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Contents

1. How to Connect Your Apple Laptop to a TV
2. Apple Laptop Models and Ports
3. TV Ports
4. Connect Your Laptop to a TV
   • Connect with HDMI port to a TV with an HDMI Port
   • Connect with USB-C port to a TV with an HDMI port.
   • Connect with a Thunderbolt port to a TV with an HDMI Port
   • Connect with a Mini DisplayPort to a TV with an HDMI Port.
   • Connect with DVI port to a TV with an HDMI Port.
   • Connect with a TV with a VGA Port

How to Connect Your Laptop to a TV

Connecting your Apple laptop, be it a MacBook, MacBook Pro or MacBook Air, to your TV can be as simple as connecting one end of a cable to your MacBook and the other end to your TV. Or, it can be as complicated as using specific adapters that are compatible with both your laptop and your TV’s available ports.

Available ports vary per laptop and TV model, so before you attempt to connect to a TV, make sure that they either have compatible ports or that you have the necessary adapters to hook them up.

Apple Laptop Models and Ports

Apple laptops have had at least six types of video-related ports: micro DVI port, Mini DisplayPort, Thunderbolt 2 port, Thunderbolt 3 port, HDMI port, and USB port.

Some laptops have at least two of them built-in (usually a USB port in combination with either a micro DVI port, Mini DisplayPort, or Thunderbolt port), some, like the MacBook version, only have one (although you can use specific adapters to accommodate other types of video connectors). Much older models, however, typically have more built-in ports which can include VGA and HDMI ports.

TV Ports

Like Apple laptop ports, TV ports can vary by model and by brand. There are, however, certain ports that are common among them, such as the following:

HDMI ports – The HDMI or High Definition Multimedia Interface port is probably the most common type of port on electronic devices. These ports have been around since early 2000 because of their ability to transfer large amounts of data (allowing for higher resolution videos). If your MacBook has a built-in HDMI port, it is the easiest way to connect your MacBook to a TV.

DisplayPort – The DisplayPort is a successor of the HDMI port. It is fairly common in laptops and PCs, but it is far less common in TVs than its predecessor.

DVI ports – DVI or Digital Visual Interface ports are common in electronic devices released from the late 90’s up to the early 00’s. They can usually be identified by their rectangular shape which has similarly rectangular holes in it and usually come in the color white.

VGA ports – VGA ports are common in devices released between the late 80’s and the late 90’s, however there might be some later devices that still use them. They can be easily identified by their elongated shape and the circular holes in them. They usually come in the colors blue, black, or pink.

Connect Your Laptop to a TV

After you’ve confirmed that your computer and TV have compatible ports or that you have the necessary adapters to connect them, you can proceed with connecting your laptop to a TV.

Connect a Laptop with HDMI port to a TV with an HDMI Port

1. Plug one end of the HDMI cable to your laptop.
2. Plug the other end of the HDMI cable to your TV.

After you’ve connected your laptop to your TV, your Mac will treat your TV as an external display. You will then need to tell your laptop how you want it to use your TV: as a second display that shows an entirely different screen from what is being shown on your computer or as a mirrored display that shows the same content that is currently being shown on your laptop.

To tell your laptop how you want it to use your TV:

1. Go to the Apple Menu
2. Open “System Preferences.”
3. Click on “Displays.”
4. Click on the “Arrangement” tab.
5. Tick the box that says “Mirror Displays” if you want your TV to show the same content that is being shown on your laptop screen.
6. Leave the box as it is if you want to use the TV as a second display.

After you’re done setting up the display, you can then tell your computer which audio source you would like it to use: your laptop’s built-in speakers or that of your TV.

To do this:

1. Go to the Apple Menu
2. Open “System Preferences.
3. Click on “Sound.”
4. Click on “Output.”
5. Select “TV.”

Connect your Laptop with USB-C port to a TV with an HDMI port.

The latest Apple MacBook models come with a USB-C port and not much else; however, you can still connect your computer to a TV with an HDMI port by using a USB-C to HDMI adapter.

To do this:

1. Plug one end of the USB-C to HDMI adapter to your laptop’s USB-C port.
2. Plug one end of the HDMI cable to your TV’s HDMI port.
3. Plug in the other end of the HDMI cable to the other end of the USB-C to HDMI adapter.
4. Follow the same steps as above to set your TV as the audio source

Connect Your Laptop with a Thunderbolt port to a TV with an HDMI Port

Built-in HDMI ports have long been removed in the newer Apple laptop models and have since been replaced by Thunderbolt ports to save on space. If your Mac doesn’t have an HDMI port but has a Thunderbolt port, you can use a Thunderbolt adapter to connect your Laptop to a TV.

