Buying an external monitor...

I'm shopping for an HDTV to hookup to my macbook. One of my friends said to use the miniDVI-DVI adapter and connect the DVI to an HDTV with a DVI input. Is this sufficient to use the HDTV as a monitor-aka- am i going to be able to read type? I know when i hook up my powerbook to my TV using an s-video, reading type is sketchy.
Is this the best way? Should i use an HDMI instead? Any suggestions on an exact HDTV model? (26-32 inch preferred)

the MacBook's specs say it will support upto a 23" external display. i've succesfully connected my MacBook to a 23" Philips HDTV monitor over DVI(1080i rez) & a 42" Sony w/ DVI>HDMI cable. hard to read anything on the 42" @1080i rez though, but it's nice for DVDs.
good luck.

Similar Messages

If I buy an external monitor (with a res of 2560x1440) will my early 2011 MacBook Pro work ok? And will it be utilising the monitors full res or not?

Hi,
I have an early 2011 MacBook Pro. I use Premiere Pro CS5 to video edit on. It's fine but when it comes to grading it's nearly impossible on such a small screen.
I'd like to buy a 27inch external monitor (Asus, Samsung, Dell, whatever - haven't decided yet) for when I'm editing at work (which is most days). My query is regarding the resolutions. Obviously my MacBook Pro displays a resolution of 1280x800, so if I buy a monitor with a resolution of 2560x1440 for example, what gets displayed?
And also does the connecting cable make any difference? For example, if I'm connecting by Thunderbolt out to HDMI, then an HDMI to HDMI cable to the external monitor, what happens then? Or should I be using a Mini Display Port to Display Port connecting lead?
I guess all I really want to know is, will it work? But also, am I wasting my money buying an external monitor with a 2560x1440 resolution? Should I just go for one that's the same res at my MacBook Pro?
I've never really understood how these things all work!
Thanks in advance for anyones help.
Regards,
Phil

I think it will work. You would need a mini displayport to (single link) DVI adapter to hook up that monitor.
Not sure what kind of problems you had with the ViewSonic but I'm guessing the Dell is probably a better monitor anyhow.

Advise on buying an external monitor to use with FCPX

I want to buy a monitor to use with my Macbook Pro
Any advice on what to buy if I also want to use with FCPX?
Is the advice to get the biggest one possible!? DOH!
Anything else?
I don't want to buy Apple: I don't have the budget to afford
Thanks
Omar

I don't think there is much point in going larger than 24" and you can get quite a few around the £120 mark on Amazon.
Make sure it has the right connection for your MBP as there are several different ones on the market.

Qosmio x70-A-12 - question about the usage of external monitor

Hello,
am about to buy an external monitor and I was wondering what would work with my laptop.
I want it to work as an additional surface (Not a copy of my current screen) with both screens working at the same time.
My laptop seems to have a VGA port and an HDMI port.
I have already tried through the HDMI port with an old -probablybroken- monitor but that didnt work out.
I dunno if that's due to the monitor or my laptop.
I also tried searching for VGA monitors but when I checked the specs for my laptop it didnt list that it could connect a monitor via VGA....
Anyone knows what actually would work?..
thanks in advance!

As you already said: the notebook supports the VGA (RGB) monitor out port as well as the HDMI out port.
So you can use one of the ports in order to connect the external monitor.
Nowadays the HDMI port is a standard interface which is supported by almost all external monitors and I would recommend you to use the HDMI connection. The HDMI supports digital signals and provides better picture quality.
So its your choice now to pick a good working external monitor.

