Pflemin1
Level 1 (8 points)

Q: My display isn't clear on the mac mini when using HDMI with a TV monitor

I've just bought a new Mac Mini, and plugged it into my TV using the HDMI cable. The display doesn't look terribly clear, and the text in particular appears to be very low resolution. Does anyone have any ideas how to alter the settings to improve the quality?

Posted on Feb 9, 2016 1:36 PM

by Pflemin1,Apple recommended
Pflemin1 Pflemin1
Level 1 (8 points)
A:

Changing to a 'scaled' display setting definitely helped - I changing the settings to a lower resolution, and changed the scale so that the display is slightly smaller - It's certainly better and clearer.

Posted on Feb 28, 2016 12:03 PM

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Pflemin1

Q: My display isn't clear on the mac mini when using HDMI with a TV monitor

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  • Helpful answers

  • by lllaass,

    lllaass lllaass Feb 9, 2016 1:49 PM in response to Pflemin1
    Level 10 (190,740 points)
    Apple Watch
    Feb 9, 2016 1:49 PM in response to Pflemin1

    What is the native resolution of the TV?
    What is the display resolution?

    Go to System Preferences>Displays and look.

    Also dot the circle that says scaled and what resolutions are available?

  • by Pflemin1,

    Pflemin1 Pflemin1 Feb 9, 2016 2:23 PM in response to lllaass
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Feb 9, 2016 2:23 PM in response to lllaass

    It's a 1080p resolution screen. I've set it to 'Default for display' at 60Hz (NTSC). I've also tried using the 'Scaled' option at 1080p, (1080i, 720p and 1600 x 900 are also available).

  • by lllaass,

    lllaass lllaass Feb 9, 2016 3:00 PM in response to Pflemin1
    Level 10 (190,740 points)
    Apple Watch
    Feb 9, 2016 3:00 PM in response to Pflemin1

    Does the TV have another type of input?

    HDMI can be problematic as you have seen.

  • by Urban Shocker,Helpful

    Urban Shocker Urban Shocker Feb 28, 2016 12:04 PM in response to Pflemin1
    Level 3 (605 points)
    Mac OS X
    Feb 28, 2016 12:04 PM in response to Pflemin1

    Does your TV have a "smoothing" feature in the settings? If so it may need to be turned off.

  • by Pflemin1,

    Pflemin1 Pflemin1 Feb 13, 2016 12:39 AM in response to lllaass
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Feb 13, 2016 12:39 AM in response to lllaass

    I'll try ordering some different adapters and see if using a different input works.

  • by Pflemin1,

    Pflemin1 Pflemin1 Feb 13, 2016 12:42 AM in response to Urban Shocker
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Feb 13, 2016 12:42 AM in response to Urban Shocker

    Not sure if it has 'smoothing' features. It has diferent modes such as 'dynamic' or 'movie' mode. Altering the settings does make a slight improvement, but ultimately doesn't deliver the image quality I was expecting - I'll try using different adapters and inputs.

  • by Rudegar,

    Rudegar Rudegar Feb 13, 2016 3:08 AM in response to Pflemin1
    Level 7 (28,980 points)
    Apple TV
    Feb 13, 2016 3:08 AM in response to Pflemin1

    before spending money on adapters and the likes then I would check if other tv's have the same issue

    if they don't then connecting using dvi or display port or the likes will not guarantee to help at all

  • by Pflemin1,

    Pflemin1 Pflemin1 Feb 15, 2016 12:59 PM in response to Rudegar
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Feb 15, 2016 12:59 PM in response to Rudegar

    Moving to VGA improved the display slightly - next step is to try an alternative (DVI) display to see if it's the screen or the computer that's at fault.

  • by garyfromrio linda,Helpful

    garyfromrio linda garyfromrio linda Feb 27, 2016 4:31 AM in response to Pflemin1
    Level 2 (353 points)
    Feb 27, 2016 4:31 AM in response to Pflemin1

    Is the Underscan turned off in the Display preferences when connected by HDMI.  The "smoothing" referred to by Urban Shocker is also called Overscan which usually lets you increase or decrease the size of the image, like Zoom.  This needs to be turned off or down also.  The "dynamic", "movie" modes are preset color profiles for the picture usually preset to help adjust picture to the viewer without manually adjusting all colors and contrasts  etc.

  • by Pflemin1,

    Pflemin1 Pflemin1 Feb 27, 2016 4:36 AM in response to garyfromrio linda
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Feb 27, 2016 4:36 AM in response to garyfromrio linda

    Moving over to a different screen with a Dvi connector has helped, but the display still isn't great no better and possibly a bit worse than other devices I plug into the same screen - I'm wondering is this as good as the Mac Mini gets, or do I need a new screen? A bit disappointing for such an expensive machine....

  • by Pflemin1,Apple recommended

    Pflemin1 Pflemin1 Feb 28, 2016 12:03 PM in response to garyfromrio linda
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Feb 28, 2016 12:03 PM in response to garyfromrio linda

    Changing to a 'scaled' display setting definitely helped - I changing the settings to a lower resolution, and changed the scale so that the display is slightly smaller - It's certainly better and clearer.

  • by Pflemin1,

    Pflemin1 Pflemin1 May 8, 2016 4:36 AM in response to Pflemin1
    Level 1 (8 points)
    May 8, 2016 4:36 AM in response to Pflemin1

    I've been spending some time adjusting the display. It would appear that adjusting the TV's Sharpness control is the answer. Oddly enough, reducing the sharpness level improves the sharpness of the display, which seems counter-intuitive, but it works. Reducing the sharpness to 71% seems to be the optimum level for this particular set. It's still not as good as a Retina display, but then the TV is a lot cheaper, so I guess you get what you pay for!

  • by CJESOLDO,

    CJESOLDO CJESOLDO Oct 1, 2016 9:22 AM in response to Pflemin1
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Desktops
    Oct 1, 2016 9:22 AM in response to Pflemin1

    I have a similar problem.   The normal mac functions (mail, iMessage, etc.) look fine on "default for this display" but the video, even playing in iTunes is reduced.  If I set it ti 1080p or 1080i, the video looks great, but I have trouble reading email and the text in other apps.  Is the mac not optimized for HDMI even though it has an HDMI output from the factory?