DVI to HDMI questions
Hi there,
I'm thinking of creating a system using a new Mac Mini and an HDTV, neither of which I have bought yet.
The HDTV is likely to have 1080p and will be LCD. My question is, what will be the best way to connect the two in order to get the best quality from the system?
There are a plethora of DVI-to-HDMI cables out there, but I assume these only carry video info, not audio. Are there any other HDMI cables out there that include a DVI and stereo minijack at the other end?
I have also heard problems with overscan/underscan and unsupported resolutions. Will I be able to set this all up so as to make full use of my TV's resolution, giving me pixel-for-pixel images rather than blur and distortion due to the resizing of the picture? I have read elsewhere on this site that SwitchResX may allow me to produce a custom resolution that matches my HDTV. Has anyone had any experience with this and can you tell me if it works well?
Thanks in advance for your help. Obviously I don't want to go out spending large amounts on this system without knowing which hardware will work best for me.
cheers!
I'm thinking of creating a system using a new Mac Mini and an HDTV, neither of which I have bought yet.
The HDTV is likely to have 1080p and will be LCD. My question is, what will be the best way to connect the two in order to get the best quality from the system?
There are a plethora of DVI-to-HDMI cables out there, but I assume these only carry video info, not audio. Are there any other HDMI cables out there that include a DVI and stereo minijack at the other end?
I have also heard problems with overscan/underscan and unsupported resolutions. Will I be able to set this all up so as to make full use of my TV's resolution, giving me pixel-for-pixel images rather than blur and distortion due to the resizing of the picture? I have read elsewhere on this site that SwitchResX may allow me to produce a custom resolution that matches my HDTV. Has anyone had any experience with this and can you tell me if it works well?
Thanks in advance for your help. Obviously I don't want to go out spending large amounts on this system without knowing which hardware will work best for me.
cheers!
Comments
I can hook my G4 PBook up to my 1080p TV via the miniDVI-VGA adaptor (TV has a VGA-input port). The Mac will see the TV as a monitor, but it won't offer the full 1080p resolution... I end up with 15?? x 1080 as the max resolution, leaving black bars on either side of the picture.
For some reason, the pBook won't allow me to send the full 1920x1080 resolution to the Sony TV... though the PBook specs say it should be able to output that resolution.
So, i guess my point is, that even though both the computer and the TV are 1080p specs, they MAY not actually be compatable at that resolution.
For some reason, the pBook won't allow me to send the full 1920x1080 resolution to the Sony TV... though the PBook specs say it should be able to output that resolution.
Because 1920x1080 is a 16:9. A normal computer monitor would display 16:10, or 1920x1200. The PowerBook display (assuming you have the 15.2" model) displays at 1280x854, which comes out to be 16:10.675, a little closer to square than usual. Rounding your resolution off to 1500x1080, that's also closer to square than 1920x1080. Chances are that the laptop is displaying it's normal aspect ratio (16:10.675) onto the screen, and making it as big as possible.
The moral of the story is: 15" PowerBooks have f*cked-up display settings.
Because 1920x1080 is a 16:9. A normal computer monitor would display 16:10, or 1920x1200. The PowerBook display (assuming you have the 15.2" model) displays at 1280x854, which comes out to be 16:10.675, a little closer to square than usual. Rounding your resolution off to 1500x1080, that's also closer to square than 1920x1080. Chances are that the laptop is displaying it's normal aspect ratio (16:10.675) onto the screen, and making it as big as possible.
The moral of the story is: 15" PowerBooks have f*cked-up display settings.
It's not mirroring though, it's acting as a completely separate 2nd display. The resolution of the notebook display should have no bearing on the resolution displayed on the external monitor. (except in "mirror" mode.)
Either the pBook just doesn't recognize the Sony display properly, and see that it's capable of 1080p, or else the video card output of the pBook just doesn't perform up to the published specs for it. I'd guess it's a compatibility issue with the Sony TV.
The moral of the story is: 15" PowerBooks have f*cked-up display settings.
Should you not be able to mess around with the resolution using SwitchResX? Or does it always have to be either 16:10 or 4:3?
It's not mirroring though, it's acting as a completely separate 2nd display. The resolution of the notebook display should have no bearing on the resolution displayed on the external monitor. (except in "mirror" mode.)
Another question - I know it's possible to have QuickTime Player running on a second monitor, but is that possible from VLC too? Anybody tried?
Should you not be able to mess around with the resolution using SwitchResX? Or does it always have to be either 16:10 or 4:3?
That's just it. The LCD panel's native resolution is 1280x854. No software can change it. A normal 16:10 resolution would be 1280x800, or 1680x1050, whereas the 4:3 equivalents are 1280x960 or 1600x1200. 1280x854 is just an odd, unique resolution for that machine.
That's just it. The LCD panel's native resolution is 1280x854. No software can change it.
But why not? Connected as a second monitor, you can connect any size you want (so long as the video card can support the number of pixels).
I just confirmed that the same resolution conflict exists when using a brand new macbook as well... so apparently the computer not displaying full 1080 on the SONY TV has something to do with the way the TV advertises itself to the computer, it doesn't seem to be a graphics card problem with the Macs.
But have you tried using SwitchResX? Isn't this exactly the type of problem it's designed to solve?
But why not? Connected as a second monitor, you can connect any size you want (so long as the video card can support the number of pixels).
No display can go above it's native resolution, and the native resolution is a physical attribute of the panel, nothing software can change. The 15.2" PowerBook display has 1280 pixels across by 854 pixels down. The operating system can emulate a smaller resolution by using two or more physical pixels as a single logical pixel, but no display can go higher than it's native. Sure, I could tweak my PowerBook using SwitchResX to use 1280x800, but that would either stretch the image out, or leave a 1280x27 pixel black bar on both the top and bottom of the image.
Another question - I know it's possible to have QuickTime Player running on a second monitor, but is that possible from VLC too? Anybody tried?
Just drag the floating controller window to the second monitor, and reactivate full-screen mode.
the TV that i would be hooking a Mini(upgrade) to has a 1366 x 768 resolution and the mini will go up to 1920 by 1080 with VGA output. will this setup work??
You'd think so, but my pBook is supposed to support 1920x1080 as well, but won't display it on my Sony TV.
As for SwitchResX, I haven't tried it... I was merely pointing out that it's frustrating that the computer won't do what it was advertised to do (though the problem could be with the TV rather than the computer.) ... now... a new MacMini with HDMI out would fix all this !
... now... a new MacMini with HDMI out would fix all this !
yes!! i hope they do put a HDMI output!!
No display can go above it's native resolution, and the native resolution is a physical attribute of the panel, nothing software can change.
That's not what I meant. If you connect your big LCD or Plasma TV to the DVI port, it can appear as a second monitor. Therefore using SwitchResX you should be able to set the resolution for your second monitor to the native resolution of your TV. If not, why not?
Just drag the floating controller window to the second monitor, and reactivate full-screen mode.
Hey, excellent! Thanks! Is there nothing that video player cannot do!
Is there nothing that video player cannot do!
Fast forward and rewind at an acceptable speed.
QuickTime definitely has that over VLC... QT has superb FF/rewind controls.