Connecting a Mac Mini to a TV via HDMI

[02R96]

I'm sorry if this has been posted before (I'm sure it has).

I have a Mid 2011 Mac Mini i7, 8Gb Ram, AMD Radeon HD 6630M 256 MB. I received a 24" LCD TV as a gift with the idea of connecting it to my Mac using the HDMI interface (which I did). It self configured itself to use an HD 709-A profile at 1360x768.

I'm completely disappointed with the quality of the video. It looks washed out and not very sharp. I checked the manufacture's support page and it offered no help. I also looked at the Mac's settings and did not find anything there either.

Am I missing something; did I mis-configure something? Do I need to return or exchange this display for another one? I'm in a tight situation as I need to record some music and was hoping to take advantage of the large screen.

Can anyone please help? Sorry if I sound a bit spastic!

 

[TheMTtakeover]

I'm sorry if this has been posted before (I'm sure it has).

I have a Mid 2011 Mac Mini i7, 8Gb Ram, AMD Radeon HD 6630M 256 MB. I received a 24" LCD TV as a gift with the idea of connecting it to my Mac using the HDMI interface (which I did). It self configured itself to use an HD 709-A profile at 1360x768.

I'm completely disappointed with the quality of the video. It looks washed out and not very sharp. I checked the manufacture's support page and it offered no help. I also looked at the Mac's settings and did not find anything there either.

Am I missing something; did I mis-configure something? Do I need to return or exchange this display for another one? I'm in a tight situation as I need to record some music and was hoping to take advantage of the large screen.

Can anyone please help? Sorry if I sound a bit spastic!

Can you try using VGA? I had issues with HDMI on my tv and was forced to go the VGA route.

 

[seanm9]

could be the TV's brightness/contrast/chroma settings...

how do the colors look if you hook a different HDMI source (DVD/BluRay/HD-STB) to it... if it looks the same it could be the TV... I have 2 minis in my house hooked up to Sony HDTV's and they look fine... try adjusting the picture settings on the TV it self and not in the MAC...

 

[philipma1957]

you might want to try thunderbolt/display to vga if the tv has vga www.monoprice.com has a cable for about 13 bucks

 

[surroundfan]

I recently got a Sony LED TV and found the video was absolutely rubbish too. While it went into 'full pixel' mode to get 1:1 pixel mapping, the fonts looked absolutely awful. After a bit of playing around with the various 'enhancements', I found that the 'edge enhancement' setting was the cause.

Therefore, if you hook a Mac mini up to a TV over HDMI:
1) Make sure your Mac's output is the same resolution as your TV;
2) Try and find a 1:1 pixel mapping setting in your TV (they're called different things by different manufacturers); and
3) Turn as many of the TV's picture 'enhancements' off as you can, particularly edge enhancement...

 

[02R96]

Thanks for all of the responses.

I played around with the settings for several hours last night and I did improve the quality somewhat, but I think I made a mistake getting a TV to do the work of a computer monitor.

Therefore I'm going to exchange the TV for this...

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+23...itor/5563113.p?skuId=5563113&id=1218661379222

It's only 10 bucks more than the TV and should put an end to my madness!

 

[fa8362]

I have a Mid 2011 Mac Mini i7, 8Gb Ram, AMD Radeon HD 6630M 256 MB. I received a 24" LCD TV as a gift with the idea of connecting it to my Mac using the HDMI interface (which I did). It self configured itself to use an HD 709-A profile at 1360x768.

I'm completely disappointed with the quality of the video. It looks washed out and not very sharp. I checked the manufacture's support page and it offered no help. I also looked at the Mac's settings and did not find anything there either.

Am I missing something; did I mis-configure something? Do I need to return or exchange this display for another one? I'm in a tight situation as I need to record some music and was hoping to take advantage of the large screen.

Can anyone please help? Sorry if I sound a bit spastic!

Sounds like you have a 24" 720P TV. That will never look good with any computer.

 

[philipma1957]

Sounds like you have a 24" 720P TV. That will never look good with any computer.

you need to sit further away. of course the problem is more complex then that.

I have a 27 inch sharp 720p hdtv with t-bolt to vga it is pretty good at 6 feet to 8 feet. Now to be able to read the text at 6 feet you need good distance vision. I had a low cost coby tv at 720p via hdmi it was really bad at any distance.

 

[26139]

Yep...

TVs make terrible computer monitors, unfortunately.

We've tried the same with a 720p Phillips and now a 1080p Samsung, (via VGA and HDMI) and it never looks quite right.

Better off finding a monitor you can also use as a TV.

Good luck!

 

[cc devil]

Well, in my experience, if you are sure your TV is full HD or able to do the Full HD resolution (1080p/i), but you still got the blurry image/text. Please try to set the HDMI connection on your TV option. And change the function/name/input label (in my LG TV, its input label) of the HDMI connection to PC. And Voila !!! The screen look waaaaaay much better...

