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Apple Mini-DVI to DVI Adapter

Connecting Macbook to HDTV

Written by DY from Brooklyn

Jun 26, 2006

After reading the helpful reviews, i did alot of research before buying any cables to hook up my macbook to an HP HDTV. Hopefully the following will help others with connection issues:

Investigate the PC input jack of your HDTV for 3 specifications:

1) TYPE OF DVI INPUT JACK. Most newer models have DVI-I or DVI-D input jacks. there is a difference between the two. you can tell which one you have by referring to your manual. if you don't have the manual, look at the jack itself and compare to pictures (link isn't allowed here, but datapro had clear pictures)

2) DUAL or SINGLE LINK. newer model HDTVs likely have the dual link inputs. refer to your manual or look at the jack and compare to pictures.

3) MALE OR FEMALE. ihad assumed that because the apple mini-DVI to DVI cable had a FEMALE DVI connector end, then my TV must have a MALE input jack. not true. my TV has a FEMALE DVI jack. So by default, I needed an adaptor cable for the mini-DVI to DVI cable.

after this, i determined that i had a DUALLINK DVI-I FEMALE input jack. NOTE that the mini-DVI to DVI cable, not pictured online at apple.com, has a FEMALE DUAL LINK DVI-D connector end.

so I bought the apple mini-DVI to DVI cable & a DVI-D to DVI-D male/male connector cable, connected the cables to their respective hardware input jacks, and it all worked.

FYI, i got the DVI-D to DVI-D male/male connector cable instead of a DVI-D to DVI-I male/male connector cable, because i couldn't find the latter. Luckily, because my TV had a FEMALE input jack, it could take a DVI-D male (just the way the input jacks are designed).

Hope this helps.

1510 of 2000 people found this useful

Apple Mini-DVI to DVI Adapter

Why, O Why Not Mini-DVI to DVI-I???

Written by SB from Lafayette

Sep 16, 2006

It all boils down to the title. I post this as a warning and a complaint. The warning is that DVI doesn't simply come in one flavor, and that "DVI" in this adapter is a female DVI-D Dual-Link plug. The complaint that it is incompatible with all the DVI-I cables out there in the world, particularly those in the research lab I work in.

I know that these DVI-I cables *could* be replaced with DVI-D cables and everything would be just fine, but that's really not a general solution. Must I purchase some sort of male DVI-D Dual-Link to female DVI-I Dual-Link adapter, too? Surely it'd "just work" for the most people if Apple offered just one adapter--a Mini-DVI to DVI-I adapter...

1391 of 2235 people found this useful

Apple Mini-DVI to DVI Adapter

Dont try and use with dvi-vga adapter!

Written by VG from Dublin

Jul 7, 2006

When buying my Macbook I had the bright idea that I would only buy this adapter and then use one of the many dvi to vga adapters that I already own to "adapt" the dvi to vga when I needed it. Unfortunately Apple was one step ahead of me and have removed the holes in this dvi socket that pass through the vga connection. Ergo you are forced to buy yet another overpriced adapter from them in order to use a vga monitor! After buying vga and dvi adapters plus another adapter to connect to a TV you have ended up spending almost 60 euro on top of the already high cost of an apple machine! Most laptops and pc's come with at least 2 of these connections built in! I am very disappointed with Apple's actions in designing this product and hope for better service from them in the future.

706 of 1007 people found this useful

Apple Mini-DVI to DVI Adapter

DVI-D, not DVI-I

Written by JB from HOLYWOOD

Jul 29, 2006

The adapter works well enough, but make sure you know what you're buying; it's a DVI-D adapter, which means you can't use a VGA adapter on the end.

512 of 740 people found this useful

Apple Mini-DVI to DVI Adapter

Tight-fisted Apple

Written by RH from Bath

May 11, 2006

Included with the 12" Powerbook but buy an iMac and you have to pay extra. The port is useless without one so why bundle it with one machine but not the other?

501 of 786 people found this useful

Apple Mini-DVI to DVI Adapter

iMac using a 40-In Samsung HDTV as a Monitor

Written by PS from Woodside

Feb 26, 2008

For all you guys who think it would be nice to have a 40-inch monitor so you could surf the Web from the comfort of your living room couch using your wireless keyboard & mouse, here’s how I did it.

I connected my new iMac to my Samsung LN-S4095D 40-inch LCD HDTV as follows:
I connected a Mini-DVI to DVI adapter (part number M9321G/B at Apple’s retail store - $19.00) to my iMac’s Mini-DVI port at one end, and the other end to a 2 meter (6.6 feet) XTREME HD HDMI to DVI cable (part number TL952LL/A at Apple’s retail store - $19.95). Naturally, the other end of the HDMI cable got plugged into one of the HDMI/DVI In jacks on the back of my Samsung HDTV. Unlike some of the previous comments I’ve read, small text was crystal clear – probably because my HDTV has 1080P resolution. .

