intel mac mini on a 35" sdtv 4:3

[MS bulldog]

anyone know how or if the mini will work and look good on this size tv? it has composite, svid and component hookups...no vga...no dvi.

 

[student_trap]

it should be fine, i use my powerbook connected up to a 40in TV via VGA and it works wonderfully

 

[jeremy.king]

no vga...no dvi.

It will look like crap...Get yourself a HDTV with VGA and/or DVI for the best quality.

 

[dr_lha]

It will look like crap...Get yourself a TV with VGA and/or DVI.

Not necessary (and not available) on a normal TV. The guy doesn't have a HDTV so your comment isn't exactly helpful.

Yes, it will look like crap (for text, movies will be fine) but thats due to the limitations of your TV.

 

[modernpixel]

I hook my MacBook up to my very old SDTV with Apple's DVI to Svideo connector.

For playing full screen movies from Quicktime and DVD Player - it's fantastic. I just watched a movie last night, in fact, from my MacBook. I watch Quicktime movies all the time like that.

One oddity - maybe just my TV or computer - the image is slightly off center, towards the left, so a DVD plays back with a bit of black bar on the right side. Can't remember if it does it with Quicktime movies too.

Using the TV screen as a computer monitor is going to be impossible. It literally looks like you put a thick coat of Vaseline over a regular monitor.

 

[dr_lha]

One oddity - maybe just my TV or computer - the image is slightly off center, towards the left, so a DVD plays back with a bit of black bar on the right side. Can't remember if it does it with Quicktime movies too.

Have you tried turning on overscan?

 

[jeremy.king]

The guy doesn't have a HDTV so your comment isn't exactly helpful.

He asked how it would look...I said like crap. I know cause I tried building a MAME cabinet with a mini using a 27" TV. The bigger the TV, the more exaggerated the crappiness.

Yes, it will look like crap (for text, movies will be fine) but thats due to the limitations of your TV.

Then you concurred... I'll change my comment to indicate HD.

 

[flir67]

He asked how it would look...I said like crap. I know cause I tried building a MAME cabinet with a mini using a 27" TV. The bigger the TV, the more exaggerated the crappiness.



Then you concurred... I'll change my comment to indicate HD.

this is right, the bigger the screen the bigger the crappiness. vga just looks like crap... if you get a mini go dvi or nothing.

I have a intel mini with a 27" lcd and its ok, getting the font big enough is the hardest part so you can read it

 

[MS bulldog]

this is right, the bigger the screen the bigger the crappiness. vga just looks like crap... if you get a mini go dvi or nothing.

I have a intel mini with a 27" lcd and its ok, getting the font big enough is the hardest part so you can read it

the only option would be dvi to component adapter if such a thing exists, and even then i'm not sure if the picture quality would be affected.

 

[balamw]

OK I'm very confused by the definition of crap being used in this thread. I routinely connect my iBook to my 32" Sony TV to play back iMovie videos and iPhoto slideshows using the mini VGA to S-video adapter.

Sure it doesn't look as nice as on the higher resolution iBook or iMac's screen, but it looks as good as regular TV does on the same display. You can't get away with running the Mac as a full service computer, but set the resolution to 640x480 or 800x600, use the S-video adapter and it's perfectly usable as a Front Row box .

B

 

[jeremy.king]

You can't get away with running the Mac as a full service computer

This is the part that I meant looks like crap. For videos/photos, its fine, but for anything else (such as a day to day setup)...well, I would not wish that on anyone 😉