quick thunderbolt question

This may seem rather elementary to some, but I was just wondering:

How would I plug a 13" MBP into my 42" tv? There's no HDMI out or anything so how many adapters etc are we talking here?

Is anything included out of the box with the laptop in terms of cables for expansion like plugging into a TV and so forth? I just want to watch some movies from my laptop onto my TV once in a while.

thanks team.

 

you'll need a DisplayPort to HDMI adapter, at minimum.

if your MBP doesn't pass audio over displayport (models prior to 2010 do not for sure), you'll also want a 3.5mm to RCA cable.

If the MBP can pass audio over HDMI, you'll want one of these: Amazon.com: moshi MiniDisplay Port to HDMI Adapter with Audio: Electronics

or perhaps this

For only $5.32 each when QTY 50+ purchased - Mini DisplayPort to HDMI Adapter | Mini DisplayPort to HDMI / DVI / VGA Adapters

any adapter that clearly says it will support video + audio on Macs, really. but look out for cables and adapters that might not support audio. read the descriptions and reviews carefully.

-----------------------

If it can only do video over HDMI, get a less expensive HDMI adapter like this:

For only $5.32 each when QTY 50+ purchased - Mini DisplayPort to HDMI Adapter | Mini DisplayPort to HDMI / DVI / VGA Adapters

+

an RCA cable: Audio Cables - RCA & 3.5mm

to handle the audio duties.

If you're not sure if your Mac can do audio over HDMI, call Apple and ask or call/visit the local Apple Store.

Lastly, if your MBP doesn't support HDMI at all, you'll still want the RCA adapter for audio...but perhaps a mini display port to VGA or DVI adapter instead of the HDMI adapter.

 

It will be a new 2011 MBP 13" so I assume it'll have audio through the thunderbolt. I'd be surprised otherwise. So a displayport to HDMI is all I need eh? That's not too bad.

So thunderbolt port also accepts a displayport plug? Sounds good thanks. That's all I needed to know.

 

Thunderbolt ports are mini-displayport or Mini-DP... Apple made Mini-DP royalty free, and it was a good choice for Thunderbolt, so it was used as the official standard port. So basically anything thats Mini-DP should work in a thunderbolt port... at least on Macs. Some machines in the future might have data only Tbolt, where graphics may not work... but who knows...

 

You would also be right in assuming that the 2011 13" MBP transmits both audio and video through a mini displayport to HDMI adapter as it does. I have tested it (though I still haven't tried outputting 5.1 Dolby Digital audio) multiple times. There is a simple option to enable in OS X and it specifically shows HDMI audio output.

Edit: Dolby Digital 5.1 output works through the Thunderbolt port using the mini displayport to HDMI adapter.