Trouble w/ connecting macbook pro to magnavox TV

[thebailey]

Hello,

I'm posting because I'm trying to connect my MacBook Pro (just purchased this year) to my television, which is a relatively new (2-3 years old give or take) Magnavox 20" flat panel LCD TV (For reference: http://www.amazon.com/Magnavox-20MF605T-17-20-Inch-Panel/dp/B0009SV24G) It can display HDTV and EDTV, and has the input for a VGA cable and standard AV & S-Video inputs, as well as a PC input with what looks like input for male DVI. All in all it looks capable of handling the MBP's input.

I've tried connecting the mini DVI-VGA adapter to the VGA cable, and the macbook's screen flickers and reverts to normal (with the additional display detected and seeming to function on the mac side). However, no image appears on my TV screen, except when I'm playing around with the resolution (at which point, an image ALMOST comes on, briefly flickers on with a slightly off-color, then reverts back to a blank screen).

At first I thought this was a resolution problem, but even at the macbook's lowest resolution, nothing came onto the screen except that flicker. Would I need a converter or something to get the image onto the screen? I was doing some research and, while my TV doesn't seem that old, I'm wondering whether it might be digital vs. analog signal or something?

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Makosuke]

Well, according to the manual of the TV you linked, it supports PC input at 800x600, 60(.317)Hz. Not sure what the DVI-like input would be, since the manual only shows VGA, S-Video, Component, and Composite inputs, plus sound. You sure that's the model you have?

Based on that manual, if you have the TV in PC mode (you might double-check that), and have the Mac set to output video in 800x600 resolution, at 60Hz, it should work. The flickering of a picture that then goes away on the TV is usually a symptom of either a signal problem (for example, you have it set to 75Hz instead of 60Hz), or that the TV is having trouble locking onto the signal it's receiving.

I've heard of the latter happening in a few cases with the VGA output on newer Macs and monitors that are touchy about signal strength; if this is the issue it's possible replacing the VGA cable with a beefier/better shielded one might help. That's the only thing I can think of to try, though.

Now, if you don't have 800x600 @ 60 on the Mac, you might need to install one of the programs that lets you select non-standard resolutions and refresh rates. You could also uncheck the "only show resolutions supported by this monitor box" if that even still exists; it's been so long since I used an analog monitor on a Mac I've forgotten what settings are still available.