I purchased my MacBook Pro around March 2010 and because of this I was worried that it might not output audio over the mini display port (known issue for some models). If this is news to you have a read here. Anyway, turns out mine is fine, so here is how to do it.
First off, if you go to Apple -> About This Mac -> More Info -> System Report -> Audio (Built In) you should be able to see HDMI DisplayPort Output in the list. Check you have this before continuing.
To connect my MacBook Pro to my HD TV I am using a HDMI cable. As my MacBook Pro doesn’t have a HDMI port, I bought a Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter. Check out Apple Support as there are only a couple of adapters that will support the audio signal. I bought the Moshi Mini one off Ebay as well as a 3m HDMI cable.
- Connect the HDMI cable to the Mini Display Port to HDMI adapter
- Connect the Mini DisplayPort to HMDI adapter to your MacBook Pro Mini Display Port
- Connect the other end of the HDMI cable to an available HDMI port on your TV
- Turn on your TV and navigate to your AV Input selector (press AV button on remote control in my case), then select the HDMI port from step 3
- At this stage you should see your MacBook Pro display on the TV but there probably won’t be any audio
- On your MacBook Pro, navigate to System Preferences -> Hardware -> Sound
- Select the Output tab
- Select your HD TV from the device list (in my case Panasonic-TV)
- At this stage I still didn’t have any audio but hang in there
- Navigate to Applications -> Utilities -> Audio MIDI Setup
- Under Audio Devices, select HDMI
- Select the drop down arrow next to the configuration wheel at the bottom of this window
- Select Use this device for sound output (speaker symbol)
- Play some tunes and appreciate richness of sound through your TV speakers