I want to use my Mac desktop as a portal for viewing my cable television via some kind of cord. Is this possible and what do I need to set this up?

I want to use my Mac desktop as a portal for viewing my cable television via some kind of cord. Is this possible and what do I need to set this up?

It can be done with analog but not digital thanks to "good 'ol" HDCP copy protection which apple (and most other manufacturers) unfortunately respect.
So you can take the analog output from your cable box (component -- 5 cables -- if it has it but generally they all have composite -- 3 cables) and feed it into some kind of converter or into some appropriate pci card for your mac pro.  But none of them are going to let you directly use the HDMI output from the box to your computer.
Bottom line, no single cord is going to work and it will never be the higher quality digital picture you get on your tv.
Some qualification:  There are boxes that I think support hdmi input.  Look at Blackmagic.  But I still don't think you can get around the HDCP from the cable box (might depend on the kind of cable box). 

Similar Messages

  • I got an old Apple G5 shell from Goodwill. I'd like to salvage the Superdrive and use it as an external drive for my Apple laptop. Is this possible, and what cables would I need if so?

    I got an old Apple G5 shell from Goodwill. I'd like to salvage the Superdrive and use it as an external drive for my Apple laptop. Is this possible, and what cables would I need if so?
    Other info is available:
    Superdrive MFG date: Sept 2009
    Model: DVR-118LBK DVD-R/RW Writer Unit
    My Macbook is: Mid-2010, running Mavericks
    Thanks in advance, God bless!

    That's a nice Pioneer DVD±RW drive - and an upgraded replacement for the original optical drive that shipped with that G5.  For a finished look, you'd want to install it in an external enclosure for 5.25" IDE/ATAPI drives that converts it to USB connectivity.  Because SATA optical drives have replaced ATAPI drives in recent years, the selection is getting more limited for a new enclosure, although used ones can undoubtedly be found at ebay.  Here's an example of one, although it only features USB connectivity.  You can also find enclosures that have both FireWire and USB connectivity, which for Mac users is beneficial.  Booting the computer (if needed) by a FireWire-connected device is generally more reliable than USB booting.  If this isn't important to you, then a USB-only enclosure would be adequate.  The enclosure will have directions, but essentially all you need to do is plug in the power cable and data ribbon cable and then secure the drive to the bottom plate of the enclosure with the included machine screws.

  • I want to save my music library in the cloud /iTunes Match, but want both my wife's devices and mine to have access. Is this possible, and what's the best way to do this?

    Hi all,
    Can I store my iTunes file in the cloud, so that my wife and I can access it from various devices.
    Devices would include 2 iPhone 6S, 2 iPad2s, couple of iPods and a MacBook Air.
    We can't save all the music to a hard drive due to storage size.
    If we save it to the Cloud, can we create playlists and only download these as /when we need them?
    Thanks in advance,
    Ed

    Hi,
    Your music needs to be in your iTunes library on your computer or on an external drive. Read this user topic Make and keep a backup of your iTunes library, and only stream from the cloud.
    You can only use one Apple ID with match. For your wife to get access to your music in the cloud, you will need to use your Apple ID
    Subscribe to iTunes Match - Apple Support
    Manage your associated devices in iTunes - Apple Support
    Jim

  • TS2972 I am using Apple TV to wirelessly access photos from a folder on my desktop computer, but when I view them on my TV, some of the photos are upside down and sideways, even though I have flipped, cropped them, and saved them on my desktop. Help!

    But they sometimes show up sideways or uspided down when viewing them on my tv, even thogh I have flipped and saved them in my desktop folder.  How can I view them in the same format as I have them saved in my computer?

    Welcome to the Apple Community.
    Try editing them in a different photo program.

  • Unable to use my email addy to sign up for things, says already used but i never signed up before how is this possible and what can i do?

    Tried to sign up for walmart savings catcher and ancestry.com. Both sites said that email address is already in use. I never signed up for these in the past. finally signed in walmart savingscatcher with work address but cannot do ancestry research at work. How is someone using my address and how can I get this fixed?

    This problem is not a Thunderbird issue and is outside the scope of this forum.

  • I have an external HD with mostly mp3 music, but some important docs I need to keep, I want to buy a mac desktop, will I be able to use my HD on the mac?

    I have an external HD with mostly mp3 music, but some important docs I need to keep, I want to buy a mac desktop, will I be able to use my HD on the mac

    Yes, though if the drive is formatted as NTFS, Mac OS X will not be able to write to the drive without you either installing third-party NTFS drivers or reformatting the drive.
    Regards.

  • I want to use my Time Capsule as a central 'hub/hard-drive' in order to keep all my working files in one place. I then plan to use my laptops/desktops as peripheral devices for editing and creation of these files. Is it possible? Create a personal cloud?

