I had this product for about a month when the sound problems began. Initially I was using the recommended configuration. Both Video and Digital Audio ports were being run from my mac mini media center into the converter. From the converter I just ran the HDMI connector to my amp. After a month the sound began to cut out, almost like a CD was skipping randomly (except this was when playing both music and video files.) This rendered the converter unusable for the purposes of sound though. Thankfully my amp supports direct audio TOSlink from the mac mini so I used the Audio TOS cable that Kanex shipped with to connect the mac mini to directly to the amp.
That got me going for another two months at which point the sound just died again. At this point the main culprit is most likely the TOSlink cable that the adapter ships with, maybe that's poor quality and who knows - maybe that was the cause of the initial sound cut-out problems?
In any case - I've had zero problems with the Mini-display -> HDMI video functionality of the tool (which is why I'm giving it the extra star) but really - for a freaking *converter* that costs $70+ there should be greater reliability or manufacturing quality.
Additionally - while I know this product is supposed to be "so obvious to use that no documentation is needed" - the fact that it ships with zero documentation is highly disconcerting, especially when things start to break and you're attempting to troubleshoot. Who knows - maybe the "known issues" section of that guide might get too long. For those of you looking for help you can find what little documentation is available at:
[...] Kanex iAdapt 51 Mini DisplayPort to HDMI with 5.1 Channel Digital Audio
This product is about 90% of the way there. But it's not ready for the living room.
Like many other reviews, I can definitely claim that this device did not work properly out of the package. It was definitely easy to set up. No manual was required. However, the resampled audio is not correct. There is a 1/8th second clipping noise. You can determine if your Kanex is broken, too, by playing a pure sine wave audio clip. If you hear a pure tone, then your Kanex is probably fine. But if you hear a pulse, you have a broken one like mine and others. It does this for both digital and analog passthrough.
I left it plugged into my mac mini overnight. The next morning I decided to google around for clues, but by then the chip was overheating and the HDMI video synchronization was lost. It would reclaim the sync every few seconds, in a periodic failure.
In a nutshell, I surmise they rushed this product out, when another month of QA testing would have yielded a properly working chip. Oh well, it was a really good attempt! Have to rate it as a complete dud though. I'm not even an audiophile and it was too lousy for me!
Posted from mac forums:
It no longer stays connected to my computer. It loses the signal and stops working after a few minutes no matter if I am booting the computer or waking it from sleep.
I'm pretty computer savvy and after working with all of the settings on the TV and computer, nothing worked. I have determined that it is fact the Kanex connection. I'm pretty sure the product has degraded to the point of not working at all now.
I would suggest not buying this product.
After attempting to working with Kanex, I found out that none of their contact forms or emails work so you can forget any support help too.
Update:
7-13-10
I got an email from Kanex saying they will replace it for a new one. I am pretty sure even a new version is going to fail so
I ordered the simple MDP to HDMI adapter and that would not work with my TV at all. I spent even more time with the Kanex adapter and although it connects with perfectly fine audio, the video connection is not right. I get pixellation as if it was connecting at 320p. I ordered another adapter that will adapt dual link DVI-D to HDMI. I think this is okay but after spending $100 on adapters and I really wanted to avoid using a toslink cable into my receiver since I only have one port.
I will post one more update so all of you trying to work with the same issues will know what you need to do. I hope the DVI-D to HDMI does the trick so I can put this issue to rest.
Update:
7-21-2010
I bought a $3 dvi-d to hdmi connector and it works like a charm. The picture is perfect, never goes out and acts like a dvi connection. I spent $70 on the kanex iAdapt and it never worked properly. I want my $$ back!!!
I purchased this a month ago in order to display my MacBookPro's screen up on my LCD TV in my living room. Previously, in iTunes, you could NOT output HD video to any external source except an Apple Display. With this device, that is no longer a worry. Once connected the display was fantastic. I was able to set the second display (my TV) to the maximum resolution (1920X1080) and it was able to show excellent frame rate for any video source on the laptop. There is a bit of flicker if you get up close, probably from the upconversion of the signal, but nothing too noticeable, especially if you are displaying this on a large TV and you're sitting a few feet back.
As for audio, it too was flawless. At first, I ran just a mini-port audio cable from the audio-out on the laptop to my receiver; but then I noticed an extra part in the box that resembled a fiber-optic cable. Not being a Mac expert, I learned that this included cable is a TOS-Link cable: a digital, fiber-optic cable that can connect to the audio out (which is both analog and digital) on newer MacBooks. Once connected, I was getting full streaming HD video and 5.1 SS audio from my MacBook flawlessly.
This is an expensive device, but works great for those looking for a home theater HD/surround sound solution for their Mac computers. - Mac Mini - Macbook - Adapter - Mini Displayport'
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