Mac Mini HDMI port broken?

I have a Mac Mini Mid 2010 that has been acting as a media center / small file server. It's been running Plex, FTP and VPN services. It has been hooked up to a Pioneer VSX-921 receiver with a HDMI cable since day one, and it's been working beautiful.
Then yesterday evening, switching to the input of the Mac Mini, I got "no signal". I double checked all connections, made sure the computer was actually running using remote desktop. Everything seems fine. I switched the HDMI cable with an Apple TV i have in my bench as well, the cable is fine.
So I went looking for problems on the Mac Mini. Under displays, I no longer have any HDMI option for output. Same with audio. It's as if the computer simply doesn't have an HDMI port any more. I've tried the classics PRAM, NRAM and SMC. I've checked for updates. Nothing so far.
I'm slowly coming to realise maybe my motherboard has gone bust. As the computer is over two years old, it's well beyond Apple warranty, and it's a month over the extra year long european consumer law, so I'm not expecting to get much help from Apple. Especially since I've installed my own SSD in the Mac Mini. That was done in the first few weeks, and everything has been fine for two years since then, so I do not believe that matters. But they will.
So, before I do anything else, like consider reinstalling the computer, getting a new motherboard, throwing it out or buying a new one. Is there anything else I should be checking before proceeding?

Further testing shows the Mini DisplayPort doesn't work either. It shows an extremely grainy (in a digital way) white with the Apple logo on boot, but then stops sending signal. So basically the only way for me to access the computer is via remote desktop, which also makes it impossible for me to re-install the computer. Worste case, I'm locking myself out of my own computer.
I'm quite convinced the motherboard is to blame at this point. Weird how it can just break like that. Nothing was changed, no cables touched, the computer hasn't moved for 24 months. Damnit.

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Can I run VGA monitor from Mac Mini HDMI port?

Hi:
I have a Mac Mini with one HDMI port and one Thunderbolt port. I have a Thunderbolt-only audio interface, so I need to connect my monitor to the HDMI port.
I bought an HDMI to VGA adapter cable for this purpose, but when I connect the monitor (Acer x233hz), all I get is a "No Signal Present" error message.
Is there a setting I can change in order to use the hardware I have, or do I have to find another solution?
Thanks!

You need an HDMI to VGA converter, not an adopter. Since the HDMI signal is digital only you need to convert that to analogue. You need somnethging like this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812270492&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL 072414&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL072414-_-EMC-072414-Index-_-AudioVideoSplitters-_-122704 92-L022C
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812699001&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL 070414&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL070414-_-EMC-070414-Index-_-AudioVideoSplitters-_-126990 01-L019B

HD Audio Pass Through on Mac Mini HDMI port

There have been various threads realting to this but nothin up to date or resolved as i can determine. I plan to use a Mac Mini as the core AV processor in a high end 8 channel sound system in a home cinema set up. The mac mini runing XBMC or similar will need to process high definitiion video files that contain Dolby and DTS True HD 8 channels bit streams and be able to pass these streams unchanged and uncompressed to the HDMI port for external decoding.
In previous threads it was identified that there was a hardware and/or OSX operating system limitation that prevented this. Has this now been solved? It seems surprising that Apple of all people would get this one wrong. As I have not yet purchased the Mac mini then i am not in a position to experiment as my 2010 macbook probably is not the same hardware.
Thanks

I know this thread is a little old now, but I've been wondering the same thing myself - so I googled it and came up with this thread.
I've just bought a new 7.1 Amp, the Yamaha RXV677 from Richer Sounds. It handles DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 and Dolby TrueHD 7.1. Up until now I've not been able to try this sound format out as my current 2009 Mac Mini only sends audio through the Optical Out, so the best I can get is Dolby Digital 5.1 pass thru via S/PDIF. I was quite happy with this arrangement, until I get around to buying a blu-ray player. However, I realised my work laptop is a 2014 MacBook Pro with HDMI out. Therefore out of curiosity I decided to download a couple of HD demos from demo-world.eu that have DTS-HD MA 7.1 audio tracks embedded in them. I tried opening them up in VLC media player (version 2.1.5) and hooked up my 2014 MacBook Pro via HDMI to my Amp. To my amazement it worked!! - I got glorious 7.1 DTS-MA into my Amp, and it sounded simply stunning!! In VLC I had two HDMI audio devices to choose from 'HDMI' and 'Encoded HDMI' (or something like that - I'll have to hook it up again to be sure). When using straight HDMI output, my Amp read it as 'PCM Audio' but when using 'Encoded HDMI' it read it as 7.1 DTS Audio giving the sample rate and bit rate. I need to spend a bit more time testing this out - but it definitely works, and it definitely plays in surround from all my available speakers (I have a 5.1 setup, so can't test the other 2 surround channels).
I have no reason to believe that this will not work from a current Mac Mini with HDMI - although as yet I can't verify this, and I have only tested using VLC player with a .m2ts file.

