HDMI On Mac Mini Late 2012: Problem with hardware?

Hi. I just bought a late 2012 Mac Mini 2.3 with a Samsung 128GB SSD as the Startup Disk (not Fusion Drive) and a new Viewsonic 23" VX2370Smh LED monitor with native 1920 x 1080 resolution. The two are connected by HDMI. Certain colour details are missing, e.g. open Finder in Columns view and the vertical separators are non existent - strangely they become slightly visible when another open window is dragged across the open Finder window. The text is not sharp and, beside being extremely disappointed, usage of the setup is hard on the eyes. Horizontal separator colours are not visible on my online bank account using Safari, but are visible in my old G5 iMac. I have tried every possible combination of setting the colours in System Preferences - Displays, as well as monitor adjustments, but to no avail. I don't have cables to try HDMI to DVI etc. I intend to visit my local Apple Store and lodge a complaint. I just hope there is a downloadable fix otherwise I am stuck with a faulty product.

G. Brisbane, Australia.

PS: Just borrowed a DVI-D cable from my neighbour, and used the Apple HDMI - DVI adaptor that came with the Mini. This cable arrangement fixed all the problems, and the display looks very good - colours are great, more contrast for text, column separators returned in Finder - all is well.

Thank you, but after trying out a substitute non-Apple HDMI cable without success this morning and having the Mac mini tested by my local Apple dealer (result: everything fine concerning the hardware), we came to the conclusion that the problem must be somewhere within the HDMI connection. The dealer's staff thus sold me a combination consisting of

- an Apple Mini DisplayPort to DVI adaptor, plus

- a DVI male/male cable

and this somewhat strange looking setup now works beautifully. However, I can't help remaining surprised why such an issue with HDMI apparently can't be solved by Apple (or whoever else is to blame) within many months.

I have the 2.3ghz Core i7 version and HDMI works fine EXCEPT with the HP 2311x LED monitor the resolution was restricted to 1080p and the text was fuzzy. Using the HDMI - DVI cable that comes with the Mini corrects the issue and allows you to set the digital resolution to 1920 x 1080 @ 60 Hz and the display is spectacular.

It's quite possible the HDMI interface on the display was the issue, I didn't bother to troubleshoot since it's working great on DVI.

Remember, if you are using HDMI - DVI it's the same port but conversion to DVI is done on the adapter vs. HDMI - HDMI which relies on the conversion within the monitor. IT's a monitor issue, not a Mac Mini issue IMHO. I noticed the same thing with my Windows video, DVI was always better.

Did you try the HDMI to DVI cable that came with the Mac Mini? That's what I'm using and it's perfect. The problem with HDMI to HDMI is the handshake limits you to TV based video formats, i.e. 1080p. You need to convert it to DVI to get a true 1920 x 1080 native resolution. While 1080p and 1920x1080 are considered to be the same spec your monitor does a conversion to it's native resolution. On my monitor the native resolution is 1920x1080 so I assumed it would work the same but with HDMI there is additional overhead for things like overscan that caused the image to appear soft or "fuzzy". When I switched to the HDMI->DVI cable that came with the Mini and plugged into the DVI port on the monitor the display is crystal clear. IMHO it's the monitor conversion that caused the issue, not the Mini's interface.

I was experiencing the poor resolution, poor colors and text issues as others. I bought a 2012 core i5 MM to replace a 2007 Core 2 Duo MM. The 2007 MM was connected with a DVI-HDMI cable and was sharp. I connected the 2012 MM with an HDMI-HDMI and was poor. My monitor only has VGA and HDMI inputs.

I solved my issue with a MDP-DVI adapter. Ordered a couple of MDP adapters online, and the MDP-DVI adapter solved the issue; and the image is same or better as before with my 2007 mini. Need to point out that I also ordered a MDP-HDMI adapter, and it did not work, same issues as the HDMI out. For some reason the HDMI-HDMI connection has issues. Also with the MDP-DVI adapter, I don't have to underscan; with the HDMI-HDMI connection I had to underscan, which is part of the problem because it creates blurry text.

Also, when connected HDMI-HDMI monitors showed "1080p", now it shows "1920x1080"

Hi Fouad Abbasi

I purchased a HDMI to DVI-D cable and all problems were solved; I could have purchased a DVI-D to DVI-D (male to male) cable and used the HDMI to DVI-D adaptor supplied by Apple in the box with the Mac Mini. However, to avoid using another adaptor I chose the HDMI to DVI-D cable. Of course, sound/audio is NOT conveyed over a DVI cable, so I used a standard stereo 3.5mm cable to connect from the sound output of the Mini to my monitor which has inbuilt speakers.

The quality of the screen images is now perfect.

It is my understanding that Intel have sent some new HD4000 drivers to Apple to test to overcome the problem, and, if succesful, they will become available in a latter software update.

G. Brisbane, Australia

I also converted from PC to Mac Mini. Was very disappointed with the fuzziness of my HP 2509 monitor with the Mac, which is CRYSTAL sharp with my PC. I was reading some of the comments in this thread and one mentioned using the HDMI OUTPUT on the Mac but using a DVI connection to the monitor. I just happened to have a HDMI to DVI cable, plugged it in, and WOW, what a difference in display clarity!! The letters now are crystal sharp like my PC is. There is no "fuzziness" to the letters on the desktop. Something is wrong with HDMI to HDMI output.

The included HDMI - DVI cable will solve your issues. You will notice right away that the video modes will switch from the basic TV 1080p mode to a digital 1920x1080 (and others) so you can get the correct clocking signals to drive the monitor correctly.

The issue is the way the video chip manages HDMI connections vs. pure digital. It's obvious the interface can handle the digital modes but it defaults to the "TV" specs for resolution when it senses an end to end HDMI connection.

Is it really a problem? That's subjective. I switched over to the included HDMI - DVI cable within 10 minutes of installation and it's been working perfectly for months.

I have not been following the threads. Just got my Mac Mini today and plugged into a Samsung Smart tv 42".

HDMI > HDMI with an Apple bought cable looked awful. Text blurry etc...

The solution, at least for Samsung TVs is to set the HDMI port as a DVI port in the settings. This disables the overscan and the screen / image does not need adjusting, just like a monitor. I disabled LCD Text Smoothing as well and that made the text look a lot crisper. You need to use the port marked HDMI / DVI on the back of the TV, the other ports are just HDMI.

You can see how to do this on a Samsung here

http://www.storageforum.net/forum/showthread.php/8905-How-to-Disable-overscan-on -a-Samsung-quot-SMART-quot-tv-solved

Its not the easiest option to find. Maybe other TVs have the HDMI / DVI markings showing which HDMI port to use. In settings look for a PC Mode or DVI Mode. A few different TVs allow such settings.

have you tried this

have not been following the threads. Just got my Mac Mini today and plugged into a Samsung Smart tv 42".

HDMI > HDMI with an Apple bought cable looked awful. Text blurry etc...

The solution, at least for Samsung TVs is to set the HDMI port as a DVI port in the settings. This disables the overscan and the screen / image does not need adjusting, just like a monitor. I disabled LCD Text Smoothing as well and that made the text look a lot crisper. You need to use the port marked HDMI / DVI on the back of the TV, the other ports are just HDMI.

You can see how to do this on a Samsung here

http://www.storageforum.net/forum/showthread.php/8905-How-to-Disable-overscan-on -a-Samsung-quot-SMART-quot-tv-solved

Its not the easiest option to find. Maybe other TVs have the HDMI / DVI markings showing which HDMI port to use. In settings look for a PC Mode or DVI Mode. A few different TVs allow such settings.

[SOLVED]

I had the same issue. Mac mini 2012 and SAMSUNG SyncMaster PX2370 display.

1. HDMI to HDMI, bad

2. HDMI to DVI adaptor to DVI on PX2370, good

The problem is that my Samsung display treated HDMI as TV input. Once I switch the HDMI input to PC mode from Samsung display. The problem is gone. Obversed no difference between method 1 and 2.

I don't disagree that you can fix it by using the stocked HDMI to DVI adaptor, the way I think is if it is designed as an output, it should work. so for my this is not a Mac mini problem, rather a setup issue. I don't know if the HDMI signal from Mac mini is capable or should tell my Samsung display, you should treat my like a PC not TV.

I don't know what kind of monitor you bought, but I have a mac mini (2012 model) and I just got a new HP 22bw monitor this weekend. It too looked awful when I turned it on with a connection via HDMI. Thanks to a review on Best Buy, I found that there is a setting on the monitor under "Image Control", "Custom Scaling", "Overscan", the Overscan needs to be turned OFF. Once I did that, the image quality was great. I don't know if you have a monitor with an "Overscan" setting, but if you do, that may be the problem.

Hey All,

I've found the fix for Samsung TVs by searching some other forums and trying multiple combinations of cables and settings. I had the same problem with grainy text on a mid 2011 Mac Mini when using either the HDMI port or Thunderbolt and it turns out that the problem is not with the Mac. I have a Samsung 24" HDTV w/ two HDMI ports. Using the remote edit the source name to DVI, DVI/PC, or PC--problem solved!

Side note, if using DVI or DVI/PC I was not able to send audio through the HDMI cable, this was only availale when PC is chosen.

Hope this helps!

I believe this was addressed by this firmware fix.

http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1616

Hi Salty

Have you checked the display mode from your monitor's setting? If there is a input mode setting, please confirm it is set to "PC", not "TV" as input source.