Output to Projector / External Display

Mac friends - I, and many many others need some serious help on this issue. I have searched the internet left and right, Apple's very own support forums and found absolutely nothing to help with the issue. I am basically a newbie when it comes to this video verbage but am learning quickly. I am using the DVI to VGA output adapter supplied by Apple to input into my Sony 10HT's RGB jacks using a VGA to 3 RCA adapter. I get nothing. I have tried mirrored etc... I have tried every **** screen resolution and frequency given to me and still I get nothing. The only two things I ever get displayed are "Out of frequency range" or "check settings for input - x"
Can anyone provide any help on this issue?
Running a brand new MBP, 2.4Ghz C2D, 4 GB Ram, using the new 8600M GT.

Most discussion about this topic falls under this entry:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1058380&tstart=0
i know the topic says "crashes", but there's a lot of talk about projectors just not working.
So what's there to know?
Many older model (and some newer) projectors do not work with the MacBook Pro and a VGA adapter. It has to do with the DDC signal and it somehow getting dropped/out-of-sync. It may be drivers, it may be hardware...I'm leaning towards hardware which explains Apple's lack of comment/fix over the past year (admission == actionable culpability in court).
Anyway, there's a few workarounds:
1) Buy the Dr Bott gHead II DDC adapter. It fakes a DDC signal (originally intended for headless servers, btw) and makes the MBP believe a monitor is really there (http://drbott.com/prod/db.lasso?code=0153-GHDD). I personally know 4 people for whom this solution has worked.
2) Connect the MBP to a working VGA setup (monitor, tv) and then switch to your projector...DO NOT DETECT DISPLAY. A possible bug in the driver won't pick up the change in DDC info and the MBP will happily send a signal out.
3) If possible, eliminate VGA from the equation using either a DVI-RGB adapter or direct DVI/HDMI. If you can go digital, do it as I'm not aware of any situation where a digital connection fails.
One poster mentioned S-Video. Do not go this route. It may work, but you'll hate the image quality.
Hope this helps. I know it's not a "fix", but, if you're like me and MUST PROJECT but can't control what projector you'll be using, the gHead is a life saver. Everyone who's picked one up has reported success.
mj

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External Display via S-Video

So, I just plugged my laptop into my TV via S-Video.
Nothing happened... I've tried the Monitor Settings in the Gnome control panel... Still nothing...
I'm supposing I need some sort of Driver... (I have an Intel Gfx Card).
Please Help...
Oh, and... this is what happens when I run "Xrandr"...
Screen 0: minimum 320 x 200, current 1280 x 800, maximum 4096 x 4096
LVDS1 connected 1280x800+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 331mm x 207mm
1280x800 59.9*+
1024x768 60.0
800x600 60.3 56.2
640x480 59.9
VGA1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
TV1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
Last edited by oldtimeyjunk (2011-10-25 15:34:24)

Casting another vote.
I too am experiencing B&W, low resolution, shaky output on an external display when using a DVI to video adapter. DVI to VGA works like it did before, Snow Leopard upgrade, for external monitors. I would hope that DVI to Video would work like it did before upgrading the OS.
The solution refers to totally black screens when hooking up an external monitor, not the display being B&W however, restarting does solve the issue.
I always put the computer to sleep, attach video cable to DVI port, wake the computer and have had no problems.
Please patch this issue.

Screen res defaults to 800x600 on external display

What I have:
I have my powerbook hooked up to an external 17" Philips monitor, via a KVM switch.
The KVM can handle resolutions far in excess on 1024x768.
What I want to do:
When I boot up the powerbook, I want the Powerbook to output to the external display at 1024x768
What is actually happening:
Instead, the powerbook outputs to 800x600. Oddly, the display on the powerbook also shows as 800x600.
If I click 'detect displays' in the sys prefs screen, the powerbook all of a sudden outputs to 1024x768 just as I like it. The screen on the powerbook also updates to 1024x768, too.
Any ideas on what might be causing this glitch?
Incidently, I tried bypassing the KVM and conecting the display to the powerbook directly, and the issue seems to persist.
I don't mind opening up sys prefs on each boot up, but it would be nice if it would default to 1024x768 automatically on each boot up, without my intervention.
Many thanks!!!
-Chris

