How to Use a Mac Cinema Screen As a TV
By Steven French
The Apple Cinema Display is a large widescreen LCD monitor with LED backlighting that is generally designed to connect directly to a Mac computer. If you own a Cinema Display, however, you may be thinking about using it as a TV, especially since its high-resolution screen has more pixels than a 1080p television. You can connect the display to any television box that has an HDMI port for output as long as you have the proper cables for the connection.
Set up the Apple Cinema Display near your cable or satellite box. Make sure it is close enough to connect all of the cables. Leave the display and the output box unplugged while you connect the cables.
Connect one end of the HDMI cable to an HDMI output port on the back of the cable or satellite box. Connect the other end of the HDMI cable to the Mini DisplayPort to HDMI Adapter.
Connect the DisplayPort to HDMI Adapter to the DisplayPort port on the Cinema Display.
Plug both devices into a power socket and turn both devices on. Change channels and control the volume using the remote for your cable or satellite box.