Mac mini HDMI 1080p SUCCESS with Panasonic 50" TH-50PZ81B

I recently purchased a Panasonic TH-50PZ81B. This is a UK model with a built-in satellite ("Freesat") receiver, and displays full 1080p and uses a 1920 x 1080 native panel. I used to connect my Mac mini HTPC to a Sony 42" plasma by VGA, and the Panasonic has a VGA input which displays 1,368 x 768 out of the box - no SwitchResX. It's decent. But, I wanted the "full" 1080p so bought the Belkin DVI-HDMI cable. Like a lot of people I got the choice of either the big black bars all around, or enabling "overscan" in Displays which would fill the screen, but, well, overscan! I spent all morning playing with SwitchResX and it just wasn't working (and the instructions at http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=751713 bothered me in that it seems to suggest you need to increase the resolution so it wouldn't be 1:1 pixel mapping). I tried to look at the service menu but it wasn't obvious what to do so I left it alone, and there is no manual picture adjustment like there was on my old Sony. Urgh.
But, by chance I noticed in the TV's Menu -> Settings menu on page 2 there is an option for Picture Overscan, which was turned on. I turned if off, and just like that got full 1080p 1:1 pixel mapping.
So, that's Mac mini with overscan ON. Use the great (weird) advice from Adam Nash to enable the Display menu bar item as seen here:
http://blog.adamnash.com/2008/01/24/yes-you-can-get-1080p-out-of-a-mac-mini/
It works - you have two identical-looking outputs but your TV will tell you one is 1080i and the other is 1080p.
On the TV settings go Menu -> Settings -> Picture Overscan and make sure it's OFF. Done!
I don't know if other Panasonic screens are similar but I can tell from the frustration on other posts - which I shared, believe me - that there are a lot of people with this issue wondering why SwitchResX is so non-intuitive etc. so I am hoping that for all those people who know how to use Google, this will show up in their searches.

I decided to post in the display forum because it was fine outputing via DVI-HDMI to a 1368*768 TV, and also fine via D-sub to the Full HD TV (although at 1368*768, but that's the limitation of the TV)
But thanks for your advice. I'll post there as well

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Good evening,
I just picked up a brand new Mac Mini late 2012 model to use as a HTPC through my AV system in the livingroom.
I connected a HDMI lead to my Mac, changed to the correct source & switched it on. I can hear the start up chime through my speakers but my TV remains blank, just black. I tired in another HDMI port but the result was the same.
I don't have a PC, so have no monitor & I was going to get a loan of a mouse & keyboard to set up before I get an app so I can use my iPhone as a mouse/keyboard.
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The following may be painfully redundant to you, yet I hope it helps you solve this HDMI issue.
WIth the Mac mini and TV powered off, disconnect the Mac mini HDMI cable.
Power on the TV and do the following settings:
Select the desired HDMI port.
Home menu > Option > HDMI Input > Video > Auto.
> HDMI Input > Audio > Auto.
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I believe HDMI ports input4 and input5 accept HDMI video and audio in from a computer, while ports input6 and input7 are strictly HDMI video in. This Pioneer model supports HDMI v1.3. You might reconfirm that your HDMI cable supports this version of HDMI or higher.

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NOTE: This appears to be unrelated to the "screen flickering" that has been noted previously.
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When I attach the monitor to the Mini DisplayPort output, using a Mini DisplayPort to DVI adapter connected to a DVI to HDMI cable, the display functions properly at all resolutions - including the native 1920 x 1200 resolution that I use it at normally. All resolutions are clearly displayed in the "Displays" System Preferences pane. The display looks perfect, functions properly.
When I attach the monitor to the HDMI port using an HDMI cable, the display does not fucntion properly. The display is shifted about 80-100 pixels to the left and about 20 pixels up, creating black bars on the bottom and right sides. Because of this, a large portion of the display is not visible including the menu bar and most of the left side. Additionally, the settings are reduced to "Best for Display" or "Scaled", with resolution options under "Scaled".
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It's important to note that this monitor has functioned properly with many other comptuers running OS X, Windows and various Linux flavors and it hasn't ever done this before. I've tried several different HDMI cables, ruling that out as a problem. I've tried the HDMI to DVI adapter that ships with the Mac Mini 2012 along with two different DVI to HDMI adapters, ruling that out as a problem. I tried attaching several HDMI devices (game consoles, DVD players, etc) and they all function properly, ruling out an HDMI issue as a problem. The monitor functions properly when attached through the Mini DisplayPort to DVI adapter, so it's not a problem with the monitor. I've reset the PRAM already and the installation of OS X 10.8.1 is stock with no modifications or migrated data. I've tried the suggestions on the HDMI FAQ (although there's no "underscan" option available in Displays)
I tried to call AppleCare and after describing the problem I got disconnected with no callback. I started another ticket, described the problem, discussed the previous disconnection, was assured that I'd be called back if disconnected, and haven't heard back in two hours. So I started to dig into the problem in earnest.
This gets pretty technical.
After substantial research, it appears that this issue is related to the EDID that the monitor sends to the computer and, crucially, the way that the driver responds to it. For some reason, the HDMI port is recognizing the monitor as a CEA device instead of a monitor. As a result, it's restricting the monitor's available resolution to the native resolution that the CEA 681 Series Extension describes ("Best for Display") and all other resolutions (including 1920 x 1200) are only available as "scaled". For some reason that I can't discern, all resolutions (even the 1080i and 1080p options) have similar deformities.
I've attempted to fix this by placing an appropriate override file in /System/Library/Displays/Overrides with an edied EDID removing the CEA-enable flag from byte 127 but, even after a reboot, the OS still insists that it's a CEA device and it won't allow me to force it to recognize the monitor as a 1920 x 1200 LCD Monitor.
How did I come to this conclusion and develop the fix? A nearly identical problem description showed up on the following website, with details on how this user fixed the issue:
http://byuu.org/articles/computing/edid
They used a convoluted process that involved dismantling the monitor and flashing the EDID on the monitor itself. It fixed their problem. I'd prefer not to go through that process just because one computer has a problem with it. Frankly, I'd prefer if the new Mac Mini performed properly in the first place.
TL;DR: The Mac Mini 2012 doesn't work right with the LG L246WP through the HDMI output. Everything else works fine with it. This is very uncool. It's most likely to be an issue with the driver for the Intel HD Graphics 4000 GPU that are bundled with OS X 10.8.1. The Mac Mini 2012 won't update to 10.8.2 (yet), so I can't test it.
Anyone have any other ideas? Anyone else using a Mac Mini 2012 (or 2011) with an LG L246WP monitor? Anything simple I've missed?

