Mac mini w/ princeton vl1716 lcd (or lcd17d)

has anyone tried using the mini with the princeton vl1716 (or lcd17d)? if so, how did it work w/ dvi? i am interested in buying this monitor but i would like to know if it works decently w/ the mini.

I use the included mini-DVI to DVI adapter with a DVI to HDMI cable and my picture is great on my 24" LG LCD HDTV. The mini should be able to provide that resolution without issue as long as it can read the resolution output from the TV accurately. Apple suggests that you connect the cables in what some think of as reverse. Start with the TV and work back to the Mac mini so that the mini gets a good read on the resolution requirements of the TV.
Shsssh! You may want to read this as well;
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/06/03/applessupply_of_mac_minis_dwindle_ahead_of_newmodels.html
Dah•veed

Similar Messages

New Mac Mini, Not so new LCD HDTV Monitor, no mac support

I have been attempting to set up a Mac Mini with a Maxent LCD 26" HD TV I can't get either the RGB or DVI-D input to accept signal. I have purchased DisplayConfigX and SwitchResX_X. Maybe they could work, but I can't get a signal to stay on long enough to change the settings as listed in other posts. I have tried booting in safe mode as DisplayConfigX instructions suggest. But still only am able to see the screen until gear starts spinning with apple logo, resolution changes spontaneously to one that I suppose is unsupported and I get the unsupported display and a beautiful blank blue screen. I tried manually inputting the resolutions the monitor manual lists, while connected with an lcd pc monitor. But I can't get the Maxent LCD TV monitor to stay on. It appears that if I could get the Mac Mini to send this resolution signal to the Maxent I would be able to delete any unneeded settings and that would be it.
Perhaps Tom Fussy can help me.I have been at this for over two weeks now. So I have become super frustrated. Of course Maxentusa.com offers no Mac support. But state that if Mac mini is supposed to work with PC that it should work with my Mac Mini. My LCD TV is about 6 months old I could still return it for maybe a Sharp Aquos, if that $300 dollar more TV would work. I am happy with the Maxent otherwise. Keeping it, and having it work with Mac Mini Is my choice. Of course Apple offers no support for the Maxent monitor and directed me here. This is my first discussion group post. School me if I have not followed the rules completely.

I was able to get the settings for Maxent using Gregory's software to force 640x480. Here are my settings
DDC block generated by SwitchRes X for display
MX-26X3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F
0 | 00 FF FF FF FF FF FF 00 34 38 35 08 06 44 00 00
1 | 0C 0F 01 03 0F 3A 20 78 88 00 0D 00 00 00 00 00
2 | 00 47 4A BD CE 00 31 59 45 59 61 59 81 80 81 C0
3 | D1 C0 01 01 01 01 FF 1D 56 EA 50 00 20 30 46 28
4 | 55 00 40 44 21 00 00 18 8C 0A D0 8A 20 E0 2D 10
5 | 10 3E 96 00 40 44 21 00 00 18 00 00 00 FD 00 3C
6 | 55 1F 45 0B 00 0A 20 20 20 20 20 20 00 00 00 FC
7 | 00 4D 58 2D 32 36 58 33 0A 20 20 20 20 20 00 2D
Valid DDC block: checksum passed
EDID Version........1.3
Manufacturer........MAX
Product Code........13576 (3508) (0835)
Serial Number.......17414
Manufactured........Week 12 of year 2005
Max H Size..........58 cm
Max V Size..........32 cm
Gamma...............2.20
DPMS Supported Features:
Standby
Display type:
RGB color display
Input signal & sync:
Analog input with: 0.700V / 0.300V
Serration Vsync
Sync on green
Separate Sync
Composite Sync
Color info:
Red x = 0.000 Green x = 0.000 Blue x = 0.000 White x = 0.280
Red y = 0.000 Green y = 0.000 Blue y = 0.000 White y = 0.290
Established Timings:
800 x 600 @ 60Hz
640 x 480 @ 75Hz
640 x 480 @ 72Hz
640 x 480 @ 67Hz
640 x 480 @ 60Hz
720 x 400 @ 70Hz
1024 x 768 @ 75Hz
1024 x 768 @ 70Hz
1024 x 768 @ 60Hz
800 x 600 @ 75Hz
800 x 600 @ 72Hz
Manufacturer Reserved Timings:
Standard Timing Identification:
#0: 640 x 480 @ 85Hz (3159)
#1: 800 x 600 @ 85Hz (4559)
#2: 1024 x 768 @ 85Hz (6159)
#3: -768 x -614 @ 60Hz (FFFF8180)
#4: -768 x -432 @ 60Hz (FFFF81C0)
#5: -128 x -72 @ 60Hz (FFFFD1C0)
Monitor Description blocks:
Descriptor #0 is Timing definition:
Mode = 1366 x 768 @ 60Hz
H. Active...............1366 pixels
H. Blanking.............234 pixels
V. Active...............768 lines
V. Blanking.............32 lines
HSync Offset............70 pixels
HSync Pulse Width.......40 pixels
VSync Offset............5 lines
VSync Pulse Width.......5 lines
Pixel Clock.............76.79MHz
Horizontal freq.........47.99kHz
Vertical freq...........59.99Hz
H Image Size............576mm
V Image Size............324mm
H Border................0 pixels
V Border................0 lines
Non-Interlaced
Sync: Digital separate with
* Negative vertical polarity
* Negative horizontal polarity
Descriptor #1 is Timing definition:
Mode = 720 x 480 @ 60Hz
H. Active...............720 pixels
H. Blanking.............138 pixels
V. Active...............480 lines
V. Blanking.............45 lines
HSync Offset............16 pixels
HSync Pulse Width.......62 pixels
VSync Offset............9 lines
VSync Pulse Width.......6 lines
Pixel Clock.............27.00MHz
Horizontal freq.........31.47kHz
Vertical freq...........59.94Hz
H Image Size............576mm
V Image Size............324mm
H Border................0 pixels
V Border................0 lines
Non-Interlaced
Sync: Digital separate with
* Negative vertical polarity
* Negative horizontal polarity
Descriptor #2 is Monitor limits:
Horizontal frequency range.......31-69 kHz
Vertical frequency range.........60-85 Hz
Maximum bandwidth unspecified
Descriptor #3 is Monitor name:
MX-26X3
Mac Mini 1.42 g, superdrive, ATI 9200 Mac OS X (10.4.2)