Mac mini HDMI Port replacement?

Hi, I have had my 2012 Mac mini since late December and I am really enjoying it. However, in January, a family member got a little angry and ripped the cables out of the back of it (with force) (broke the ethernet cable, too) and after that, the HDMI signal has been poorer, and the cable has been recognisably looser in the back of the computer. The HDMI always drops out for minutes at a time sometimes, and I was wondering where or how I could get the port replaced for the computer to function properly again. (Really annoying during gaming) Thanks.

The only way to get the port repaired would be a new logic board and it is unlikely Apple will cover this under warranty. You could pay for the repair but this is likely to be quite expensive.
You could instead use a Mini Displayport to HDMI adapter see http://www.amazon.co.uk/DisplayPort-Adapter-cable-Apple-Products/dp/B002ERBFYM
You could also for Ethernet use a USB to Ethernet adapter see http://store.apple.com/uk/product/MC704ZM/A/apple-usb-ethernet-adapter

Mini-HDMI Port: Video OK, sound only works for iTunes

Let me start by saying, I'm pretty new to Mac so please be gentle with your answers...
I just got a new HD Samsung TV and have connected it to my Macbook Pro through the Mini-HDMI port. There are two HDMI inputs on my TV, DVI and ARC. I'm using DVI. The video displays perfectly but I'm having a little trouble with sound.
Once I went to system preferences and switched the audio output method to "SAMSUNG - HDMI" my iTunes music began playing through the TV speakers. I played a .wmv video from my hard drive; sound and audio all worked well. However, when I attempt to play anything through the Internet, Youtube, Hulu, Pandora, no sound... I still get video, and if I switch the Output source back to "Internal Speakers - Built-In" there's no problem. I don't know if it makes any difference, but I'm using Google Chrome as my Internet Browser.
I've double/triple checked the sites to make sure the local audio levels aren't being muted, and that doesn't seem to be the case. Is there a setting somewhere that references only Internet, or more specifically, Google Chrome audio Output levels?
PLEASE HELP...
Thanks

The "Front" channel isn't the same thing as the front panel. From the ALSA wiki:
"Front, Surround, Center, LFE (subwoofer) and Side (these are the names of the channels with Intel HD Audio, they may vary with different hardware)."
How many sounds cards do you have?
[dspider@arch ~]$ aplay -l
**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 0: HDA Generic [HDA Generic]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
[dspider@arch ~]$
What are the other HDMI devices? The video card?
And have you tried googling the problem?
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1462288

2011 Mac Mini HDMI only 2Ch Stereo

Wow is this frustrating. I've had my Mac Mini for about a week, and for the life of me, cannot get surround sound working via HDMI. I've read so many posts about people with this problem but I can't find a definitive answer for a fix. All I want is for the Mac Mini to passthrough the audio so that my Pioneer Receiver can handle all of the Dolby stuff.
Setup is simple -
Mac Mini ------> HDMI -------> Pioneer VSX-1020 Receiver --------> Samsung 55" LED
Inside of the Midi Audio options, it shows my receiver as the audio device, and I have all of the options for 2ch, 8ch, etc. I also selected Dolby 5.1. I can only get PCM or Stereo to display on my receiver while ticking through these channel options, while I would expect Dolby to display if it is receiving a Dolby signal. Also, when I do the test tones in the Configure Speakers area, I get the correct test tones from all channels. BUT.........
No matter what I play whether it be iTunes, VLC, etc, I am only getting 2 channel sound and my subwoofer.
Can anybody help?? This seems like such a simple task yet it has me pulling my hair out.

ive had my 1021 for about 2 months and i think its great. Do you like yours?
i have 5.1 using optical cable to one of the optical in ports on the 1021. But you will need an optical-to-miniOptical adapter tip to use in the mini.
then make sure that any app through which you want 5.1 has that specified in its prefs. (like VLC)
VLC always has the option ' out through system', and if the system is optical out, then 5.1 will pass.