Buying a new Monitor

+*I have a Mac iBook 800 MHz PowerPC G3 with 256 MB SDRAM running Mac OS X Version 10.4.11.+*
+*The Graphics/Displays says the following:*+
ATI Mobility Radeon 7500:
Chipset Model: ATY,RageM7
Type: Display
Bus: AGP
Slot: ATI
VRAM (Total): 32 MB
Vendor: ATI (0x1002)
Device ID: 0x4c57
Revision ID: 0x0000
ROM Revision: 113-XXXXX-207
Displays:
Color LCD:
Display Type: LCD
Resolution: 1024 x 768
Depth: 32-bit Color
Built-In: Yes
Core Image: Not Supported
Main Display: Yes
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Quartz Extreme: Supported
Display:
Status: No display connected
+*The monitor output plug hole on the side of the computer is a mini DVI.*+
+*I am thinking of buying an external monitor. A 21.5 in Samsung EX2220x which has both DVI-D input and Dsub input. The latter is labeled RGB-in on the back of the monitor. Its specs are:*+
Display
Screen Size
21.5" Wide
Brightness (Typical)
250 cd/m²
Contrast Ratio (Typical)
MEGA DCR (Typ. 1,000:1)
Resolution
1,920 x 1,080
Response Time (Typical)
5 ms
Viewing Angle (Horizontal/Vertical)
170˚ / 160˚ (CR> 10)
Color Support
16.7 M
Signal input
Video Signal
Analog RGB, DVI
Sync. Signal
Separate H / V, Composite, SOG
Connector
15pin D-SUB, DVI-D
Power
Power Consumption
22 Watts
Stand By Power (DPMS)
<0.3 W
Type
Built-in
Features
Plug & Play
DDC 2B
USB powered hub option
No
Mac compatibility
Yes
Multimedia Speakers
No
Wall-Mount
75 x 75 mm
TCO
TCO'5.0
Cabinet Color
High Glossy Black
Optional Accessories
DVI Cable
Special Features
MagicBright3, MagicEco, MagicAngle, MagicReturn, Off timer, Image Size Color Effect, Customized key, Windows7, DVI with HDCP
+*My question is will my Mac drive this monitor & if so would it be best to connect the computer to the DVI-D or the RGB input?*+
+*If the Mac will not drive the above monitor will it drive my second choice a 20 in Acer X203HBD which has both a DVI w/HDCP and a VGA input. Its specs are:*+
TFT Technology
TN
Image
Image brightness
300 cd/m2
Image Contrast Ratio
10000:1 (dynamic)
Max horizontal view angle
170
Max vertical view angle
160
Display
Diagonal Size
20 in - Widescreen
Dot Pitch / Pixel Pitch
0.276 mm
Max Resolution
1600 x 900 / 60 Hz
Color Support
24-bit (16.7 million colors)
Max Sync Rate (V x H)
75 Hz x 80 KHz
Response Time
5 ms
Signal Input
DVI-D, VGA
Features
HDCP
Video Input
Analog Video Signal
RGB
Digital Video Standard
Digital Visual Interface (DVI)
Expansion / Connectivity
Interfaces
1 x VGA - 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15) , 1 x DVI-D - 24 pin digital DVI
+*My question is will my Mac drive this monitor & if so would it be best to connect the computer to the DVI or the RGB input?*+
Thank you for your help.

If the monitor has a VGA input, as it appears it does, and will support 1024x768, then you could use it, but it would be a waste of a 22" monitor. Without hacking your iBook an external monitor will only mirror the internal screen (the iBooks do not officially support extended desktop mode which allows you to have different things on the two screens) and at 1024x768, far below the monitor's native resolution, things will be quite fuzzy.
Regards.

External Monitor for 13 inch Macbook

Hi, I am thinking to buy an external monitor for my Macbook. Can anybody suggest me what should be the right size monitor for my laptop? What other properties should I consider? I want a smooth display like my Macbook.
Thanks in advance....

I use the Hanns-G 22" widescreen monitor with the mini-dvi -> VGA. It looks pretty good as an external monitor, not great, but pretty good.
The upside to this monitor, besides being totally huge and satisfying, is that it comes with HDMI input. So we got a DVD player with HDMI and now we have upconverted 1080p movies for $400 total investment, plus a nice external monitor that works perfectly with both macbook and macbook pro.
The Samsung will be a nicer monitor, but $200 for a 22" with HDMI was too good to pass up.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824254024
Brian

First external monitor purchase. Need advice.

