Brand new 2012 Mac Mini with two new Samsung S24B300 monitors: HDMI port monitor is poor quality. What's happening?

No, RAM won't help. The HDMI implementation in the 2012 Mac Mini is a disaster and Apple need to fix ASAP.

See here:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4490924?tstart=0

Same issue: Macmin Late 2012. HDMI port via high quality cable to a new Samsung T27B350ND. Entire screen very washed out and text is not smooth. As a test I hooked up the same monitor to a Windows 7 box via same HDMI cable and text is sharp and smooth and the image is fine. Will be calling Apple tomorrow.

I think I have almost exact same problem with the exact same Mac Mini model on the same (single) monitor via HDMI output (my monitor is Samsung S24B300HL, not sure if the HL makes any difference).

Running Display Calibraton fixed the colours for me, but the text looks fuzzy not matter what I do. I have tried:

Turning LCD Font Smoothing on and Off (different but not better)

Changing the AppleSmoothFont variable via Terminal (different but only slightly better)

Changing monitor setting from PC to TV (made things worse, lots of overscan)

Adjusting settings on the monitor itself (sharpness at around 60 looks best but still not good).

Interestingly, connecting via Thunderbolt to HDMI instead (cable purchased especially to try and work around this issue) did not actually improve things for me, although it is good for you - I wonder if the fact that I used HDMI first has caused the mini to "lock" in certain settings to use with this monitor? I will give it another go later, see if I can make it "forget" and get the same result as you.

Same monitor with my 5 year old Windows PC - looks great, pin sharp. Based on internet searches so far, lots of people seem to be reporting issues with HDMI on Mac Mini.

Overall, a poor experience thus far with my first Mac :-(

How is it look like after your display calibration? check with http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/contrast.php

Could u see the difference of all levels? If it is not able to tell the difference, the colors has not been fixed yet.

JimmyJimmyYam wrote:

I think I have almost exact same problem with the exact same Mac Mini model on the same (single) monitor via HDMI output (my monitor is Samsung S24B300HL, not sure if the HL makes any difference).

Running Display Calibraton fixed the colours for me, but the text looks fuzzy not matter what I do. I have tried:

Turning LCD Font Smoothing on and Off (different but not better)

Changing the AppleSmoothFont variable via Terminal (different but only slightly better)

Changing monitor setting from PC to TV (made things worse, lots of overscan)

Adjusting settings on the monitor itself (sharpness at around 60 looks best but still not good).

Interestingly, connecting via Thunderbolt to HDMI instead (cable purchased especially to try and work around this issue) did not actually improve things for me, although it is good for you - I wonder if the fact that I used HDMI first has caused the mini to "lock" in certain settings to use with this monitor? I will give it another go later, see if I can make it "forget" and get the same result as you.

Same monitor with my 5 year old Windows PC - looks great, pin sharp. Based on internet searches so far, lots of people seem to be reporting issues with HDMI on Mac Mini.

Overall, a poor experience thus far with my first Mac :-(

Your screen resolution is stored in the NVRAM. If you reset it, it may help you start fresh via the Thunderbolt adapter. See:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379

FYI to all: I spent an hour with senior tech at Apple Care without a resolve other than taking both the monitor and macmini to the genius bar so that they can see for themselves. Not fun since the nearest Apple store is 50 miles away. One common thread we noticed is that all the monitors are Samsung. It seems the Samsung is not communicating the native resolution to the macmini via the HDMI. I'm close to taking my Samsung back and trying a different brand just as a test.

Your screen resolution is stored in the NVRAM. If you reset it, it may help you start fresh via the Thunderbolt adapter. See:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379

Allencamp84032 - thanks for the suggestion - resetting NVRAM / having monitor attached via Thunderbolt --> HDMI from boot up didn't help me alas - text still fuzzy e.g. this from your post above:

Interesting that the text looks fuzzy even in a captured image - that rules out the monitor in my mind and makes it definitely a software issue.

koyeung, I had a look at that site, and I can see differences in all the levels, most in yellow & white, least so at the dark end of the blue.

Allencamp84032 said "One common thread we noticed is that all the monitors are Samsung. It seems the Samsung is not communicating the native resolution to the macmini via the HDMI."

I believe there are others reporting fuzzy text / HDMI issues on different brands. Also, my mini and monitor are in agreement that 1080p is the native resolution of my monitor, and that is what is being used, so it seems more subtle than a straightforward "wrong resolution" issue.

If you find a make & model of monitor that clears this up for you, I'd be very interested to hear about it!

Purchased my new mac mini yesterday. I have also come from a mac mini 2011 connected to my Espon projector through the HDMI port which I cant praise Highly Enough! I now have the latest 2.3 GHz Intel Quad Core i7 model installed with exactly the same setup with ALL latest updates including the 1.7 HDMI firmware flicker fix and I can confirm to the Collective that there is still a significant issue!! It is so obvious and I'm so gutted!! The text looks so poor and colours are so washed out. My screen looks dead, no longer alive with vibrant colours. It's predecessor has such a crystal clear clarity. I would say it's like chalk and cheese, It's such a significant issue to return the Mac Mini and replacing your Hdmi monitor willake no difference. I will try the DVI adaptor with a DVI cable tomorrow and see if the picture quality improves but my projector only has VGA meaning I will require another adapter!!!

Does Apple still believe they have fixed all the faults with this latest 1.7 firmware update?

Apple, find a Epson Projector TW3200 and then connect to a 2011 model followed by the latest 2012 model and tell me I'm wrong!

I have base i5 mini and connected to HP 2311X monitor and I get blurred text too. Initially plugged in HDMI>HDMI and screen was bloated so turned Overscan off and that correct it however text still looks blurry. Tried connection using supplied HDMI>DVI cable and no difference really. My Windows PC is crystal clear when connected but Mac Mini blurry. My first ever Mac and gutted about it. Hope it gets sorted out soon.

I have exactly the same problem. A brand new mac mini late 2012 (bought 31/12 2012) and have all the latest updates. I get fuzzy text and have a Samsung BX2450 monitor. I then bought a new Benq 2430H just to fix this problem. The new monitor also have a Mac-book setting, and I guessed this would fix the problem, but it didnt. It got a little better, but not totally.

It is very frustrating, have you heard of any fix JimmyJimmyJam yet?

Anyone else has any more idea?

Have you tried turning contrast down on monitor post calibration? I did this and it fixed my issue 🙂

kape_80, I've not managed to get the text sharp like my old Windows machine, I just got used to it (it helps that the machine is generally a pleasure to use!)

I've concluded that OS X font smoothing is just a different look TBH, that bit more noticeable on a 24" monitor than the iMac's 21".

So calibration and turning down the contrast again afterwards were the two best things I did (thanks Chrisanewman for the 2nd suggestion!)

Found a decent workaround with blurry text and Samsung monitor, turn sharpness all the way up- 100 on monitor, much better text! Hope this helps...

I'm running two monitors but... one is HDMI-DVI and the other in Mini display (via T-Bolt port)-VGA. I was advised to do it that way because the VGA is an "active" connection and the DVI is "Passive". The ONLY discrepancy I notice is a (slight) variance in "warmth", with the DVI looking just a little "cooler", but I have to REALLY look closely to even see it. Given that I'm not using mirrored displays, it makes it even more difficult to tell any difference.