becassin

Q: external monitor resolution is too low

Fairly simple problem, but I can't find out where is the issue.

 

I got:

- Macbook pro dual core 2 (mid 2010)

- iiyama prolite pl2409hdsb-1 (24'',native resolution 1920x1080)

- Apple Mini DisplayPort to DVI adapter

 

I thought I would be able to use the native resolution of the screen, but in OS preferencies, the max resolution I can reach is 1600x900 px, pretty horrible!

 

Any thought?

 

Cheers

MacBook Pro (13-inch Mid 2010), Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Jan 13, 2013 8:36 AM

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Q: external monitor resolution is too low

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  • by mende1,Helpful

    mende1 mende1 Jan 13, 2013 8:38 AM in response to becassin
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    Jan 13, 2013 8:38 AM in response to becassin

    As the maximum resolution of the external display is 1920x1080, I suppose that this monitor has got a HDMI port. If it has got a HDMI port, in order to get 1920x1080, you have to use a MiniDisplay Port to HDMI adapter, and connect your Mac to the monitor with the HDMI cable

  • by becassin,

    becassin becassin Jan 13, 2013 8:50 AM in response to mende1
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    Jan 13, 2013 8:50 AM in response to mende1

    Thanks mende.

     

    Sounds like you got the answer.

     

    What I don't understand is, it's says here that the MiniDisplay Port to DVI is able to handle resolution up to 1920x1200.

    So if the adapter is not the issue itself, is it the DVI port of the monitor that is bugging me?

  • by mende1,Solvedanswer

    mende1 mende1 Jan 13, 2013 8:52 AM in response to becassin
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    Desktops
    Jan 13, 2013 8:52 AM in response to becassin

    There's a difference between 1920x1080 and 1920x1200. 1920x1080 is a HD resolution, and you must use a HDMI cable to use that resolution; however, the DVI port is compatible with 1920x1200 because it's not a HD resolution

  • by becassin,

    becassin becassin Jan 13, 2013 8:56 AM in response to mende1
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    Jan 13, 2013 8:56 AM in response to mende1

    Ah I see. Sounds like I could order a book about screen resolutions at the same time.

     

    Thanks a lot for the help!

  • by mende1,

    mende1 mende1 Jan 13, 2013 8:57 AM in response to becassin
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    Jan 13, 2013 8:57 AM in response to becassin

    You are welcome

  • by becassin,

    becassin becassin Jan 17, 2013 8:00 AM in response to becassin
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    Jan 17, 2013 8:00 AM in response to becassin

    Hello mende1,

    I just received my HDMI cable (this one), tried it, and the maximum resolution I can reach on my external monitor is still 1600x900.

    Even if this is not the official Apple adapter, I assumed this would do the job as a HDMI cable, do you think I assumed wrong?

  • by becassin,

    becassin becassin Jan 17, 2013 8:56 AM in response to becassin
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    Jan 17, 2013 8:56 AM in response to becassin

    I just tried with a macbook air, works super fine, even in DVI.

    So the problem seems to come from my mpb, but it says here, under "2nd Display Support" that the maximum supported resolution is 2560x1600.

    Is it again a question 2560x1600 not being a HD resolution?

     

    note: the format of the resolution name with the macbook air is "1080p" instead of "YYYxYYY", that's weird.

     

    note 2: I'm currently running OS 10.6.8, any chance a software update might solve the issue?

  • by mende1,

    mende1 mende1 Jan 17, 2013 8:58 AM in response to becassin
    Level 10 (93,324 points)
    Desktops
    Jan 17, 2013 8:58 AM in response to becassin

    1080p is a 1920x1080 resolution. Your Mac should support 1920x1080 without any problem, so something happens with your computer

  • by becassin,

    becassin becassin Jan 17, 2013 9:02 AM in response to becassin
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    Jan 17, 2013 9:02 AM in response to becassin

    Any idea how to debug such an issue?

  • by becassin,

    becassin becassin Jan 17, 2013 9:57 AM in response to becassin
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    Jan 17, 2013 9:57 AM in response to becassin

    Ok, found the solution, more of a workaround:

     

    - In the display preferences, I ticked the "display monitor settings in top bar" box.

    - Via the top bar preferences, I extended the "number of recent elements" from 3 to 10.

    - Magically, the 1080p option, that wasn't in the preferences, appeared, so I just selected it and it works fine.

     

    note: works for both DVI and HDMI

  • by Coastyn,

    Coastyn Coastyn Jan 25, 2014 8:38 PM in response to becassin
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 25, 2014 8:38 PM in response to becassin

    I'm having the same problem, but I dont see the "display monitor settings in top bar".  Nor the number of recent elements.  Can you elaborate a little more as to where I can find this?  My max resolution is only 1280x800 on my Samsung HD TV.  My mac mini displays in 1920x1080 with no problems.

  • by joaldias,

    joaldias joaldias Mar 8, 2014 4:33 PM in response to becassin
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    Mar 8, 2014 4:33 PM in response to becassin

    I had my mackbook pro connected to 23" display with DVI. After unplugging the monitor cable and connecting it back the resolution went down to 800x600 and another low and crazy one on the macbook pro.

     

    Went to display preferences, option key and clicked on detect monitores and problem solved. Screen resolution back to normal on both monitores.

     

    I'm not using HDMI because it's not stable when connecting to HP Pavilion 23xi. Read on a different post that HP does not support Mac enviroment...

  • by SkipWiggins,

    SkipWiggins SkipWiggins Mar 10, 2014 8:02 AM in response to Coastyn
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 10, 2014 8:02 AM in response to Coastyn

    I was just having the same problem. I'm using a VGA cable with a thunderbolt adaptor. Before today it would detect and display at 1920x1080 which is the native resolution of that monitor. Sometimes it would get it wrong and set the resolution to 800x600. Unplugging and replugging the adaptor would normally set the resolution to native. However today, this was not working.

     

    To get back to native resolution, I had to hold the option key and click the "Scaled" radio button on the secondary display. This shows all of the available resolutions. Then I was able to choose 1920x1080 and get on with my day. I got this solution from here: http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20131030130206132

  • by mykinz,

    mykinz mykinz Apr 5, 2014 9:30 PM in response to becassin
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 5, 2014 9:30 PM in response to becassin

    SMC reset worked for me (mid 2007 macbook, OS 10.7)