I am considering buying an external monitor for my Macbook. The monitor in question has a VGA input and a DVI-D input.
1. Which is better: VGA or DVI-D ?
2. I found Macbook to DVI-D and Macbook to VGA adapters. Unfortunately, these adapters are only 6 inches long.
3. As I have never purchased a computer monitor before, I do not know if lcd monitors come with pc-to-monitors cables. In other words, are pc-to-monitor cables sold separately?
4. If pc-to-monitor cables are sold separately, could anybody recommend a good place to buy pc-to-monitor cables ?
Thanks in advance.

Your computer has mini-DVI then. MiniDisplayport is on the latest white MacBook.
The display port is to the right of the USB port in both images.
Here's a link for the mini-DVI:
Mini-DVI
and for MiniDisplayport:
MiniDisplayPort
~Lyssa

External monitor AOC i2369Vm: compatible with my 2007 MBPro?

Hi there,
I have an 'old' but cherished 2007 MacBook Pro.
I am thinking of buying an external monitor AOC i2369Vm.
Are there compatibility problems regarding connecting ports etc? Online I've seen a few users who've complained of these but no answers were forthcoming when they posted their issues.
If there aren't any problems, then great. But if so, are there any suggestions regarding compatible and similarly - priced monitors?
Thanks a lot for your help, Adrian

I have an LG GE24LU20 and works great with either my iMac or Mac Mini.
LG GE24LU20 Optical Drives - 24x External Super-Multi DVD Rewriter - LG Electronics US
Heck' I can even open and close the tray from my menu bar icon,
plus it is way faster and less finicky than the superdrives.

External monitor for Retina Macbook Pro

Hello,i want to buy an external monitor for my late 2013 rMBP.I tried two models (Dell U2414H and LG 23MPQ65-P),none of them worked perfectly.On both monitors colors were washed, without contrast, the font was blurry.So i decided to return the monitors and also I sent the laptop in service for several diagnoses to see if there's something wrong with my Macbook.
I see that there are many models of external monitors that do not work correctly with rMBP.
I want an 23-27", FullHD, IPS monitor that would cost around 400$.
Can you tell me some suggestions?
Thanks.

Jenn.Y wrote:
So which input ports are best to use? I know there's ones like HDMI and DVI, so which is better to use?
Modern monitors will likely have HDMI, DVI, and/or Display Port inputs. If you use HDMI then you will not need an adapter since your computer will have a HDMI port out. You will just need a HDMI cable. If you use DVI you will need a mini display port to DVI adapter and a DVI cable. Dual Link DVI is best but you will need a mini display port to Dual Link DVI adapter and a Dual Link DVI cable. If your monitor has a Display Port input you could use that. vga will produce bad results compared to all the digital ports.
Your selection depends on the monitor you get. To get the best display resolution use what provides the monitor with video at the monitor's native resolution.
Use Google to compare the specifications of the different ports https://www.google.com/search?q=display+port+comparison+dvi+hdmi+dual+link

Powerbook 1400 / external monitors

Hi
I am looking to buy an external monitor for my pb 1400. I have apple 8-bit video out. What range of apple monitors will work with this?
thanks tom

I pulled my applevision 750av out of the truck of my car and used it as a second monitor. Works fine.
I get 256 colors at 640/860 resolution (it was something like that.) on the 750av . I can use 1023 x whatever it was with 16 colors. I have thousands of color on the pb1400 lcd.
The 750av powers off just fine when the book is put to sleep.

Mac Monitor settings, no external monitor

I'm a few months away from buying an external monitor and my videos are looking much different on a TV than on my 24" mac monitor. I have a NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT graphic cards. How would you all suggest I get as much color/ brightness accuracy as possible when editing with just a Mac monitor? Where should my brightness be?
Thanks!

