Y) 

P.S I Live in the UK.

*The Doctor*


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## didoman (Apr 18, 2008)

hey, I have a similar setup with my 20" AL iMac and 27" samsung LCD HDTV. Pick up a mini-dvi to dvi adapter from apple ($20 CAN), and a dvi to hdmi cable (i found one at futureshop for ~$30). works like a charm, OS X even gets the 1360x760 resolution right. 

also, while HDMI does support sound, it will not in this case. your computer's dvi connection only outputs video, so no audio will be sent to the tv. but the solution is simple enough, just buy a $5 stereo-mini to RCA audio cable (stereo-mini into your mac, rca red and white into your tv or sound system, all connections are male).

is vga an option? if your TV has a VGA input, then you could just buy an apple mini-dvi to VGA adapter and a cheap VGA cable instead of the more expensive dvi to hdmi cable. You'll get the same resolution, and quality will be just as good (on a 720p hdtv anyway).


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## The Doctor (Apr 18, 2008)

VGA is a no go! lol

so skip the HDMI den ... I can just use Mini DVI to DVI and connect a DVI all the way to my TV cus my TV has one port and it's marked DVI/HDMI.

So that would be cheaper yh?

also, if you could give links to the EXACT things I need, I don't wna get anything wrong.

Thanks for your help  

w.b

*The Doctor*


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## didoman (Apr 18, 2008)

yup sounds like straight dvi is the way to go. and cheap too. here are a couple of links, i don't really know any uk dealers, but these at least have pictures for ya:

apple mini-dvi to dvi:
http://store.apple.com/Apple/WebObj...me/shop_mac/mac_accessories/cables&nplm=M9321

audio cable (6ft)
http://www.amazon.com/3-5mm-Mini-Pl...8&s=musical-instruments&qid=1208538290&sr=8-2

dvi cable:
any DVI-D or DVI-I should be fine


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## The Doctor (Apr 18, 2008)

OK ... im RELLI getting confused now lol 

HDMI/DVI ... do they even look similar ... cus I have the ONE port on my TV and it says DVI/HDMI to the same port ... and ... yh ... treat me like im 10 lol. 

*The Doctor*


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## didoman (Apr 18, 2008)

haha sure, I'll try to clear it up a bit. check out this page for some pics (by the way thats just a google, those prices dont seem right):

http://www.smelectronics.com/HDMI.htm

the first pic is a plain HDMI cable, both ends. the second pic is HDMI on one end (the small, almost USB-sized one), and DVI on the other (with a bunch of round pins and one flat pin). whichever connection you have on your tv will be the female version of one of those.

on my tv, i have 2 HDMI ports, one of which is called "DVI/HDMI". the reason they do this is to let you know that the one labelled "DVI/HDMI" has an auxiliary audio input, for people wanting to do exactly what you do. because really, the video signal being carried by either cable is identical, its just a different connection. so if your "DVI/HDMI" input is really HDMI (as I suspect) then you want a cable exactly like on the second pic on that page.

i hope this helps! unfortunately, the prices on dvi-hdmi cables seem to be high, for whatever reason.


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## The Doctor (Apr 18, 2008)

after looking on my TV 

I've got HDMI/DVI (The DVI port) and a D/Sub

ok .. so wt I want is ... a HDMI cable from my Mac! 

ok .. finally getting somewhere, thanks to ur help 

ok .. so, my Mac is like maybe 10m away from my TV ... so a long cable ... so  wt do I need to get to turn the DVI to HDMI? 

*The Doctor*


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## The Doctor (Apr 18, 2008)

so if im right

iMac connects to Apple mini DVI to DVI cable. 

That DVI end is female. I buy a 10 Meter DVI to HDMI Cable

Connect to TV and I can see my iMac on the Screen?

I no I need a Audio cable thingy u mentioned abuv and also that the link is for a 1 M cable, but im right yh?

write bck ASAP 

*The Doctor*


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## didoman (Apr 18, 2008)

> iMac connects to Apple mini DVI to DVI cable.
> That DVI end is female. I buy a 10 Meter DVI to HDMI Cable
> Connect to TV and I can see my iMac on the Screen?



This is exactly the setup I have, so should be good! Just one question:



> I've got HDMI/DVI (The DVI port) and a D/Sub



You say "The DVI port"... do you mean "the HDMI port"? If yes (i.e. the port on the TV is HDMI) then you're good to go... enjoy ur extended desktop!


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## The Doctor (Apr 18, 2008)

lol ... my bad!

Thank you VERY much

*The Doctor*


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## The Doctor (Apr 23, 2008)

Ok, so I brought the cables ... they are going to be coming to the house soon.

the one cable the 3.5 mini plug to RCA cable came (Y)  

BUT ....

if i plug it into my audio port on my iMac and the side of my TV that does nothing ...

am I missing something? I should still be able to use the TV's speakers shouldn't I?

w.b

*The Doctor*


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## DeltaMac (Apr 23, 2008)

Is the audio port on your TV an output (to headphones, etc), or an input (from a DVD/VCR, etc)?


