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MacBook Pro - MiniDisplayPort - HDTV

Hello folks,


I have an Insignia NS-32D420NA16 which I have used for a few years as an external monitor with my old MacBook Pro (Early 2009) using a MiniDisplayPort to HDMI cable. Everything worked fine on the "Better Battery Life" graphics card setting (in the Energy Saver preference pane) but on the "Higher Performance" setting, things were pixelated and the text in particular looked terrible. It was no problem as I just used the "Better Battery Life" setting and everything looked great. As an added bonus, I didn't have to remember to switch the setting back when I'd take my laptop somewhere.


I just got a brand-new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, and it seems to default to the "higher performance" resolution which makes the external TV look like crap. Any suggestions to make it work better with the external display? I am using the OWC Thunderbolt 3 Dock with the same MiniDisplayPort - HDMI cable that I've been using all along.


I have tried messing with the resolutions in the display preferences and nothing really seems to help. It is set on 1080p which is supposedly the correct resolution for the display. Overscan is turned off.


Any suggestions would be much appreciated!!

Thanks in advance!

MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2017), macOS High Sierra (10.13.1), OWC Thunderbolt 3 Dock

Posted on Nov 12, 2017 9:58 AM

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1 reply

Nov 15, 2017 8:20 PM in response to Jim Lutz

Just an update: I've messed around with SwitchResX which has not yielded any positive results. I noticed that the TV detects the computer signal differently when I plug in one of the computers (or, on the old one, change the graphics settings). On the "better battery life" setting on the old machine (which looks perfect), The TV detects "1920 x 1080 60Hz DVI." On the new computer, or the "higher performance" setting on the old one, it just says "1080p 60Hz." Any ideas on how I might figure out the difference between these settings and transfer the good settings to my new computer?

MacBook Pro - MiniDisplayPort - HDTV

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