Speaker static when connecting MBP via HDMI

[flalaw]

I'm having this really weird static issue. I've got my MBP connected to a TV via HDMI. I've als got my MBP connected to speakers via the headphone jack. Whenever the HDMI cable is plugged in though, I get static out of my speakers, which goes away when i unplug the HDMI. Any guesses what the problem might be?

 

[mkrishnan]

It's almost certainly a grounding problem. Is the Mac connected to speakers that are physically part of the TV, or to speakers that are separate? The most likely culprit is that your Mac's case is causing cross-interference via ground between the video and audio signals.... But beyond jury-rig types of solutions, I'm not sure what to do.

 

[flalaw]

yea, they're external speakers that are giving me the static. even playing thru tv speakers is okay for me. unless i'm mistaken, hdmi should transfer audio too though, but no audio comes outta my tv speakers. is there any setting that i need to fiddle w/ on my MBP?

 

[stillwater]

yea, they're external speakers that are giving me the static. even playing thru tv speakers is okay for me. unless i'm mistaken, hdmi should transfer audio too though, but no audio comes outta my tv speakers. is there any setting that i need to fiddle w/ on my MBP?

I'm assuming you're using a DVI to HDMI cable or adapter. DVI is video only. You must still send the audio seperately to the TV.

 

[MisterMe]

I have seen this problem when redirecting digital audio from a HDTV to an external amplified speaker. The cure is to select CD as the sound source.