Revised 2010 MacBook now supports HDMI with audio output

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
Apple's updated entry level white MacBook now supports audio and video output via its Mini DisplayPort, enabling users to drive an HDMI HDTV using a single cable or adapter.



Support for audio output over the Mini DisplayPort connector debuted with the latest generation of MacBook Pros. Apple now sells a revised VESA-compliant adapter for HDMI output that extracts both audio and video signals from the Mini DisplayPort connector.



A support document for the new model indicates the 2010 MacBook's Mini DisplayPort connector can be used to "connect to an external display, projection device, or TV that uses a DVI, HDMI (audio and video) or VGA connector with a separate adapter. You can purchase adapters for supported video formats from Apple."



Third parties are also able to sell Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapters (or complete cables) that deliver both audio and video signals, although some existing Mini DisplayPort to HDMI cables do not yet support audio, so buyers need to be aware of the signals supported by a given cable or adapter.



Previous Mac models with Mini DisplayPort required a separate cable to deliver audio output to a TV in addition to using HDMI to deliver video, either using the optical or analog minijack output or alternatively a USB port delivering digital audio output using a more expensive USB+Mini DisplayPort hybrid adapter.



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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 68
    So the audio out over HDMI is a hardware upgrade? Does this mean that adapter won't work for my Macbookpro 5,2 model with audio out over MiniDP-HDMI? boo. i was thinking it was a firmware upgrade at most!
  • Reply 2 of 68
    bigdaddypbigdaddyp Posts: 811member
    I just bought a mac mini, do you know what that means? Three weeks from know the mini's will get upgraded with this feature. *sigh* I had talked to a Apple trained service tech and he believes that the audio over display port was added through a hardware update and can't be implemented with software.



    Which is to bad as it is great feature to have instead of buying a display port/USB to hdmi adapter which works well but is an unnecessary cost.



    This MacBook update looks pretty good and I think Apple will sell the heck out of them. I think I maybe getting one of these for my 10 year old daughter as I am tired of listening to her eMac which sounds like a vacum cleaner running full blast.
  • Reply 3 of 68
    mdjcmmdjcm Posts: 29member
    Come on Apple, couldnt you have just done this in the first place?



    Seriously, what did you think people were going to be using that Mini-DisplayPort for??
  • Reply 4 of 68
    christopher126christopher126 Posts: 4,366member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bigdaddyp View Post


    I just bought a mac mini, do you know what that means? Three weeks from know the mini's will get upgraded with this feature. *sigh* I had talked to a Apple trained service tech and he believes that the audio over display port was added through a hardware update and can't be implemented with software.



    Which is to bad as it is great feature to have instead of buying a display port/USB to hdmi adapter which works well but is an unnecessary cost.



    This MacBook update looks pretty good and I think Apple will sell the heck out of them. I think I maybe getting one of these for my 10 year old daughter as I am tired of listening to her eMac which sounds like a vacum cleaner running full blast.



    Well at least you have a good sense of humor about it all! Your daughter is a fortunate young lady!



    My daughter is 25, in school and has a 13" MacBookPro with 4gig of RAM and 8hrs of battery life...I, of course, have the original intel MacBook!
  • Reply 5 of 68
    gregoriusmgregoriusm Posts: 513member
    lol My daughter is 31, is doing online college courses, has the MacBook Pro with the great battery life too. I had a PC laptop that got about 1 1/2 hours of battery life on a good day and I thankfully went to an iMac, although I would have gotten the MacBook Pro if I hadn't had to purchase a new Mac before they went with the new batteries.



    That was two years ago.



    My next will be a MacBook, and I'm thinking that the basic MacBook is looking pretty good these days, although I'll probably spring for a MacBook Pro when the time comes. Trouble is, my iMac will probably last another 5 years and then some.



    Ahhhhhhhhh..... I'll figure out some reason to sell it and buy a new MacBook Pro laptop!
  • Reply 6 of 68
    debusohdebusoh Posts: 85member
    I wish monoprice would update their minidisplay port -> hdmi adapter to support audio.



    OWC has it, but their price for HDMI cables is quite high ($25). I need an HDMI cable, the adapter and a firewire800 to miniDV cable.



    The only reason I want to connect the mac to my tv is for netflix streaming...
  • Reply 7 of 68
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    All your daughters are old enough for me to date.
  • Reply 8 of 68
    vatdorovatdoro Posts: 52member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by debusoh View Post


    I wish monoprice would update their minidisplay port -> hdmi adapter to support audio.



    Monoprice's minidisplay -> hdmi adapter does support audio. We ordered it the day new MacBook Pro's came out. It works great!
  • Reply 9 of 68
    iqatedoiqatedo Posts: 1,822member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by christopher126 View Post


    My daughter is 25, in school and has a 13" MacBookPro with 4gig of RAM and 8hrs of battery life...I, of course, have the original intel MacBook!



    Isn't that always the way?! \
  • Reply 10 of 68
    daving313daving313 Posts: 97member
    Why doesn't Apple just put a damn HDMI out? Is it really that hard? You spend $1000+ on a laptop and have to get dinged for an adapter cable and hope you have it with you, can find it quickly when you need it.



    Seriously, between this and the iPad's accessories necessary to do basic things...
  • Reply 11 of 68
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Vatdoro View Post


    Monoprice's minidisplay -> hdmi adapter does support audio. We ordered it the day new MacBook Pro's came out. It works great!



