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mini to LCD TV

B

bgd

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 30, 2005
237
11
SG
I'm trying to connect a mini to a Samsung LA40M8 LCD TV.

I've tried HDMI but get the message "not supported" on the tv.

Tried VGA and I get the message "Auto Setup in Progress - Please wait" and nothing happens.

The mini is a 1.42 PowerPC G4.

I also have a macbook which I could connect but don't have the necessary adapters yet.

Any ideas anyone - will I be able to get the mini working?

Have tried a few searches but haven't found anything relevant.
 
Ditto. There are a few issues that crop up using a Mini as a Media Center. While some are quite happy with their MiniMediaCenters, despite the fact that I originally intended to join their ranks, after looking at the issue closely, I went with an AppleTV.

FWIW, the 40GB AppleTV is fine. Unless you have compelling reasons to do otherwise, 99% of what you watch is streamed, with the 1% coming only when you want to watch with the network down or the computer shut off. I have found that 40GB was way more than enough to cover me during those times. ;)
 
Thx I'll have a read. Haven't had much of a chance to play yet but initial impressions of appleTV are very favourable. Don't think the mini will get much of a look in now.
 
mini to Samsung full hd tv

Any luck in fixing this problem..?I have exactly the same issue...Also tried connecting after upgrading to Leopard but still no luck.Samsung has released LA40M81B which has a direct dvi input though
xxxrum




From BGD
I'm trying to connect a mini to a Samsung LA40M8 LCD TV.

I've tried HDMI but get the message "not supported" on the tv.

Tried VGA and I get the message "Auto Setup in Progress - Please wait" and nothing happens.

The mini is a 1.42 PowerPC G4.

I also have a macbook which I could connect but don't have the necessary adapters yet.

Any ideas anyone - will I be able to get the mini working?

Have tried a few searches but haven't found anything relevant.[/QUOTE]
 
Hey guys, just wanted to point out that if you're interested in MediaCentral, there's a coupon code for 20% off until the end of February over at retailmenot.com:

Enter "MC2WD" during checkout.
 
I agree with some of the others. I initially bought a Mac Mini to connect to my 52" LCD and use it as a media center. The thought turned out to be much better than the execution at least in our house. When I wanted to use the Mac, others wanted to watch the TV and vice versa.

I am actively trying to sell my 2 month old Mini to get an updated ATV.
 
Wingnut330 said:
I agree with some of the others. I initially bought a Mac Mini to connect to my 52" LCD and use it as a media center. The thought turned out to be much better than the execution at least in our house. When I wanted to use the Mac, others wanted to watch the TV and vice versa.

I am actively trying to sell my 2 month old Mini to get an updated ATV.
Click to expand...

When you got a chance to use it, though, how did the mini work out on your LCD? I live alone, so no worries about others trying to kick me off the set up.
 
Mister Magnus said:
When you got a chance to use it, though, how did the mini work out on your LCD? I live alone, so no worries about others trying to kick me off the set up.
Click to expand...


Oh man - it was AWESOME! I have a 52" Sony Bravia LCD and the picture was amazing. I sat in front if it one night for a couple of hours and made a slideshow. It was fun because my wife and I sat there and picked pictures and music together. But for the limited number of times we would do that, it didn't seem worth it.

Anyway, the picture was great. I didn't make any adjustments or tweaks. It just worked - right out of the box.

I think a Mini with the EYE TV would be a very cool setup, I just didn't get that far.
 
Thanks Wingnut, I'll definitely be stopping the Apple Store here in Chicago sometime soon then. This is going to be my entry Mac and I'm definitely looking forward to it. I know there's been talk about a potential June update, but I think I'm too excited about switching from my PC.

Anything I might not be thinking of that I should know going in? Thanks.
 
If you are serious about buying one, I could make you a good deal on mine. It's a 2.0Ghz C2D machine with 3 years of AppleCare. I also have the DVI to HDMI converter cable for digital video connection to the TV and I have the MINI Toslink cable for digital sound.
 
I'm definitely in the market, but I don't mind shopping through Apple. Out of curiosity, though, what kind of deal did you have in mind?
 
Wingnut,

i'm curious to know -- how did DVDs look on the big screen when played through the Mini?

I'm using the Mini in my bedroom with a small LCD TV/monitor. DVDs look fine on the small screen, it's about 20 inches. It's not home theater, but its great to watch news and the occasional movie while lounging in bed. I'm a bit of a minimalist, so having a device that can do many things is very appealing to me.
 
Q-Dog said:
Wingnut,

i'm curious to know -- how did DVDs look on the big screen when played through the Mini?
Click to expand...

It looked great. I only watched one or 2 movies with it, but the ones that I watched looked good. IMO it's as good as any DVD player. It's not Blu-Ray or 1080p, but it still looked good. If you want 1080p, then get something else, but if you are comfortable with lower res then you will be fine.

In some ways, I don't think I gave the Mini a fair shake when I had it hooked to my TV and now that I have an MBA, I'm considering throwing it back on the TV and moving my AppleTV to another room. There seems like a lot of options for the Mini as a HTPC but at the time I tried I was new to Mac, new to Leopard etc and I got a little intimidated. I'm much further along now.

There is a great Mini HTPC (Home Theater PC) thread in the forums section of 123MacMini.com - stop over there and give it a read...
 
Thanks for the info. I'm thinking the Mini will be able to reduce the clutter in the Home Theater rack.

I also want to try the Mini in my RV, just for fun. The Mini is actually smaller than the DVD player I currently have in there. I use the same LCD TV/monitor in the RV, so it would be easy to hook up the Mini. I'm really curious to know how well the Airport card will pick up inside the aluminum skin of the RV.
 
Q-Dog said:
Thanks for the info. I'm thinking the Mini will be able to reduce the clutter in the Home Theater rack.

I also want to try the Mini in my RV, just for fun. The Mini is actually smaller than the DVD player I currently have in there. I use the same LCD TV/monitor in the RV, so it would be easy to hook up the Mini. I'm really curious to know how well the Airport card will pick up inside the aluminum skin of the RV.
Click to expand...

I saw video of a guy that put an AppleTV in his car. Very cool idea! He would sync it at night when he got home. That way he always had his entire music, movie and picture library (upt to the AppleTV capacity) in his car. Pretty slick idea that you might be able to do instead of the Mini.
 
Wingnut330 said:
I saw video of a guy that put an AppleTV in his car. Very cool idea! He would sync it at night when he got home. That way he always had his entire music, movie and picture library (upt to the AppleTV capacity) in his car. Pretty slick idea that you might be able to do instead of the Mini.
Click to expand...

Interesting idea, except for when I go on vacation for 3 weeks. At least with the Mini, I would just need to find internet. We have been using an iBook in the RV, that has recently been replaced with a MacBook Pro. BUT, we are concerned about loosing the MacBook (its actually a work machine), so thought we might be able to hide the Mini somewhere in the RV.
 
Q-Dog said:
Interesting idea, except for when I go on vacation for 3 weeks. At least with the Mini, I would just need to find internet. We have been using an iBook in the RV, that has recently been replaced with a MacBook Pro. BUT, we are concerned about loosing the MacBook (its actually a work machine), so thought we might be able to hide the Mini somewhere in the RV.
Click to expand...


True - plus if you have the Mini you could check the weather, install games etc. As for the internet, you could get a WWAN card from you mobile phone provider???
 
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