Using MBP as LCD Display.

I just bought a VGA Cable for the Xbox 360 as I was planning on using my MBP as a HD TV. I plugged all the cables in and I was wondering how to show the 360. Can anyone help me.

The DVI connector on the MacBook Pro is a video output, not input. You can't use the computer as a screen. I haven't seen any laptop that you can do this with, actually!

Similar Messages

  • Using MBP with LCD HDTV

    So I've been looking at getting a new LCD HDTV. Someone said that I needed to get a minimum of a 42'' and also at least 1080p resolution. I was going to hook this all up using the HDMI out into a DVI in the TV.
    Is this true? What are your set ups? I'm pretty anxious. I want to use this for movies but also possibly as an external monitor (I know a little ridiculous, but not all the time). Let me know guys! Thanks.

    It is easier than you think. First, get a TV with at least 2 HDMI ports. You may wish to connect the other to a HDTV DVR (cable or satellite) or even an HD-DVD/BluRay player.
    Next, measure the distance. This is critical. 1080p has TWICE as much bandwidth used as a 1080i signal.
    Now, open a new tab in your browser (Apple+T) and go to my favorite cable guys www.bluejeanscable.com I say they are my favorite as they were courteous and honest. Alan Denke, the proprietor of the business, answered truthfully when I asked if his cheapest line of DVI-HDMI cables, the Tartan series, would make it at 50 feet. He asked what kind of hardware I was connecting. I told him, "Well, a brand new 47-inch Vizio with 1080p native support, and a 2.4GHz MacBook Pro." It was then that he said the display didn't really matter, but the source did. And he said the MBP would work just fine.
    Cable arrived here from Oregon in one business day, though I didn't pay anything extra for it. Just plain old Priority Mail.
    It was then I learned I needed about 30 feet, rather than 50. Remember the step up there where it says ,"Measure?" Yeah, I guesstimated. I kept the cable though, thinking that some day I might use the computer in the kitchen or something.
    Now, you'll need to get appropriate playback software. Quicktime just doesn't do .ts (transport stream) files, nor does it do .mkv (Matroska Video Codek) files. It ought to, but it won't. So, no Front Row for HD playback at 1080i. There is hope on the Open Source horizon, though. Go off and open another tab to direct yourself to www.videolan.org
    The latest release even has support for the Apple Remote!
    Getting audio to your setup is a slightly different thing, but can be done with parts from (ugh) radio shag. For analog audio (which is fine for me as my system don't do any better with digital input), just get a 1/8" STEREO (will have 3 conductors [or two 'rings']) to dual RCA out. They usually have 3 and 6 foot versions of this cable. To extend, you've got 3 options: 8', 16' or 20' male to female 1/8" stereo.
    Hope this info helped. If you haven't bought your lcd tv yet, take a look at Vizio. I believe them to be the best bang for the buck out there.
    Doctor V

  • Using An ASD LCD display with a new Mac Mini

    I want to utilize a 17" Apple Studio Display with my new Mac Mini.
    Does HDMI support the 35-pin Apple Display Connector (ADC)?
    It would require an adapter with female 35-pin on one side and a male HDMI (DVI) on the other. The Apple DVI to ADC adapter doesn't work with the Mac Mini HDMI port.
    If two adapters are needed they must have the correct gender connections.
    Thanks.

    Your correct, you would need an Apple DVI to ADC adapter, And ether mini display port to DVI OR HDMI to DVI adapter. (just a question of witch port you want to use)
    Apple DVI to ADC adapter when they were first released cost about 120; now they're kind of rare and harder to find. Online they can go for 200 dollars. so 120 to 200 dollars to make your display work; and displays don't last for ever they have parts that will break down. Older displays have a light bulb inside them; witch burn out just like all the other light bulbs in your house.
    Also DVI to ADC adapters can some times give you blurry images and or text.
    For 120 dollars you can buy a generic brand 19" LCD. That 19" LCD would have better contrast ratio, brightness, and refresh rate then the old 17" monitor. (and it would have a warranty) Or for 200 dollars you could buy 23" monitor.

  • Use MBP as overflow display?

    Hi,
    I have a 15" MBP and now a 23" Apple display. Does anyone know how I can have my desktop on my 23" display and use the MBP display as an overflow? I don't want to run the MBP shut by the way.
    Thanks

    George Hinchliffe wrote:
    If the MacBook Pro has the same key arrangement as the MacBook you can also push the F7 key to toggle between display mirroring and extended display mode.
    except that
    a) The mirror toggle key won't achieve the goal of making the laptop the secondary display unless the menu bar is moved, and
    b) the latest MacBook Pro keyboards no longer have a mirror function on the F7 key.

