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ilikefood

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 8, 2011
2
0
I'm thinking of buying a 17" MBP, and I'm wondering about connecting it to an HDTV. I know that I can connect the MBP to an HDTV via an adapter (display port to HDMI), and then mirror the MBP display on the TV. But the native resolution of the 17" MBP screen is 1920x1200, while the HDTV native resolution is 1920x1080. So if I mirror the display, will the TV get a 1920x1200 signal? What will happen to the extra 120 lines (1200 vs. 1080)? Will the image on the TV be cropped somehow? Or squashed to fit in the extra lines?
 

gr8tfly

macrumors 603
Oct 29, 2006
5,333
99
~119W 34N
If you mirror, the TV and the MBP will get 1080. The MBP display will be slightly letter boxed.

(Early 2009 17" MBP)

Note that your TV may have a setting which slightly crops 1080 HD to compensate for noise on some sources (cable/sat). If you find your Mac's desktop missing a few pixels, look for that option on your TV and disable it. I have a 50" Panasonic that has that feature and disabled it.
 
Last edited:

samac92

macrumors 6502a
Feb 18, 2008
537
90
Note that your TV may have a setting which slightly crops 1080 HD to compensate for noise on some sources (cable/sat). If you find your Mac's desktop missing a few pixels, look for that option on your TV and disable it. I have a 50" Panasonic that has that feature and disabled it.

Alternatively, if your TV does not have that option, head to display preferences and there should be a slider for underscan. Slide it until the picture fits your TV without cropping. (this only works in Lion)
 

gr8tfly

macrumors 603
Oct 29, 2006
5,333
99
~119W 34N
Alternatively, if your TV does not have that option, head to display preferences and there should be a slider for underscan. Slide it until the picture fits your TV without cropping. (this only works in Lion)

Nice to know - it used to be fixed, and usually overcropped.
 
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