Please check the pics below :

Hope this can help anyone else.

 

[fa8362]

you need to sit further away. of course the problem is more complex then that.

Yes, definitely. I have a 720p LCD projector which looks great at 13-14 feet from the screen. I use if only for movies and netflix though. Text is acceptable for navigation, not much else.

 

[CHAOS STEP]

I've been using Mac minis with LCD / LED TVs since the last of the PPC minis.

I've had 3 Mac minis and 3 different TVs through the years.

My current is a Samsung LED and it is linked up though VGA, it looks pretty awesome. My two previous TVs were also pretty good too (through VGA).

My main resolution is set at 1360 x 768 which is fine for web browsing, doing emails etc, but sometimes I use 1600 x 900 and then for HD content I set it to 1080p.

I don't obviously sit right in front of it on a desk - or else I would have it set at 1080p constantly. With that said I don't sit too far away from it either.

If your TV is a fair distance from your couch or something, then this could be your problem, as it may seem that even 1360 x 768 is not low enough - if you are doing anything other than watching movies or playing games etc.

I've never had an issue with my other TVs not displaying correctly, although I suspect that HDMI may not be the best way to connect it up.

 

[philipma1957]

Yes, definitely. I have a 720p LCD projector which looks great at 13-14 feet from the screen. I use if only for movies and netflix though. Text is acceptable for navigation, not much else.

i can only use my 720p for text due to cataract surgery (sounds bizarre) my vision has corrected to 20-12 in one eye and 20-80 in the other.

doctors tried for 20-20 and 20 -100.

so my far vision is really really really good.

my middle vision is good, but close up is only okay.

so retina screens are a waste. my favorite screen right now is a 46 inch 1080p sony sony led tv.

I sit about 9 feet and it is perfect most people would not want it for print 9 feet would be too far if your vision was 20 -20. but my better eye is 20-12 so print is clear as a window.

 

[TheMTtakeover]

Sounds like you have a 24" 720P TV. That will never look good with any computer.

I 100% agree but why is that?

 

[philipma1957]

I 100% agree but why is that?

has to do with dot pitch/pixel size.

1080p for 24 inches is 1920 x 1080 = 2 million dots or pixels.

720 p is 1368 by 720= 1 millions dots or pixels both on a 24 inch screen so

the 720p is grainy and flat half the pixels in the same area.

it will look pretty good from a far distance but the print is too small. there are more complex reasons such as color satruation brightness and the like.

 

[Negritude]

I'm sorry if this has been posted before (I'm sure it has).

I have a Mid 2011 Mac Mini i7, 8Gb Ram, AMD Radeon HD 6630M 256 MB. I received a 24" LCD TV as a gift with the idea of connecting it to my Mac using the HDMI interface (which I did). It self configured itself to use an HD 709-A profile at 1360x768.

I'm completely disappointed with the quality of the video. It looks washed out and not very sharp. I checked the manufacture's support page and it offered no help. I also looked at the Mac's settings and did not find anything there either.

Am I missing something; did I mis-configure something? Do I need to return or exchange this display for another one? I'm in a tight situation as I need to record some music and was hoping to take advantage of the large screen.

Can anyone please help? Sorry if I sound a bit spastic!

Turn off OVERSCAN or A/V MODE (switch to PC mode). That will fix it.

 

[sbmk]

Hi,
I'm experiencing troubles with my mid-2011 MacMini : when I connect it to my new Sharp Aquos 40" HDTV (true 1920x1080, delivers a wonderful picture with other devices and same settings) using hdmi, the image is washed out and the text "blinks" (looks alternatively bolder/thinner), especially when I move windows or browse menus. The characters are not well defined and it's rather unpleasing to the eyes.
I've tried a cheap TB->HDMI from eBay instead of the build-in output, it's the same.
However, I've never experienced snow or black screen, and the problem never evolves as time passes.
I've tried numerous things I've read here : changing cables, inputs, reseting PRAM, using a lower res/refresh rate, switchresx, ... but it's always the same. I've also recently upgraded to Mountain Lion, without any improvement. My system is up-to-date, with the latest firmware.

Is there a real solution to these problems ? It seems to be a magic update for the 2012, but what about our great "oldie" ?

Regards

 

[skjoldp]

Lg50pa450t

Well, in my experience, if you are sure your TV is full HD or able to do the Full HD resolution (1080p/i), but you still got the blurry image/text. Please try to set the HDMI connection on your TV option. And change the function/name/input label (in my LG TV, its input label) of the HDMI connection to PC. And Voila !!! The screen look waaaaaay much better...

Please check the pics below :
Image
Image
Hope this can help anyone else.

Anyone know how i can find out if my LG50PA450T TV can be used with a new mac mini? Im thinking about buying af mac mini (2013 model) and use my LG TV to as the screen combined with bluetooth keyboard og mouse.