  • Use of cheap LCD displays

    I recently acquired a GEM GM-170 display (VGA only). I hooked it up to my Mac Mini, configured for 1024x768, and allowed the two devices to sort things out among themselves. The screen was dim, but worked. I tried to calibrate the monitor using Display Profile, and the problems began.
    Now, the "genie effect" causes the monitor to display a blank blue screen, as does trying to display a Quicktime movie. I reset the display profile back to the uncalibrated one. I tried holding down the Shift key during startup, and when that didn't work, even tried the old Command-Option-P-R trick. (I've been a Mac user since 1984.)
    I've tried dropping the refesh rate to 60 Hz. No good. I can get the monitor to work by reducing the resolution down to 832x624, but I can't figure out how to get back to where I started.
    How do I dig myself out of this hole?
    Mac Mini 1GHz, Superdrive, 1 GB memory   Mac OS X (10.4.7)  

    System Preferences...
    Mac mini 1.42   Mac OS X (10.4.7)   iPod nano 4GB, Dell Axim x30 wireless

  • Using MBP monitor to display from another source

    Might be a dumb question, but is it possible to use my MBP monitor as if it were a stand-alone monitor? I've got a a laptop that the backlight went out on, but everything else works fine, and would like to be able to use it as a secondary computer that I could still have all my music and stuff like that on. Thanks if anybody has any insight.

    No i'm afraid unless you plan some serious hacking. there are no video in as such ports on the MBP.
    ~Just buy a cheap monitor for your bust laptop~

  • MBP-r using HDTV as primary display

    Hi Guys
    i am currently using MBP-r 15incher mid 2012
    upgraded to mountain lion 10.8.3
    and all the possible patches
    i connect a Belkin HDMI cable from the MBP-r to the Samsung 32incher fullHDTV
    the MBP-r detected the samsung display and the correct 1920x1080 resolution
    but the TV said no signal.....
    plug and unplug doesnt help,
    what am i doing wrong here?
    Kit

    might the tv need to be set to a particular channel to see the signal like on the antique dvd's?
    Is there a switch for analog mode? Turn that off.
    Make certain the power cords are all pushed in as far as possible OK from samsung page:
    LCD: How Do I Connect My Laptop To My Monitor?
    Important: If you have a Sony Vaio laptop, click here to view our FAQ with important information regarding your laptop and Samsung monitors.
    To connect your monitor to your laptop, follow these steps:
    Turn off both the monitor and the laptop.
    Using the appropriate cable, connect either:
    The 15 pin D-sub out port on the laptop to the 15 pin D-sub in port on your monitor
    The DVI out port on your laptop to the DVI in port on your monitor
    The HDMI out port on your laptop to the HDMI in port on your monitor
    Important: Connect only one of the signal cables.
    Turn on your monitor and laptop.
    Press the FN key (usually in the lower left side of the laptop keyboard) and, depending on your laptop, the F1-F12 function key. The monitor displays.
    Note: The F1- F12 function key you should press often has the words LCD/CRT on it or a picture of a monitor. See sample image below of Function Key Location.
    In addition, you may need to change the source on the monitor to get the monitor to display.
    Notes:
    The sequence and options below may vary depending upon your laptop.
    On most laptops, each time you press the FN key and the appropriate function key, you cycle through the following sequence.
    Monitor display off, laptop display on
    Both monitor display and laptop display on same desktop image (Clone, Dual View)
    Both monitor display and laptop display on with one long desktop image. (Extend, Extended Image)
    Monitor display on, laptop display off. (Presentation, Projector Mode)

  • Using iMac as external display with MBP, can this be done?

    I know...
    This has been posted before, but I have as of yet not found a straight answer. Mostly peoples recommendation is: "Buy a display".
    However, I have an older iMac, 20" and I have a newer MBP 15". The MBP has a faster graphics card, better processor and more RAM. But I still like sitting at the table using my iMac, because the comfort of working is better this way.
    Now seeing that I have both, is it possible to connect the two, and use the iMac for a display? Preferably without having to buy a whole lot of expensive cables, applications or do strange hacks risking hurting myself or my computers
    Thanks all
    Have a nice day

    but I have as of yet not found a straight answer.
    I think you are getting the straight answer. You need "buy a display" because a display has a video input port. An iMac has a video output port, but NO video input port. Therefore, you cannot use it as an external display, like a regular display.
    You could give the iMac a video input using a USB interface device, but the cost of such a device that would provide good quality video into the iMac would cost about the same as (or more than) a low cost LCD display. And it would probably not be ideal in terms of performance.
    You could also use this clever program to use a fast network connection and VNC to display the MacBook Pro's second screen on the iMac screen.
    http://www.screenrecycler.com/home.html
    In your case, the program will create a virtual screen for the MacBook Pro and shares it with the iMac in much the same way as the +screen sharing+ feature. Disadvantages are relatively slow image refresh rate (because the signal is going over the network) and the need to have the iMac turned on and running separately. The speed part will not be that bad in your case, if you use a Cat-5e or better Ethernet cable to connect the two Macs, so that you will have gigabit speed. You can give it a try at no cost to see if it is an acceptable solution (in time-limited demo mode).
    I use this program to give my iMac a third display. The +third display+ is an old PC laptop running Linux (Ubuntu).

