Connecting to a TV

[tweety3]

Forgive my ignorance is this is a no brainer, but I have a new late 2008 Macbook Pro that I want to connect to my Samsung 40" LCD TV. What's the best way to connect my Macbook Pro to my TV and get video & sound? What cables would I need to get? My TV has VGA & HDMI connections.
Any help would really be appreciated

 

[vandozza]

to use vga you need this -
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB572Z/A?fnode=MTY1NDA3Ng&mco=MjE5MDgwMQ

for HDMI -
apple don't (yet) make a mini display port to HDMI connector. so you have to go mini display port to DVI, then DVI to HDMI (a non-apple/3rd party cable.)

 

[tweety3]

If I went mini display port - dvi, dvi - hdmi, would that give me sound too? If not, what other cables will i need?
TIA

 

[waw74]

DVI doesn't have sound (like HDMI does), so you'll need either a 3.5mm (regular headphones) to 2 rca or possibly a 3.5mm to 3.5mm male to male depending on what kind of input your tv or stereo has.

there is also the option of going optical if you have somthing with an optical in. this can give you 5.1 surround if you have the correct file types, and hardware.

any of these will plug into the headphone jack.

also it's not mini dvi on the new laptops, it's mini display port. Don't want you getting the wrong thing.

Monoprice.com - where all of the above links are from - is now offering mini display port for about half of 's prices. although they are currently not shipping, although both the DVI and VGA versions say they are shipping the end of next week
DVI version
VGA version

they also have the DVI to HDMI cables for much cheaper.