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andreas_g4 · Feb 14, 2005, 10:57 AM

There seems to be an issue with tha Mac mini's VGA output, which expresses itself in a dim, blurry picture. I wonder who uses a cheap TFT as me and doen't have the issues. Isn't this supposed to be affecting all machines?

turtle777 · Feb 14, 2005, 11:06 AM

Originally posted by andreas_g4:
There seems to be an issue with tha Mac mini's VGA output, which expresses itself in a dim, blurry picture. I wonder who uses a cheap TFT as me and doen't have the issues. Isn't this supposed to be affecting all machines?

You post is confusing.

Are you saying that you use a cheap monitor and you DON'T have problems ?
Or are you just wondering if ANYONE with a cheap monitor doesn't have problems ?

Btw, most people with problems where using KVM switches. I wonder if this could be the culprit in many cases...

-t

andreas_g4 · Feb 14, 2005, 11:19 AM

Originally posted by turtle777:
You post is confusing.

Are you saying that you use a cheap monitor and you DON'T have problems ?
Or are you just wondering if ANYONE with a cheap monitor doesn't have problems ?

Btw, most people with problems where using KVM switches. I wonder if this could be the culprit in many cases...

-t

I just read it again� What did I want to say?

Well, I have a cheap TFT and NO problems, and I wonder how many others have an issue, regardless what display/monitor they use.

The KVM thing is interesting. But it seems that the VGA port at all is out of the VESA spacification what seems to cause the issue. Du kannst es genauer in der CT nachlesen�

Spliff · Feb 14, 2005, 12:02 PM

Originally posted by andreas_g4:
There seems to be an issue with tha Mac mini's VGA output, which expresses itself in a dim, blurry picture. I wonder who uses a cheap TFT as me and doen't have the issues. Isn't this supposed to be affecting all machines?

http://www.macintouch.com/macmini07.html#feb14

"During our measurements of the analog signal quality of the VGA adapter another weakness (besides low 3D frame rates ed.) came to light: the peak voltage measurements stayed below 530 mV and therefore outside of the VESA norm. This leads to washed out pictures on many displays, especially when using higher resolutions. Good analog monitors with high contrast ratio's can compensate for this to a large extent, but using the digital connection will lead to much better picture quality."

[Translation from the German original text, C't magazine 2005 issue 4, page 70]

P · Feb 14, 2005, 12:03 PM

Originally posted by andreas_g4:
There seems to be an issue with tha Mac mini's VGA output, which expresses itself in a dim, blurry picture. I wonder who uses a cheap TFT as me and doen't have the issues. Isn't this supposed to be affecting all machines?

Yes, lots of people. The Mac mini VGA signal is out of spec. Read more about it here:

http://www.macintouch.com/macmini07.html#feb11

[Edit: beat me by a minute, Spliff...]

turtle777 · Feb 14, 2005, 01:27 PM

Yes, the mini VGA output seems out of spec.

But could it be that this is not really a problem UNLESS you use it with a KVM switch ?
Could it be that the KVM is sucking part of the VGA output power, so the monitor is underpowered ?

Most people that report problems on macminute.com seem to use KVM's.

-t

one sick puppy · Feb 14, 2005, 05:22 PM

I've tried the IOGear USB KVM switch (w/built in cables) and I found the video signal quite poor, both from my iBook and my PC, and even using only a 1' VGA cable rather than my monitor's standard 6' cable.

turtle777 · Feb 15, 2005, 08:25 AM

Originally posted by one sick puppy:
I've tried the IOGear USB KVM switch (w/built in cables) and I found the video signal quite poor, both from my iBook and my PC, and even using only a 1' VGA cable rather than my monitor's standard 6' cable.

So what happends if you go without the KVM switch ?

-t

elvis2000 · Feb 16, 2005, 06:08 PM

Originally posted by andreas_g4:
There seems to be an issue with tha Mac mini's VGA output, which expresses itself in a dim, blurry picture. I wonder who uses a cheap TFT as me and doen't have the issues. Isn't this supposed to be affecting all machines?

Known issue - though surprisingly not discussed here that often. I had troubles using a Viewsonic VP201s through DVI, so I switched to VGA. Display quality was washed out, dim, and unusable. Ended up selling the Viewsonic for a Dell 2005FPW which "solved" the problem. VGA quality was still super-poor, but DVI was fine.

baw · Jun 16, 2005, 12:03 AM

Just received my Mini on Friday and noticed this problem right away. Really disappointed.

elvis2000 · Jun 16, 2005, 01:58 PM

Originally Posted by turtle777

You post is confusing.

Are you saying that you use a cheap monitor and you DON'T have problems ?
Or are you just wondering if ANYONE with a cheap monitor doesn't have problems ?

Btw, most people with problems where using KVM switches. I wonder if this could be the culprit in many cases...

-t

Turtle-- you've got to stop with the misinformation related to KVM switches. While the KVM switches worsen the signal -- the fact is that the Mini's VGA out is out of VESA spec. It's been proven and many here and on the Apple support forums are complaining. This is a real issue.

elvis2000 · Jun 16, 2005, 02:01 PM

Originally Posted by baw

Just received my Mini on Friday and noticed this problem right away. Really disappointed.

Good rule of thumb to follow on Apple hardware -- if you see many posts related to a specific problem seemingly constantly refuted by the same few advocates, the problem is likely to be real. The dim VGA out has been reported for *months* now. Apple hasn't fixed it, and probably won't.