Problem Connecting Late 2008 Mac Mini to Magnavox HDTV (720p) via DVI>HDMI Adapter

[frjonah]

Hi, all.

My problem is that I am trying to connect my Late 2008 Mac Mini to a Magnavox 32" (32MF369B) via a GE DVI>HDMI Adapter. What's driving me crazy is that it works fine with my PC and with my Macbook Pro... it seems to only have a problem with my Mac Mini which, of course, is really the only unit I want to connect to it.

When I connect it, there is no acknowledgement at all from the TV that an AV input was added... with both the PC and the Macbook Pro, the TV screen flickers and then adjusts to display the content. On the Mac Mini... it just sits there

Does anyone have any advice for anything else to try?

I noticed in the manual that they indicated that I should use a conversion cable with a ferrite core and I am just using a bottom-of-the-rack adapter... but the success with the other units makes me think that that's not where the problem lies.

Thanks!

 

[TheZA]

Here is my somewhat similar experience for what it is worth.

I have a mid-2009 Macbook running Snow Leopard that would not connect to my Toshiba HDTV using mini-DVI to HDMI adapter and HDMI cable. It worked with mini-DVI to VGA and VGA cable, but the picture wasn't the best. When I connected my late 2006 iMac running Leopard it worked right away using the mini-DVI/HDMI route. I read everything I could find on the internet and am convinced it is a bug in Snow Leopard. Snow Leopard upgrades didn't fix the problem. I tried everything: rebooting, connecting via mini-DVI to DVI adapter with a DVI/HDMI cable, adjusting resolution, freakin' everything. Finally, as a test, I booted my Macbook from a clone of my iMac's Leopard on an external hard drive. Boom, my Macbook connected fine via mini-DVI/HDMI. Then I re-started and booted into Snow Leopard, and it worked, and has worked flawlessly ever since. It was like it had to learn it.

 

[frjonah]

Hmm...

@TheZA,

I do have this machine upgraded to Snow Leopard... problem is, I have no disk images of Leopard installs, only Snow Leopard, so I don't think I can try your method

I haven't tried adjusting resolution, etc. yet b/c I have absolutely no picture and the frustration of going back and forth b/t the monitor wasn't something I was in the mood for last night. Being so happy with my Macs, I expected it to "just work"

Thanks for your response!