Mini Disply port to HDSDI conversion

Question

I work at a church. We have a MacBook Pro with the mini display port DVI adapter. We need to convert that signal to HDSDI so the images will show on our Sony TVs 300 feet away in the santcuary.
The problem is, our Geffen DVI to HDSDI converter box has trouble with the HDCP signal coming out of the Macbook Pro via the Mini Display Port adapter.
My question is, how can I convert my MDP signal to HDSDI?

Answer 1

I think you hit the nail on the head. DVI to HD SDI encoders are not HDCP compliant devices from what I understand, so the sources they connect to cannot be outputting HDCP protected digital TMDS. Older Macs are unable to support HDCP, so by lacking this "feature", they work perfectly with the Gefen box as you have observed. But it sounds like your newer Mac is wanting to connect with HDCP enforced, so the connection is failing.
So the question becomes, how can you make a modern Mac send non-HDCP video out its DisplayPort? Here is another question; what resolution setting is being used within Displays preferences on the new MBP? Since the advent of OS X 10.5.7, Apple have included CEA based timings preconfigured in the OS. They can be easily identified when they are in use because they show up in Displays preferences with designations like "720p" and "1080p" instead of the more familiar computer formats like 1280 x 720 or 1920 x 1080. So if you see designations like the former, that is a sure sign that HDCP is active on the Mac.
Are the alternates being offered within Displays preferences, e.g. 1280 x 720 and the like? Because that might be a simple way to get HDCP turned off on the new MBP. If those choices aren't showing up, you might try a program like SwitchResX to add those timings to the table of choices.