    I want to use my Time Capsule as a central 'hub/hard-drive' in order to keep all my working files in one place. I then plan to use my laptops/desktops as peripheral devices for editing and creation of these files. Is it possible? To create a personal cloud?
    Can someone advise as to whether i can do the following:
                                Future Internet connection -------------------TIME CAPSULE (containing all files) -------------- Backed up on the WD 2T Hard-drive I have
                                      (not connected yet)                                         I                                                          (*connected to timecapsule physically)
                                                                                                            I
                    I                                         I                                                I                                                              I                                                I
          Macbook Pro                             iMac                                       HP (PC)                                             OLD Macbook Pro                         iPhone
    (used for remote working)       (Used for home working)     (used for heavy CAD and rendering)    (not being used for anything at the moment)        (& iPods)
    I am looking to have all my files in one place as i am hopelessly disorganised. I know the online clouds are a good solution (used Dropbox at work and uni for 3 years) however i am wanting to create my own 'dropbox/icloud' at home. So whenever i get back home with my laptop, any work i have been working on whilst out that day is updated to the timecapsule, and then ultimately as i turn on the other devices, they update to those newer versions of the files. Please tell me that the 3TB time capsule i have can do this, otherwise it feels rather overpriced as a wireless storage device?
    Another note (to those in the know) If i am to be working on large files (REVIT/SOLIDWORKS/KEYSHOT/CREO/AUTOCAD) - is the timecapsule connection good enough to support editing and updating these files?
    I know i may be asking a question that many have before, but as a bit of a technical novice I wanted a clear-cut answer to my specific circumstances. Your help is greatly appreciated.
    (*can i use this WD hard-drive that is connected to the Time Capsule as a back up? so that the time machine back-ups/any back ups are also backed up onto this one? can the WD be a backup for the TC?)
    Kind Regards
    Joe

    The diagram was supposed to look more like this......
    Internet ---------TIME CAPSULE(containing all files) --------WD 2T Harddrive
                                                I
         I                           I                          I                            I                                   I
    Macbook Pro         iMac                 HP (PC)            OLD Macbook Pro           iPhone
    Sorry!
    Regards
    Joe

  • My question is in regard to pc to mac migration. How do I migrate information from my pc with specific user account to an existing user account on my mac? I do not want to use multiple mac user accounts.

    My question is in regard to pc to mac migration. How do I migrate information from my pc with specific user account to an existing user account on my mac? I do not want to use multiple mac user accounts.

    https://discussions.apple.com/message/16371308#16371308

  • When using my MAC desktop, when I try to play a video on the Apple Homepage I just get a spinning wheel and it says "missing plug-in".  What's the issue?

    When using my MAC desktop, when I try to play a video on the Apple Homepage I just get a spinning wheel and it says "missing plug-in".  What's the issue?

    Yep. I installed Lion this morning. Open Mail. All is good. Went to video on the Apple's homepage and my whole computer froze up. I couldn't even shut down the computer properly. I just had to shut it off and restart. :|
    Although, no "missing plug in" prompts were coming up for me. Just a frozen (brand new) iMac.

  • I purchased Mountain Lion on my MacBook and want it on my mac desktop as well. Can I download the same purchase on my desktopMac? and how do i do that?

    I purchased Mountain Lion on my MacBook and want it on my mac desktop as well. Can I download the same purchase on my desktopMac? and how do i do that?

    Welcome to the Apple Support Communities
    When you purchase Mountain Lion, you can install it as many times as you want on all your computers for free. To install it on the desktop, open the App Store, go to Purchases tab and download OS X Mountain Lion.
    Another option is to redownload it on the MacBook, put the installer onto a USB drive and connect it to the desktop in order to upgrade

  • I want to use a mac mini as a server supporting storage. Can I pair my macair to it for when I need to perform updates and maintenance ?

    I want to use a mac mini as a server supporting storage. I have other devices such as an iMac and iPad that will access information from the server. I do not want to purchase a monitor and keyboard as the unit will sit in a cupboard out of sight. Can I pair my macair to it for when I need to perform updates and maintenance ?

    I have a 2010 Mac Mini running Yosemite and Server which I use
    as a headless home server.
    I have is set up to allow screen sharing and can connect to it and
    control it with my iMac, Macbook Pro, iPhone, and a 2011 Mini Server
    that I use as an HTPC.
    You can check this out for all the Yosemite Server capabilities:
    https://help.apple.com/advancedserveradmin/mac/4.0/
    I have iTunes Home Sharing set up on it and have my entire iTunes
    library on it.  I can then use any of my Macs to play Movies or Songs
    from it and only keep locally a select subset of that on my individual
    devices.
    Rather than and update server, I utilize Server's Caching Service.  The caching
    server will duplicate any update download (system or MacApp Store purchases)
    any time a device that is connected to my network down loads one.  The update will
    then be stored locally and all other devices will download the update from it which
    can be faster than from Apple directly.  This has the advantage of only having to download
    once with limited bandwidth internet connections.  There is also an Update Server service
    available, but it is some what more involved in setting up.  However, it will download
    and store all available updates.
    There is another thing as well if you do not care for syncing things like Contacts, Calendar, etc.
    to iCloud, you can set Server up to sync these items across devices locally.

