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Connecting iMac to Home Theatre

I have an iMac 27" 2016. I have connected a thunderbolt cable to an HDMI splitter, which is connected to my home theatre. I cannot get the video or sound from the iMac to reproduce through the home theatre. Could someone help me figure out what I am doing wrong? Thank you.

iMac 27″ 5K, macOS 11.7

Posted on Oct 9, 2023 1:35 PM

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Posted on Oct 10, 2023 2:34 PM

the 2017 27" iMac comes with two TB3 ports. you can use an USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter along with an HDMI cable of appropriate length. that adapter will also deliver the audio along with the video over HDMI. but please note that you will want an "active" HDMI cable for lengths over about 6 ft in length. something along the lines of an Monoprice High Speed HDMI Cable - 30 Feet in the length that would fit your needs.

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Oct 10, 2023 2:34 PM in response to Shenorkney

the 2017 27" iMac comes with two TB3 ports. you can use an USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter along with an HDMI cable of appropriate length. that adapter will also deliver the audio along with the video over HDMI. but please note that you will want an "active" HDMI cable for lengths over about 6 ft in length. something along the lines of an Monoprice High Speed HDMI Cable - 30 Feet in the length that would fit your needs.

Oct 9, 2023 7:21 PM in response to Shenorkney

AFAIK there were no 2016 iMac models. Late 2015 and Mid-2017, but no 2016. Please check Apple > About This Mac and tell us what model it says you have. It will say something like "iMac (Retina, 5K, 27 inch, Late 2015)."


That said, let's assume you have a Late 2015 iMac. You would need an Apple Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter plus a DVI-to-HDMI cable like this one https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=2404 Note that this only carries video. You will also need a suitable audio cable to connect from your iMac headphone out to your TV/Theater audio in. Don't use any kind of HDMI hub or splitter.




Oct 10, 2023 9:32 AM in response to MartinR

Thank you, Martin. You are right! It is the 2017 model (iMac 18,3).

I removed the splitter and connected directly to the HMDI input on the SHARP LCD.

Both the video and the sound were rerouted to the home theatre. Both were degraded somewhat.

If I use the headphone jack output on the iMac, will I get true surround sound transmitted to the home theatre?

Oct 10, 2023 10:46 AM in response to Shenorkney

Shenorkney wrote:

If I use the headphone jack output on the iMac, will I get true surround sound transmitted to the home theatre?

No, the headphone out on the 2017 iMac is analog stereo only.


2015 and earlier iMacs & MacMinis had dual analog/digital out capability.


I was also dissatisfied with the characteristics of the HDMI video; that's why I use the miniDisplayPort-to-DVI adapter + DVI-HDMI cable instead of a direct HDMI connection.

Oct 11, 2023 11:29 AM in response to jeffreythefrog

Thank you for your help. I believe that the problem with the sound is the age of the receiver, as it doesn’t have an HDMI input. For that reason I am connecting it through the LCD display which only has stereo audio outputs to the receiver. I will need to update the receiver so that I can connect it to the iMac via the thunderbolt to HDMI cable.

Connecting iMac to Home Theatre

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