External monitor on MacBook Air looks terrible, recommendations?

I'm a software developer and I want to be able to connect an external monitor to my MacBook Air 11".  The Apple store guy recommended a Belkin adaptor so I can connect my HDMI input devices.  The connection works, but even at 1080p resolution, there are jagged edges and the text looks horrible.  I tried an ASUS monitor and also my Samsung TV.  It looks fine when using my Windows 7 computer.  Is the adaptor no good? Is there a setting to turn on? What am I doing wrong?

+1
Laptop: MacBook Pro 11", Mid 2012 128Gb/8Gb
External Monitor: Samsung SyncMaster T260 (HDMI input)
Generic Mini DisplayPort to HDMI Adapter that came with ATI graphics card I have in my PC

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