Hello and Welcome to Apple Discussions.
Unfortunately this suggests that there is something more serious wrong with the graphics part of the logic-board.
Have you read this:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=4349704
mrtotes

MacBook Pro cannot connect to external display (projector) under Windows

Our office has got one of those lovely new 13" MacBook Pros and we cannot figure out why it cannot connect to either of our 2 projectors with Windows 7.
We have an older MBP with NVidia graphics that connects just fine under both OS X and Windows. And this machine connects fine under Snow Leopard.
There was a recent Thunderbolt chipset update and we applied that; on the Windows side the Intel driver has been updated but nothing happens. Have also zapped the PRAM to no effect.
To add another wrinkle: I just connected the MBP to my Cinema Display and the external display shows fine in both OS X and Windows--Windows didn't even require me to go to the control panel.
This leads me to two thoughts: either it is something with the Thunderbolt to VGA adaptor (hard to believe, though, since it works for OS X) or it is something to do with the native resolution of the projector (equally hard to believe, as changing through various settings in Windows NOTHING happens on the external projector--it doesn't blink, go back or anything.)
Any ideas?

I wish I could find the discussion, but I cannot.
There was a discussion about the Windows 7 driver for the Thunderbolt port. The conclusion I believe was that it only outputs digital signals, not analog.
The other conclusions were:
A USB-VGA adapter adapter bypasses this limitation because the driver is in the adapter itself and works regardless of the OSX/Windows operating system in charge.
Run Windows under VM, where OSX is in charge and can create analog output through Thunderbolt
If only I could find that thread ...

Connecting a MacBook to an external display or projector

I have tried to connect my MacBook to a projector and to a TV using the mini-DVI to Video adapter, both with the same poor results. Here's the steps I took:
- Turned on the TV
- Connected the video cable to the TV "video in"
- Connected the video cable to the MacBook with the mini-DVI to vieo adapter
- Opened the MacBook
- Turned it on
The MacBook boots up, the MacBook resolution changes and the video on the TV is distorted, showing essentially three images of the MacBook display. Any attempt to adjust the resolution using system preferences just makes it worse.
Has anyone had success using a MacBook for presentations using either a TV or a projector and, if so, what procedure do you use to connect?

Greetings from Hong Kong-
I have a major presentation to give in a couple of days and have NOT been successful connecting to an external display. I am starting to freak out. Any instructions would be helpful!

MacBook Pro sees external display but no output

13" MacBook Pro 2.3 Intel i5 8gb ram 500gb hybrid Hdd OS X 10.7.4 Thunderbolt port
mini display port to DVI and with HDMI adapter works fine
mini DP to VGA adapter will see VGA monitor (tested on 5 different monitors) but will not display anything on external display. Newer displays just go into power saving mode and older VGA displays just are blank. Even tried DVI to VGA adapter on mini DP to DVI adapter with same issue. I'm guessing I have no analog output from the DP port. tried the SMC and PRAM reset with no results.

problem solved - replced mini DP to VGA adapter - first one defective

T60 2007-FUG ATI X1400 Windows 7 64-bit projector and external display problem

I have Windows 7 64-bit Enterprise on my T60. I have tried to install many different ati drivers, but nothing seems to work. I cant use a projector or external display via VGA port. I heard that if I boot with a projector then it works ok.
I have installed Ati Install Manager and so on. I have uninstalled drivers etc. I have search forums. I installed all updates from Lenovo site. BIOS is up to date. I installed X1400 driver from Windows update site. Driver date is 1.12.2008. I cant update it. Everything else works super.
What to do?