Mac mini i5 2.5 + LCD Liyama x2775hds no signal after shutdown

mac mini i5 2.5 + LCD Liyama x2775hds no signal after shutdown plaese help guys

If the firmware required an update, and that was not applied,
a problem may exist where a cure could have fixed it...
Identification of the model, so as to apply the correct item
is important; since the incorrect one won't fix an issue in
hardware it was not intended to resolve.
•Mac mini EFI Firmware Update 1.6 - for 2011 MINI
helps issue with USB ports and connectivity
•Mac mini EFI Firmware Update 1.7 - for 2012 MINI
helps issue with HDMI issue, not said to be for 2011.
There may be a hardware issue, so if the unit is correctly
identified as a 2011 model, the firmware update may not
help, as it is Not said to address that specific issue. So,
you may need to inquire of an Apple Authorized service
or ask an Apple Store with Genius bar about the unit, it
may (or may not) be something they could help you with.
You could try & see if this reset (try more than once) could
help the issue; it may be a hardware failure. Check all the
cables, plugs, and ports to see if the issue is not in Mini.
•Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC) - Apple Support
Perhaps a genius could perform a stress test on video
or see if some other items appear weak in a test. If a
genius in official Apple Store location is unavailable, you
may have to locate an authorized service provider who
has staff with experience troubleshooting Mini graphics.
A problem may indicate a repair, if SMC reset, or other
hardware (cable, display, other cause) doesn't fix it.
Did you try the SMC reset to see if the system power
management controller may affect this situation?
If you are sure (by serial number lookup or records) the
computer is a Mid 2011 build, not a Late 2012, the first
and earlier EFI firmware update may have been applied
already. Correct identification helps in such matters...
•PS: Do the web page URLs in your post have significance?
Good luck & happy computing!
edited

'09 mac mini connection to Samsung LCD

I just purchased the new mac mini and am trying to hook it up to my 42" Samsung LCD using the mini display port and a VGA cable. The TV is not recognizing the hookup (PC is not an option in my list of sources). If anyone has any ideas or suggestions on things to try I'd appreciate it! I purchased my TV a little less than three years ago. It's an HD set - model LN-S4092D - in case that helps! Thanks!

tbrodi,
I do have the same stuff. only a newer version of the Samsung and an older mini.
I use a DVIHDMI cable, connect the cable into port 2 on the tv and the audio jack from the mini straight to the input on the tv, the audio out from the tv is going to the recever/amplifier.
At least, that works for me all in full HD
rgrds
McChiel

Original Mac Mini with Samsung P2770h LCD

Yesterday I picked up a Samsung P2770h from CostCo. Swapped out my old Viewsonic 22" LCD and it worked perfectly on my Windows 7 system, but not my Mac.
I've tried booting in Safe Mode, but nothing appears on the display. I've tried DVI-DVI and DVI-HDMI.
I've tried booting with the Viewsonic and then swapping the cable to the Samsung, but apart from an occasional flicker, I have a blank display
I checked the ATI website for new drivers for the Radeon 9200, but it said Apple provides them.
I vaguely remember having to change a setting when I first got the Viewsonic, but I can't seem to find the information.
Any help is much appreciated. The new display is so good on my Windows 7 system, but if I can't get it to work on my Mac it will probably go back !!!
Thanks,
Steve

Ok, after several hours more testing, I am making some progress. By logging in to the Mac remotely using LogMeIn I can see what is going on even if the Samsung monitor goes blank. I can successfuly set the Mac screen resolution to anything, except the native 1920x1080 The next highest is 1600x1200 and it works fine, but is far from ideal. So my conclusion so far is that the graphics card can't support 1920x1080 which is disappointing, but not that surprising given the fact that this Mac Mini is 5 years old !!! But I'm hoping someone more knowledgeable will prove me wrong
Thanks.

