Intel Mac mini, Panasonic plasma, Overscan solution
May 1st, 2006
I recently got my Mac mini media center set up and running and it’s pretty nifty but there was one nagging issue I had not yet solved, until now!
I have a Mac mini core duo (early 2006, 1.66 Ghz) hooked up to my Panasonic TH-42PD50U EDTV plasma as a media center. Out of the box, just hooking up all the wires gets you most of the way there but the overscan issue makes it so the picture is larger than the TV screen by enough pixels all the way around to be annoying though still usable. There’s software called DisplayConfigX that lets you set up custom resolutions for situations like this but it’s very complicated and I wasn’t able to make it work myself. Well now the magic of the Internet has allowed me to stumble upon the answer.
To help out any others in need of this same information, here are the settings I ended up using. It’s not a perfect fit for my TV but it’s very close and might be as close as is possible. I may try some other settings later myself but I am more likely to just be lazy and use what other people figured out.
My DisplayConfigX settings:
Horizontal
- 1224 pixels
- 136 front porch
- 80 sync
- 208 back porch
Vertical
- 690 pixels
- 26 front porch
- 5 sync
- 29 back porch
Updated Jan 1, 2007 with my most up to date setup!
June 21st, 2006 at 3:46 pm
Hi,
You might just be my hero. I have a mac mini and a 42″ ed panasonic plasma that I can only get to work via VGA, using a DVI to HDMI cable only gives me 3 resolutions none of which work. I’m going to give your custom config a go when I get home. Just a couple of quick questions - Do you think it matters that my mini is not an intel version? Does the type of DVI to HDMI cable matter (DVI-I or DVI-D)?
Thanks
June 21st, 2006 at 4:00 pm
My TV worked ok as soon as I plugged it into the Mac mini.. it just chopped off some pixels all the way around. Turning off the overscan setting on the Mac resulted in a few inches of black all the way around the desktop. I just had to use DisplayConfigX to make it more perfect.
I don’t think intel versus ppc should make much of a difference. The two different versions of the Mac mini do have different video cards so that could make some difference, but I think the TV itself probably matters most. I don’t really know anything about DVI-I but from my quick google search it looks like it should be fine. The cable I’m using is the cheapest DVI to HDMI cable I could find on Amazon. It was something like $27.
Oh, also… I’ve updated my own DisplayConfigX settings since I posted this to fit the TV even better. I’m using a resolution of 1224 x 690 now, I think. I keep meaning to take a screenshot of the DisplayConfigX window.
June 21st, 2006 at 4:16 pm
It could definately be a graphics card issue. I really thought it was the TV that pansonic had somehow disabled all but 3 crappy resolutions via HDMI.
I have the same model TV as you so I guess that isn’t the case.
Oh well if it doesn’t work I guess it’s the excuse I’ve been looking for to get an Intel mini.
Thanks for your info,
June 21st, 2006 at 4:19 pm
My bad I actually have the previous model TH-42PD25U/P so it could still be the TV.
October 11th, 2006 at 7:20 pm
what are the chances of finding someone with the exact same tv and the exact same problem! i tried your configs, and they worked great! thanks!!
have you noticed any issues with sleep mode? i switched over to watch tv for awhile, and when i came back, the mini gave me a black screen…
October 12th, 2006 at 10:14 am
I’m glad to have helped!
I have my mini set to not sleep since I use it as a house media server as well. I have had some issues with it not showing me the desktop very quickly at times and I’m not sure why. I did turn off the screensaver and that seems to have helped some.
I’m actually using some slightly different settings now to get the resolution a little closer to a perfect fit. I think it’s 1224×680 or something along those lines. All the numbers have to add up correctly for it to work. I’ve taken some screenshots and I’ll get around to updating this article eventually.
October 12th, 2006 at 6:28 pm
yah, i noticed the desktop slowness as well. i did come across another problem though, after rebooting i got the black screen of death - had to hook it up to another monitor to fix it. so now i’m running without the displayconfigx settings again.
January 10th, 2007 at 1:40 pm
I have the same TV and am contemplating the mini plunge. Is the text clear enough on the screen that you can read emails, surf the web, etc? I tried setting my PC up to the TV once and had some real issues with clarity over the HDMI/DVI cable, even after trying all sorts of overscan settings. Maybe I was just setting it up incorrectly…
January 10th, 2007 at 2:48 pm
My couch is about 12 ft away from the tv and it’s not really feasible to read email or web pages without zooming the screen a bit. If I move to more like 8 ft away it’s closer to feasible but I still find it easier to just use a laptop.
Using a bluetooth keyboard and taking liberal advantage of the shortcuts for zooming in and out makes it possible to browse web pages but it’s still not really a great experience.
I use the Mac mini as a DVD player and VLC player mostly. I wish somebody would write some more ‘TV-friendly’ applications to do simple things like read RSS feeds from across the room. It doesn’t seem like it’d be too tough, but I guess it’s a pretty niche market. I’m a programmer but not the Mac desktop kind.
January 11th, 2007 at 9:03 am
Thanks for the input! Nice blog!
February 10th, 2007 at 7:10 pm
Hi there,
I purchased DisplayConfigX but have never gotten a usable setting for it…. ie, Just black screens.
