Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Mac mini gets green tinted display severel times

T

ToolmanDK

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 19, 2011
6
0
I just bought a new 2,3 ghz Mac Mini 3 days ago to use as a mediacenter.

I have it set up using my Phillips Tv as screen with a HDMI cable.
Audio is toslink to my amp.
I have a eyetv hybrid connected and a belkin usb hub with severel WD disk.

My problem is that suddenly the display turns green for a couple of seconds
and after that everything on the screen is tinted green.
Sometimes after a while it turns itself back to the right colours again.

There is no consistency in when it does this, and again no consistency in
when it turns itself back again.

The funny thing (as i see it) is that i had a Mac Mini mid 2009 connected
exactly as i have setup the new Mac Mini. And everything worked fine.

I run sabnzbd, air video server, eyetv 3 and XBMC on it. There is aswell
a python script that lauches sickbeard on startup running.

Can anybody please help me to what the problem is???
 
It could be as simple as the HDMI cable. Have you re-reated it at both the mini and the TV? Have you tried a different cable? Sounds like you could be dropping color signals.
 
What do you mean by "re-reated it at both the mini and the TV"???

I have tried one different cable, but maybe i should try again....

The thing is that the cable worked one day with my old mac mini that was dvi to hdmi. And the day after with this new one it didn't work... I think maybe that sounds a bit odd...
 
re-reated may mean re-created it.

I have seen this on a 2010 mac pro to a dvi monitor.

I had the hd-5870 gpu and was running snow leopard. a patch fixed it. What is the exact model of your philips tv?
 
ToolmanDK said:
What do you mean by "re-reated it at both the mini and the TV"???

I have tried one different cable, but maybe i should try again....

The thing is that the cable worked one day with my old mac mini that was dvi to hdmi. And the day after with this new one it didn't work... I think maybe that sounds a bit odd...
Click to expand...

Oops. Typo, meant re-seat. As in unplug and plug it back in.
 
philipma1957 said:
re-reated may mean re-created it.

I have seen this on a 2010 mac pro to a dvi monitor.

I had the hd-5870 gpu and was running snow leopard. a patch fixed it. What is the exact model of your philips tv?
Click to expand...

My TV is a Philips 42pfl5604H/12...

Can that be the problem???

----------
marzer said:
Oops. Typo, meant re-seat. As in unplug and plug it back in.
Click to expand...

When the screen gets tinted i have tried to do this... It solves it at that time but later on it changes the colours again...
 
Have you connected to another TV or Monitor to see if the same issue occurs?

Usually a color issue has to do with the cable in some form. Check for a bent pin on the DVI side of things. Maybe blow out the hdmi slot in the Mac and the HDMI side of the cable to make sure something didn't get in there to cause the cable not to seat correctly.

Worse case would be video card issue. I am new to Macs, but they do make USB video cards I have used for Win7. If you have one, or can borrow one try that and see if you have this issue. This is not a permanent fix, but if issue goes away then it gives you more information.

Also verify you have the latest drivers for your video card. Good luck in your search for a cure.

Edit:

You might also try viewing a direct connection to your TV from your video source bypassing your computer making sure your TV is working correctly.
 
ToolmanDK said:
My TV is a Philips 42pfl5604H/12...

Can that be the problem???

----------



When the screen gets tinted i have tried to do this... It solves it at that time but later on it changes the colours again...
Click to expand...

Sounds like a bad cable. Try a new cable.
 
I brought it back to the store yesterday and they would order a new one home for me...

So i guess i will see then if it is my setup or that there were something wrong with it....

I have tried several cables, i thought it was that at first as well....
 
I've had the exact same issue with a Philips LCD TV. Periodical pink-green tint, comes and goes at irregular intervals.

It happens when combining a Philips LCD TV with Intel iGPUs or AMD GPUs. Not with nVidia ones (at least, not the one I tried -- details below).

In short: the TV doesn't like YCbCr "pixel format" (for lack of the proper term). It works fine with RGB 4:4:4, whatever that means. YCbCr happens to be the default with Intel and AMD GPUs under OS X.

