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Most obviously, the Aluminium unibody (which comes with a 3.3 mm thinner body). But for most people FW800 (which is easily twice as fast as USB2) might already easily be worth the extra money. For others, the thinner body together with very sturdy and (to most people) more elegant exterior might be worth it.

So £100 for a port, a slot and a nicer case? I can understand the appeal for some, but not the "everyone should obviously get the MBP" attitude. Those three things certainly aren't worth £100 to me, which makes the MB interesting.
 
To all of you guys who have a 2010 MBP.

I have bought a MiniDiplay Port to HDMI adapter and on the packaging states that it does support audio (up to 7.1 PCM), but I can't get it to work as I'd like to. I can't mirror my display to my HDTV and audio comes from integrated speakers only.

I tried to change both video and audio setting with no luck. Any ideas?
 
Why are people making such a big fuss about this? Even if it only benefits the newer MacBooks (for now), it's not like it's gonna replace your Mini as a media center.

I'm just happy they even added the optional feature.
 
This deserves a very slow clap...

Apple could have simply equipped the laptop with a HDMI port instead if they wanted to.

Now they should atleast throw in a mini Display port to DVI or HDMI adapter in the box. The laptop is god damn expensive enough to say its supposed to be 'low end'... christ... £850 in the UK.. That is very expensive for a low end laptop. The specs compare to a mid range Sony or Hp machine which are around £500.

Basically this laptop connects to no screen other than Apple's LED screen's (which hardly anybody owns) unless you buy an adapter.

That's apple all over that is. Colour me unimpressed.... not by the laptop mostly, but by the outrageous price for so little features.

How dare they make it very easy to connect to any display type you choose with extremely low cost adapters. It would have been much better off to cover the side of the laptops with VGA, DVI, and HDMI adapters. That way we could all pay extra for ports we don't want! If you think it is too expensive, you should not buy it.
 
To all of you guys who have a 2010 MBP.

I have bought a MiniDiplay Port to HDMI adapter and on the packaging states that it does support audio (up to 7.1 PCM), but I can't get it to work as I'd like to. I can't mirror my display to my HDTV and audio comes from integrated speakers only.

I tried to change both video and audio setting with no luck. Any ideas?

What kind of content were you playing? Was it a DVD? was it protected content from iTunes (HD movie)?

I don't know if all audio is sent or if it is just special media audio.
 
How dare they make it very easy to connect to any display type you choose with extremely low cost adapters. It would have been much better off to cover the side of the laptops with VGA, DVI, and HDMI adapters. That way we could all pay extra for ports we don't want! If you think it is too expensive, you should not buy it.

extremely low cost? They're 19 dollars each.
The one allowing you to hook up an apple display to a generic computer is $99
Couldn't find the DP to dual DVI adapter, but I know it's expensive.

The worst thing is that the apple adapters are very poorly made. I had pins falling out, plastic case just falling apart, wobbly contacts. On and the cable on my old Macbook's power brick went up in flames and Apple wouldn't even replace the (expensive...) power brick under warranty. :mad:

I like the mini display port, but the adapters for it really could be better built and free with every Macbook purchase.
 
extremely low cost? They're 19 dollars each.
The one allowing you to hook up an apple display to a generic computer is $99
Couldn't find the DP to dual DVI adapter, but I know it's expensive.

The worst thing is that the apple adapters are very poorly made. I had pins falling out, plastic case just falling apart, wobbly contacts. On and the cable on my old Macbook's power brick went up in flames and Apple wouldn't even replace the (expensive...) power brick under warranty. :mad:

I like the mini display port, but the adapters for it really could be better built and free with every Macbook purchase.

Or, you could buy them from 3rd parties. I know you will find this shocking and it may get me kicked off the board, You can connect stuff up to your Mac that was not made by Apple.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_s...rt+to+dvi+adapter&sprefix=displayport+to+dvi+
 
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Works Perefctly

Hi
I´ve got a MBP 2010 i7 and I can tell you that the Griffin HDMI/DVI adapter works ok. I used a Samsung Full HD I could send digital image 1080P and multichannel audio. Only thing that you have to do is connect the adapter to an HDMI cable to your HDTV and select the right sound output in the settings to send the sound to the TV set... :cool:
 
To all of you guys who have a 2010 MBP.