Your Mac's computer monitor will never be able to accurately reproduce NTSC colors and gamma.
However, you could use a Matrox MXO.
-DH

MBP (rev 1.1) external monitor question

I am thinking about buying an external monitor (in the 20-24 inch range) to hook to my first generation MBP. My eyes are tired of staring at the smaller screen for big projects and the extra real estate would be nice at home. Maybe a silly question, but just wanted to be sure the ATI Radeon 1600 (256megs of vram) has ample power to run a large LCD. I am assuming it shouldn't be a problem, but would be interested in input from others. Not a gamer so no worries there but, I want it to look good and still feel as responsive as it does with the built in screen.
Thanks for any input. Suggestions on a monitor are also welcome.

Your MBP (and mine) +"Simultaneously support full native resolution on the built-in display and up to 2560 by 1600 pixels on an external display."+
Meaning yes, you can drive a large monitor with no problem.

Does OSX Mountain Lion recognize an external monitor through a USB Port?

I am thinking of buying an external monitor soon and I dont know if my Mac Mini 2011 will recognize the external monitor through a USB port. Is their a software that I would have to download? It will be going throught the port with this http://www.walmart.com/ip/SIIG-USB-2.0-to-VGA/10884548 or even this http://www.directron.com/k33928us.html?gsear=1. Thanks

That is to complicated, requires special drivers and most likely will produce a poor quality siginal to the monitor.
For 24" or smaller monitors your best bet it to buy a monitor with HDMI and/or DVI input and use a good HDMI cable between the Mac Mini and Monitor, or optionally the supplied HDMI to DVI Adapter and a DVI-D cable.
For larger Monitors you will want one with a DVI or Display Port input and use a Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter and a DVI-D cable or a Mini DisplayPort to Display Port cable.