How to connect Mac Mini with LG 19LS4D LCD TV?

Hi all,
I just purchased my Mac Mini and tried connecting to my LG 19" HD TV using the supplied DVI to VGA adapter. When I first booted the machine "No signal" was displayed on my TV. I plugged in another 15" monitor and played around with resolutions and cable swapping and it works at 1024 x 768 at 60Hz (not ideal but better than nothing). Everytime I turn off the Mac Mini or it goes to sleep the resolution is reset and "No signal" appears again.
I have tried connecting via VNC to play around with the settings remotely but this has no effect on my TV monitor and is only resolved by the solution above or by leaving my Mac awake and not sleeping.
The documentation for the TV says that all the resolutions I have tried, and more are supported and Detect Displays under System Preferences shows these but defaults to a resolution that produces a "No signal" box.
Any ideas would be greatly welcomed.
Thanks in advance

Hi BSteely,
Thanks for the reply. To answer your questions, the LG shows on the mini as it should do i.e. there is a specific code (the LG model number) and lists the resolutions and refresh rates listed in the manual. Adobe Photoshop complains of a bad colour profile but I think that was only because when the LG is finally lit up it is as a result of me connecting the 15" monitor then hot swapping before OS X has change to realise.
When using VNC with the LG attached 1024 x 768 at 60Hz is shown but selecting that does not show the screen on the LG.
I did install SwitchResX from looking at other forums but was unable to save a usable state as the profile and resolutions were from a different monitor effectively despite my LG being connected. The P&D file that it gave back is listed in full below although I suspect this is for my 15"monitor (Excuse the length but I am unsure as to which bits are most useful).
The LG manual lists 1440 x 900 at 60Hz as the native default however the mini fails to recognise this. The easiest resolution I can get after hot swapping monitors is 1024 x 768 at 60Hz although the other day (not sure how) I did get 1280 x 1024 (at 60Hz?). The LG does not however have a DVI port. It does have HDMI so a DVI to HDMI cable could work but without buying a cable I don't know.
Here is the LG's information file:
DDC block report generated by SwitchResX version 3.8.4 for display
VGA/SVGA Display
------------------- RAW DATA ------------------------
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F
0 | 00 FF FF FF FF FF FF 00 09 AD 38 02 BD E7 00 00
1 | 30 0B 01 01 08 1E 18 64 E8 17 26 A0 61 58 9A 2E
2 | 27 54 39 AD CE 00 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01
3 | 01 01 01 01 01 01 C3 1E 00 20 41 00 20 30 10 60
4 | 13 00 1E 16 00 00 00 1E 64 19 00 40 41 00 26 30
5 | 18 88 36 00 1E 16 00 00 00 18 00 00 00 FD 00 3C
6 | 4B 1F 3C 08 00 0A 20 20 20 20 20 20 00 00 00 FE
7 | 00 46 58 57 4A 31 42 30 32 35 39 33 32 35 00 66
< 00FFFFFF FFFFFF00 09AD3802 BDE70000 300B0101 081E1864 E81726A0 61589A2E 275439AD CE000101 01010101 01010101 01010101 0101C31E 00204100 20301060 13001E16 0000001E 64190040 41002630 18883600 1E160000 00180000 00FD003C 4B1F3C08 000A2020 20202020 000000FE 00465857 4A314230 32353933 32350066 >
Valid EDID block: checksum passed
------------------- MAIN EDID BLOCK -----------------
EDID Version........1.1
Manufacturer........BMM
Product Code........14338 (3802) (0238)
Serial Number.......0000E7BD
Manufactured........Week 48 of year 2001
Max H Size..........30 cm
Max V Size..........24 cm
Gamma...............2.00
Display Supported Features:
Power Management: Active off Power Management: Suspend Power Management: Standby
Display type:
RGB color display
Display is non continuous frequency
Default color space is not sRGB standard
Input signal & sync:
Analog input with: 0.700V / 0.300V
Composite Sync
Color info:
Red x = 0.625 Green x = 0.345 Blue x = 0.180 White x = 0.329
Red y = 0.380 Green y = 0.604 Blue y = 0.154 White y = 0.225
Established Timings:
720 x 400 @ 70Hz
640 x 480 @ 60Hz
640 x 480 @ 72Hz
640 x 480 @ 75Hz
800 x 600 @ 60Hz
800 x 600 @ 72Hz
800 x 600 @ 75Hz
1024 x 768 @ 60Hz
1024 x 768 @ 70Hz
1024 x 768 @ 75Hz
Manufacturer Reserved Timings:
Standard Timing Identification:
Monitor Description blocks:
Descriptor #0 is Timing definition:
Mode = 1024 x 768 @ 75.029Hz
Pixel Clock............. 78.75 MHz Non-Interlaced
Horizontal Vertical
Active.................. 1024 pixels 768 lines
Front Porch............. 16 pixels 1 lines
Sync Width.............. 96 pixels 3 lines
Back Porch.............. 176 pixels 28 lines
Blanking................ 288 pixels 32 lines
Total................... 1312 pixels 800 lines
Scan Rate............... 60.023 kHz 75.029 Hz
Image Size.............. 30 mm 22 mm
Border.................. 0 pixels 0 lines
Sync: Digital separate with
* Positive vertical polarity
* Positive horizontal polarity
Descriptor #1 is Timing definition:
Mode = 1024 x 768 @ 60.004Hz
Pixel Clock............. 65.00 MHz Non-Interlaced
Horizontal Vertical
Active.................. 1024 pixels 768 lines
Front Porch............. 24 pixels 3 lines
Sync Width.............. 136 pixels 6 lines
Back Porch.............. 160 pixels 29 lines
Blanking................ 320 pixels 38 lines
Total................... 1344 pixels 806 lines
Scan Rate............... 48.363 kHz 60.004 Hz
Image Size.............. 30 mm 22 mm
Border.................. 0 pixels 0 lines
Sync: Digital separate with
* Negative vertical polarity
* Negative horizontal polarity
Descriptor #2 is Monitor limits:
Horizontal frequency range.......31-60 kHz
Vertical frequency range.........60-75 Hz
Maximum bandwidth unspecified
Descriptor #3 is ASCII data:
FXWJ1B0259325