I have bought a MiniDiplay Port to HDMI adapter and on the packaging states that it does support audio (up to 7.1 PCM), but I can't get it to work as I'd like to. I can't mirror my display to my HDTV and audio comes from integrated speakers only.

I tried to change both video and audio setting with no luck. Any ideas?

Try playing a DVD that has surround sound. Then go to the system prefs/sound/output and select your MDP or adapter in the list. Let me know if this works?
 
Hey, can someone explain in layperson's terms why audio-out-via-MDP can't be enabled via firmware update (or whatever) on the previous model (unibody) MB? My wife bought a MacBook a month or two back, and the HDMI-out feature (via something like the Griffin converter) would be really handy. But it's not going to happen, right?
 
This deserves a very slow clap...

Apple could have simply equipped the laptop with a HDMI port instead if they wanted to.

Now they should atleast throw in a mini Display port to DVI or HDMI adapter in the box. The laptop is god damn expensive enough to say its supposed to be 'low end'... christ... £850 in the UK.. That is very expensive for a low end laptop. The specs compare to a mid range Sony or Hp machine which are around £500.

Basically this laptop connects to no screen other than Apple's LED screen's (which hardly anybody owns) unless you buy an adapter.

That's apple all over that is. Colour me unimpressed.... not by the laptop mostly, but by the outrageous price for so little features.

Apple is endorsing DisplayPort and threw you a bone with support for HDMI devices if you buy an adapter. Their investment is focused on DisplayPort technologies.
 
Hey, can someone explain in layperson's terms why audio-out-via-MDP can't be enabled via firmware update (or whatever) on the previous model (unibody) MB? My wife bought a MacBook a month or two back, and the HDMI-out feature (via something like the Griffin converter) would be really handy. But it's not going to happen, right?

+1
 
I think I'm going to have to totally agree with you. I was hoping they would have at least bump the 2GB RAM up to 4GB ... surely ... I mean they really didn't do very much IMO to the machine & price pointed it the same & took back $50 bucks of the $100 education discount on it. Why even buy this when you can just pay $150 bucks more & buy yourself a low end 13" MacBook Pro. I see no reason why anyone would spend the money on a regular MacBook. If $150 bucks means that much to you in the long run then you should probably think about buying a mediocre HP for $400-$500 from Wal-Mart.

Pretty damn arrogant....

Ray
 
Would it kill Apple to use already established protocols in their computer devices instead of reinventing the wheel every time? Most hdtvs have hdmi ports all over them. Apple should say in the sales literature that the external video ports (i mean port) is only compatible with Apple monitors and is incompatible with hdtv without an optional accessory. More nonsense from Cupertino. The only thing I 'love' about Apple is Mac OS X.
 
Monoprice has been selling these Mini Display Port/USB and Mini Display Port/USB/Toslink to HDMI adapters for a while now:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10428&cs_id=1042802&p_id=5969&seq=1&format=2

http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10428&cs_id=1042802&p_id=6331&seq=1&format=2

I have been using the Mini Display Port/USB to HDMI adapter from Monoprice with my late 2008 aluminum unibody Macbook for half a year now, and the quality of the sound is perfect on my HDTV when I watch shows bought via iTunes, using Front Row with TV Row. TV Row is used to direct Front Row to display on the secondary monitor (HDTV). Without TV Row, Front Row always displays on the primary monitor - Macbook's LED monitor, which is not what you want when you connect your Macbook (Pro) to an HDTV set.

If you want to output to a 5.1 or 7.1 receiver without limiting your output to a stereo system or the HDTV's built-in stereo speakers only, you would want to buy the more expensive Mini Display Port/Toslink/USB to HDMI adapter (see the link above).

Both of these adapters are expensive, but if you want to use your Macbook (Macbook Pro) as a substitute for Apple TV, this is a small investment compared to buying an Apple TV.

