The IT Nerd

For the longest while I’ve been using this Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter. But now that I have a new MacBook Pro, I wanted something that leveraged the ability of the MacBook Pro to send audio through the ThunderBolt connector (which is the same shape as a mini DisplayPort connector). I came across the Expert Island Mini Display Port to HDMI cable on Shop.ca which promised to do the trick. But does it? Well, let us start with the physical aspects of the cable. The construction of the cable feels solid and it looks like it will stand up to being used frequently. It is also very small and is easy to pack which is something that I appreciate.

Speaking of being used, it couldn’t be simpler:

1. Plug the Expert Island Mini DisplayPort to HDMI cable into your Mac via the Thunderbolt port.
2. Plug in the HDMI cable into the the TV and the Expert Island Mini DisplayPort to HDMI cable.
3. Set your TV to the proper HDMI input.
4. The Mac will detect the display and set the correct resolution on both the TV and built in display. You can adjust whether to mirror the displays or not in System Preferences –> Displays
5. You can set the audio to go to the TV via System Preferences –> Sound –> Output

In my tests watching Marvel Agents Of Shield on ctv.ca and watching Arsenal Vs. Everton via a “less than legal live stream” (the game ended in a 1 – 1 draw, but that was good enough for me as Arsenal still lead the English Premier League by five points), the sound quality was good and the video quality was good as well. It was able to display 1080P video with no issues. In other words, it worked perfectly. One thing to note that if you plug this into a Mac that was made before 2010, you won’t get sound. So you’ll have to use another product if that’s you. But if you have a Mac that supports sound through the DisplayPort or Thunderbolt port, check out the Expert Island Mini DisplayPort to HDMI cable. At $26.97, the price is right and it works well.

This entry was posted on December 10, 2013 at 8:24 am and is filed under Products with tags Island. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.