Mac Mini and Philips 32PF9966 LCD

Hi all, I've posted this on another thread but no one's replied yet,
hope I will get more attention here!
I just got a mac mini C2D and hooked it via DVI to my philips 32pf9966 flat tv HDTV ready. The panel has a DVI socket so I used a DVI cable. The mini automatically resolved to 720x1280 50 hz resolution, the TV would recognize the input as 720p but the characters are bloated and the top, bottom,left and right edges bleed off the screen. If I choose from the mac the 768 x 1024 resolution, the top and bottom edges are fine, the characters are perfectly readable, but I have black borders on the right and left sides. The TV recognizes an XGA input.
From my TV spec, I see that the supported resolutions are:
Computer
Res. Refresh rate
640 x 480 60Hz
800 x 600 60Hz
1024 x 768 60Hz
1280 x 768 60 Hz
• Video
Res. Refresh rate
640 x 480i 1Fh
640 x 480p 2Fh
720 x 576i 1Fh
720 x 576p 2Fh
1280 x 720p 3Fh
1920 x 1080i 2Fh
1920 x 1152i 50 Hz
The 768x1366 is advertized as WXGA on the leaflet cover.
The question is: I have DisplayConfigX but I'm afraid of making some blunders playing around with the settings since there are no clear instructions on the site...I tried using "timing" to set it to 768x1366 but the program automatically switched it to 1368. Is this OK? If not how do I adjust it to 1366? After I click "install", will I be able to use the other configurations I already have in the Mac mini display options or will they be cancelled?
One last question: I'm in Italy, where allegedly the frequency should be 50 not 60Hz...Shall I go with 60 anyway?
Thanks a lot for your patience.
Andre

Hi, thanks for you reply.
Tonight I'll try the suggested settings and see if it works...
Re the manual, I don't think I can post any attachments here, anyway here is the link to the technical spec sheet
http://www.p4c.philips.com/files/3/32pf996610/32pf9966_10_psseng.pdf
where you can see that is supports PC connection and res. up to 768x1366
and here is the link to the manual:
http://www.p4c.philips.com/files/3/32pf996610/32pf9966_10_dfueng.pdf
on page 22 there's how to connect to a PC via DVI...
Do you know whether switchresX would support 768x1366?
Thanks again
Ciao

MAC Mini and Sony TV LCD question

In the past, when I connected to my Sony projector tv, unable to use the highest setting because lost part of the desktop with icons on bottom and entire top bar. New Sony LCD used and same thing happening. I am using a HDMI connection on the Apple. Wonder if this would happen if I switched to analog? Any other settings I can manually adjust to get the full screen and menu bars??

In the past, when I connected to my Sony projector tv, unable to use the highest setting because lost part of the desktop with icons on bottom and entire top bar. New Sony LCD used and same thing happening. I am using a HDMI connection on the Apple. Wonder if this would happen if I switched to analog? Any other settings I can manually adjust to get the full screen and menu bars??

32" LCD Monitor and mac mini

I'm considering building the following home theatre set up:
mac mini + EyeTV tuner + 32" LCD Monitor.
I'm pretty confident the mac mini will work no stress with the EyeTV tuner. However, I don't know if I will get as much resolution (1366x768) on the monitor, either watching tv or just using it as a computer. Can anyone forsee the result or some problems with this set up?
Cheers,
Rodrigo
Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Thanks BSteely.
As far as the display goes, I'm just after an LCD monitor, I don't need any of the TV features since I have the EyeTV to do the tuning (digital or analog). I'll have a good google to see what others report with monitors but if you have some suggestions I'd love to hear them.
Thanks again,
Rodrigo

