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Mac mini's mini-DVI -> Apple's mini-DVI-to-DVI adapter -> DVI-to-HDMI cable -> TV?


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Mac mini's mini-DVI -> Apple's mini-DVI-to-DVI adapter -> DVI-to-HDMI cable -> TV?
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Robo
Formerly Roboman, still
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Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Portland, OR
 
2009-03-05, 14:58

I'm just wondering if that's possible. Could you just two cables like that, or would I need to buy a mini-DVI-to-HDMI adapter? It seems like either way, I'll have two pieces (because the mini-DVI-to-HDMI adapter is just the adapter, not a cable). I'm pretty sure it would work but I just want to make sure. Thanks.

and i guess i've known it all along / the truth is, you have to be soft to be strong
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chucker
 
Join Date: May 2004
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2009-03-05, 15:02

Yeah, that'll work fine. (Apparently, there'll also soon be a mini-DP-to-HDMI adapter…)
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Robo
Formerly Roboman, still
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Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Portland, OR
 
2009-03-05, 15:12

True, but I'd like to use the mini-DVI-to-DVI adapter it comes with, if I could, to save money. I'll only have to buy one cable now, and DVI-to-HDMI cables seem to be fairly common (and thus, inexpensive). I'm also working on a project with a strict deadline, so it's pretty important that I get my Mac setup ASAP.

I know I won't get audio, going through DVI, but I have to use headphones most of the time anyway. And I can get an audio cable later, if need be.

Thanks for your help!

and i guess i've known it all along / the truth is, you have to be soft to be strong
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cosus
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2009-03-05, 20:47

The more cables you use, the more the signal degrades.
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Brad
Selfish Heathen
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Zone of Pain
 
2009-03-05, 21:16

I've used this exact process to connect a MacBook to an HDTV. Works perfectly.
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Brad
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Join Date: May 2004
Location: Zone of Pain
 
2009-03-05, 21:17

Quote:
Originally Posted by cosus View Post
The more cables you use, the more the signal degrades.
For analog, sure, but that's true even though this is digital video?
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cosus
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2009-03-05, 21:58

Actually, I have no idea, I wasn't even thinking.
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artesc
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Join Date: Sep 2007
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2009-03-06, 00:36

Quote:
Originally Posted by cosus View Post
Actually, I have no idea, I wasn't even thinking.
story of my life...
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Robo
Formerly Roboman, still
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Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Portland, OR
 
2009-03-17, 21:19

So I'm thinking about doing this again, because Windows XP isn't as rosy as I remembered. I've been spoiled.

The mini-DP-to-HDMI adapter has been pushed back again, to the 27th. Hmm.

and i guess i've known it all along / the truth is, you have to be soft to be strong
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Robo
Formerly Roboman, still
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Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Portland, OR
 
2009-03-27, 11:47

So it's the 27th. The adapter still isn't available

How can I tell if the Mac mini does audio over DisplayPort, anyway? The LED Cinema Display uses USB for the speakers...

and i guess i've known it all along / the truth is, you have to be soft to be strong
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Maciej
M AH - ch ain saw
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2009-03-27, 12:13

Quote:
Originally Posted by Roboman View Post
How can I tell if the Mac mini does audio over DisplayPort, anyway? The LED Cinema Display uses USB for the speakers...
No one knows. I asked the same thing in this thread, towards the bottom. I think we just need the adapter to know for sure.
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Robo
Formerly Roboman, still
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Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Portland, OR
 
2009-03-27, 13:55

Aaaand updated! Now it's shipping on the 30th. Grr.

That's only three days away, though. So *maybe* it'll actually ship then? If they were stalling they would have moved the date back a little further, wouldn't they?

Maybe I should just use mini-DVI...

and i guess i've known it all along / the truth is, you have to be soft to be strong
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Maciej
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Join Date: May 2004
 
2009-03-27, 14:59

Quote:
Originally Posted by Roboman View Post
Maybe I should just use mini-DVI...
From what I've gathered, you're using the Bravia for a monitor and want to kill two birds with one stone by using its built in speakers too, right?