  • Using iMac as external display on MBP (Lion)

    I'm trying to use my 27" iMac as the external monitor for my MBP, both running Lion.  I saw an article (support.apple.com/kb/PH4469; seems to be unavailable now) and said I just need to hit command+F2 once the computers are connected (using thunderbolt to thunderbolt cable). However, Command+F2 doesn't appear to have any effect.
    Please advise.
    TIA,
    David

    but I have as of yet not found a straight answer.
    I think you are getting the straight answer. You need "buy a display" because a display has a video input port. An iMac has a video output port, but NO video input port. Therefore, you cannot use it as an external display, like a regular display.
    You could give the iMac a video input using a USB interface device, but the cost of such a device that would provide good quality video into the iMac would cost about the same as (or more than) a low cost LCD display. And it would probably not be ideal in terms of performance.
    You could also use this clever program to use a fast network connection and VNC to display the MacBook Pro's second screen on the iMac screen.
    http://www.screenrecycler.com/home.html
    In your case, the program will create a virtual screen for the MacBook Pro and shares it with the iMac in much the same way as the +screen sharing+ feature. Disadvantages are relatively slow image refresh rate (because the signal is going over the network) and the need to have the iMac turned on and running separately. The speed part will not be that bad in your case, if you use a Cat-5e or better Ethernet cable to connect the two Macs, so that you will have gigabit speed. You can give it a try at no cost to see if it is an acceptable solution (in time-limited demo mode).
    I use this program to give my iMac a third display. The +third display+ is an old PC laptop running Linux (Ubuntu).

  • MBP's antiglare display = LCD

    This year in january I bought a new MBP with the new LED display. First thing I noticed then, was the huge difference in image quality and luminosity. Different colors though, but with the proper calibration seemed to be ok even for correcting photos. The downside of the LED for me was the highly reflective surface that killed my eyes in no time. I couldn't say it was entirely because of that, but my reading glasses went one number up in less than 6 months.
    When that MBP suffered an unfortunate accident and became almost unusable I decided to by a new one. I looked up on the Apple's online store and decided to get the "Antiglare display" for an EXTRA $50. Honestly, I haven't seen a single word anywhere saying that "antiglare" actually means LCD.
    So I got my new $2600 MBP just a couple of weeks ago. I must confess my jaw dropped when I saw the LCD. I figure now the extra $50 were for the labour....changing the LED with an LCD.... because the quality of the LCD is definitely lower than the LED.
    As I am really ****** off about it, I wonder if there's anything I could do about it... I don't think I can return it because it has an optional 7200 rpm HDD... I remember since my first Mac that BTO Macs cannot be returned.
    And I'm just curious how does this look and sound to everybody else. I wouldn't have bought it if I knew it came with an LCD.

    Zeniamin wrote:
    So I would appreciate a more detailed explanation on the LED glossy vs LED-LCD technology.
    As for now, my new LCD-like-LED display is not satisfying enough with the exception of the missing glare of course.
    Thank you for the answer anyway.
    Your MacBook does NOT have and LED display.
    Both your glossy and your matte finish MacBooks have LED-backlit displays. In days past Apple laptops had CCFL-backlit displays. Now they are LED-backlit.
    The displays are now, and always have been, Liquid Crystal Display technologies. The Apple laptop displays have never been Light Emitting Diode technology EXCEPT for the source of backlighting in the current LCD displays.
    CCFL stands for cold cathode florescent lamp
    LED stands for light emitting diode
    Both the CCFL and the LED are used for one purpose in the Apple LCD and that is to provide a source of white light behind the liquid crystal elements.
    The majority of home computer users as well as technology writers do not have any understanding of what LCD and LED mean let alone CCFL. They are clueless how the technologies even work. They, like you, think that a computer display is either LED or LCD.
    Google around a bit for LCD and learn how liquid crystals are used to produce an image by virtue of blocking some light and passing some light. It is a very fascinating subject. Do the same for LED. Learn what an LED is and what is required to make a bunch of little tiny light sources produce an image. Both of these use the same principal as the CRT in that they all 3 provide little sources of colored light that shine into your eyes.
    The CRT and the LED actually produce light that your eyes see. The LCD does not produce light but rather depends upon an external source of light to shine through the LCD elements (little colored windows) then on to your eyes.
    It is very fascinating technology to me and seems well worth anyones time to read about it.