Seeking successful DVI to HDMI Conversion at 1920x1080 on a Mac Mini

I've seen lots of posts related to this topic, but nothing definitive, and I'm still trying to figure this out. Let me start by saying that:
1) I understand the option of going from DVI to VGA. That works fine on my equipment (late model Mac Mini to Sony 46" LCD XBR3).
2) I've validated the HDMI port on my TV at 1080i and I'm sure it does 1080p (i.e. 1920x1080 non-interlaced) as well, based on the specs
3) I don't care about integrating audio into the HDMI signal at this point
4) Sony support provides no help, saying it must be a computer problem
5) Apple support provides no help, saying they don't support 3rd party monitors
The lousy looking output (i.e. interpolated, shrunk, expanded, based on the combination of driver and tv "modes") I'm getting is described elsewhere on this forum. Some other things are:
1) The Mac Mini recognizes the display as "Sony TV" but only offers resolution choices up to "1090 x 1080 (interlaced)". Although that suggests that either the driver isn't current or the tv and driver aren't talking to each other properly about the tv's capabilities, that still doesn't explain the visual results I'm getting.
2) The DVI-to-HDMI converter cable says it is based on the HDMI 1.1 spec. The TV says it supports HDMI 1.3. I don't know if that's an issue.
Any help would be appreciated. This isn't the end of the world, as I can still connect through VGA, but I'd like to get the DVI-to-HDMI working so I can reserve my TV's VGA port for computers that don't have the DVI option.
Pete
P.S. Anyone have any idea when Apple is coming out with a version of the Mac Mini (or some Mac-based settop box) that supports HDMI with integrated video/audio?

Does the Sony manual make any reference to a computer connection? If so, which port does it recommend? On a lot of TVs the HDMI port can't be used successfully for a computer connection because there is always a scaler/processor active that cannot be bypassed.
You might want to check at the AVSforum.com and search for your specific Sony model number to see if anybody there is reporting success connecting a computer to the HDMI port.

Mac Mini behaves poorly through DVI at 1920x1080 on HDTV displays

I recently purchased a Samsung LN-S4695D - a 46" LCD TV capable of 1080p with HDMI and VGA inputs. I've had been using my 23" Cinema Display + a Mac Mini G4 + Rotel Amp as the centerpieces of my Home Theater, and decided to change out the display to accommodate a gaming system and perhaps some other digital or component inputs (and, of course, nab a larger viewing surface). It seems like a fairly standard use of the Mini, but unfortunately many of us are running into disappointing results using our Minis as connected to an HDTV display. I'm writing here to see if we can clear up the issue with the mini and to attempt to identify reasonable workarounds or solutions until Apple gets the Mini right for HD home theater.
The current problem with the Mini and the Samsung TV/Display is that when the Mini is connected via DVI-HDMI (with a Monster 400 2m cable) to the display and asked to run at 1920x1080 (60hz NTSC) it does a reasonable job until it is required to refresh a lot of pixels (scrolling through album art in iTunes, playing DVD or other video, etc.). At that point, the screen fills with bands of static, and (if the rate of change is sustained) eventually looses the signal all together. With heavy scrolling operations, the signal returns as soon as scrolling stops, but with full-screen video it usually stays out until the mac resets its video resolution. Another article shows examples of this "DVI static" here:
http://www.freewebs.com/themagius/minidvipics.htm
So it is clear that the Mini and HDTVs don't play well at 1080 resolutions, as many of you have attested to. The samsung seems to do a better job than most with the Mini in that it it actually renders the 1080 as well as other resolutions, but flakes out on fast updates. While some other resolutions are also problematic, it is important to note that 1280x720 runs flawlessly on the Samsung, and is currently how I have mine set up (VGA input was too disappointing compared to DVI, though it scanned great and fit the image w/o over/underscanning.). Also, my Powerbook G4 1.25ghz (older than the mini) powers the Samsung perfectly at 1920x1080 as a secondary display, running DVD video or anything else that I throw at it, which leads me to believe that the mini is the problem. Here is another story very similar to mine that reports almost the same results with a Sharp LCD panel:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5940932
So I've three sets of questions for Apple and the rest of you on this forum:
1) Why does the Mac Mini underpeform with the LCD display? The Powerbook works great, and the mini works great with my Cinema display (also 1920x1080) - where is the disconnect between the Mini and the Samsung? I understand very little about the actual details of DVI signals being carried across the wire, and don't understand what would cause the Powerbook to succeed, but the Mini to falter.
2) Assuming the Mini video hardware is at fault, has Apple improved this with the new Core 2 Duo line? Has anyone had success where previous Minis or other Apple hardware failed at 1080? If not, is there any announced intention to make the hardware that is positioned as being most ideal for the living room (ie, Mac Mini) actually DVI/HDMI-compatible with the finest HD living room devices?
3) An unfortunate sideffect of the DVI connection to the TV is that it requires the image from the Apple device to be oversanned (about a menu-bar's worth of pixels disappear on each edge) or underscanned (2" of black space around the image). Is there a common industry standard to correct this? Who is managing the overscan - the TV or the Mini? Also, can any utility, such as ScreenResX correct this until Apple manages to build in correction options into the OS for their living-room devices?
Thanks for all the help! Hopefully we can outline clear answers here in this thread for everyone else having similar problems.
Mac Mini G4 Mac OS X (10.4.8) Samsung LN-S4695D, Monster 400 DVI-HDMI 2m cable

