Mac Mini with LCD HD TV

aldente

I have just got hold of a HDMI to DVI video cable (Belkin AV52400QP04) with a view to connecting Mac Mini (Mar 09 revision) to LCD HD TV as the core HTPC.

Here I did some simple tests prior to buying the Mac Mini in order to share experience with anyone interested. The following describes the outcome of the test using my MacBook (with Intel GMA X3100 GPU) and 32" LCD TV (Sony KDL-32W4000).

Physical Connection: Mini DVI to DVI adaptor->DVI to HDMI cable

Case 1: Direct to TV
The Displays in System Preferences indicates 1920x1080 in the list. By default, overscan is selected and there is only colour profile available called "Sony TV". If selecting this resolution as is, the TV sets it to 1080p, but unfortunately the top menu bar and a small portion of the bottom disappear. However, with overscan disabled, the full screen is displayed with a narrow black frame in 1080i. The displayed desktop is very good and clear, but characters look a little hollow (black letters with thin white centre, and letters are not very crisp compared to PC LCD monitor).

Case 2: Via AV Receiver
With the TV connected to an AV receiver over HDMI, the Displays indicates 1920x1080 in the list. This time there are more colour profiles available such as Adobe 1998, ISO, Generic LCD as well as AV Receiver. At this resolution, it seems to default to 1080i whether or not overscan is selected. Again, the screen becomes cropped with overscan enabled, and the same full screen as above is obtained with overscan disabled.

At least I am happy to see the TV can serve as a display for Mac. I am very interested in how it pans out with Mac Mini with NVIDIA GeForce 9400M. If anyone has any information, I would love to hear. Thanks a lot.

aldente

To follow up with my previous post, I am sending an update on how it went with the Mac Mini 3,1 I finally got.

With Sony Bravia LCD TV (KDL-32W4000) connected, the picture is so beautiful!

You can go either via an AV receiver or directly using the HDMI above mentioned.

On the Mac, it is instantly recognised as an monitor for 1920x1080p. You have to disable the overscan option in System Preferences in order to get the top menu bar and the dock displayed within the dimension, which will instead give you a black band all sides, which are acceptable. In the colour submenu appears the "Sony TV" profile automatically.

The reason why OS fonts in menu bars etc. look a little hollow is probably because your eyes are so used to watching characters on smaller monitors, it is a natural outcome on such a large display. I must say that JPEG pictures are simply stunning with the TV, not to mention the desktop backdrop.

The Mac Mini has nVidia GeForce 9400 GPU, which supports HDMI output. I suppose that the TV should also support PC input on the HDMI interface if you hook a computer up via HDMI instead of the PC VGA interface. I chose the TV because its user guide stated it did support PC input on the HDMI.

The stereo audio from the Mac comes of course out of the hybrid headphone out port, which can take either digital TOS-Link fibre digital cable or the usual 3.5mm stereo analogue plug.

That's it, I'll be happy if someone finds this report helpful.

DjDangerousDave

Hey,

Thanks for the information.

I have the same TV, but I have mine connected to to a Mac Book. I believe you have your Mac Mini connected to HDMI port 2, I have the same results when connecting to this port.

I have mine connected to HDMI port 1 and It works perfectly using all of the screen, right to the edges of the display. You must enable over scan for this.

I only connected to HDMI 2 to check if I could use the audio out jack into the back of the TV, which works as you stated.

I have no idea why this is happening but I would like to use HDMI 2 so I can use the speakers on my TV. I guess its just one of those things, maybe it is fixed in a later firmware version of the TV?

Dave.