I rented the standard (not Hi Def) Michael Clayton movie from iTunes and found the resolution to be very good - DVD quality. I know the cables are transmitting a good signal from my iMac to my HDTV, as for months I’ve been recording HD programs on my iMac by pulling them out of the air with a $19 indoor antenna attached to an EyeTV-Hybrid, then watching them on my iMac. I can now watch those recorded programs on my 40” HDTV. And be assured, the resolution is just as good as if I were watching the HD broadcast live on a my HDTV. The only minor problem I had while watching my first downloaded iTunes movie was that the sound came from my iMac, not my HDTV. I knew this would be happening, as the Mini-DVI to DVI adapter is actually a DVI-D adapter, which doesn’t capture the sound. (The “D” stands for Data.) The next morning I went to Radio Shack and bought a 6-ft Y-Adapter Audio Cable (Part Number 42-2552, price $7.99), connected it to my iMac’s “Headphone Out/optical digital audio out port” at one end, and to my “DVI IN R-Audio-L” jack on the back of my HDTV. I watched Michael Clayton again, and thought I died and was in heaven. Both picture and sound were perfect.

I spend a lot of time researching what was needed to make this all happen. I hope my positing saves you a little time.

261 of 321 people found this useful

Apple Mini-DVI to DVI Adapter

Works with my HD TV

Written by EE from BOLTON

Jul 15, 2008

Yes this cable works with My HD Tv perfectly but you do need a separate cable that connects hdmi to DVI. I got the Second cable in currys for a cheaper price than it is on here, as it costs twice as much on here, so good luck, but all the same, picture is crystal clear. Good Buy.

145 of 155 people found this useful

Apple Mini-DVI to DVI Adapter

New cables need to be invented

Written by DT from Chesapeake

Nov 17, 2008

This adapter is great and offers excellent picture quality to a High Definition TV when used with a DVI to HDMI cable. However, Apple should eliminate the need for that extra cable, and just create an adapter from Mini DVI to HDMI. There is a large percentage of Apple customers who own High Definition TV's with HDMI inputs, and there should be a direct adapter from the computer to the TV.

124 of 126 people found this useful

Apple Mini-DVI to DVI Adapter

this is all very confusing...

Written by YY from New Haven

May 27, 2008

Apple should put head-on pictures of the ENDS of these connectors with EACH ITEM. This would solve so much of the confusion associated with buying connectors. I bought this item thinking it would serve as a simple way to get around the fact that my old G4 MacBook Pro had a male DVI-D port, and came with a DVI-D to VGA converter so I could give presentations and such, and my new MacBook has this mini-DVI thing and didn't come with a converter so I figured a "mini-DVI to DVI" would be perfect. Unfortunately, it wasn't - now that I've done a little internet research, i see that what I bought was a mini-DVI to female DVI-I, and my existing converter is a male DVI-D to VGA connector. Unfortunately, the projector in my lab is old and does not have a DVI-I cable.

If Apple would provide images with the ends of these products displayed, allowing us to see the arrangements of the pins both regular and flat, it would be incredibly helpful to figuring out if it's the right piece for us. Thanks.

204 of 297 people found this useful

Apple Mini-DVI to DVI Adapter

Mini-DVI to DVI to HDMI = Beautiful

Written by SJ from chandler

Aug 18, 2008

I bought this and a generic DVI to HDMI cable to hook my HDTV up to my laptop. I was amazed by how simple it was. Here are the steps I followed:

1. Plug everything together.
2. Instant 1080i output to the TV, it even knew it was a Sony TV.

I am giving this 5 stars to augment all the morons that gave it one.

90 of 92 people found this useful

Apple Mini-DVI to DVI Adapter

DVI-D adapter, will not work with DVI to VGA adapters

Written by MC from Buffalo

Dec 13, 2006

If you buy this adapter be sure your cable and monitor will plug into the DVI-D plug on it's end. The DVI-D is lacking the holes for the 4 pins near the wide flat connector and the wide flat connector is narrow compared to a standard DVI connector. This connector difference WILL NOT allow a standard 29 pin DVI plug to connect. The adapter should be great if it fits your monitor, I thought I could keep some options open and save $20 by using this connector with a DVI to VGA adapter, NOPE! I even contacted Apple tech support to be sure it would work before I bought and they couldn't give me an answer other than "it should" (and in reality "it didn't"). I give it 1 star because there was no reason Apple should have used the less common DVI-D connector on this, for $20 we should receive a full blown standard DVI connector.