  • Can I use two HP Pavillion 23bw monitors with my MBP with Retina Display?

    Can I use two HP Pavillion 23bw monitors with my MBP with Retina Display with good video quality? I just purchased them and am already reading about issues with non-Apple External Monitors being used with MBP with Retina.  Plus I just assumed it given the power of the video card, but I can turn off the display to my MBP and extend the two HP monitors correct? I do realize they won't have the picture quality of the retina display but I would hope they look reasonable with 1080p
    New to the Support Community so thanks in advance for any help.

    This is an update on the question about the use of the Dell P2415Q 4K monitor with MacBook Pro 13" and 15" w/ Nvidia graphics card installed. The monitor works very well with both systems and is automatically identified when connected. The 13" machine with Iris Graphics defaults to 2560 x 1440 at 60hz. This was very workable, matching the Apple Thunderbolt Display for resolution. I was not able to set the display for full 4K at 3840 x 2160, even at 30hz. Just not enough horsepower with the basic Intel CPU with Iris Graphics. But make no mistake, the setup works well and the screen looks great.
    The 15" with Iris Pro Graphics and the Nvidia GeForce GT 575M discrete graphics card also recognized the display and drove it at full 4K, 3840 x 2160, 60hz with no problems. Running in clamshell mode required a bit of fine tuning with the Apple display settings. But nothing major.
    Due to a relatively small workstation, I selected the 24" version of the Dell monitor. If you are looking for a relatively large monitor with near "retina" resolution, the P2415Q is a perfect pairing for the MacBook Pro - and a terrific bargain. I paid $530 on the Dell website.

  • FPGA - RIO Evaluation Board - Using the LCD Display

    I have the NI LabVIEW RIO Evaluation Board and am trying to find information on using the LCD display. Does anyone know of any documentation/app notes? Thanks in advance.

    Thanks for the suggestions ramses64.
    I failed to mention that I didn't install the software that came with the evaluation kit. The reason being, I already have LabVIEW and all the modules installed. I was not about to overwrite my perfectly good installation even if the instructions on the box tell me it is perfectly safe to do so.
    If there are examples with the kit, then they are buried in an installer/cab file and not directly accessible by simply looking at the CD/DVD contents. I should install the evaluation software onto a virtual machine and see what is revealed.
    I'll take a look at the LCD Module this evening and see if it provides any clues.
    Thanks!

  • LCD display using DAQ USB6008

    hello,
    firstly, im stil new to LabVIEW actually...hope someone can help me out with my problem.
    thanks a lot for those who willing to help..
    im trying to use the DAQ USB6008 to simulate a 16 x 2 character LCD display.
    im using LabVIEW 8.5...
    can anyone teach me how to simulate the LCD using LabVIEW and the DAQ USB6008 ?

    The good news is that the 6008 has 12 digital lines so you don't have to work the data in two 4 bit operations. It also looks like the data is represented as ASCII. You will convert each character you want to display into a string and you can type cast that to a numeric. Wire that value to a digital DAQmx Write. Something like is shown below. It does not show the control lines. It looks like you would just need to add the signal to clock the data in.
    Message Edited by Dennis Knutson on 07-05-2008 12:18 PM
    Attachments:
    Write to LCD.PNG ‏5 KB

  • MBP with retina display always crash when using Final cut pro x and iMovie. Plz l need help

    HI, My MBP with retina display always crash when l am using Final cut pro x and iMovie and come up with gray screen. Plz l need help

    Take it back and get a refund. What are you waiting for, your new Mac does not work correctly.

  • Is it ok to keep PB closed while using an LCD display?

    Hello,
    I was wondering if it is "ok" to keep my Powerbook display closed while using my LCD display. Are there any advantages/disadvantages? Is it better for the screen life of the PB? Is it keeping heat in? Any info would be appreciated. Thanks much.
    John

    I would have a tendency to agree with Tom Fussy, as I also noticed this page from Apple:
    http://www.apple.com/powerbook/graphics.html
    This page most specifically speaks to using the system with the lid closed, and so I figure it must be okay. Personally AppleCare is on my system, so if it fries following what is posted on the Apple Website, it concerns me not, as I would just take it into Apple for repair. However, I understand a person would not want to do something he knew would cause a failure to the hardware anyway, if not for the minimum of an inconvenience of being without the laptop while it is being repaired.
    You might also wish to check this URL out as well:
    http://binaervarianz.de/projekte/programmieren/meltmac/
    Stuart

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