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How to connect your Mac to a projector, for giving presentations or creating your own home theater

Connecting your Mac to a projector, be it a desktop, MacBook Pro , or MacBook Air , is generally a cinch, provided you have the right adapters and connectors.

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For better or worse, Apple is a company that likes to frequently update its ports and connections on its devices. This has made them both a trendsetting company remember when they were the first to get rid of internal CD drives? and a frustrating one remember how they decided to remove the headphone jack from the iPhone?

The ports that connect your computer to a projector are no different, and if you own a Macbook Pro, Air, or desktop made in the past decade, there are no fewer than four different connectors you might use. Thus, finding the correct one off the bat, as well as the right adapter for your projector, is essential for saving both time and a headache.

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For newer Macs, you're most likely going to need a Thunderbolt/USB-C adapter that outputs to HDMI or VGA, the most common input types for home theater and business projectors, respectively.

Once you have the correct adapter, connecting your Mac is easy.

1. Plug your cord into the display output port on your Mac (Thunderbolt 3, USB-C, HDMI, or Mini DisplayPort).

2. Connect the other end of the cord to either your projector directly or an adapter that converts the signal from your Mac to the correct input for the projector.

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3. Power your projector on.

4. Your Mac should automatically detect the display and project the image of your desktop on the projector.

Now that you're connected, you might need to make a few tweaks to get your projector working the way you'd like. To modify your display settings:

1. Open up System Preferences from your Dock or by clicking the Apple icon in the top menu and selecting "System Preferences..." from the dropdown menu.

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2. Select "Displays."

3. Click "Arrangement" to change whether you want to use your projector as a second screen or select "Mirror Displays" to display exactly what's on your Mac desktop.

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If you don't want adapters and the tangles of a wired connection, streaming sticks are a reasonable option.

If you're planning to stream specific media, like Netflix or share your desktop or a presentation, a streaming stick like Google's Chromecast (Amazon's Fire Stick doesn't support screen mirroring on macOS) replicates much of the functionality of a wired setup, but only needs to be plugged into the back of your projector or entertainment system.

Although, you will need a Wi-Fi connection for it to work.

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SEE ALSO: The best MacBooks you can buy

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