KDL32W4000 and 2009 mac mini - rubbish picture - help!

[William Boyd]

My 2009 Mac mini outputs ordinary text to the KDL32W4000. The problem is that text on screen is very blurry. I'd had designs on using it occasionally to work from home but the picture has scotched that idea for the time being.

Has anyone got any tricks or tips on how to make things look better. I've adjusted the display to full pixel through settings on the XMB and set the mini to overscan in display prefs. Fiddling with both those options doesn't give any real improvement in making the text legible. The mac is running OS 10.5.6 - I've not updated to 10.5.7 due to other reported problems with LCD tvs and that update.

I'd've thought that getting a mini to work properly with the KDL series should have been an obvious consideration, it's not like they're an obscure brand of telly - grumble grumble mug of tea.

Am yet to see how the mini works with windows 7 - now that'd be ironic if windows looks better than the mac OS.

 

[Anonymous]

How are you connecting it? Through VGA or DVI/HDMI?

 

[William Boyd]

Sorry - should have specified. Through mini DVI to DVI to HDMI. The Dell work laptop through VGA looks fine (but don't really want to use VGA with the Mini if there's a way to make the DVI/HDMI option work - and I've shelled out the cashews to get the DVI/HDMI cable).

 

[professorhat]

What resolution is the mini outputting when connected to the TV?

 

[William Boyd]

TV says that is outputting 1080p; Mac is set to 1080x1920, overscan and 60Hz.

I've read elsewhere that the KDL32W4000 is actually crippled to a lower resolution of 1360x768 - though I've not been able to find proof of the veracity of that statement. In any case, the 1360x768 isn't available in the display prefs - haven't tried fiddling with SwitchResX; am hopeful that there's something I'm missing in the TV's menu or settings that will fix the issue.

 

[m.j]

i have a 2009 mac mini connected to a pioneer 50" through mini dvi-dvi-hdmi and it works extremely well

although the max res output on the mini is 1080i not P

try adjusting the mac minis res so that its on a resolution closer to what your tv can handle ?

worth a shot.

 

[William Boyd]

Hmmm - seems the max res the TV will accept from a PC through HDMI is 1080x1024 as per page 35 of the manual http://pdf.crse.com/manuals/3298243131.pdf (hope the link doesn't infringe any posting rules)

Damn, should have done my research before getting the TV.

 

[professorhat]

Are you sure about that 1080x1024 resolution? That's basically a square so you would have black bars down the side of a widescreen TV to show that. A quick search of the specs of that TV shows it should handle 1920 x 1080 (which is Full HD) and this shouldn't be blurry on a 32" TV.

EDIT - Okay - looking at that chart, I would try putting the Mac Mini output to either 1024 x 768 or 1280 x 768 and see if this helps.

 

[William Boyd]

Thanks - does seem that it won't display full 1080x1920; the newer W5500 does. At 1280 x 1024 there's probably a third of the screen that is unused (1/6th on each side). All the usual problems of using a lower resolution than the screen is optomised for (in terms of physical dimensions) apply.

What do you think my chances are of getting Sony to swap it (whether for free or at a reasonable uplift) on the basis that something promoted as being full HD doesn't output a full HD signal from the HDMI inputs when using a PC source. If this had been obvious and had the dudes in the shop known their stuff when asked then I'd have delayed the purchase (knowing that the new model was due to be released in the near future at that point).