David,
Great post. There's a lot to digest here. Let's get started!
The first question relating to noise, or static, over a TMDS (DVI) connection has to do with with the interoperability of various TMDS transmitters and receivers and how they are implemented. At this point in the market place there are thousands of combinations of transmitter/reciever pairings and obviously some are working better than others.
If you were to observe a TMDS signal with a scope there is something called the "eye" which is framed by the swing voltage and the bit time. When the eye collapses and is encroached upon, digital noise is the result. The noise margin is degraded by higher bit rates. That is why the mini and your TV are working at 720p but failing at 1080p...because the dot clock is that much higher for 1080p. The solution for cases such as this is to build a custom 1920x1080 timing that has reduced blanking, which allows for the lowering of the dot clock. Generally you can lower the dot clock sufficiently to get the noise to stop. LCD displays are relatively immune to reductions in blanking time so you can squeeze a lot out of a timing that was designed more with a CRT in mind.
To answer your second question, you can't fairly say the problem is with the mini. When you consider TMDS compatibility between two devices you have to take a whole system view. This includes not only the transmitter (mini) but the transmission line (PCB traces from the TMDS transmitter inside the mini to the mini's DVI connector -> the cable -> PCB traces from the DVI connector on the TV to the TMDS receiver in the TV), and the receiver. All three have to work together to make things come out right. You could probably just as easily find a display that works well with the mini that doesn't work with your PowerBook. It can be really had to pin the blame down to one device except in the most obvious cases where a certain device seems to be incompatible with just about everything. But I don't think the mini can be labeled that way. Compatibility is definitely an issue the industry still struggles with, especially at the higher clock rates approaching the 165MHz TMDS speed limit.
As for question 3, overscan is being forced by the TV, not by the mini. And, no, utilities like SwitchRes X and DisplayConfigX cannot be counted on to reliably deal with this except in the case of pure analog displays with magnetic deflection systems (e.g. old TVs and monitors). Once you have a digital processor involved and a matrix addressed display, tweaks to porch timings and blanking and such do not have predictable results. It seems to work in some cases but it is basically voodoo when it does. Purely luck.
If you want, I can help you to build a reduced blanking, 1080p timing that will most likely eliminate the DVI static. But you'll still be stuck with overscan. I should point out that a lot of manufacturers are starting to "get it" with respect to the public's desire to attach computers to their hi-def LCD televisions. I see a real shift in 2006 models. I believe the current crop of FHD (Full HD; native 1080) LCDs from the three "S" companies (Samsung, Sharp and Sony) all can display 1080p bit-for-bit now, meaning no overscan. So at least that is changing for the better. Write back if you want help with the timing.
Cheers. And thanks for starting this great thread.

Mac mini, macbook + DVI to HDMI + projector = No soup for you!

This is driving me nuts!!! I have tried 3 different macs, 4 completely different cables/adapters and they all do exactly the same thing.
1. I connect the mac to the DVI to HDMI cable and/or adapter combo, then connect to the projector
2. I get 2-30 seconds of wonderful projector screen usage (it works, picture looks crystal clear)
3. Then POOF! No projector signal, though it appears mac recognizes the projector.
I can repeat from 1 using a different adapter and/or cable and I get exactly the same results, but if I re-use the same cable I used previously, I get no signal at all.
What the $%@! is going on here??? Is Apple black-listing my cables or something??? I'm using everything from cheap-o cables to $$$ cables with exactly the same result.I run this projector with absolutely no problem from a dell desktop via DVI to HDMI.
For what it's worth, I'm connecting to a LG HS201 projector.
using Core-2-duo macs either with pure DVI or mini-DVI

samberl wrote:
DVI to HMDI is not supported on the Core 2 Duo Mac Mini.
You need to connect via DVI or VGA to your projector.
I have had Core2Duo Mac minis working with Sony LCD TVs and a Toshiba Plasma via DVI to HDMI cables with no problems. Obviously audio has to be run separately. There have been many reports from others that this works. It should do since both DVI and HDMI support HDCP and both are digital video connections, this after all is why a simple DVI to HDMI cable works.
What can be an issue is if your trying to do things like 3D or YCbCr colour encoding. However standard video works fine. Another common issue is if your are switching inputs to the TV perhaps via an AV Receiver or if the TV is allowed to sleep or be turned off, in these cases the Mac can see the handshake signal disappear. It is for this sort of situation Gefen makes the DVI Detective+ and the HDMI Detective+.
Since in your case the common factor is your projector and not the computer or cables it might be it at fault. Early HDMI products did have HDCP handshaking problems.
People have been using Mac minis as media center computer with HDMI for ages since the Mac mini is small and quiet, this probably goes back as far as G4 models let alone Core2Duo models.