Now that Apple has released the Macbook and Macbook Pros that can output audio directly via their Mini Display port, all you will need to do is to buy a compatible Mini Display port to HDMI adapter. I don't know if they are any cheaper than the Monoprice adapters listed above, but this difference is not really worth you being bitter. Perhaps the audio out of the Mini Display port will be enabled on older Macbooks and Macbook Pros with a firmware update, or perhaps it will not be, but you already have options to output audio from your previous generations' unibody Macbooks and Macbook Pros to an HDTV via either one of the two adapters listed above.
 
This leads me to a question. I own the 13" unibody aluminum MacBook from November of 2008 and it has the MiniDisplay Port on it. Will (or is it even possible) for this to be updated in the near future by Apple to carry audio as well or are we just going to get screwed?
 
Cool. Seems they've gone back to the way the first iBooks were configured. I remember having a composite cable that only needed to run through the auido out port used for headphones. Any recommendations on a mini-DVI to HDMI adapter that supports both audio and video?
 
manu chao said:
Most obviously, the Aluminium unibody (which comes with a 3.3 mm thinner body). But for most people FW800 (which is easily twice as fast as USB2) might already easily be worth the extra money. For others, the thinner body together with very sturdy and (to most people) more elegant exterior might be worth it.
So £100 for a port, a slot and a nicer case? I can understand the appeal for some, but not the "everyone should obviously get the MBP" attitude. Those three things certainly aren't worth £100 to me, which makes the MB interesting.
You are both overlooking the differences in the quality of the display. That's a big point in favor of the 13" MacBook Pro. The standard MacBook display isn't very good (really poor viewing angles). The MacBook Pro is notably better although still not great. Given the superior display, FW800, and the SD slot and it's pretty much a done deal in favor of the MacBook Pro.
 
Would it kill Apple to use already established protocols in their computer devices instead of reinventing the wheel every time? Most hdtvs have hdmi ports all over them. Apple should say in the sales literature that the external video ports (i mean port) is only compatible with Apple monitors and is incompatible with hdtv without an optional accessory. More nonsense from Cupertino. The only thing I 'love' about Apple is Mac OS X.

DisplayPort can do everything that HDMI can (other than one color mode). HDMI can not do everything DisplayPort can. DisplayPort has the bandwidth to connect more than one monitor to the same port. It can support very long cable runs and the connector is smaller (Last time I checked, a smaller connector is good for laptops and other small portable devices.) You can run USB across DisplayPort for things like Touch screens. It even costs less.
 
Decisions, decisions...

So now the following question remains, should I...

• Buy a new MacBook for $949? or
• Buy a new 13" MacBook Pro for $1099?

Seems like the low-end Pro is the way to go, but if I make this major purchase I can't really afford the iPad I wanted, besides the fact that I wanted to upgrade to the new iPhone this summer, too. Damn you Apple, why do you have to make such cool stuff?

Perhaps I should just get the iPad and tether it to my 7-year-old iBook G4, or my parents 4-year-old iMac. This seems doable and it would save me a ton of money. Not as convenient as an iPhone, but easier to work on, which is what I mostly use the iPhone for anyway. I guess I'll have to wait and see what happens this summer.
 
So now the following question remains, should I...

• Buy a new MacBook for $949? or
• Buy a new 13" MacBook Pro for $1099?

Seems like the low-end Pro is the way to go, but if I make this major purchase I can't really afford the iPad I wanted, besides the fact that I wanted to upgrade to the new iPhone this summer, too. Damn you Apple, why do you have to make such cool stuff?

Question is, are a nicer screen, nicer case, FW800 port and SD card slot worth $150? My answer would be no, but it's up to you.
 
HDMI is outdated

For those of you who think HDMI is the stuff... you probably still have VHS and Beta players in your home.

HDMI has a resolution capability of 1080 while mini display port has a resolution capability of 2560x1600. If Apple were to implement HDMI in their devices, they would render their own 30" Cinema Display useless since it has higher resolution than 1080. Not to mention the royalty free design on MDP.
 
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