To connect your Laptop to a TV using the Thunderbolt port:

1. Get a Thunderbolt adapter.
2. Plug the Thunderbolt adapter to your laptop.
3. Plug one end of your HDMI cable to your TV’s HDMI port.
4. Plug the other end of the HDMI cable to your Thunderbolt adapter.
5. Follow the same steps as above to set your TV as the audio source.

Connect Your Laptop with a Mini DisplayPort to a TV with an HDMI Port.

Before the Thunderbolt ports, laptops used to come with Mini DisplayPorts. If they are what your Mac has, you can connect it to a TV with an HDMI Port by using a Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter.

To do this:

1. Get a Mini DisplayPort adapter.
2. Plug the Mini DisplayPort adapter to your laptop.
3. Plug one end of your HDMI cable to your TV’s HDMI port.
4. Plug the other end of the HDMI cable to your Mini DisplayPort adapter.
5. Follow the same steps as above to set your TV as the audio source.

Connect your Laptop with DVI port to a TV with an HDMI Port.

Much older Apple laptops (like those released around the year 2000) usually have DVI ports. If your machine has one and you want to connect it to a TV with an HDMI port, you’re going to need a DVI to HDMI adapter to connect your laptop to a TV.

To do this:

1. Plug one end of the DVI to HDMI adapter to your laptop’s DVI port.
2. Plug one end of the HDMI cable to your TV’s HDMI port.
3. Plug in the other end of the HDMI cable to the other end of the DVI to HDMI adapter.
4. There are some adapters that do not work with HDMI audio, so you might not hear any sound from your TV after you connected it to your Mac. If you encountered this problem, you can work around it by following these troubleshooting tips.

Connect your Laptop to a TV with a VGA Port

HDMI ports are pretty much standard to modern TVs, but for older ones, there is a good chance that what they have is a VGA port instead. Native VGA ports have long been gone on laptop models. If your computer still has them, then you can simply connect one end of the VGA cable to your laptop and the other end to your TV, but if not, you can connect your laptop to a TV with a VGA port by using a Thunderbolt adapter that has one.

To do this:

1. Plug the Thunderbolt adapter to your Mac.
2. Connect one end of the VGA cable to your TV’s VGA port (Make sure it’s held tightly in place).
3. Connect the other end of the VGA cable to the VGA port of your Thunderbolt adapter.

And that’s it!

Your TV should now be able to play what’s being shown on your Laptop screen. Should you encounter further compatibility issues, you may seek assistance from an official Apple support forum or your TV manufacturer’s customer support line.

There are plenty of reasons for wanting to connect your MacBook to a TV and all of them are great. A big screen TV makes for an impressive external monitor from which to stream Netflix or enjoy a Hollywood blockbuster. It’s also a more accessible way for people to view the contents of your Mac, rather than having to gather around a small display. It’s particularly useful if you’re giving a presentation of some kind.

Hooking your Mac up to a TV is easier than you might think. In fact, you can be up and running in a couple of minutes. However, there are different ways of connecting to a TV and different cables for doing so. That’s what this post is all about: showing you what you need and how it’s done.

Before we get into choosing a Mac-to-TV cable and streaming your content, though, there’s some general housekeeping to take care of.

Connecting an external monitor to a Mac has been known to cause issues, particularly with newer Macs. Some Macs can overheat when connected to a TV, so one way to ensure your Mac is running at peak performance is to use CleanMyMac X to remove junk files and speed up your device. More about that at the end of the article.

Choosing the right cable to connect your MacBook to a TV

The first thing you need to do is see what kind of ports you’re working with.

As far as your TV is concerned, HDMI is standard in all TVs from the past seven or eight years, so that’s one end of the cable sorted. Now it’s time to take a look at the ports on your Mac.

The following Macs come equipped with an HDMI port:

• MacBook Pro with Retina Display (2012-2014 models)
• Mac Pro (late 2013 model)
• Mac mini (2010 and later)

If you have any of those systems all you need is a standard HDMI cable to run from your Mac to the TV.

