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MacBook Pro not displaying out to HDTV in HD

P

pdubs1900

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 22, 2019
5
0
Good Morning!
I have a 2013 Pro Retina that isn't sending out video quality above something like 480p to a 55" Hisense HDTV I use.
Here's what I've gathered from troubleshooting so far:
  • The laptop itself displays in max quality on its native display.
  • The laptop will produce at least up to 1080p in other TVs.
  • The Hisense will display in 1080p when hooked up to other HDMI sources, like my PS4.
  • The TV says at the top that when the HDMI source is detected, that it is displaying 3820*2180p and 30Hz. I do not know what that means, in a practical sense. I don't have any tools to measure things, all I know is that I'm absolutely not seeing 1080p.
  • Hisense is a garbage brand with useless customer service and you should never buy one. Spend the extra $200 for a standard brand.
Does anyone have any ideas of what's happening and how to resolve?
Any help much appreciated!
 
Yep. It's this guy:
upload_2019-4-22_14-2-9.png
 
So the problem isn't the pixel count but the rate being 30Hz?
The specs of the macbook pro seem to indicate that when outputting at 1080p that it does have a rate of 60Hz.
It would sound like that's something that can be adjusted, or am I mistaken and SOL for this setup?
 
It also sounds like you may have a scaling issue. Have you gone into settings on the MacBook Pro and looked at the Display scaling for the TV? It could be its defaulting to something less than 1080p and the tv is trying to upscale and/or resize to fit the full screen. If you have it set at 1080p in the display settings then it will look pretty bad on a large 55" tv.

Also, are you using an HDMI that is capable of 4k? Some HD cables are of lower quality, I'd make sure you try using a cable that you know will display at full resolution. Other than that @Audit13 has provided very good info on what you should expect with that model of MacBook Pro.
 
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Audit13 said:
IMHO, Hisense is not a garbage brand.
Click to expand...
I have had a power component die on me after a few months that rendered the TV completely dead, and HDMI from some gaming sources will randomly kill the video display. I've had the latter issue occur on the unit I initially purchased, as well as the unit they sent me as a replacement under factory warranty. Additionally the customer service, though pleasant, was red-tape hell. I'm standing by my statement. A modern 4K tv should not be having issues with crashing and pieces of it dying after a few months, and my experience is not unique among users.

Anyway!
I didn't mention this in my OP but I tried several cables, and these cables all are able to display in HD when hooked up to other sources like a Switch or a PS4.

I'm not expecting 4K. I guess what I'm missing is a 60hz refresh rate, which the MacBook 2013 Early model doesn't natively support for a display above a certain resolution. Thank you, @Audit13, for pointing that issue out.

I've heard that SwitchResX can manually adjust the resolution and refresh rate. I fully expect possibilities of crashes from this but who knows! I may luck out..
 
I have the 65" Hisense Roku tv from Costco and its value for the money was quite good for the price I paid. I use it in the bedroom and have a 65" OLED lg in my basement home theatre room. I've had the tv since last August and haven't experienced any issues at all.

Good luck with your testing.

I have a late 2013 13" pro so I'll hook it up later to my Hisense too and report back.
 
What sort of devices do you use for viewing?

Besides the power component failing, all of my issues (besides application issues with Netflix, but that's another story) involve HDMI sources, and they vary from device to device. E.g. the ps4 is stable but kills video sometimes, Nintendo Switch kills video incredibly frequently.

Macbook Pro has yet to kill the video, though I am having a lot of quality issues like crackling and white spots and audio glitches when powering the TV on while the macbook is powered.
I'm not 100% certain it's the TV's fault, may just be the connection on the Macbook is squirrelly and the Hisense is delicate.
 
Last edited:
I have the 65" Hisense Roku tv from Costco and its value for the money was quite good for the price I paid. I use it in the bedroom and have a 65" OLED lg in my basement home theatre room. I've had the tv since last August and haven't experienced any issues at all.
 
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