Mini HDMI port

Hi.
I have Lenovo yoga thinkpad 12 and suddenly mini HDMI port sopped work.
I'm not albe now to duplicate screen to projector. I tried to check bios or control panel, but with no succes.
I looked on official graphic driver, but I can't install new driver because of error - your pc doesn't meet minimal requirements.
I tried to install this driver:
http://support.lenovo.com/us/en/downloads/ds101969 - 10.18.14.4099
Now I have installed this version: 10.18.10.3960
Any advices?
Thx.

There is no such thing as a Mini HDMI port on any Mac. I believe you are refering to the Mini Display port, you can connect that to a Mini Display Port to HDMI adapter. I believe the late 2010 MBA's Mini DIsplay port to HDMI supports both audio & video, however you should use the cable Apple recommends for the best results. That cable would be:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/H1824ZM/A/Moshi_Mini_DisplayPort_to_HDMI_Adapt er?fnode=MTY1NDA3Ng&mco=MTgwOTAzMjI

How to tether using mini hdmi port on camera?

Hello all,
Port busted on my Nikon D5100 and I need to tether using the mini hdmi port on the camera and either the thunderbolt or usb port on the macbook. Can't find a cord fits the discription. I have already tried using mini hdmi to hdmi adapter connected to hdmi cord connected to a hdmi to thunderbolt adaptor. Fun is the first word that comes to mind. My bright idea didn't work. Any suggestions? Thank you.

<http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/intensity/>

Problem switcing Mac Mini HDMI via an Onkyo 606 Receiver

I'm having problems when attempting to switch my Mac Mini HDMI via my Onkyo Receiver. Connecting via a DVI to HDMI converter. Works fine when connected directly to the TV.
When connected via the Onkyo, I get the Apple logo at the begining of the boot-up process, but when the screen would ordinarily switch to my desktop background, the screen goes blank.
Any suggestions?
John.

Do you have a second computer at your disposal? In cases like this, the best debugging method is to use a second computer and create a screen sharing setup under OS X Leopard, or a VNC set up if the second computer is not a Mac running Leopard. That way you will be able to see exactly what the mini is doing, even though the TV is blank.
Probably, in the end, you are going to need something like Gefen's DVI Detective to get HDMI switching to work the way you want it to.

Mac Mini HDMI - Stuck CD

Hello,
I have a CD stuck in my new Mac Mini HDMI.
* It does not appear in the Finder as a CD.
* Disk Utility shows the CD drive itself, but all options for eject, format, etc are all greyed out.
* Booting with the mouse button down does not work (I have a bluetooth keyboard; however, I selected to stop using it and connected a wired keyboard)
* Booting with C down does not work
* Booting with Option down until getting to the firmware boot disk selection menu, then pressing / holding the eject button does not work
* I used the Terminal command "drutil eject", the drive makes the eject noise, but nothing comes out
* Tried System/Library/CoreServices/Menu Extras/ double clicking Eject.menu - the menu only has a greyed out drive listed
I think that's everything I've tried. Please let me know if there's anything else I can try.
Thanks for all your help!

I figured out the 'problem'
Let me pre-face it by saying, my wife originally emailed me at work talking about this disc she couldn't get out.
Flash forward to now. I was fishing around with my work badge (thin hard plastic) and I couldn't feel anything that felt like the edge of a disc. So, after getting up the nerve I took a blank DVD, and slowly let the drive catch it and pull it in. Loaded up just fine.
I guess the "Stuck CD" must have evaporated
Good new is, I now know every single way to get the disc out should this happen to me for real (short of completely disassembling the Mac Mini). For now, all I can do is laugh (quietly so my wife doesn't hear).
Thanks for helping out Boece!

How can I connect multiple devices to Mac mini display port? I need to connect a Canon 5D to my Mac and display the result on a VGA video projector. I am using mini hdmi to mini display for the camera. Can I connect the VGA to any other port?

Hi there I am connecting a Canon 5D to my laptop trying to use it as a webcam trough camtwist.
At the same time I need to output the streaming to a videoprojector.
The cam is connected to the mini display port do there is no port available for the VGA cable anymore.
Do I need to use a different port for the projector? Should I buy a video card?
Can't connect the camera via USB as that is too slow and it will freeze.
Many thanks for all your help
Best
Faeve

You might do better on a forum other than this one, which is "Using iPhone"

Mac mini hdmi to VGA

On my Mac mini, I have been using thunderbolt to VGA for a monitor & it works fine. I would like to add a second monitor. I bought a hdmi to VGA but when plugged in, there is no picture on the second display and the first display blinks off & on. Am I wrong in thinking this should work? How else would I get the second display?

From:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4214
Can the HDMI port drive analog displays (VGA displays for example) using adapters?
No. The HDMI port will drive digital connections—such as DVI—using the adapter that came with the Mac mini, but cannot be used for analog displays such as VGA. You can purchase a Mini DisplayPort to VGA adapter separately to drive analog displays.
If yo really need ton use two VGA monitors yo willneed a UBS video adopter
http://www.kensington.com/kensington/us/us/p/1505/K33974AM/universal-multi-displ ay-adapter.aspx#.UxSD9_mwKBo
or
http://www.kensington.com/kensington/us/us/p/1505/K33974AM/universal-multi-displ ay-adapter.aspx#.UxSD9_mwKBo

Can I use Dual Displays with New Mac Mini (HDMI Thunderbolt)

Hello Everyone,
This question may have been asked before... but I just purchased a beautiful new Mac mini and it has an HDMI port in the back and a Thunderbolt port. I am using a new DELL 23" HDMI monitor that also accepts DVI. I think I could run another monitor on the Mac Mini, but I don't know which is the best way to go... I purchased a mini-display port to DVI adapter because I heard thunderbolt could accept the mini-display cable.
1. Should I purchase the other identical Dell monitor and then run it on Thunderbolt 2 DVI and run it DVI
2. Or is there a HDMI splitter that splits the signal into two cables and go that way?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated Thanks!

I just got the mini server and run a 24" LCD off the HDMI port and a 19" off the displayport (adapter to DVI) and it works a treat there's no need for any splitter.

Mac Mini HDMI Output Problem w/ LG L246WP

NOTE: This appears to be unrelated to the "screen flickering" that has been noted previously.
I'm using a fresh new Mac Mini 2012 with an LG L246WP LCD monitor. The monitor has HDMI, VGA and Component video inputs.
When I attach the monitor to the Mini DisplayPort output, using a Mini DisplayPort to DVI adapter connected to a DVI to HDMI cable, the display functions properly at all resolutions - including the native 1920 x 1200 resolution that I use it at normally. All resolutions are clearly displayed in the "Displays" System Preferences pane. The display looks perfect, functions properly.
When I attach the monitor to the HDMI port using an HDMI cable, the display does not fucntion properly. The display is shifted about 80-100 pixels to the left and about 20 pixels up, creating black bars on the bottom and right sides. Because of this, a large portion of the display is not visible including the menu bar and most of the left side. Additionally, the settings are reduced to "Best for Display" or "Scaled", with resolution options under "Scaled".
This is not acceptable. I had planned on simply using the Mini DisplayPort output as a workaround, since I already have the DVI adapter from an old setup, but I need to use Thunderbolt to access external hard drives for rapid data transfer. One of my Thunderbolt accessories does not have two ports, so I can't simply add the Mini DisplayPort adapter to a chain. The HDMI port needs to function properly with my monitor.
It's important to note that this monitor has functioned properly with many other comptuers running OS X, Windows and various Linux flavors and it hasn't ever done this before. I've tried several different HDMI cables, ruling that out as a problem. I've tried the HDMI to DVI adapter that ships with the Mac Mini 2012 along with two different DVI to HDMI adapters, ruling that out as a problem. I tried attaching several HDMI devices (game consoles, DVD players, etc) and they all function properly, ruling out an HDMI issue as a problem. The monitor functions properly when attached through the Mini DisplayPort to DVI adapter, so it's not a problem with the monitor. I've reset the PRAM already and the installation of OS X 10.8.1 is stock with no modifications or migrated data. I've tried the suggestions on the HDMI FAQ (although there's no "underscan" option available in Displays)
I tried to call AppleCare and after describing the problem I got disconnected with no callback. I started another ticket, described the problem, discussed the previous disconnection, was assured that I'd be called back if disconnected, and haven't heard back in two hours. So I started to dig into the problem in earnest.
This gets pretty technical.
After substantial research, it appears that this issue is related to the EDID that the monitor sends to the computer and, crucially, the way that the driver responds to it. For some reason, the HDMI port is recognizing the monitor as a CEA device instead of a monitor. As a result, it's restricting the monitor's available resolution to the native resolution that the CEA 681 Series Extension describes ("Best for Display") and all other resolutions (including 1920 x 1200) are only available as "scaled". For some reason that I can't discern, all resolutions (even the 1080i and 1080p options) have similar deformities.
I've attempted to fix this by placing an appropriate override file in /System/Library/Displays/Overrides with an edied EDID removing the CEA-enable flag from byte 127 but, even after a reboot, the OS still insists that it's a CEA device and it won't allow me to force it to recognize the monitor as a 1920 x 1200 LCD Monitor.
How did I come to this conclusion and develop the fix? A nearly identical problem description showed up on the following website, with details on how this user fixed the issue:
http://byuu.org/articles/computing/edid
They used a convoluted process that involved dismantling the monitor and flashing the EDID on the monitor itself. It fixed their problem. I'd prefer not to go through that process just because one computer has a problem with it. Frankly, I'd prefer if the new Mac Mini performed properly in the first place.
TL;DR: The Mac Mini 2012 doesn't work right with the LG L246WP through the HDMI output. Everything else works fine with it. This is very uncool. It's most likely to be an issue with the driver for the Intel HD Graphics 4000 GPU that are bundled with OS X 10.8.1. The Mac Mini 2012 won't update to 10.8.2 (yet), so I can't test it.
Anyone have any other ideas? Anyone else using a Mac Mini 2012 (or 2011) with an LG L246WP monitor? Anything simple I've missed?