Looking at the ATI drivers on the T60 support site, I do not see one that supports Win7....don't know if there is a plan to.
You probably have basic functionality with the Vista driver, but I would not imagine that all options will be available.
If you cannot get the external VGA port to work through the Catalyst Control Center, then I would would chalk it up to a lack of Win7 support.
Regards

External displays and projectors

I've been having problems getting my MacbookAir (Mid 2012) running OSX 10.8.2 to use external displays and video projectors via VGA and DVI adapters.
The problem is that if I am connected to my external monitor and disconnect the magsafe power adapter, the displays (both the external monitor and the macbook builtin display) instantly go black/shut off. If I close the macbook lid and open it, the displays come back momentarily but then switch off again.
If I connect a video projector via VGA while running on battery power only the displays come on momentarily and then switch off / go black/blank. Opening and closing the lid causes the displays to come on momentarily but they quickly go black/shut off again.
I found a work around for this as follows:
- I had my displays set such that the external display was to be the "main" display (the display with the menu bar at the top and dock at the bottom)
- I changed the settings so that the bultin display of the macbook was always the "main" display (using the system preferences option for displays and dragging the menu bar over onto the icon for the macbook builtin display)
- With it set so the macbook's builtin display is always the "main" display it will now connect to external displays with and without the magsafe power adapter being connected- problem solved.
I think there is a bug here and it should be fixed.

Lukewarm13 I think you should start your own post with that question! personally I think you have a faulty unit.
Did some more testing. My wifes laptop will connect to the projector when using a different (short) vga lead and works fine. Then I can switch to the long cable and it still works fine! BUT if I restart the computer it again fails to work with the long cable until I have used the short lead first. weird!!!!
My laptop works fine first time with either cable!

MACBOOK PRO - NO SIGNAL OUTPUT TO EXTERNAL DISPLAYS

When connecting any external monitor I have an intermittent issue where it does send the signal to the external display - yet it shows the display's preferences in the Control Panel. Had an embarrassing moment at a presentation with an LCD projector. Have used severalo DVI adaptors. Any ideas? It works sometimes, sometimes it does not. When it works I cannot close the lid either without it turning off everything, which used to work fine.
Any ideas?

It's too bad you never received any help on this in the Forums, but was hoping you may have come across a solution in the last 2 years.
I am not a techie, so my explanation will be crude, but sounds exactly like your issue above. It's October 2013...I have a 2008 MacBook Pro. Everyone tells me I can use the miniport to connect to my 2010 LG TV. I purchased a Mini DisplayPort to HDMI Adapter from RadioShack (Gigaware brand). I plugged the adaptor into my minport, plugged the HDMI cord into the adaptor, and plugged the other end of the HDMI cord into the LG TV (44"). In my display preference, the MacBook recognizes the TV. However, there is virtually no picture...
I get extreme fuzz/snow with colored pixels, with the background display flickering on every 30-45 seconds behind the fuzz (i.e. very grainy). On one occassion, the display showed up perfectly for a nanosecond and went back to fuzz. Common sense is telling me that the image is trying to be sent to the TV but the signal is not strong enough? Or, the encoding is not fast enough?
Tried the following:
Grabbed another HDMI cord in case it was the originally cord - no dice.
Tried all 4 HDMI inputs on the TV - no dice.
Myriad other non-technical things like moving the MBP around, jiggering with connections, etc. Nothing.
For purposes of meeting my needs, I ended up downloading the latest Apple TV software and ended up displaying my presentation via Airplay from my iPad. But that solution drops a lot of the key attributes of my presentation (slide builds don't work, certain graphics missing, color is off, etc). It worked sufficiently, but I was hoping for a more solid presentation solution.
Thanks for listening!

