Connecting mini to 32" TV for use as a monitor

[tennisproha]

I just got a 2012 refurb mini. I have an LG 32" 1080p TV (model number is 32LE5300). I want to connect all my devices (mini, xbox, cable TV) to one screen to consolidate everything. I've connected my mini to the LG TV and its not scaling quite like it should. I'm hoping someone can explain why or help me resolve the issue.

The Mac mini (running Mavericks) is connected to the LG TV via HDMI cable. The mini picks it up as a LG TV under Displays in Preferences. Under 'scaled' it shows rotation and refresh rate settings.

I'm having 2 problems. First, when I sit where I want to, around 6 feet away, I can't see anything! The font is just really small. I can't figure out how to make the font universally larger, not app specific. Second, if I move in closer to a legible distance, around 3 feet away, everything is blurry. Everything from app icons to menu bar. What gives?? Why won't it scale the font correctly according to screen size? How do I correct this?

Thanks everyone.

Edit:

So I mis-spoke. There is a 'scaled' option under Display, however the issue still applies. At 1080p, its scaled like a normal screen, but the icons and everything are pixelated. At 720p, everything does get bigger, however its still blurry and more pixelated. Like the App Store icon on the Dock has a very noticeable jagged pixelation.

Update:

I went to the apple store again and the guy says that it shouldnt be this way. He says it should be as clear as the 27" 5k iMac we were standing by. Really?? He said if its blurry its a bad GPU or needs a firmware update. I thought the CPU drove the display natively unless there was a graphics intensive app?? Idk what the hell… this makes no sense.

 

[Command]

I just got a 2012 refurb mini. I have an LG 32" 1080p TV (model number is 32LE5300). I want to connect all my devices (mini, xbox, cable TV) to one screen to consolidate everything. I've connected my mini to the LG TV and its not scaling quite like it should. I'm hoping someone can explain why or help me resolve the issue.

The Mac mini (running Mavericks) is connected to the LG TV via HDMI cable. The mini picks it up as a LG TV under Displays in Preferences. Under 'scaled' it shows rotation and refresh rate settings.

I'm having 2 problems. First, when I sit where I want to, around 6 feet away, I can't see anything! The font is just really small. I can't figure out how to make the font universally larger, not app specific. Second, if I move in closer to a legible distance, around 3 feet away, everything is blurry. Everything from app icons to menu bar. What gives?? Why won't it scale the font correctly according to screen size? How do I correct this?

Thanks everyone.

With the HDMI connection, in System Preferences Displays you will have an over/ under scan slider to adjust it. A TV is not the same as a monitor, despite the 1080 HD res.

 

[tennisproha]

With the HDMI connection, in System Preferences Displays you will have an over/ under scan slider to adjust it. A TV is not the same as a monitor, despite the 1080 HD res.

Right. That only basically zooms the screen out.

How is a TV not the same as a monitor… so is it not possible to do this?

 

[tennisproha]

So I went in to the apple store and talked to someone there. He said it doesnt quite work well with this kinda setup but didnt have any explanation as to why?

Ive thought through it myself and it seems its either the resolution and/or the scaling thats at fault here. Anyone have any other ideas?

 

[26139]

Okay...

A TV is not the same as a monitor because they're designed to do different things.

TVs are meant to be viewed from a distance, computer monitors close up.

While videos should look great played directly on the Mini and shown on the TV, the Finder likely will not.

It's not going to work exactly like you want it to, sorry.

 

[Gjwilly]

The Mac mini (running Mavericks) is connected to the LG TV via HDMI cable. The mini picks it up as a LG TV under Displays in Preferences. Under 'scaled' it shows rotation and refresh rate settings.

It doesn't show DPI settings?
Changing the DPI will be similar to changing the resolution on a monitor and make all of the screen elements larger.

 

[tennisproha]

A TV is not the same as a monitor because they're designed to do different things.

TVs are meant to be viewed from a distance, computer monitors close up.

While videos should look great played directly on the Mini and shown on the TV, the Finder likely will not.

It's not going to work exactly like you want it to, sorry.

Ah ok thats what ive been thinking. I think Im just starting to understand this. Ive been messing around with the settings all day and read up on it and it seems l prob have it set to the best possible.

Im trying to more clearly understand why though. So is it because the display is too large with not high enough resolution to scale the source properly?

I feel there are two separate issues here: display size scaling and display resolution. Take a 1080p 21" display. Looks fine. But blown up to 32", the res stays the same yet the mac still shows at the same font size. So you have to sit further back but then cant read anything. So now you have to increase the resolution of the 32" to probably 2160p for there to be proper scaling. Am I on the right track here…

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It doesn't show DPI settings?
Changing the DPI will be similar to changing the resolution on a monitor and make all of the screen elements larger.

Do you mean the PPI? Well its a 32" 1920x1080p display. So the PPI is prob around 68 I guess… You cant exactly change this can you?

 

[Gjwilly]

If you go into Preferences and then click Display, next to Resolution should be an option for Scaled and after clicking it you should be able to change to any of the resolutions supported by your TV.
Mine has the options for 1080p, 1080i, or 720p.
You don't have that?

 

[CausticSoda]

My HD TV is 1920 x 1080 pixels and is about 48", I think.

My monitor is smaller at 30" but is 2560 x 1600 pixels and makes my HD TV look distinctly LD!. It was more expensive than my TV by some margin.

You cannot expect your TV to perform as well as a monitor - it is far lower resolution and larger, so has a far lower pixel density. This is why text looks blurry when you get close. It is designed for images seen some distance away, and does not need to be as high resolution as a good computer monitor.

 

[The-Pro]

just set up a 2014 mini with a 85" 4K Samsung TV, scales perfectly

OP, you should try changing the resolution displayed like Gjwilly suggested

 

[tennisproha]

If you go into Preferences and then click Display, next to Resolution should be an option for Scaled and after clicking it you should be able to change to any of the resolutions supported by your TV.
Mine has the options for 1080p, 1080i, or 720p.
You don't have that?

Sorry, I do. I updated my original post just now if you wanna take a look. But regardless the same issues apply.

My HD TV is 1920 x 1080 pixels and is about 48", I think.

My monitor is smaller at 30" but is 2560 x 1600 pixels and makes my HD TV look distinctly LD!. It was more expensive than my TV by some margin.

You cannot expect your TV to perform as well as a monitor - it is far lower resolution and larger, so has a far lower pixel density. This is why text looks blurry when you get close. It is designed for images seen some distance away, and does not need to be as high resolution as a good computer monitor.

It looks pixelated upclose (2') but its looks just as blurry and somewhat pixelated from afar at 6'.

Are you saying it should be crystal clear from afar as the apple store rep stated (read below)?

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I went to the apple store again and the guy says that it shouldnt be this way. He says it should be as clear as the 27" 5k iMac we were standing by. Really?? He said if its blurry its a bad GPU or needs a firmware update…
I thought the CPU drove the display natively unless there was a graphics intensive app running?? Idk what the hell… this makes no sense