Problem Resolved. But it was complicated. And a huge pain in the rear.
TL;DR: I flashed the EDID as described here. This is not recommended for the weary. Ideally, Apple should release an update OS X that will include the updated Intel HD Graphics 4000 drivers that utilize the CEA flag properly.
Here's the detailed version. As mentioned above, this isn't recommended for the weary. An improper (or interrupted) EDID flash can have seriously unpredictable effects on a monitor's performance.
Step 1: Get a Windows PC set up with a floppy drive and find a floppy disk. Use this system to format the floppy as a MS-DOS Boot Disk and copy over the "ddcw" program described at the aformentioned link.
This took awhile, but I was able to cobble together a temporary frankensystem with parts I had laying around. In installed XP and formatted the disk with XP's format tool.
Step 2: Grab EDID data from the monitor, modify it to disable CEA mode at bit 127 and make sure bit 128, the checksum, is appropriate.
This also took awhile. Several graphics cards I tried could not read or write EDID data. I ended up swapping AGP cards in my frankenstein box until I found one that worked - a generic GeForce4 4200.
Once the EDID data was written to the floppy, I edited the text file containing the EDID data to change the last two hex octets from "01 33" to "00 34" (00, to disable bit 127, and 34 is 33 + 1, which satisfies the checksum) and formatted the text file to match the sample included in the EDID_Write.zip file. Your mileage may vary - make sure the checks.
Step 3: Write EDID data to the monitor.
The link above mentioned three options: Easy (monitor's EDID is unprotected - write away!), Hard (monitor's EDID is protected - use service mode to attempt a fix), and Very Hard (monitor's EDID is protected, hardware modification is required).
Luckily my LG246WP simply needed to be put into service mode as described at the link above (menu + power) and once started up in service mode, I simply enabled "Aging Mode" (whatever that means) and attempted a DDCW write of the updated data.
Step 4: Profit!
After doing this, I powered off the monitor and powered it back on with the Mac Mini attached. The display functions PERFECTLY with HDMI out, just as it does using the Mini DisplayPort to DVI adapter.

2010 Mac Mini HDMI 1080p output to Samsung B750

Hi all,
I just got the new Mac Mini. My primary reason for getting it was because it had an HDMI output. I've now hooked it up to my Samsung LCD via HDMI to HDMI and it automatically detected it as 1080p. The image was pristine!
However, the issue I am experiencing is quite irksome and basically defeats the purpose of having it as a HTPC. There is a severe delay between the movement of my mouse and the actual display of it on the screen. There is also audio/video syncing problems.
This problem does not occur when I have it hooked up to my original monitor via miniDP, so I'm assuming it must be a TV or Mac display issue when outputting at 1080p. Is there a specific setting that I must do to either the Mac or the TV?

I just bought a mac mini(2010) and had the same issue as coaster - mini to samsung P2270HD via HDMI gives a very bad picture quality. Took the mini back to the store and they reproduced the problem on the same monitor. Then the guy took a dvi cable and via HDMI-DVI adaptor connected it to the same monitor but on DVI input. Picture quality was fantastic.
Now why did that happen? Same HDMI port but different input to Monitor

Mac Mini HDMI port broken?

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