Problem Resolved. But it was complicated. And a huge pain in the rear.
TL;DR: I flashed the EDID as described here. This is not recommended for the weary. Ideally, Apple should release an update OS X that will include the updated Intel HD Graphics 4000 drivers that utilize the CEA flag properly.
Here's the detailed version. As mentioned above, this isn't recommended for the weary. An improper (or interrupted) EDID flash can have seriously unpredictable effects on a monitor's performance.
Step 1: Get a Windows PC set up with a floppy drive and find a floppy disk. Use this system to format the floppy as a MS-DOS Boot Disk and copy over the "ddcw" program described at the aformentioned link.
This took awhile, but I was able to cobble together a temporary frankensystem with parts I had laying around. In installed XP and formatted the disk with XP's format tool.
Step 2: Grab EDID data from the monitor, modify it to disable CEA mode at bit 127 and make sure bit 128, the checksum, is appropriate.
This also took awhile. Several graphics cards I tried could not read or write EDID data. I ended up swapping AGP cards in my frankenstein box until I found one that worked - a generic GeForce4 4200.
Once the EDID data was written to the floppy, I edited the text file containing the EDID data to change the last two hex octets from "01 33" to "00 34" (00, to disable bit 127, and 34 is 33 + 1, which satisfies the checksum) and formatted the text file to match the sample included in the EDID_Write.zip file. Your mileage may vary - make sure the checks.
Step 3: Write EDID data to the monitor.
The link above mentioned three options: Easy (monitor's EDID is unprotected - write away!), Hard (monitor's EDID is protected - use service mode to attempt a fix), and Very Hard (monitor's EDID is protected, hardware modification is required).
Luckily my LG246WP simply needed to be put into service mode as described at the link above (menu + power) and once started up in service mode, I simply enabled "Aging Mode" (whatever that means) and attempted a DDCW write of the updated data.
Step 4: Profit!
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Hello guys,
I just wanted to give you a brief update on the situation that, for a short moment, I thought It was solved.
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Wow is this frustrating. I've had my Mac Mini for about a week, and for the life of me, cannot get surround sound working via HDMI. I've read so many posts about people with this problem but I can't find a definitive answer for a fix. All I want is for the Mac Mini to passthrough the audio so that my Pioneer Receiver can handle all of the Dolby stuff.
Setup is simple -
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Inside of the Midi Audio options, it shows my receiver as the audio device, and I have all of the options for 2ch, 8ch, etc. I also selected Dolby 5.1. I can only get PCM or Stereo to display on my receiver while ticking through these channel options, while I would expect Dolby to display if it is receiving a Dolby signal. Also, when I do the test tones in the Configure Speakers area, I get the correct test tones from all channels. BUT.........
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then make sure that any app through which you want 5.1 has that specified in its prefs. (like VLC)
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Mac Mini HDMI output gives bad resolution on external 1920x1200 external monitor

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very bad start

Hi tlaci60.
I'm experiencing the very same issue you had with your monitor. Mine is a different brand (Westinghouse24" L2410NM), but the issue is the same. Not surprisingly, the resolution of this monitor is exactly the same as yours:1920x1200. Interesting…
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Let me pre-face it by saying, my wife originally emailed me at work talking about this disc she couldn't get out.
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annmamac wrote:
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Message was edited by: Not_So

I found this works too. Though I came about this a slightly different way.
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Mac mini HDMI 1080p SUCCESS with Panasonic 50" TH-50PZ81B

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