External monitor help

[hypertc13]

So I have been looking at getting an external monitor recently as I can work from home 2 days a week. I borrowed my brothers external monitor to see if that size would work for me. He has a 25" HP monitor thats 1080p. I have a mid 2011 MacBook air that I hooked up to it using mini display port to HDMI. I have to say it looked like garbage. It was very pixelated which I thought a 25" with 1080p would be fine. I don't know if it was some settings or what. Any help would be appreciated

 

[Fishrrman]

Some folks (those with perfect vision or "younger eyes") see the same when viewing a 27" display @ 1080p

Others (like myself) with "older eyes" have no complaints at all.

Something to check:
Open the "displays" pref pane

Do you see an option for "underscan"?
If so, the MacBook is "seeing" the display "as a tv screen", and NOT "as a computer display".
Seems a common problem with the Mac OS as of late.

IF you see an "underscan" option, try moving it all the way to off.
Does this change anything?

Again, if you're younger, it may be the size of the display/resolution.

 

[Agent OrangeZ]

27" display @ 1080p

Thanks for the mention. I appreciate it.

 

[MrX8503]

If you're getting 1080p, you want to stick with ~20" screen size. If you want a 27" screen, get a 1440p monitor. That's the standard screen size to resolution ratio.

4K is a bit more complicated and I don't think your Air can drive it.