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Strange display resolution problem

lukefinch

lukefinch

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 6, 2009
404
0
South Yorkshire, England
I need some help.

I am currently running my 2.13GHz non-unibody MacBook at a the native resolution of 1280 x 800 however i want to use it on an external display at a higher resolution.

Here's the problem though, when i connect my macbook to a TV through the VGA port, the display becomes stretched and the resolution isn't very high. I was wondering how i could get the resolution to increase at all. FYI im trying a 26" LG LCD TV, a 32" LG LCD TV and a 22" Technika LCD TV.

Thanks for any help!
 
Have you checked System Preferences > Displays > Arrangement?
SysPrefsArrangement.jpg


Is Mirror Display un-checked?
mac_pref.jpg


Have you checked the resolution for the external display in System Preferences > Displays?
There should be a resolution window on the second external display, if mirroring is un-checked.
displaysPreferences.png
 
Have you checked System Preferences > Displays > Arrangement?
Click to expand...

Yeah, it is unchecked and i want the dock and menu bar on the external disply

Have you checked the resolution for the external display in System Preferences > Displays?
There should be a resolution window on the second external display, if mirroring is un-checked.
Click to expand...

Yeah, i have checked that but the display resolution doesn't go anywhere near as high as yours.

Im going to try it on my 32" Samsung LCD TV now, ill post screenshots in a minute to show you what the resolutions are etc.
 
Here is what i get when i connect it to my 32" LCD TV in my bedroom
 

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lukefinch said:
Yeah, it is unchecked and i want the dock and menu bar on the external disply
Click to expand...

Do that by dragging the menu bar in the Arrangement tab from one display to the other.
MacMoveMenuBarExternalDisplay.jpg


Yeah, i have checked that but the display resolution doesn't go anywhere near as high as yours.

Im going to try it on my 32" Samsung LCD TV now, ill post screenshots in a minute to show you what the resolutions are etc.
Click to expand...

The images I used are from the internet. I don't have a monitor with that kind of resolution.

A TV will only get you the maximum native resolution of 1920 x 1080 if it is an HD TV.
There are other resolutions, but they are smaller.

As a TV is not made to display fine text coming from a computer, it is normal that the image is kinda blurred, especially with bigger TVs.



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That resolution sounds about right.

There is nothing you can do about it, no higher resolution is available.
 
And here is what i get when i connect it to a 26" HD LCD TV
 

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That sounds right, many HD TVs don't offer 1920 x 1080 as a resolution. And as I wrote before, nothing can be done about it.
Click to expand...

Does that sound strange to anyone else. Isn't a HD TV HD because it has a 1920 x 1080 resolution?

In that case, how would you recommend getting a higher resolution on a display. Would i have to buy a proper computer monitor?
 
lukefinch said:
Does that sound strange to anyone else. Isn't a HD TV HD because it has a 1920 x 1080 resolution?

In that case, how would you recommend getting a higher resolution on a display. Would i have to buy a proper computer monitor?
Click to expand...

HD is a very confusing term, thus many resolutions are available, like 1280 x 720, 1440 x 1080, 1920 x 1080 and 1360 x 768 and some other.

To view content from a computer on an external monitor, that is not video or some kind of visualization, it is best to use a dedicated computer monitor. Many cheap ones can be had for 100€ and less, and of course more.
 
lukefinch said:
So if i were to buy a proper computer monitor, such as this one, would i be able to run the display at full HD 1920x1080 resolution?

http://accessories.euro.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=uk&l=en&s=dhs&cs=ukdhs1&sku=324819

Also, has anyone got any pics of a macbook running at this sort of resolution?
Click to expand...

The link you gave does not really work, I get:

Our apologies...

The page you requested cannot be displayed.

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You have to make sure the monitor supports the resolution you want, many 19" to 22/24" have a native resolution of 1920 x 1080/1200, so that should work.

The MB you have does support that external resolution.
 
lukefinch said:
Does that sound strange to anyone else. Isn't a HD TV HD because it has a 1920 x 1080 resolution?
Click to expand...

If your TV only supports 720p, then you don't get 1920x1080. 1920x1080 is 1080p resolution. What you're seeing in your display settings are those of a 720p television.
 
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