New External Monitor for Logic on MacBook Pro - Suggestions

I'm in the painful process of updating my studio and now my large screen external monitor has started failing.
I know if this a pretty general question more suited to the MacBook Pro forum but I'd like some input from folks used to working with an application like Logic in a home studio environment.
I guess the issue for me is that I'm not getting any younger and my eyesight isn't what it used to be. One of the things specific to Logic and music software in general is that there are LOTS of very detailed dialog boxes with text that is not always height adjustable (yes I know about zooming and indeed I do lots of that but it gets quite distracting). The other factor is that I'm often recording and engineering myself which means I'll be sitting with a guitar in my lap or at a keyboard and can't always lean in too close to the monitor.
I solved this by buying a large 26" Acer which sits on my desk behind the Mackie MCU. To my left I've got the MacBook 15.4" Pro on a keyboard stand above my MIDI controller at a 45 degree angle to the desk.
It's worked quite well until the Acer seems to have become haunted. It will mysteriously reboot itself intermittently, going blank for a second, then showing the Acer logo and going back to picture. It will also turn itself on spontaneously when the computer is off (the status light is off and then turns itself on). It seems to detect when I'm in the middle of a really good session and starts resetting itself every 30 seconds or so. Then it will work fine sometimes for days or weeks at a time. I've checked it on 4 different computers, it malfunctions on all. I believe in may be a problem with one of the capacitors or the inverter, I'm not sure, but it's driving CRAZY at this point.
And of course now it's 3 months out of warranty and may be more expensive to fix than buying a new one.
So my issue is what monitor to replace it with. I've considered buying an Apple monitor, since the display is lovely to look at but there are a couple things that are deal breakers.
It's expensive. Very expensive.
Oddly you have to choose between a 24" and a 30", with nothing in between. Don't want to sound like Goldilocks here, but the 24 is tooooo small and the 30 is tooooo big.
Yeah I know bigger is usually better but since they bumped the native resolution of the 30" up to 2560x1600 it's really sharp but things like the menu text get really quite small. Yes you can reset to a lower non native resolution, but then you loose the sharpness. I tested Logic in the store on the 30" and it did look great but I found I actually had to move my whole body around to see things at the top and bottom of the screen.
Oh and did I mention that it's expensive? Jeez.
The 24" now seems to look a bit small to me after using the same resolution (1920x1200) on the Acer's 26" screen. (Ok, I think it's actually 25.5 but hey that half an inch can make a big difference and I will avoid making any bad jokes here).
And did I mention the Apple monitors are expensive? The 24" is almost 3 times as expensive as a cheaper alternative.
I also still have a PC here that I use (sorry) and the Apple monitors have very limited connectivity. So I think unfortunately the Apple monitors are out for me.
So I;m down to a couple other non Apple options. I will not buy an Acer again since I believe now that their quality control is not good and their support is absolutely atrocious. Shame I used to be a big fan of Acer PC's, but after owning a couple I'm steering clear.
My biggest issue right now is that most of the new budget monitors are geared toward 1080p HD uses so they are they are maxing out at 1920x1080 (16:9 aspect ratio instead of 1920x1200's 16:10). So the tradeoff here is that HD movies will look better in 16:9, but 16:10 gives you "squarer" pixels and more vertical resolution for screen hungry apps like Logic.
Any opinions on this? I'm a bit new to the Mac so I don't know if I'm really better off going with a 1920x1200 screen like the Apple monitors.
Also, I know this may just be a bug in the Acer's scaling, but if I switch to 1920x1080, I lose the menus off the top of the screen or if I adjust the vpos I lose the dock at the bottom. Downscaling to 1600x1050 or even 1024x768 works fine. If I get a 1080 screen and set the resolution appropriately will it work correctly and without too much distortion?
I'm also curious what is the best way to hook up the monitor? I'm currently using the DVI to VGA adapter that came with the MacBook. My Pro is the slighter older silver keyboard model so it has the standard DVI out. Will I see any real improvement by going over to using DVI directly?
Also I'm wondering how people feel about glossy vs matte for music. My current displays are the non-glossy and I do think I prefer them for detail work.
The candidates right now are
Hanns-G HH-281HPB 28" @300$. It's one of the only budget monitors that uses 1920x1200. All the right inputs (DVI, VGA). I'm just afraid this might be a bit too good to be true. It's really cheap and after having problems with a "cheap" Acer (although it wasn't so cheap 3 years ago!) I don't want similar problems. Stand has no swivel or tilt (a big problem for my use). Also that resolution on such a big screen might be good for me or it might look grainy I don't know I haven't seen it. Anybody have any experience with these?
Samsung P2770H 27" @339 Looks nice, good color. Sadly only 1080 native resolution. Stand doesn't swivel, but does tilt. No VGA input, so won't work with my old PC (although strangely it says it comes with a VGA cable). They get generally good reviews and I know Samsung makes very good flat panel TV's.
ViewSonic X Series VX2739WM 27" @350. Once again maxes out at 1080. It's fast (1ms), has VGA input. I've never been a big fan of ViewSonic but they do seem to have gotten better color-wise. Tilt no swivel and it's anti-glare (not sure this is a plus).
There are also similar options from HP, Asus, LG and Sceptre but they are all 1080. In fact outside of the Apples, the Hanns-G and a few expensive monitors from NEC they all seem to be 1080. So if I really want the 1200 the Hanns-G seems like the only way to go.
Any input here would be greatly appreciated.