  • OS X: no way to configure
  • Linux: no way to configure. But: the default is OK with the open-source drivers. Not OK with the blob.
  • Windows: the setting exists, buried somewhere in AMD's Catalyst Control Center
Under OS X, no problem with the nVidia 320M, as it must be configured to output RGB 4:4:4 by default which the TV accepts.

So the device at fault in all this is the TV. Your Mac Mini and HDMI cables are just fine. The exchange already in progress is a waste, but you didn't know any better at the time.

Three solutions:
  • Running Windows :)eek:) with the proper setting in AMD's CCC.
  • Running Linux with the open-source drivers.
  • Ditching that Philips TV, as painful as it sounds.
 
Roman2K~ said:
I've had the exact same issue with a Philips LCD TV. Periodical pink-green tint, comes and goes at irregular intervals.

It happens when combining a Philips LCD TV with Intel iGPUs or AMD GPUs. Not with nVidia ones (at least, not the one I tried -- details below).

In short: the TV doesn't like YCbCr "pixel format" (for lack of the proper term). It works fine with RGB 4:4:4, whatever that means. YCbCr happens to be the default with Intel and AMD GPUs under OS X.

  • OS X: no way to configure
  • Linux: no way to configure. But: the default is OK with the open-source drivers. Not OK with the blob.
  • Windows: the setting exists, buried somewhere in AMD's Catalyst Control Center
Under OS X, no problem with the nVidia 320M, as it must be configured to output RGB 4:4:4 by default which the TV accepts.

So the device at fault in all this is the TV. Your Mac Mini and HDMI cables are just fine. The exchange already in progress is a waste, but you didn't know any better at the time.

Three solutions:
  • Running Windows :)eek:) with the proper setting in AMD's CCC.
  • Running Linux with the open-source drivers.
  • Ditching that Philips TV, as painful as it sounds.
Click to expand...

Thank you very much for the answer...
Its just nice to get some answers to it as it was driving me mad... :)

But did you report it to apple??? Would there be a solution to the problem???

Is it a flaw in the TV or is it just the way it is built??? I was thinking if i should demand anything on the guarente???

I returned my Mac Mini to the store and they would order a new one...
What your saying is that im better off exchanging it and get my money back and then buy a used mid 2010 model right??? :)
 
ToolmanDK said:
Its just nice to get some answers to it as it was driving me mad... :)
Click to expand...

I understand... I've struggled with this TV for 2 years before giving up :rolleyes:.

ToolmanDK said:
But did you report it to apple??? Would there be a solution to the problem???
Click to expand...

No I didn't, because at the time of purchase, the TV was plugged to a homemade PC (AMD GPU). The symptoms appeared immediately and were still present after the switch to a MacBook (except for a 2010 MBP with the 320M). So it's not an issue for Apple to handle.

ToolmanDK said:
Is it a flaw in the TV or is it just the way it is built??? I was thinking if i should demand anything on the guarente???
Click to expand...

Definitely an issue with the TV. However it's not a "flaw" but rather an undocumented incompatibility. They won't do anything if you send it for repair. I was so desperate that I've done it twice. First time, they weren't able (or willing) to reproduce the tint. Second time, they replaced the guts. No luck.

ToolmanDK said:
I returned my Mac Mini to the store and they would order a new one...
What your saying is that im better off exchanging it and get my money back and then buy a used mid 2010 model right??? :)
Click to expand...

Didn't think of that but it's a good idea. The 2010 is equipped with the 320M which the TV likes. That is, if you really want to keep this TV.
 
Hmmm... this doesn't bode well for my impending Mac Mini purchase. Having to travel light, I was going to use the Toshiba TV in my rented apartment as the sole monitor. Anyone know of Toshiba/Intel incompatibilities?
 
Scrumper said:
Hmmm... this doesn't bode well for my impending Mac Mini purchase. Having to travel light, I was going to use the Toshiba TV in my rented apartment as the sole monitor. Anyone know of Toshiba/Intel incompatibilities?
Click to expand...

I have not hooked up a Mac Mini to my Toshiba, but I was able to connect my Samsung i5 laptop via HDMI to my Toshiba without any issues. Toshiba has a "PC" mode (mine did anyways) that helps it adjust the resolution on the TV for you if you notice things are not fitting right.

Edit:

Just remembered my Samsung has Nvidia graphics and not intel.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back