MacBook external display problem with Panasonic projector

MacBook (September 2006, Intel 945) with Boot Camp and XP Pro won't display externally from Boot Camp to a Panasonic PT-DW5000U projector using VGA (via the MiniDVI-to-VGA adapter/dongle). I tried 640x480x8-bit and 800x600x16-bit and 1024x768x16-bit. I tried unplugging and replugging the adapter. I tried shutting down and restarting into Win XP while all video cabling was connected. I tried pressing F7, Fn+F7, Shift+F7, FnShiftF7, as well as other key combinations involving F7. I tried checking the checkbox called "Extend my Windows desktop onto this monitor." I installed Apple Software Update 2.1. None of these troubleshooting attempts worked. It works fine in OS X to the same projector (using the same VGA dongle). And, while Win XP starts in Boot Camp, the projector displays the Windows XP startup screen (black background and blue progress indicator), but after about a minute that disappears, I get a login dialog on the laptop screen, and the projector then displays only a blank blue screen.
Other displays: It works fine with Boot Camp to a Samsung SyncMaster 940T monitor using DVI (via the MiniDVI-to-DVI adapter/dongle). It works fine with Boot Camp to a Panasonic LC50 monitor using VGA (via the MiniDVI-to-VGA adapter/dongle).
We also have Panasonic PT-D5500 projectors, but I haven't tried them yet.
1. Is this a problem in the Intel drivers supplied with Boot Camp?
2. Are there settings on the projector that need to be set to make it work?
3. I'm also now missing the Intel system tray icon that looks like a slanted computer screen -- how do I get it back?
Any suggestions? Thanks!

Based on the substantial research I've done regarding this issue, here's what the problem could be (without me knowing more):
If your working with an integrated graphics card (Intel 945?), chances are that it doesn't support the "resolution" of the projector - which is information embedded in to your other devices. Furthermore, the "refresh rate" is another piece of information usually "embedded" in to the device your connecting to, and the projector may not have either piece of information accessible to your card, or, vice versa.
Additionally, the drivers required by XP to make it all happen while using your particular video card, may not be installed. Basically, it could be a driver issue as well.
I wish I had a solution for you, however, everything I've read seems to conclude that XP within boot camp has little or no support for external displays (especially when talking about larger resolutions).
Humorously, when I addressed the "Mac Genius" at the Apple Store regarding this question, he told me to go buy a PC - so I did. Already have a Mac Pro, needed a laptop...

Turn off external display output?

I've bought a nice big LCD TV mainly for consoles. Because I have it next to my iMac i've also connected that to the TV using a mini-dvi adapter and a dvi-hdmi cable.
It works great but I only want to use it for playing downloaded video and the like on the big tv.
When I'm not using it I want my iMac to free up the resources it must be using to achieve screen spanning but I cannot figure out a way to tell the iMac to disable external display output.
I've tried display mirroring figuring that it won't be eating up video RAM, but it causes page tearing on my mac when dragging windows around for example.
Even when the TV is unplugged from the mains the mac seems to be outputting to the dvi out, the only way to stop it is the yank the mini-dvi connecter from the back.
Are there any hacks or utilities that can manually turn dvi support on and off?

Hello Mark
I'm using a 27" flat screen TV, mini DVI and 12' S-Video cable.
Mostly I watch DVD movies on that Display while working at the iMac's 17" it's also great for iPhoto Slideshows and PowerPoint.
Not to worry the TV supports it's own display and all you are doing is sending a signal to it's video card. Just turn it off or change the channel.
I tend to stay away from mirroring for the same reasons, but also because the TV's across the room.
Again not to worry the TV supports it's own display and all you are doing is sending a signal to it's video card. Just leave it connected up to prevent damage to DVI port, Adapter and cable. "yank not"
Just be sure to gather up all your windows back to the iMac Display befor shutting off or changing the channel.
Dennis
17" iMac Intel Core Duo 1.5GB Ram Mac OS X (10.4.9) Maxtor 300GB FireWire Creative Inspire 2.1 2G Nano

Is anyone running a 26"+LCDHDTV or Projector as External Display?

Was wondering if anyone has success running either of these 2 setups with success and minimal problems with resolution correction. I am getting ready to move into an apartment and am looking at either a 26-32in LCD TV or a projector. I will be doing alot of buisness work on my macbcook and am looking to get an external display. Originally was looking to get a 19-20 LCD, however if i can get a large lcd tv or projector to work just as well, then either of the 2 could serve a dual purpose as an external monitor for the MB.
Any information would be helpful.
Thanks

Take a look at this, i dont know im not that computer smart.
How To use Thunderbolt & Discrete Graphics with Lucid Virtu MVP & ASUS P8Z77-V Premium
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=O1t7Rc9qFgI#

Output to external display

My Imac has blown graphics card on the logic board, else the machine runs perfectly except for the black screen but the screen works in safe mode. If I use an external display can I overcome this issue?