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## The Doctor (Apr 23, 2008)

on the side of the TV it's got A/V in ... with Right and Left (red nd white) both plugged in ... and on my mac's side it's a standard 3.5" audio connector ... so relli ... it shld work.

u might need to look higher up in the forum as well (Y)

*The Doctor*


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## didoman (Apr 23, 2008)

hmmm, is your TV in the correct input mode (source)? Sorry if thats too obvious, but my TV wont actually let me select my HDMI/DVI input unless hdmi is plugged in, regardless of whether audio cables are plugged in. For now, until you get the HDMI cable, just try a different input.

Wait, "the side of your TV" - is this where your HDMI/DVI is located? or is this just a standard video in? I've just never seen HDMI at the side, its usually on the back. Either way, try plugging in the audio cable to any source on your TV, playing some music on your mac, and cycling through the sources on your TV until you hear the music. it has to work...


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## The Doctor (Apr 23, 2008)

nope nothing worked 

and btw all my connections on the left and right hand side of the TV, nothing on the back... it's just placed in a diffo place.


and heres what my manual says ....

http://mt12.quickshareit.com/share/picture15aff10.png

and

http://mt12.quickshareit.com/share/picture17e4d01.png

*The Doctor*


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## didoman (Apr 23, 2008)

that makes no sense. you could test the cable with an ipod or something, or on a different tv, but i cant think of other reasons for it not to work. i guess the other place to look is on the mac end - it is for sure plugged into audio out, and not mic in?


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## The Doctor (Apr 23, 2008)

im not a retard haha 

but seriously lol .. this is gna confuse u ... confused me ... on my TV and Downstairs TV the A/V in wnt play music, bt If i plug them into the DVD player's A/V Out and turn the DVD player on, I can stuff on my tv ... so i took da DVD Disc out and I got it on standby ... bt da problem with dis is ...

when I have my DVI connected, I cnt have audio going through the scart as well ... so any suggestions? 

lol

w.b

*The Doctor*


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## didoman (Apr 23, 2008)

> im not a retard haha


lol sorry, that is exactly the kind of thing my girlfriend would do. i really think this is just a source issue... ok so you've got a dvd player plugged into red/white on the tv - what happens when you pull them out and replace them with the cables from your mac? and the tv's source is the same as if you were using the dvd player. if you still can't hear sound, then either the cable is defective or the audio out on your mac is mucked up.


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## The Doctor (Apr 23, 2008)

hahaha ... women! lol

ok right ... i think one of us is missing something here lol

TV has DVD connected Via Scart (Y) 

Audio Left, Audio, RCA Cables plugged into DVD player ... works when DVD player is on, and the source is on the Scart (scart 1)

If I plug in the RCA cables into the tv TV it self NOT the DVD player ... It just won't work .. no matter wt source I try ... this happens on BOTH TV's ... 

so yh ...

u may carry on lol

*The Doctor*


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## MisterMe (Apr 23, 2008)

OK. Every digital TV I have seen has groups of A/V connections. These groups are usually clearly displayed by an enclosing white border and clearly numbered by an encircled numeral. Generally, you cannot combine the video connection of one group with the audio from another. [Afterall, it would not do to have the audio from your Blu-ray disc to interfere with the video from your Wii game console.] HDMI carries both video and audio. Each HDMI port is a group unto itself. Your DVI-HDMI adapter should allow audio cables to be plugged-in so your HDMI cable delivers audio and video to your TV's HDMI port.


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## The Doctor (Apr 23, 2008)

BUT ... lol

... 

From the iMac Min DVI to DVI blah blah to the TV's HDMI ... I loose ALL audio, I mean im like alredi 1/2 half way there ... remba I wnt have my cables and adapters for video for at least another week I shldnt think.

and like the other dude said a bit earlier abt his set up ... his got a RCA cable and HDMI or DVI w/e. 

Write Back 

*The Doctor*


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## The Doctor (Apr 29, 2008)

GOT IT ALL (Y) 

connected to my 27" TV  (Y) 

BUT ... 

it's either too big, too small or too stretched ... I want it so it fills the widescreen but doesn't stretch the windows, and so they look like there made to fit if you no what I mean.

*The Doctor*


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## The Doctor (Apr 29, 2008)

Further to what I said .. it made no sense ... I've got this perfect resolution on the TV  (1280 x 720, 60 Hz NTSC millions of colours), not mirrored .. it's an extended desktop ...

but the problem is ... if i pres the green "+" it makes it go bigga then can be shown on the screen, nd when i finally get round to resizing it everything looks great on the TV. 

*The Doctor*


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## DemonNorth (Aug 5, 2009)

Hey Gents,

What about just using that cable:
http://www.amazon.com/PTC-Mini-DVI-Adapter-6ft-Macintosh/dp/B001H0REVK/ref=pd_sim_MI_1


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