Hello tech talk, ever the tech noobie but "trying to learn some stuff" poster here. you guys have been good to me in the past, so i'm hoping for more help please

here is the set up
- macbook pro circa april 2006
- samsung hd tv
- comcast digital cable box
- blu-ray player
- creative speaker set that is perfect for my needs

here is the goal

- i love my creative speakers, i've been using them since i was in the dorms. they have transitioned well from desktop, to laptop and every tv i've had since. it uses a regular audio jack and i have some converters hooked to it with the red/white audio cables currently

since i've upgraded my tv, i am having problems getting all the stuff to talk to each other. right now what i end up doing is plugging in the red/white audio cables from my speaker system to my comcast box while i'm watching tv. when i want to watch a blu-ray or dvd i unhook from the comcast box and hook to the blu-ray player. now, add to the mix that i am planning on signing up for netflix and would like to stream from my laptop instead of buying one of those $100 roku players. i have no problem unhooking the audio stuff and plugging the regular audio jack into my laptop as "headphones" thats not my problem-- i want to know the best way to get my comcast & blu-ray boxes talking to my speakers.

second goal

i need to get the right hdmi video cable to talk to my laptop so i can hook it straight into the tv. my friend is doing this and i checked out his set up but he has a much newer laptop model and the hookups are different. the only screen-like icon on my laptop ports looks like this l [ ] l but i dont know how to search an hdmi cable online that will work with since i dont even know what its called

please help tdub, i have all this stuff and i know what i want to do but have no one local to help me with this stuff! thanks!



*edit-- the port doesnt literally look like l [ ] l thats just the icon near it. i cant describe how it looks besides a bunch of pins with a flat looking part

[Edited on April 28, 2009 at 9:34 PM. Reason : clarity? maybe]

4/28/2009 9:32:09 PM

display port to hdmi adapter


[Edited on April 28, 2009 at 9:57 PM. Reason : .]

4/28/2009 9:57:18 PM

Walk into apple store.

Say "I want to connect my older MBP with display port to my big screen TV"


Bleed $100+ onto the counter


Walk out with Displayport to HDMI adapter.

4/28/2009 10:08:24 PM

^, ^^ is correct for the 2nd problem. For the first you'll need to get a source selector. You can find them pretty cheap on ebay. If all you're trying to do is get a stereo analog signal you should be able to find something with a remote for less than $30.

[Edited on April 28, 2009 at 10:16 PM. Reason : or you know, an actual receiver, but that could get $$$]

4/28/2009 10:11:51 PM

[Edited on April 28, 2009 at 10:17 PM. Reason : probably not.]

4/28/2009 10:15:18 PM

^she has an original Macbook Pro

You need a DVI->HMDI or a DVI->DVI cable. depends on what inputs your television has.

If you have a DisplayPort (which you shouldn't since this is an old laptop)
12 bucks.

Otherwise you need either this 8 bucks or 5 bucks

In either case you'll want to get an HDMI cable with the adapter, 5 dollars

or


You have two options for the audio problem, and it depends on the in/out puts your TV has. Most HD televisions have at least 1 audio output option, which is usually in the form of a digital and analog out (analog being your red/white cables).

Check your TV first, see if it has audio output. If it does, it's an easy, cheap fix.

If you don't have audio output on your television, and you don't want to keep switching, then you are going to need to buy a Receiver. Here's the problem. Receivers aren't cheap (150-300 bucks for anything that isn't total garbage), and your crummy creative speakers will be a total waste of a decent receiver.

My suggestion is to buy yourself a HTIB (home theatre in a box) that has the in/outputs you need. They are cheap, and will give you a solution that will last for a long time. I have a 5.1 Pioneer HTIB (with an iPod dock) that cost 60 bucks new. 5 speakers, a DVD player, iPod dock, subwoofer, remote and cables. It's pretty damn awesome and all I will ever need. We have our Comcast HDDVR and the Xbox360 (think BluRay for you) hooked up to it and everything works just fine.

[Edited on April 28, 2009 at 10:24 PM. Reason : .]

[Edited on April 28, 2009 at 10:25 PM. Reason : .]

4/28/2009 10:18:43 PM

what models are your tv, laptop, Creative system, and blu-ray player? Need to know what inputs/outputs each of them have.

red and white cable (called composite audio) does not carry digital signal and is pretty awful to use for dvd-watching. It's just 2-channel stereo. You need at least a "digital coaxial cable" to be able to do 5.1 surround, DTS, and all that good stuff. Of course, you need to shell out a few hundred for a surround sound system if your Creative system can't do digital audio.

In case it CAN do digital audio, then just connect all your devices by hdmi cables. You'll still need to use your composite-to-mini-jack audio adapter for your laptop to Creative connection and keep using 2-channel stereo there. Because laptops are crappy like that

4/28/2009 10:21:57 PM

^You can buy a surround sound system for under 80 dollars. There's no need to shell out big bucks.

4/28/2009 10:25:57 PM

I am very surprised that you, sir, have a $60 HTIB

I would expect closer to $6000 for you

4/28/2009 10:29:40 PM

I spend money on things worth spending money on I doubt that I even own $6,000 dollars worth of material things altogether (vehicles and property aside).

