Is MacMini (2012) capable of viewing 4K?

Question

Is MacMini (2012) capable of viewing 4K?

Hi,

If I connect my MacMini (2.6 Ghz, Intel Core i7) to a 4K monitor with thunderbolt/mdp... will I be able to play full screen video?
And whatabout to a 1.4 HDMI 4K TV Monitor? Not through the HDMI port but through the Thunderbolt/MDP with a good MDP--> HDMI converter?
I am asking this because you can start to find some "cheap" 4K monitors around but most of them (if not all) have only 1.4 HDMI.. but no MDP.

Mac mini (Late 2012), OS X Mavericks (10.9.1)

Posted on Dec 19, 2013 1:26 PM

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Answer 1

lllaass

Level 10

210,459 points

Dec 19, 2013 1:59 PM in response to MarcelloM1973

No. Just purchase the new MacPro. It supports 4K. The downside is that the base price is $2999. Today is the first day you can order it but shipping is not till January

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Answer 2

Dec 19, 2013 2:19 PM in response to lllaass

I know.. that is why I was wondering...
Is yours a technical answer .. or just a suggestion?
We know thunderbolt handles 2560 x 1440 at least (http://www.apple.com/displays/specs.html)
As far as I know thunderbolt mdp is limited only by bandwidth has no intrinsecal resolution....

What thunderbolt do I have on my MacMini ? What is the max resolution it supports?

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Answer 3

lllaass

Level 10

210,459 points

Dec 19, 2013 2:34 PM in response to MarcelloM1973

I have the 2012 Mini

*This model simultaneously supports 1920x1200 on an HDMI or a DVI display (using the included HDMI-to-DVI adapter) and2560x1600 on a Thunderbolt or Mini DisplayPort display or even a VGA display (with an optional Mini DisplayPort-to-VGA adapter, which is compatible with the Thunderbolt port).

Also see:

Apple Mini DisplayPort adapters: Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

18. What is the maximum resolution available for use with the Apple Mini DisplayPort to VGA adapter?

The resolution available with the Apple Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter is 1920 x 1200. VGA displays that use higher refresh rates (such as 85 Hz) at resolutions of 1600 x 1200 or greater may not generate video properly until you lower the refresh rate.

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Answer 4

Dec 19, 2013 2:40 PM in response to lllaass

Thanks.. this answered me.

What about playback of 4K video full screen with standard HD output... I mean... will the CPU.. GPU.... etc.. make it in viewing the video... playing with no jumps.. etc... (even.. as you just told me.. in a lower resolution) ?
Guess it also depends on the codec... MP4, MOV PRORES, etc...
I made a ProRes 4K file out of 4 HD files and seems to play well full screen (on my HDMI HD monitor).. is that a good test?

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Answer 5

Dec 24, 2013 11:56 AM in response to MarcelloM1973

Yes, you can view 3840x2160 @ up to 31hz on a 2012 Mac Mini. I do this personally using a Mini Display port to HDMI 1.4 adapter (Accel) on a Seiki 4k.

There is one drawback. It only works on <10.9 and you must use a patch along with SwitchResX to make it work. You can easily find the mac-pixel-clock-patch with a google search. SwitchResX is free as well.

Enjoy!

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Answer 6

Dec 28, 2013 1:09 AM in response to MMcCorkleRX30

Great... When you say ..... "<10.9" you mean "anything but Maverics" ?
Why is this? Will it be possible on Maverics?

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Answer 7

DougToo

Level 1

0 points

Jan 6, 2014 12:03 PM in response to MMcCorkleRX30

Any hope for the Mac Mini to work on 10.9?

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Answer 8

Jan 6, 2014 12:11 PM in response to DougToo

Not until someone finds out how to hack the current 10.9 video driver to disable the 165hz pixel lock. That or Apple enables it in the driver... I have a feeling the solution is to simply "buy a new Mac Pro". ;-)

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Answer 9

DougToo

Level 1

0 points

Jan 6, 2014 12:14 PM in response to MMcCorkleRX30

Yeah, have one on order. But I have the Seiki monitor sitting around. Wanted to see how it looked at 4K

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Answer 10

Jan 6, 2014 12:30 PM in response to DougToo

Well, in short, it looks awesome. ;-) The 31hz limitation is more than enough for nice looking video (the limited amount that exists). The only place you would need more than the 31hz refresh is while moving windows around quickly with your mouse or gaming. I also had to download a mouse smoothing app that makes the mouse feel much better at the higher res. The highest setting for scroll speed is way to low @ 3840x2160.

Once you use it you won't ever be able to go back to 1080. I replaced 3 42" 1080p's with 1 50" Seiki and love it everyday. You'll want to tweak the color settings and not put the backlight over about 70 or else you'll get a noticable flashing on light areas of the screen. A simple color calibration in OSX fixes any miscolorations. Search around for calibrating the Seiki and you'll find some good settings to change in the advanced settings menu on the Seiki.

For about $770 shipped who can possibly complain about a 50" 4k monitor? But people still find reasons...

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Answer 11

DougToo

Level 1

0 points

Jan 6, 2014 12:33 PM in response to MMcCorkleRX30

Cool. Thanks for the info.

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Answer 12

Jan 7, 2014 2:10 AM in response to MarcelloM1973

I disabled separate monitor control (from Maverics, inside Mission Control) installed SwitchResX on my Mac Mini and can get 2x 3840x2160 screens. I am watching them on my standard 1080p monitors so it's not real 4K... the resolution is obviously interpolated.. but it works... What will happen whan I connect a 4K monitor I don't know. As far as I understand it will work...

From what I am reading on the web the Seiki 4K is a good monitor but a bad TV.. but I think I'll give it a try.. This means good resolution and, after calibration, good colors. Not so good upscaling (for TV signal) and not so good for fast paced movements (blurs etc...) also because in 4K it will only be 30hz.

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Answer 13

Jan 7, 2014 2:25 AM in response to MMcCorkleRX30

MMcCorkleRX30

What model from Sieki?

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Answer 14

Jan 7, 2014 2:44 AM in response to MarcelloM1973

As I said.. I don't have a 4k monitor yet.. but I am thinking of getting one... Seiki (as far as I know, the only ones up to now) have a range of cheap 4K monitors. Amazon is selling SE39UY04 at 500$ (40") and the 50 inch version at 1.000$. As I said.. from what I am reading, here and on the internet, it seems a good monitor for computer use, maybe watch a video, video editing, play some games.. but not really a good TV due to bad upscaling and blending.

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Answer 15

DCGoD

Level 1

14 points

Jan 7, 2014 4:16 AM in response to MarcelloM1973

I have the Seiki 50" SE50UY04 and have also seen the 39" version work as well. No, you won't get 3840x2160@30/31hz on Mavericks using a Mac Mini at the present time. You can however get it to work at 17hz but it is way noticeable and forced me to load 10.8 until someone removes the limitation in Mavericks. It is a pixel clock limitation on the Mini's drivers. As I stated before though, it works on <10.9 with this patch and SwitchResX @31hz. http://code.google.com/p/mac-pixel-clock-patch/wiki/Documentation

And it also looks like Amazon and TigerDirect raised their price back to $1k for this tv so getting it for $770 including shipping has passed. Keep your eye out though because these tvs have fluctated greatly in price. I think people are starting to see the value which is why they raised the prices. Mac Pro release maybe? ;-)

-MM

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