86 of 108 people found this useful

Apple Mini-DVI to DVI Adapter

Works Great

Written by MA from Roseville

Aug 15, 2009

To those with a misunderstanding... DVI-D stands for "DVI-Digital" and DVI-I stands for "DVI-Integrated".
DVI-I is the older standard that could push both digital and analog signals. DVI-D is digital only. As long as you use the right DVI (DVI-D) cable to your monitor you will be in buisness.
Taken from Wikipedia:
"The long flat pin on a DVI-I connector is wider than the same pin on a DVI-D connector, so it is not possible to connect a male DVI-I to a female DVI-D by removing the 4 analog pins. It is possible, however, to connect a male DVI-D cable to a female DVI-I connector. Many flat panel LCD monitors have only the DVI-D connection so that a DVI-D male to DVI-D male cable will suffice when connecting the monitor to a computer's DVI-I female connector."

65 of 70 people found this useful

Apple Mini-DVI to DVI Adapter

why?

Written by AF from ravensdale

Dec 29, 2006

Just like almost everyone else on here, I was not informed this is a DVI-D connection. Even worse, on the back of the little package, there are 2 logos, one is a mini DVI connection, and the other is a DVI-I connection.... VERY misleading. It has the 4 pins pictured next to the large flat one. Why was this printed with the incorrect logo? It makes the purchase pointless, and just frustrating in the end. At least get the image on the packaging correct.

91 of 122 people found this useful

Apple Mini-DVI to DVI Adapter

Does exactly what it's supposed too...

Written by CH

Jul 31, 2008

Nice little product, worked a treat for linking my 20" Intel iMac up to a 20" Samsung display. Very simple and no setup required. It would be nice if it was available as a wire (maybe 0.5m) so there was no need for a DVI cable.

64 of 71 people found this useful

Apple Mini-DVI to DVI Adapter

Works!

Written by SC from Tempe

Aug 3, 2007

This is an adapter, not a cord. I used this to hook my little macbook with its mini-dvi port up to my big Panasonic plasma tv. My tv actually has hdmi input, not dvi, but I have a hdmi to dvi cord so I used that with this and it works perfectly.

70 of 84 people found this useful

Apple Mini-DVI to DVI Adapter

Great for output to HD TV!

Written by AS from LONDON

May 27, 2008

I bought one of these with an XTREMEHD HTMI>DVI adapter cable to hook up to my Sony Bravia.

I have a 2.4Ghz 20" iMac and a Sony Bravia KDL26S201OU 26" LCD TV and as soon as I plugged it in the screen flashed a couple of times on my iMac and I was up and running!

The Displays section recognised the TV and the colour profile and automatically set it up for 1080i. The only observation is that the 'overscan' setting makes the picture go off screen at the top and the bottom so I disabled that.

Great bit of kit for previewing my video when I'm editing with Final Cut ^^

93 of 132 people found this useful

Apple Mini-DVI to DVI Adapter

Yes, you need one and yes, it works. That doesn't make it a good product.

Written by AB from TURKU

Jan 22, 2008

The connector itself is barely satisfactory. It's poorly designed: heavy enough and loose enough to work its way out of the mini-DVI port, unless resting on a flat surface (which your lap isn't). It's ignorant: the mac will switch to dual-display mode as soon as the adapter is connected, even if the display at the other end is turned off. It's short: the cable is barely 6 cms, room enough only to bend, so this was a wasted opportunity for an extension. And as others have noted, the adapter is DVI-D not DVI-I, meaning you cannot attach a readily-available DVI->VGA adapter to it but have to buy yet another proprietary connector instead. (Contrary to what one commenter implied, this was not necessary to support dual-link cinema displays; DVI-I supports dual-link just as well as DVI-D.)

Then, yet another gripe about the connector's existence: there is ample room on even the smallest macbook (let alone iMac) to accommodate a full size DVI-I port, which takes care of DVI and VGA. Even if these mini-DVI connectors had a compelling reason to exist, Apple should have just bundled them with the macbook; like they do for the macbook air and the like they apparently used to for the powerbook. After the premium I paid for the macbook in the first place it's insulting to be nickel-and-dimed for adapter cables as well.

79 of 109 people found this useful

Apple Mini-DVI to DVI Adapter

Very Overpriced, but Works Great. Should be included Free with new Macs

Written by JS from Buford

Oct 30, 2007

This adapter is much more expensive than it should be, but there's no real competition, so what can you do? If you need it, you need it. It should be included free with the purchase of a new Mac, if you ask me.

Once connected to an external device, it is automatically detected and works flawlessly to produce a very high quality picture. It works very very well.

142 of 237 people found this useful