    Which item did you order? I had the previous adapter with USB for 2-channel audio. I went to Monoprice's tech support web chat and was told point blank that they have no cables or adapters that support audio out of mini-DisplayPort and have no ETA as to when they will.
    *NOTE* This product does NOT support audio for the 2010 MacBook that outputs audio through the Mini DisplayPort.
    One solution might be to get their mDP(m)-to-DP(f) adapter and then a DP-to-HDMI cable that does support audio.
  • Reply 12 of 68
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by daving313 View Post


    Why doesn't Apple just put a damn HDMI out? Is it really that hard? You spend $1000+ on a laptop and have to get dinged for an adapter cable and hope you have it with you, can find it quickly when you need it.



    Seriously, between this and the iPad's accessories necessary to do basic things...



    Based on the logic that additional ports out don't cost much, they should then add every port, just to satisfy every possible customer. The fact is, DisplayPort has better throughput, more features, and is more future forward than HDMI. HDMI instead of DP limits what can be pushed to a monitor. HDMI is fine for your HDTV but it's so great for external monitors.



    Imagine if Apple included every adapter and port possible. Isn't nearly everyone then getting *dinged* for paying for features they won't ever use?
  • Reply 13 of 68
    daving313daving313 Posts: 97member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    Based on the logic that additional ports out don't cost much, they should then add every port, just to satisfy every possible customer. The fact is, DisplayPort has better throughput, more features, and is more future forward than HDMI. HDMI instead of DP limits what can be pushed to a monitor. HDMI is fine for your HDTV but it's so great for external monitors.



    Imagine if Apple included every adapter and port possible. Isn't nearly everyone then getting *dinged* for paying for features they won't ever use?



    I don't think I said add every port. But a typical life-span of a laptop before someone wants to upgrade it puts having HDMI out a timely choice as that's a port in your average consumers home that they can plug into their HDTV. Seems like reading the threads above Display Port isn't very adaptable as ports change and you still need to have the right hardware to even take advantage of it.
  • Reply 14 of 68
    magic_almagic_al Posts: 325member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Apple now sells a revised VESA-compliant adapter for HDMI output that extracts both audio and video signals from the Mini DisplayPort connector.



    They do?
  • Reply 15 of 68
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by daving313 View Post


    I don't think I said add every port. But a typical life-span of a laptop before someone wants to upgrade it puts having HDMI out a timely choice as that's a port in your average consumers home that they can plug into their HDTV. Seems like reading the threads above Display Port isn't very adaptable as ports change and you still need to have the right hardware to even take advantage of it.



    No, you didn't. You wanted to add the port you want to suit your needs even though it's a technology designed for a media center, not a PC. So if you are suggesting that Apple add a port because one doesn't want to pay a few dollars for an adapter then that opens things up for every port to be added because someone already has a cable for it or doesn't want to pay for an adapter.



    DP is much more adaptable than HDMI as every implementation I know of will also output HDMI/DVI signaling. It will not output analog but I don't think supporting any and every consumer whim is a requirement. We finally have audio over a high-bandwidth, future-forward PC display connection. That's sounds good to me. For an HDTV I'd rather see the AppleTV get revised, not try to turn my MBP into a makeshift media center. Right now, I just use TiVo over the network and it works great; it even supports AVI and MKV containers.
  • Reply 16 of 68
    mactelmactel Posts: 1,275member
    Overall it is a solid Macbook upgrade. Now how did this bit of info slip passed the leaks?
  • Reply 17 of 68
    inklinginkling Posts: 768member
    Notice that big, ugly, hard-to-disconnect Ethernet port. Why Apple doesn't create a replacement along the lines of the MagSafe connector and open source it to the world is beyond me. A simple adapter would ensure backward compatibility in the few months before everyone rushes to this new and much more sensible standard.



    The existing connector must be some 30 years old and had to have been designed to make it hard for non-IP staff to disconnect from their immovable PCs. It should have been killed off at least a decade ago.
  • Reply 18 of 68
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bigdaddyp View Post


    I just bought a mac mini, do you know what that means? Three weeks from know the mini's will get upgraded with this feature. *sigh* I had talked to a Apple trained service tech and he believes that the audio over display port was added through a hardware update and can't be implemented with software.



    Which is to bad as it is great feature to have instead of buying a display port/USB to hdmi adapter which works well but is an unnecessary cost.



    This MacBook update looks pretty good and I think Apple will sell the heck out of them. I think I maybe getting one of these for my 10 year old daughter as I am tired of listening to her eMac which sounds like a vacum cleaner running full blast.



    This is exactly why I have been holding off on my Mac Mini purchase. I had a feeling it would be either HDMI or an MDP upgrade at some point, so I held off.



    Now when are we going to see adapters that are compatible to this spec?
  • Reply 19 of 68
    anakin1992anakin1992 Posts: 283member
    any one knows whether mac mini has this new type of mini display with audio output yet?
  • Reply 20 of 68
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    StarTech makes mDP adapters that support audio-out.
    My only issue is the complete lack of details about audio capabilities. For instance, the option with USB audio only supported 2 channel audio. Does this support 5.1 channel audio or greater? Oh well, this doesn't concern me so my interest is minimal.





    Quote:
    Originally Posted by anakin1992 View Post


    any one knows whether mac mini has this new type of mini display with audio output yet?



    Nope.
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