No doubt, the Apple displays are gorgeous. The first time I saw the 30" display wow, I wanted one BAD and it's actually what prompted me to buy a "big" monitor. The colors are great with a rich wonderful saturation level and as usual for Apple the form factor design is stunning. You know for that picture quality I could even get over the sticker shock and save up for one.
Which is why I was so disappointed when I actually sat down in the store and started to use Logic on one. I imagine for doing video work, graphic design or darn near anything else, it would be great. But for Logic I just found myself bending and twisting trying to look at toolbar at the bottom and then up to look at the menus. And instrument or plugin displays that were hard coded to look OK at lower resolutions looked really, really tiny to me. For me and particularly using Logic having 2 slightly smaller displays at a 45 degree angle makes more sense.
And once again the 24 seems just a bit small. I don't understand why they have a 27" iMac but you can't buy a 27" display. So iMac 27" starting at 1699, subtract out the cost of the CPU and drive ie the Mini and I'd really buy one. Strangely you can buy a 21.5" or a 27" iMac. Or you can buy a 24" or 30" display. Hmmmm.
So don't get me wrong I'm not bashing Apple for being expensive. They put a lot of money into R&D and into really thinking about the form and the function of their products. As a recent convert from being a PC developer for 25+ years, hey I've more than sipped the Kool-Aid here, I've guzzled it. They make great products and yeah they're more expensive, because they ARE better! I've now got 2 MBP's, 2 iPods, I'm about to get an iPhone (silly "death grip" or not) and I really want an iPad. Heck I'd really love an 8 core MacPro if I could afford one (alas I can't).
I guess my only gripe here is that there always seems to be a little less choice in the Apple world. Yeah, I know they do a lot less volume than the PC clone world I just think that they always seem to have a big gap between the high end and low end with not enough in between. So you can choose between the lower end and one piece units with no expansion boards (the mini or the iMac) or go straight to monster tower MacPro (way over 3K with display). You can get a MacBook but then you have to put up with a small screen or go with MacBook Pro, which let's face it is a lot of computing power for someone who just wants to web surf and write some email without squinting.
So here I am stuck in the middle. I don't want to buy a HannspreeQG or another piece of junk that's going to last 3 years and 3 months because of a crappy $2 capacitor that no seems to able to fix or care about fixing. I'd like to buy a really nice Apple monitor, I just want a big monitor, not a huge one and not a "medium" one (I know I'm spoiled but 24" seems "medium" these days).
Sorry about the rant here but my monitor is shutting down every 30 seconds and I'm about to go completely insane and toss it out the window!!!
Really glad to hear about that 84' VGA cable. I never imagined such a thing existed or would work without some sort of signal boost on the way. Very cool for me. My electronic drum kit is in another room and I would love to have a small cheap monitor next to it for sequencing. I had my laptop on a stand next to it for a while but I began to get terrified that I'd let a drumstick slip and destroy my laptop screen. That would be a very bad thing. Thanks for the tip.

Possible to connect an external monitor to HP Pavilion dv4t-4200 CTO Entertainment Notebook PC

I have a HP Pavilion dv4t-4200 CTO Entertainment Notebook PC model # A1M02AV and it has a VGA port, one that looks like a phone/broadband cable port, and one that looks like a USB port but indented on either side at the bottom. Can I even connect an external monitor? How do I find out if I have more than 1 video card? Besides the usual USB/headphone ports, I don't have any other ports. It says my drivers are up to date...but I don't even know what I should be looking for. Do I need to install something or buy some sort of adapter?
I am trying to connect a Dell external montitor via the VGA port with a VGA cable. The monitor has power but my notebook does not recognize/detect it. However, when I first plugged it in, my notebook display shrank into a square (vs the whole screen) so it recognized something...but nothing happened on the external monitor.
I tried detecting it via my display settings, but I accidentally changed some dispaly setting so that the home desktop only shows on monitor 1, but unselected my actual notebook display or something or changed it to be monitor 2 (even though monitor 1 does not exist), so when I plug the cable in to my notebook, all of a sudden my desktop goes away and it's a just a blank background screen - and I cannot access the computer display settings or anything.... when the cable is unplugged this setting looks normal, so I can't figure out how to fix it.
Sorry, I have no idea what I'm doing here - please help!
This question was solved.
View Solution.

Hi,
All Dell monitors come with CD's for drivers. Your laptop may not know the monitor w/o its driver, it won't install automatically. Please check:
Ringht click a blank space on desktop,
Click Personalize
Click Display
Click Change display settings
Can you see BOTH laptop screen and external monitor in there as shown on the following image:
For testing, I put my Dell monitor is my main display. If I can't see 2 monitor, you need its driver first and then check the cable.
Regards.
BH
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