Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
macbook external monitor
- Thread starter memoteran
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
It's not about physical size but resolution. A full 1080p screen is "only" 1920×1080 pixels which a MacBook can drive. The physical size of the screen does not matter. For example I have a 40" HDTV that is this resolution. But a proper monitor like the Apple or Dell 30" screens cannot be driven by a MacBook as the resolution is too high.
Yes. It's all on the Apple Website in very plain text.
I quote: "Extended desktop and video mirroring: Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display and up to 1920 by 1200 pixels on an external display, both at millions of colors"
I quote: "Extended desktop and video mirroring: Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display and up to 1920 by 1200 pixels on an external display, both at millions of colors"
I've run my MacBook and an external 20" (1680x1050 resolution) with no trouble, though you won't want to play games that way. It's more than good enough for having, say, iTunes and Adium on one screen, and Word or some other program on the main screen.
I have a MacBook and a Samsung Ln-T2332H HDTV. I've connected it with a mini DVI to DVI adapter to an DVI HDMI cable. I have not been able to access the extended desktop. When I stopped in at the apple store, a sales person checked with a Genius and was told that the MacBook could not do extended desktop on an HDTV. Help. What am I doing wrong as some of you seem to have been able to do so. Mirroring works fine.
I'm running my MacBook typically connected via DVI to a 26" Acer LCD monitor at home. Resolution is 1920 x 1200 on this unit and no issues. I'm not noticing any lag to speak of but then again I'm not gaming on it and I guess it would also be dependent on what software you want to run. I should also add that my MacBook has 2GB of ram which may help. Seems to be fine to me but as always, YMMV.... Cheers!
James
James
I have my wife's Macbook (CoreDuo 1.83, 2GB RAM) connected to our 46" HDTV (1920x1080p) and it extends without any real issues. I've never noticed any "lag", but when the MB only had 512MB, Front Row had some issues with transitioning between menu screens. When going from screen to screen, the animations would turn off. While it's not a functional thing, it didn't look as slick. This was a function of not enough VRAM, so the CoreImage graphics turn itself off. I have not checked to see if there's an issue with 2GB of RAM.
The Genius was wrong. MB's can definately extend onto an HDTV.
You may have some settings wrong in the System Preferences for "Displays". I can't remember exactly how it's set up, but I think there's a button for "mirror", so just uncheck it. If you've done that and it's still not working, I have no answer.
ft
one more question
Excuse me, if this question is dumb, but will the new MBP's be able to run games on the external monitor at a higher resolution that the native resolution of 1440x900? That is, will the external monitor be able to run the game at it's highest res, or is it restricted to the max of the MBP?
Excuse me, if this question is dumb, but will the new MBP's be able to run games on the external monitor at a higher resolution that the native resolution of 1440x900? That is, will the external monitor be able to run the game at it's highest res, or is it restricted to the max of the MBP?
That's not a dumb question. The MBP will be able to drive the external screen at its native resolution, even if it's higher than the MBP's 1440x900 screen. The catch is that this only works on "extend" mode. Mirror mode will yield a 1440x900 screen on the external.
I am having the same problem... Any solutions? I have the Mac Mini DVI to DVI cable then DVI to HDMI from XtremeMac... My Macbook detects the Samsung Monitors, but the montitor says No Signal... Hmm?
So the main reason I wish to do this is because on Sunday my keyboard and trackpad died for no apparent reason and since I did not add AppleCare they want $350.00 to fix it... Well I am using a bluetooth mouse and keyboard which works just fine and I would love a Mac connect to my 40" Samsung that way I can put the $350.00 towards a new Mac. (I had purchased the bare bones Macbook anyways) So I tired to connect the Macbook as in my previous post and no good... Well just for kicks I tried it with my iMac and wallah it worked... So I am thinking the cables I have are good and since my MacBook detects the Samsung monitor it must be a FN+F7 issue... Nothing else I try seems to work... Any suggestions???? Thank you in advance!!!!
I finally fixed it. I was doing everything right except when the two blue screens showed up after unchecking mirroring, I didn't understand their placement. I had my Samsung screen below the Macbook screen so when I tried to access the Samsung's screen I was actually going nowhere and it made it appear as if I could not access the extended desktop. When I switched them around, and put my cursor to the top of my macbook screen, my cursor went to the Samsung. Hope this is the same problem you were having. Also try using the "Source" button on the Samsung remote which switches you between the various things attached to the monitor.