Mac Mini doesn't like Philips 32PF9830

Hi all,
I have a problem when connecting my Mac-Mini with the Philips LCD-TV via the DVI. I only get a blank screen, what ever I try.
Here is my history:
I bought a DVI-D (Dual Link, 3m = 10inch?) cable and connected it to the 9830. Immediatley I saw the Mac-Os desktop, but the image was flickering (it looked like a wrong frequency) So I changed the resolution to 1920 x 1080 60Hz. I got an Black screen. Then I rebooted the Mac and I saw the grey Startup screen (the apple with an circle) and then again a black screen. This was also the last time I saw an Image coming from the Mac Mini via the DVI output.
Then I switched to a VGA cable and connected the VGA Cable via 2 DVI-VGA adpaters to the 9830 this only works if I boot the mac without the VGA cable connected and then after the reboot is finished connect the cable to the Mac. What I then see is a 800 x 600 VGA resolution. If i then switch to another resolution I receive again a black screen.
The Mac Mini DVI output is working because I have verified it by connecting it to another LCD display.
I also verified the Philips DVI Input, by connecting it to a PC with DVI video-card also working fine (I experienced a bad image at 1980 x1080 too).
I also tried an DVI-I cable (Single Link, 1,8m) but no improvement. I played around with Switchres x and displayconfigx. Nothing really worked.
I use VNC, so I can easily switch the res at my MAC from my Laptop. I see that when I'm switch the input at my TV the Mac recognizes that there is a LCD display and switches automatically over to a 1280 x 740 resolution (I see this in the VNC screen) but the TV still stays black.
MacOS and Switchres and displayconfigx are detecting the LCD TV correctly. I get only those resolutions displayed in the System settings that are specified by Philips for this TV.
I really don't know what to check else .Every thing works fine but a MAC - Philips connection simply doesn't work.
Here is the DDC file, If anyone can have a look at this or maybe have another suggestion, that would be great.
BTW: It took me so long to convince my wife to buy a Mac Mini for the living room. Now it looks like my wife was all the time right. I hate loosing against my wife !
DDC block generated by SwitchRes X for display
Philips FTV
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F
0 | 00 FF FF FF FF FF FF 00 41 0C 00 00 01 01 01 01
1 | 00 00 01 03 80 40 24 78 0A E6 92 A3 54 4A 99 26
2 | 0F 4A 4C 21 08 00 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01
3 | 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 1D 80 D0 72 1C 16 20 10 2C
4 | 25 80 80 68 21 00 00 9E 01 1D 80 18 71 1C 16 20
5 | 58 2C 25 00 80 68 21 00 00 9E 00 00 00 FC 00 50
6 | 68 69 6C 69 70 73 20 46 54 56 0A 20 00 00 00 FD
7 | 00 30 3E 0F 32 09 00 0A 20 20 20 20 20 20 01 E3
Valid DDC block: checksum passed
EDID Version........1.3
Manufacturer........PHL
Product Code........0 (0000) (0000)
Serial Number.......16843009
Manufactured........Week 0 of year 1990
Max H Size..........64 cm
Max V Size..........36 cm
Gamma...............2.20
DPMS Supported Features:
Display type:
RGB color display
Input signal & sync:
Digital
Color info:
Red x = 0.640 Green x = 0.290 Blue x = 0.150 White x = 0.289
Red y = 0.330 Green y = 0.600 Blue y = 0.060 White y = 0.299
Established Timings:
800 x 600 @ 60Hz
640 x 480 @ 60Hz
1024 x 768 @ 60Hz
Manufacturer Reserved Timings:
Standard Timing Identification:
Monitor Description blocks:
Descriptor #0 is Timing definition:
Mode = 1920 x 540 @ 50Hz
H. Active...............1920 pixels
H. Blanking.............720 pixels
V. Active...............540 lines
V. Blanking.............22 lines
HSync Offset............528 pixels
HSync Pulse Width.......44 pixels
VSync Offset............2 lines
VSync Pulse Width.......5 lines
Pixel Clock.............74.25MHz
Horizontal freq.........28.12kHz
Vertical freq...........50.04Hz
H Image Size............640mm
V Image Size............360mm
H Border................0 pixels
V Border................0 lines
Interlaced
Sync: Digital separate with
* Positive vertical polarity
* Positive horizontal polarity
Descriptor #1 is Timing definition:
Mode = 1920 x 540 @ 60Hz
H. Active...............1920 pixels
H. Blanking.............280 pixels
V. Active...............540 lines
V. Blanking.............22 lines
HSync Offset............88 pixels
HSync Pulse Width.......44 pixels
VSync Offset............2 lines
VSync Pulse Width.......5 lines
Pixel Clock.............74.25MHz
Horizontal freq.........33.75kHz
Vertical freq...........60.05Hz
H Image Size............640mm
V Image Size............360mm
H Border................0 pixels
V Border................0 lines
Interlaced
Sync: Digital separate with
* Positive vertical polarity
* Positive horizontal polarity
Descriptor #2 is Monitor name:
Philips FTV
Descriptor #3 is Monitor limits:
Horizontal frequency range.......15-50 kHz
Vertical frequency range.........48-62 Hz
Maximum bandwidth unspecified
Mac Mini Mac OS X (10.3.9)

