How Do I Connect My Mac Pro (2 X 2.66 Ghz Dual-core Intel Xeon) To An Insignia 50" (ns-50d510)?

yomark

yomark

Registered
I just bought an Insignia 50" (NS-50D510) TV, and I want to connect my Mac Pro (2 x 2.66 GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon) to it as an additional monitor. I already have two other flat screen monitors hooked up to the Mac Pro. I cannot identify any of the remaining ports available on the Mac Pro that I can use as the "source', thought the Insignia has three HDMI ports to use.

Below, I've included photos of the ports available:

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Which ports are used for the displays that you have connected now?
What connections are used on each display, and are there other connections available, if you need to change how those are connected?

Also, can you tell us which Mac Pro you have? Open the Apple menu, then About This Mac. That information window will show the model and year for your Mac Pro, and also the graphics card in use.

The only choice you would have from your Mac Pro to the Insignia TV will be HDMI, so you would need to convert either Mini DisplayPort to HDMI, or DVI-D to HDMI.
 
DeltaMac said:
Which ports are used for the displays that you have connected now?
What connections are used on each display, and are there other connections available, if you need to change how those are connected?

Also, can you tell us which Mac Pro you have? Open the Apple menu, then About This Mac. That information window will show the model and year for your Mac Pro, and also the graphics card in use.

The only choice you would have from your Mac Pro to the Insignia TV will be HDMI, so you would need to convert either Mini DisplayPort to HDMI, or DVI-D to HDMI.
Click to expand...


The following is ALL the information provided by the "About This Mac" window:

Overview:

Processor 2 x 2.66 GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon
Memory 10 GB 667 MHz DDR2 FB-DIMM
Graphics NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT 256 MB
Serial Number G86490R0UPZ
Software Mac OS X Lion 10.7.5 (11G63)


Displays:

Acer X193W+ Display
1680 x 1050
NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT 256 MB graphics

90GX2 Display
1280 x 1024
NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT 256 MB graphics

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I posted 2 smartphone shots of what I have connected to the tower, front and back. My friend hooked everything up, so I'm not myself sure how to answer the question about which ports are being used right now.

I can't identify any HDMI ports on the tower. If you can tell me which one(s) are for DVI-D, that would be very helpful (I realize I may have NOT pictured them in MY photos, but are they visible in the "downloaded" photos?)
 
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yomark said:
...
I posted 2 smartphone shots of what I have connected to the tower, front and back. My friend hooked everything up, so I'm not myself sure how to answer the question about which ports are being used right now.

I can't identify any HDMI ports on the tower. If you can tell me which one(s) are for DVI-D, that would be very helpful (I realize I may have NOT pictured them in MY photos, but are they visible in the "downloaded" photos?)
Click to expand...

Your pictures do not show where the connectors from the displays are attached. Those will BOTH be plugged into the graphics card, which is plugged into the PCI card slots. If you look on the back panel again, you will see where your displays are plugged in the back. Trace the cables from your displays. You will see where they are connected... :)

The first set of pictures (which you said you downloaded from the web) - the 2nd picture shows where you would plug in displays. YOUR video card is slightly different, and would have two connectors that are the white rectangle with all the holes (there's about 28, with 4 of those around a plus (+) )
Your picture shows a newer version of that card with only one of those multi-hole connectors, and two more that are much smaller. You don't have THAT card, your's has two of those 28-pin (DVI) connectors, and that's it.
And, There's no HDMI ports to see (you didn't miss any, because your Mac Pro doesn't have any HDMI ports.)
To connect your TV (with HDMI as the only choice) you will need an adapter cable, such as this one - which has a DVI connector for the MacPro, and an HDMI connector for the TV.
(This cable is for video ONLY, no audio, so you would need to connect an audio cable from the MacPro to the TV audio input. Your MacPro has digital audio out, and TV has digital audio input. I would suggest that you use that connection for sound from the MacPro to the TV. )

Finally, I am sure that graphics card will support two displays. If you want to have the TV connected, then you would need to decide which of the other two displays to disconnect.
The only way to have both displays, and the TV all connected and usable, is to add a second graphics card. Your 12-year-old Mac Pro is fairly limited to what it will support for graphics cards, so I suggest that if you want to do that, come back here to get some possible cards to add to your system.
 
DeltaMac said:
Your pictures do not show where the connectors from the displays are attached. Those will BOTH be plugged into the graphics card, which is plugged into the PCI card slots. If you look on the back panel again, you will see where your displays are plugged in the back. Trace the cables from your displays. You will see where they are connected... :)

The first set of pictures (which you said you downloaded from the web) - the 2nd picture shows where you would plug in displays. YOUR video card is slightly different, and would have two connectors that are the white rectangle with all the holes (there's about 28, with 4 of those around a plus (+) )
Your picture shows a newer version of that card with only one of those multi-hole connectors, and two more that are much smaller. You don't have THAT card, your's has two of those 28-pin (DVI) connectors, and that's it.
And, There's no HDMI ports to see (you didn't miss any, because your Mac Pro doesn't have any HDMI ports.)
To connect your TV (with HDMI as the only choice) you will need an adapter cable, such as this one - which has a DVI connector for the MacPro, and an HDMI connector for the TV.
(This cable is for video ONLY, no audio, so you would need to connect an audio cable from the MacPro to the TV audio input. Your MacPro has digital audio out, and TV has digital audio input. I would suggest that you use that connection for sound from the MacPro to the TV. )

Finally, I am sure that graphics card will support two displays. If you want to have the TV connected, then you would need to decide which of the other two displays to disconnect.
The only way to have both displays, and the TV all connected and usable, is to add a second graphics card. Your 12-year-old Mac Pro is fairly limited to what it will support for graphics cards, so I suggest that if you want to do that, come back here to get some possible cards to add to your system.
Click to expand...



THANK you! That was EXACTLY what I was after (and what I was afraid of: that I COULDN'T have all three connected at the same time). NOW I can show the picture of that adapter at Fry's or Best Buy (or just find it on the shelves myself). As to sound, I've been running the sound from my computer through my surround-sound receiver for decades (and for the two previous Macs I've owned). THAT'S easy, imo. This is the first time it's even been plausible to hook-up the TV to any Mac i've had before.

Again: THANK YOU!!!
 
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I'm not sure if you understand - you can't have more than two displays connected at the same time with your present setup. If you want to ADD the TV, you have to also purchase and install a second graphics card, and THAT graphics card has to be compatible with your first generation MacPro. Otherwise, if you want to use the TV for a computer display, you would have to decide which of your other two displays to disconnect.
 
No, I got it. I said: (that that was) "what I was afraid of: that I COULDN'T have all three connected at the same time." I get it, and I suspected that might be the case. There's some disagreement with the previous owner, my friend, who gave me the tower, who said that THEY had two monitors AND the TV hooked into it at the same time.

I'm perfectly happy with your answer, though. It assures me I can at LEAST hook my TV as a monitor up, just that I might have to sacrifice one of the DVI ports currently in use.

Unless I'm getting confused, I understood that from what you'd previously replied. AND: using a DVI to HDMI cable makes it very simple.

Again: thanks.
 
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