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. Apple and other companies make Mini DisplayPort to video adapters that will enable you to connect your Mac to an HDTV using an HDMI cable, the same interface the Apple TV uses to connect to the Mac. Bear in mind that the first batch of Mini DisplayPort Macs that shipped in 2009 do not supply audio over mDP. 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 TVThe 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:
If you have any of those systems all you need is a standard HDMI cable to run from your Mac to the TV. 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 displayWith your Mac-to-TV cable at the ready, you’re just about set to start viewing. Turbotax free version vs deluxe. The Difference Between Intuit Turbo Tax Free versus Freedom versus Deluxe. Over from scratch, then use the IRS link above to find the secret path to Freedom and try it out. And, don’t use Turbo Tax Free for any reason. Sure to check out The Difference Between Intuit Turbo Tax Free versus Freedom versus Deluxe for some help in sorting. TurboTax Deluxe price Starting from $31 Per license, when comparing TurboTax Deluxe to their competitors, the software is rated 2 - much lower than the average Business tax software cost. Bottom line: TurboTax Free Edition Online is more expensive than TurboTax Deluxe. Features and functionality. Filing Form 1040 With TurboTax Deluxe. If your taxable income is $100,000 or more, you have unreported tips, distributions, self-employment earnings, income as a partner in a partnership or a shareholder in an 'S' Corporation or income from an estate or trust, you must file Form 1040. Online tax programs such as TurboTax offer multiple versions for different users: basic, deluxe, premium, and even home and business versions. Each type, which is priced according to complexity, is best for a different type of taxpayer. It can be difficult to determine which version will work best for preparing your income tax return. 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:
You can also set the TV to be the primary 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.
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.
How to connect a Mac to a TV with Apple TVIf 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 XAs 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.
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. These might also interest you:
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |