But there seems to be a lot of conflicting info on the subject. I've already gleaned that it drops to 480p on record and shuts off the LCD, but I can't even get it to work in idle mode.

I have a T2i and am running the latest Magic Lantern. I've used the supplied HDMI cable to try it out on 2 different HDTVs and my camera doesn't seem to send out any signal, even when not recording. I even tried the RCA cable to no avail.

So I checked the Magic Lantern site to see if there's a menu item I needed to flip. The wiki says:

Unified: LiveV -> ClearScreen -> WhenIdle (or Display -> Clear when Idle)

But when I go to LiveV -> ClearScreen my options are OFF or HalfShutter/DOF.

Now, in searching around here I've seen some people able to record off the T2i and some say it's impossible. I don't even want to record, I'd just like a field monitor to ensure focus with. But I can't get it to work.

Any definitive answers? A specific model monitor? A meny setting I'm missing?

Any info would be appreciated.

Have you tried another cable ?

I only have the one cable that came with the camera.

I would buy another, they are very cheap on ebay. Its just a quick and cheap way to eliminate any camera fault. (As with all electronics, check the cables first) I have had a 2 duff HDMI cables over the last couple of years. And its always handy to have a spare

Well whatdya know? I found another cable and it works. I guess Canon ships out faulty stuff.