Mac mini - audio/video connections

Alex_L

Alex_L

Alex_L

Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
3,106
Friend has just bought a mac mini and wants to hook it up to a tv/home cinema

Which is the better way to go cable wise as top options seem to exist on the apple store:

mini displayport -> dvi -> hdmi adaptor
mini dvi -> dvi -> hdmi adaptor

The other question was around getting a digital audio signal out of the mini to run into an av receiver he has, what sort of cable is he looking at? or is it possible to get hdmi audio out of the mini?

thanks
 
I use Mini-DVI to DVI to HDMI. Works completely fine.

Not too sure on the audio front so I'll let someone else answer that. :)
 
The 3.5mm jack does optical, I have mine hooked up to a receiver and it works splendid. Mine is a toslink cable that came with a 3.5mm adaptor as well, it's a Cambridge Audio cable. I don't remember where I got it, Richer Sounds I think?

For video, mine's hooked up by Mini-DVI > DVI to HDMI cable and it looks great. It's the simplest way as well, the least cables.

There's no way to get HDMI audio out of it.
 
PardonTheWait said:
There's no way to get HDMI audio out of it.
Click to expand...

While the DisplayPort specification is capable of supporting digital audio, the current MacBook and MacBook Pro range is unable to provide an audio signal through the Mini DisplayPort, and only does so over USB or the audio line out port instead. This can present a problem to users who intend to connect their computers to HDTVs using a Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter. To work around this issue, some third-party manufacturers have created an adapter that plugs into both the Mini DisplayPort (for video) and a USB port (for audio), and terminates with a single female HDMI connector, allowing both video and audio to be channeled over the one HDMI cable.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini_Display_Port
Click to expand...

I assume it's the same for the Mac Mini too, although it's annoying why they don't enable audio if it's possible.
 
mac mini has DVI buit in not the macbook mini adapter

i use dvi to hdmi then audio out to surround sound in to tv,, can use it direct to tv but of course it if you want to have some form of surround..

good luck
 
So sounds like mini dvi -> dvi -> hdmi is the way forward for video.

For getting surround sound out, what sort of optical cable would they need?
 
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