Concerning "Shouldn't here also appear the video formats ? How does the Mac detects the other formats, if they are not in the DDC ?"
Those are standard video timings and they pre-exist inside Mac OS, though I don't know exactly which file contains them. Honestly I don't know how the Mac can know which video timings your TV can work from because DDC is not supported over video connections like S-Video and Composite Video as far as I am aware. Perhaps when you previously made a DVI connection and the EDID was read, the information about supported ranges in Descriptor #3 (near the bottom of the EDID file) was matched to the pre-existing video timings inside Mac OS and only those which matched up to your TV are presented in Display Preferences. I am just guessing.
I doubt cable length is giving problems. True the mini has poor drive out the VGA port but I have not heard the same of the DVI port. I use an inexpensive 3m DVI cable with my mini and TV it works without issue.
One other thing you might want to try since you are seeing video timings which you would like to access when making a DVI or VGA connection...as far as I know, if you boot a Mac and hold down Command-Opt-A-V keys all together while the Mac starts up, this will force the Mac to treat the attached display as an AV display. In that case the video timings you see may become available under Display Preferences even though you are making a "PC" connection (VGA or DVI) and not a video connection. I am not sure this will work but it is worth a try.

Using ASD with new Mac mini

Can I use my 17" Apple Studio Display (LCD purchased in 2004)with a new Mac Mini?
Does HDMI port on a 2010 Mac Mini support the ASD LCD with a male 35 pin connector?
If so, I need an adapter with a female end for the LCD connector and a male end for the female Mac Mini HDMI port. Can't find an adapter with that configuration.
Thanks.

You would need a DVI to ADC converter. Apple used to make one (the Apple M8661LL/B DVI to ADC Display Adapter), but have discontinued it so they're getting hard to find. Gefen still makes a DVI to ADC adapter, I believe. You would then need either a mini-DisplayPort to DVI adapter, or an HDMI to DVI adapter.
A new DVI 17" monitor would probably be not much more expensive than the DVI to ADC converter, which run upwards of $100.
Regards.

Help: do i really want an Apple TV or a Mac Mini?

Hi,
I have an iMac and Airport Extreme base station upstairs in the den. Downstairs in the rec room I have a 46" LCD HDTV.
I'd like three things.
1. I'd like to rent movies from iTMS (can't in Canada); and buy/rent American TV shows from iTMS (can't in Canada)
2. I'd like to be able to watch video files in the rec room that are on my iMac. (Currently I burn them to a DVD and watch them on my DIVX-capable DVD player, but the image quality ain't great.)
3. I'd like to be able to browse the web from my rec room
Trying to decide if I want an Apple TV or something else (like a Mac Mini). Here's my thinking:
Apple TV, PROs: awesome interface, HDMI out, can stream video files from my iMac or a hard drive on my Airport Extreme base station.
Apple TV, CONs: no movie rentals in Canada yet, no American TV shows in iTunes store in Canada yet, have to convert DIVX files to Apple TV compatible format, cannot browse the web with it
Mac Mini, PROs: can use Front Row to watch video files, can use Safari to browse the web in my rec room
Mac Mini, CONs: more expensive, no HDTV and 5.1 audio out
So my questions are:
Q1. is there any chance that Apple TV will provide me with access to the Safari web browser any time soon?
Q2. is the video output on a Mac Mini to my 46" LCD good enough; or is it crap compared to the HDMI out on Apple TV?
Q3. will iTunes store sell America TV shows in Canada soon?
Q4. will iTunes store rent movies in Canada soon?
Q5. will Apple TV support DIVX files soon?
Q6. if I buy an Apple TV will I regret getting the 40Gig version?
Q7. if I buy an Apple TV will I regret it because there's going to be a new PVR version of Apple TV next year?
ANY HELP OR OPINIONS ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED! THANKS,
slegge
Message was edited by: slegge
Message was edited by: slegge

Here are my stabs at answers
1) Probably not. This can be done but you'd have to hack it which isn't suggested.
2) It's the same output. The only difference between HDMI and DVI is that HDMI carries audio as well. A mini outputting at 1920*1080 will look as good as an ATV outputting over HDMI.
3 + 4) Who knows. My guess - unlikely.
5) Not likely. You'll need to pick up something such as Visual Hub to convert files to ATV format. On the other hand, a mini can play these files already.
6) That depends on how often your computer is on. In my case I own the 40 and don't mind it a bit - my mac mini is always on so it can stream anything from my mini to my Apple TV over my network. Streaming movies takes about five seconds to get started but after that I've had no trouble.
7) That's a possibility given that they've submitted patents for an idea such as that - but remember many patents never turn into anything.
Basically I think the mini vs. Apple TV comes down to $$$ and how badly you want to rent HD movies. A mini (via Front Row) can do anything an Apple TV can do plus a whole lot more (play many more formats, higher resolutions, etc.). The only thing it can't do is rent HD movies. I would have sprung for another mini if I could have afforded it.

Mac mini w/ princeton vl1716 lcd (or lcd17d)

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