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User profile for user: Gal 220
Gal 220 Author
User level: Level 1
30 points

Connecting MacBook Air (13-inch, 2017) to 2009 Toshiba TV

Last month I used a mini-Displayport cable to stream Netflix onto a TV in the hotel I was staying at. I plugged it into the thunderbolt mini-display port on one end and the HDMI input on the TV.  




I am a cord cutter and have not had a TV in 15 years but my brother left an old 2009 Toshiba in the basement and I tried hooking up the MBA to it the same way as in the hotel and it doesn't work. It says "no signal" Here is the Service manual on the TV.  (Toshiba Model 26LV61k-T)




http://pdfstream.manualsonline.com/7/72d28b4b-073e-4fbc-928f-0cc8ba9ce0a8.pdf




The TV has HDMI input - 2 of them. Do I just need a different adapter?  I am running Catalina if that helps at all.  Thanks

MacBook Air

Posted on Sep 6, 2020 7:37 PM

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User profile for user: John Galt
John Galt
User level: Level 10
146,516 points

Posted on Sep 7, 2020 7:36 AM

The instructions on Page 20 certainly ought to work, although it shows using a DVI to HDMI adapter which would result in horrible resolution. Mini-DP / Thunderbolt to HDMI will preserve the Mac's maximum possible resolution.


There simply isn't a good way to troubleshoot an HDMI connection that doesn't work. It either works or it doesn't, and the fact that the adapter you use worked with the hotel's TV indicates it should work. The manual suggests changing the PC's refresh rate but that shouldn't be necessary either since the Mac will automatically negotiate an external monitor's requirements.


If you can't get it to work I can only suggest the Toshiba's HDMI implementation may be outdated, although that seems unlikely.


It's not supposed to be this complicated. If you want to explore the possibility of using a different Mini-DP to HDMI adapter I buy mine from Monoprice. They're inexpensive enough to try, but I really doubt it's the problem.


I neglected to provide the basic Mac-specific instructions: Use an external display with your MacBook Air - Apple Support. There's nothing more to it than that.

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User profile for user: John Galt
John Galt
User level: Level 10
146,516 points

Sep 7, 2020 7:36 AM in response to Gal 220

The instructions on Page 20 certainly ought to work, although it shows using a DVI to HDMI adapter which would result in horrible resolution. Mini-DP / Thunderbolt to HDMI will preserve the Mac's maximum possible resolution.


There simply isn't a good way to troubleshoot an HDMI connection that doesn't work. It either works or it doesn't, and the fact that the adapter you use worked with the hotel's TV indicates it should work. The manual suggests changing the PC's refresh rate but that shouldn't be necessary either since the Mac will automatically negotiate an external monitor's requirements.


If you can't get it to work I can only suggest the Toshiba's HDMI implementation may be outdated, although that seems unlikely.


It's not supposed to be this complicated. If you want to explore the possibility of using a different Mini-DP to HDMI adapter I buy mine from Monoprice. They're inexpensive enough to try, but I really doubt it's the problem.


I neglected to provide the basic Mac-specific instructions: Use an external display with your MacBook Air - Apple Support. There's nothing more to it than that.

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Connecting MacBook Air (13-inch, 2017) to 2009 Toshiba TV

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