How To Hook Up A Laptop To A TV: 11 Steps (with Pictures)

If your Mac doesn’t have an HDMI port, it probably has either a Thunderbolt 2 port or, if its a newer MacBook or MacBook Pro model, a USB 3 or Thunderbolt 3 (USB Type C) port.

If your Mac pre-dates the 2013 Retina Display MacBook Pro it’s likely that it has a DisplayPort connection, which requires a Mini DisplayPort adapter.

So, if your system has a Thunderbolt 2 or DisplayPort connection, you’ll need a Mini DisplayPort-to-HDMI adapter, as well as an HDMI cable. While Apple does offer HDMI-to-HDMI cords for Mac, they don’t make Mini DisplayPort-to-HDMI cables. They are, however, widely available from Amazon and eBay so you shouldn’t have much trouble finding one.

If your system has a Thunderbolt 3 port, a USB-C to HDMI adaptor is what's needed. These are available from Apple and third-party manufacturers but for performance, you’re better off sticking with Apple.

Configuring the TV display

With your Mac-to-TV cable at the ready, you’re just about set to start viewing.

By running the cable from your Mac to the TV’s HDMI port and choosing the right output, your computer should instantly recognize the TV and automatically extend your desktop. With this setup, you can use the TV like an external display and do most of the things you need to. It isn’t, however, the best solution for streaming movies or playing games. For that, you’ll need mirroring. Doing this is easy:

1. Go to System Preferences > Displays.
2. Click on the Arrangements tab.
3. Check Mirror Displays.

You can also set the TV to be the primary display.

1. Go to System Preferences > Displays.
2. Click on the Arrangements tab.
3. Make sure Mirror Displays is unchecked and drag the white bar from the smaller display (your Mac) over to the TV display.

Using HDMI, the audio should automatically switch from your Mac to the TV once connected. If this isn’t the case you can do it manually.

1. Go to System Preferences > Sound.
2. Click on the Output tab and select the HDMI option under Type.

Finally, if you start streaming a video from the web and notice black bars on either side of the screen, you can remove them by zooming in.

1. Go to System Preferences > Accessibility.
2. Select Zoom and check the boxes for Use keyboard shortcuts to zoom and Use scroll gesture with modifier keys to zoom.

How to connect a Mac to a TV with Apple TV

If you have Apple TV you can connect your Mac to your TV without the need for a cable. All you need to do is look for the AirPlay icon in the menu bar and choose to mirror or extend your display.

Apple TV lets you stream content from your desktop and the web.

Once you have the correct cable, connecting your Mac to a TV is an easy task. HDMI ensures audio takes care of itself and adjusting display settings can be done in a few clicks. Whenever you are streaming, though, keep your system’s health in mind. An external display can cause some Macs to run at high temperatures. Take care of this by installing CleanMyMac X to monitor health and alert you of any dangers.

Monitoring the health of your Mac with CleanMyMac X

As some users of 2016 and 2017 versions of the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro have reported, systems can overheat whenever a second screen is added, in some cases reaching upwards of 60-degrees. Hooking your Mac up to a TV increases pressure on the GPU, which gets hotter as it works harder. In turn, the fans have to work harder to keep the system cool and performance suffers.

If you plan on regularly streaming content from your Mac to a TV, you’ll need to look after your system. Overheating doesn’t just affect performance, it can take years off a Mac’s life.

For this reason, we suggest you use CleanMyMac X to ensure everything is ticking over smoothly.

CleanMyMac X is a utility app designed to ensure optimum Mac performance. Use it to monitor the health status of your system as it runs a second monitor and remove any junk files that put unnecessary pressure on the GPU.

You can download CleanMyMac for free, here.

Once it’s installed, the Health Alerts feature will take care of itself, running in the background to monitor memory use, disk temperature, SSD life, and battery life. The app automatically alerts you to any problems and can be instantly accessed from the menu bar.

Junk files aren’t removed automatically, but finding and deleting outdated, broken, and otherwise unneeded files takes little more than a few clicks.

1. Launch CleanMyMac X.
2. Click Smart Cleanup from the sidebar.
3. Click Scan and wait for CleanMyMac to complete its scan of your system files.
4. Click Clean to remove junk files.

Do this regularly to ensure your system isn’t clogged up with useless junk files.

CleanMyMac X is designed to keep your Mac running at is best, providing round the clock system monitoring. Download the app today for a happy, healthy computer.

How To Connect Your Mac Computer To A TV In 2 Ways - Business ...

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