Hi Mdn,
My Imac has blown graphics card on the logic board, else the machine runs perfectly except for the black screen but the screen works in safe mode.
I don't think it can have a blown GPU ( It's a chip rather than a card. Who gave you that diagnosis? ) since if that chip was bad it would always be bad.
It seems like a software issue to me.
Have you tried starting from the install disk?
Here's a post from Mac OS X forums by kisuke3 answering:
"I'm having issues with my intel based G5 Power PC which is running OSX 10.5.6.
When I boot it up lines appear across the screen & the machine freezes. If I boot in Safe mode I do not get this issue.":
"safe boot does not load start up items. So if its not happening in safe boot it could possibly be the startup items or login items. Obviously you need to delete those startup items
1. Boot into safe mode
2. Go to system preferences>accounts>Login items Delete everything there
3. Library/Startup items Delete everything here as well
4. check System/Library/Startup items Delete only 3rd party softwares
5. Download Onyx or Main menu and clean system cache, run maintenance scripts and disk permissions "
Booting from your installer would also verify that it's software related.
Richard

Problem with T400 and External Display....

I have a new T400 (less than 1 month old) with the shared memory Intel Graphics setup and I cannot get it to work with an external display of any kind.
I've tried 2 LCD panels (one widescreen, and one 4:3), 2 analog monitors, and a video projector without any luck. All of the displays I have tried work fine with my older Lenovo R61.
I've updated to the newest display drivers and tried working with the various settings under Graphics properties in Vista - Single Display (notebook, monitor), Intel Dual Display, Extended Desktop, etc. The best I got was a cloned image on the larger widescreen LCD panel that appeared for about 1 minute and then stopped. I recreated this 4 or 5 times, but the image would not stay on the external display.
Any ideas?
Thanks,

go into bios, check your video output option and whether you selected Internal + VGA, i think... i will check for you on my X60s....
Regards,
Jin Li
May this year, be the year of 'DO'!
I am a volunteer, and not a paid staff of Lenovo or Microsoft

How do I use my 2011 27" iMac as an external display for a pc?

I just bought a 27" imac for my home, and was also planning on using it as an external display for my work Dell Laptop running Windows 7.
The Dell laptop has a displayport output, so I was planning on getting a displayport <-> minidisplayport cable, and using the iMac in target display mode.
I would simply plug the minidisplay end of the cable into one of the iMac's 2 Thunderbolt ports. Seemed fairly simple.
Except now it seems from what I have been reading that 2011 iMacs DO NOT WORK in target display mode unless they are connected to another Thunderbolt source. This leads to me two questions.
1. Can anyone confirm or deny this? If this is true, does that mean I cannot plug my Dell's displayport into the iMac's Thunderbolt port as I described above?
2. If #1 is true, is there any other option? Are there any adapters that I can use to turn my Dell into a Thunderbolt source for display purposes?
If I can't resolve this I will have to return the iMac
Thanks very much.
David

David,
Sorry you can't use the 2011 iMac as an external display to your PC. The feature you are referring to is called Target Display Mode and works on 2009 & 2010 27" iMacs. The 2011 machines use Thunderbolt as you know however they do support external displays that are not Thunderbolt displays. So for example if you wanted 2 displays on the iMac you can easily do that with either Mini Display port to DVI or MDP to VGA or even HDMI. MDP is the same size as Thunderbolt and this will work fine to drive a display, TV or even a projector.
I'd recommend reading Apple's explanations at Target Display Mode 2009 & 2010 iMacs & Target Display Mode Mid 2011 iMacs.
Using a Mac as an external display for a Windows machine to me seems like a horrible waste of a Mac. Why not enjoy the iMac and if anything run Windows on it and get rid of the PC?

Output to Projector / External Display

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