Is there no digital audio input? Maybe DVI in conjunction with optical audio could work?

User formally known as Sh0eWax
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Robo
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Join Date: Jul 2004
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2009-03-27, 15:49

Quote:
Originally Posted by Maciej View Post
From what I've gathered, you're using the Bravia for a monitor and want to kill two birds with one stone by using its built in speakers too, right?

Is there no digital audio input? Maybe DVI in conjunction with optical audio could work?
I could. I want to buy as few cables as possible but I'd be buying two parts with mini-DP so I might as well by both a DVI cable and a mini-toslink cable. But I'm also a little worried about HDCP'd iTunes content.

By the way, Gizmodo has their review up for Monoprice's mini-DP converters. It seems that the MacBook and MacBook Pro don't support audio over mini-DP, so that doesn't bode well for the Mac mini/iMac/Mac Pro.

and i guess i've known it all along / the truth is, you have to be soft to be strong
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Robo
Formerly Roboman, still
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Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Portland, OR
 
2009-03-27, 20:34

Ordered a DVI-HDMI cable and a mini-Toslink cable. $12.02, I love Monoprice.

Adding on the mini-DP adapter would have more than doubled the price, and I think I'm fine without DPCP/HDCP.

and i guess i've known it all along / the truth is, you have to be soft to be strong
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Maciej
M AH - ch ain saw
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2009-03-27, 20:39

Honestly, I'm super confused. DVI doesn't do HDCP? I need to find some media to test this with.
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Robo
Formerly Roboman, still
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Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Portland, OR
 
2009-03-27, 21:06

Quote:
Originally Posted by Maciej View Post
Honestly, I'm super confused. DVI doesn't do HDCP? I need to find some media to test this with.
According to Wikipedia, "for DVI interfaces, HDCP is optional."
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Robo
Formerly Roboman, still
awesome
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Portland, OR
 
2009-04-05, 00:27

So I got a mouse and keyboard today, and set to finally setting up my Mac mini.

First of all, I accidentally ordered mini-Toslink to Toslink, instead of mini-Toslink to mini-Toslink. Yes, my TV uses mini-Toslink, not Toslink! It uses Toslink for output, of course, but only mini-Toslink for input. (Ironically, that was probably to make it "easier" for people who wanted to hook up their PCs to it.) I only need a 76 cent adapter, but still...

What's worse is that my TV is a 16:10 screen running at 1440x900, okay? 16:10, fairly high resolution - perfect for a computer monitor, right? But for some reason, it doesn't support 1440x900 using HDMI. It just switches between taking the signal (no matter what I set the Mac mini's resolution at) and putting it through either 720p or 1080i. These are both 16:9, which means that the top (i.e., the menu bar) and the bottom (i.e., the bottom of the dock, where I can see which programs are running) are cut off. Changing the widescreen settings on my TV just stretch the 16:9 picture to fit the 16:10 frame, rather then letting me see what's supposed to be behind the black bars on my screen.

Does HDMI not support resolutions that are 720p or 1080p? I know that it can support higher resolutions, but is it somehow limited to 16:9? If so, why don't the 16:9 resolutions on my computer work?

I'm pretty sure it's just a limitation of my display. Yay, Sony!

The manual says I'm supposed to use the VGA port. But does VGA even do 1440x900?

It just irks me that I have to use VGA in order to "get the most" out of my TV. Why can't they make its full resolution work with HDMI? And what if VGA doesn't work? I will have a 1440:900 display with no way to put 1440:900 content on it. What's the point?

Reducing the resolution lets me see more and more of the stuff I'm missing (since it makes the menu bar and stuff "bigger"). I have it set to 600x800 right now, which lets me see like the bottom third of the menu bar, which is enough to let me click on the Apple logo, the wi-fi symbol, etc. But still...it's hardly an ideal use of my nice 1440x900 display. I'll have to order a mini-DVI to HDMI cable...yay.

and i guess i've known it all along / the truth is, you have to be soft to be strong
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