  • I want to use my Mac as a player and download cds to my ipad. How do I get this to work ?

    I want to use my MAC strickly as a player and download cds to my ipad. I don't always have connectivity so it would be nice to have some stored tunes. How do I do it ? Thanks, Tombo1

    Your question is a little bit confusing to me. If you have music on the Mac that you want to transfer to the iPad, you have to import the music into iTunes first. You can read about that process here.
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1473
    Then you have to sync the music to the iPad. You do not Internet connectivity to sync the iPad if you use the cable and connect the device to the Mac that way. You can read this for an overview about syncing.
    http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1386
    and this as well for Mac.
    http://support.apple.com/kb/PH12111

  • I have a hard drive for CD storage that needs to connect to the Ethernet router. sInce my router is not in this room, and in another room, I want to use my Mac as a router for the drive, and share the wifi. Ho do I do this

    I have a hard drive for CD storage that needs to connect to the Ethernet router. sInce my router is not in this room, and in another room, I want to use my Mac as a router for the drive, and share the wifi. Ho do I do this? I gace tried the System Preferences -> Sharing, shared internet to Ethernet, but can't se ethe device on Finder

    Djembe wrote:
    UEFI (unified extensible firmware interface) boot requires Global unique identifier Partition Table (GPT) as opposed to the older Master Boot Record (MBR). If your existing drive is formatted in MBR, you will need to adjust BIOS settings to enable legacy boot in order for it to work properly.
    Is there a performance difference between GPT and MBR? If GPT is better, I do not mind formatting the drive with it.
    5. No special drivers are needed.
    Thanks. What about the thunderbolt port?
    7. I think Lenovo estimates 6 hours.
    Lenovo says 6 hours with the 6-cell battery on its website.
    BrendaEM wrote:
    Hi,
    There was a serious BIOS/UEFI problem with that SSD . Perhaps this thread will save you some headaches. Someone is recomending shutting off Rapid Boot in the setup, which would probable mean little with a SSD, anyway.
    I read through this, and it looks like the problem was fixed in a BIOS update, which I plan to do. However, it also seems like Intel Rapid Start is not even worth it in the first place, as sleep consumes almost no power at all.
    W540: i7-4700mq, K2100m, 8 GB DDR3L, 512 GB SSD
    T510: i7-620m, NVS 3100m, 8 GB DDR3, 512 GB SSD

  • I have a Powerbook G4. I want to use an iMac desktop, the model that is shaped llike a lamp, as an external monitor. Can I do this with firewire or USB cable or do I have to have a different cable?

    I have a Powerbook G4. I want to use an iMac desktop, the model that is shaped llike a lamp, as an external monitor. Can I do this with firewire or USB cable or do I have to have a different cable?

    You need a network connection and a product such as ScreenRecycler. All such products require a bootable OS on the iMac.
    (58362)

  • Hi there, can anyone tell me how to make make Garageband ignore HDMI as an audio output-device on a 2013 Mac Mini? Now it keeps on prompting me: Do you want want to use the HDMI device (monitor without audio) for audio output? Thanks in advance, Grtz T.

    Hi there,
    Can anyone tell me how to make make Garageband ignore HDMI as an audio output-device on a 2013 Mac mini i7 using an Apogee jam as an input for bass and a Behringer USB DAC with RCA audio output? Now it keeps on prompting me: Do you want want to use the HDMI device (monitor without audio) for audio output? I'm also suffering massive audio lag issues with the Apogee jam after waking the mini from sleepmode, wich pretty much renders it useless.
    Thanks in advance,
    Grtz T.

    I think the easiest way to do this is to have the EyeTV app running in one user account and sent via HDMI to the TV, and use a separate user account for Screen Sharing. Both logins can be active at the same time and with Lion you can connect via screen sharing to which ever login you need.
    With regards to the Mac video resolution changing, when it is not the current input on your AV receiver. This is 'normal', if the Mac sees no signal it drops down the a lower level. What you need is to buy a HDMI Detective Plus which tricks the Mac in to always seeing a signal and hence it will not drop down the resolution. See http://www.gefen.com/kvm/dproduct.jsp?prod_id=8005
    The Mac mini does have an IR receiver. This can be used with the EyeTV app, iTunes, and similar. Yes I believe EyeTV would run for prolonged periods quite happily, it is has been around for a long time and had most of the rough edges polished off. However one issue you will have to deal with is that it does not automatically update its program guide data. For this you might have to write or modify an AppleScript. Elgato support or their user forums will be a lot of help.
    You can set EyeTV to convert recordings to an iTunes (Apple TV) compatible format and then delete them from EyeTV.
    The HDMI Detective should solve your handshaking problems.

Maybe you are looking for