4/28/2009 10:31:36 PM

whoa whoa whoa we're getting way more complicated than my limited knowledge can handle!

i'm sticking with the creative speakers. i'm not an audiophile and they sound pretty good too me. i'm too busy jizzing all over myself over the blu-ray picture to worry about my sound not being perfect. i'm totally satisfied with it.

ive tried hooking the red whites directly to the tv and it didnt work. im pretty sure i tried every combo possible. honestly this problem isnt worth spending $100 to solve. unplugging the cables whenever i want to switch between cable and dvd isnt really THAT big of a deal, i was hoping for a $5-10 fix

noen-- i need to go through your suggestions and see if i can figure that out

Quote :

"what models are your tv, laptop, Creative system, and blu-ray player? Need to know what inputs/outputs each of them have."

tv is 52" hd samsung 1080p
blu-ray is sony, its not even a month old
creative system.. no clue. has a small sub and 4 speakers i can place wherever i want (not wireless though) and a volume dial.
laptop is macbook pro from 2006

[Edited on April 28, 2009 at 10:35 PM. Reason : mo info]

4/28/2009 10:32:15 PM

^need exact model numbers etc

if your Creative system has 5 speakers, then it should be able to do digital audio (being that it IS a surround system and all)

connect everything using HDMI cables (if you have enough inputs on the TV)
If you don't enough inputs, you can either keep swapping out hdmi cables behind the TV (like I do ) or use a DVI cable assuming your TV has DVI input. This is where the TV model will come in handy

connect TV to Creative using tos-link ("optical") audio cable

4/28/2009 10:41:17 PM

got pics of my laptop inputs







this is the tv

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-LN52A650-52-Inch-1080p-Touch/dp/B001413DF8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1240972979&sr=8-1

Samsung LN52A650 52-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LCD HDTV with Red Touch of Color

this is the blu-ray

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-BDP-S350-1080p-Blu-ray-Player/dp/B001A4LVYY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1240973098&sr=1-1

Sony BDP-S350 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player

not sure how to determine my creative speaker set up. i literally bought it in like 2001 or 2002 when i just started college

i have 3 hdmi inputs on my tv-- comcast box & blu ray are currently hooked up. dont mind plugging in crap with my laptop when i want to stream from netflix online

laptop is the 2006 macbook pro model with 17" screen

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacBook_Pro


[Edited on April 28, 2009 at 10:49 PM. Reason : moar]

4/28/2009 10:47:21 PM

Do you have pictures of your inputs?

4/28/2009 10:53:12 PM

of course. but it costs $2.95 a month to view

CLICK HERE CLICK HERE CLICK HERE

4/28/2009 10:55:23 PM

Quote :

"unplugging the cables whenever i want to switch between cable and dvd isnt really THAT big of a deal, i was hoping for a $5-10 fix"

I still think a source selector is gonna be the cheapest solution. I dunno if you can find one for $5-$10, but here's one for $15 with free shipping. You hook up the audio outputs for all the devices you want to listen to (Blu-ray, cable box, etc) into each of the inputs on the selector and then hook the speakers into the output. It's works like a receiver, only it's ghetto as hell.

If you look around you might be able to find something even cheaper, and like I said you can find one with a remote for ~$30 (this one has buttons you need to press) but if you're looking for audio switching on the cheap, that's the way to go. Note: that unit I linked to (as well as pretty much so every other source selector) have the capability to switch video as well, but you would not need to use this device for that purpose as you would lose all the quality you get from blu-ray. Just use the audio portion of the selector and it will do what you want without having to manually swap cables every time.

4/29/2009 12:49:44 AM

Even simpler than ^

*this is assuming your Creative sound system can take an optical (tos-link) input*



green: tos-link (6' for $2.14)
http://tinyurl.com/2cynkv

laptop dvi-to-hdmi cable (15' for $6.69)
http://tinyurl.com/2wnbvd

the "optical out" on the tv may not output the analog sound from your laptop cable, in which case you can keep the red/white cable connected straight to your Creative system.

For a more permanent solution, hook it up as shown in the drawing. You'll now need the burgundy wire (which will be the same type as the red/white adapter you already have):
stereo plug to RCA adapter wire (6' for $0.63)
http://tinyurl.com/2dxeqa

For some extra slack in the analog wires:
stereo plug extension wire (12' for $0.85)
http://tinyurl.com/b37276

If you can switch between digital and analog inputs on your Creative system, then you've got it made. If not, then you'll have to do the swapping bit, but at least you'll be messing with the sound system instead of being crammed behind the TV messing with wires.

Make sure you specify analog sound for your HDMI 2 connection.

[Edited on April 29, 2009 at 9:42 AM. Reason : ]

4/29/2009 9:40:58 AM

thanks!!

hopefully i can get this to work. i need to check out the creative system to see if it's compatible

4/29/2009 10:54:47 AM

ordered this to connect laptop to tv

i still need to check out the creative speaker set up but i have a feeling it might just be easier for me to switch up the audio cables when i want to switch between cable, streaming and blu-ray. i thought it would be much simpler to solve than it apparenty is

4/29/2009 5:27:17 PM

Unfortunately it's not. I actually created an interchangeable A/V cable system just for things like this. I have a whole set of working prototypes, but it never went beyond that

5/4/2009 4:36:44 PM

Quote :

"I actually created an interchangeable A/V cable system just for things like this. I have a whole set of working prototypes"

This is sure to get you laid

5/4/2009 4:51:02 PM

Never have had a problem with that

5/4/2009 5:13:47 PM