I am using an IntelDuo macMini and a Panasonic Viera PV60A (native 1024×768).
i would love to be able to get this to work with no overscan etc… Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Regards,
Matt
February 17th, 2007 at 2:19 pm
i have a panasonic ED plasma. native resolution 852 x 480. i bought a dvi input board for my plasma. paid a fortune for the dvi board. the mac mini recognizes it but it chops off the bottom part of the screen. i have played around with the v hold. switch between Full - Zoom - and Normal but that’s no help.
if i increase the resolution, i can see the bottom of the screen but it looks like crap on the screen.
any help would be greatly appreciated. i have a some leftover ram for a powerbook and an imac i can give as a reward…
May 23rd, 2007 at 6:40 pm
So my question is…
Why do we have to use displayconfigx to configure the Mac Mini output, when the AppleTV will display just fine, and it is running OSX.
May 23rd, 2007 at 9:16 pm
You can also use any Mac with a TV without setting custom display resolutions but you lose a bit of every edge of the display. Macs running ‘normal’ OSX don’t account for the fact that televisions chop off part of the edges of the picture (the overscan part that you’re not supposed to care about) and the graphical shell on the AppleTV does take it into account. I don’t actually know exactly which part of the AppleTV takes it into account but it is a ‘made for TV’ device like any DVD player or whatever else so it handles the overscan issue somehow. I think it’s pretty stupid that OS X can’t figure it out itself, but I guess it’s just not been a priority to make Macs talk properly to TVs.
Front Row on a regular Mac is actually quite usable without adjusting any of the screen settings but if you want to use the Mac as a desktop Mac on your TV you’ll have a better experience with some resolution customizing.
July 16th, 2007 at 5:26 pm
This is great. I bought DisplayConfigX, and just followed your settings, and it works like a charm (with a Mac Book Pro). Thanks a lot! No more heartbreak from overscanning… it’s EDTV and each pixel is precious. Do you also have a setting for 848*480? Or better, your link to the AVSForum post seems no longer valid… could you upload that? Anyway, thanks again.
August 15th, 2007 at 10:07 am
I don’t bother with a ‘pixel perfect’ setting that matches the TV. I just let the Mac mini send out its 720p (ish) signal and let the TV downscale it however it likes. It works great for my needs. If I wanted to avoid the upscale/downscale dance I’d probably buy a tv with native 720p resolution.
I’m not sure about that AVSForum post… hopefully it’ll come back on its own.
October 26th, 2007 at 10:03 pm
I have a Panasonic 42inch Plasma (th-42px60u) connected to my 1.66ghz mac mini through a DVI->HDMI cable. I am getting the same over/underscanning problems. Do you think the above settings (at the top of the page) will help me? If so, do you think you can run through the instructions to input them into DisplayConfigX please. I’ve been away from macs for about 5-6 years and am having to reteach myself…with the aid of knowing mac folks like yourself.
November 19th, 2007 at 9:21 pm
I am thinking about trying DisplayConfigX with my MacBookPro and Panasonic plasma TH-42PX75U (DVI to HDMI), but it seems everyone who has had luck with DisplayConfigX has already had some sort of image show up on their HDTV and they used the app to fix overscan issues. Me, I don’t get any image when I connect my Mac to the plasma. Nada. The Mac screen turns blue for a second as if it is detecting an external monitor, but then goes back to normal, and all resolutions under display prefs stay the same. Can DisplayConfigX help me… a total black screener (on the plasma)?
February 24th, 2008 at 11:55 pm
Hi there,
i am having similar overscan issues with my new sanyo 42 inch lcd display and an intel macmini. i plugged your numbers into display configX and restarted the machine with bated breath… to no avail… just a black screen… i have been tinkering with this off and on for about a week…
i was just wondering if there was any type of equation or formula you used to get your magic numbers or was it all jsut trial and error?
February 25th, 2008 at 7:27 am
It’s tricky… I did start with some values I found online (which no longer seem to be there) and modified them until it worked like I wanted.
I started by reading the information here (and the two below that one)
http://www.3dexpress.de/#HDTV
It’s kinda complicated but it should help you make sure you always have good values. Different TVs will work with different values and my TV gave me a black screen for a lot of my attempted values until I found one that worked. From the working one I was able to modify it until it was optimal.
April 15th, 2008 at 6:49 am
Panasonic VIERA TH-42PV60A and Mac Mini Core Duo 10.5.2
I just got very close.
I am missing a few pixels off the top.
Step 1. Install DisplayConfigX and register.
Step 2. Define settings as per :
http://lozworld.com/lozwords/mac-mini-displayconfigx-and-panasonic-th42px60b
and click install.
Step 3. Save having to reboot, just UNPLUG/PLUG the DVI cable.
Step 4. Choose the new resolution.
-m
November 15th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
can someone help me with a UK Panasonic TH42PX70? I have searched and tried every combo that is on the web and all i get is a black screen. Please please please?? I am going bananas? For the complete idiot in me, can you give me all the settings as if you are trying to explain it to a 6 year old. I am pretty computer literate, but this is just stumping me..
December 29th, 2008 at 12:56 am
Why not just turn off overscan in your TV’s setup? Our Panasonic VIERA TV lets you do this.