[yaroldb]

Hey guys,

I am looking for wisdom on this one. I just purchased a Philips HDTV 42 inch Plasma. It has 2 HDMI ports and can take computer resolution up to 1366 x 768. Is it possible to take a Mini and plug it into the HDMI port, purchase a wireless keyboard and mouse and have a big screen MAC in my living room? I have not purchased a Mini just yet. I am not sure if it will look that great on that TV.

Would you recommend this?

Thank you in advanced for your help.

[quiklee]

It's possible, but I wouldn't do it on a Plasma . . . this is more of a job for a LCD

[aaardal]

The funny thing is, every flat panel tv is referred to as a "plasma" tv. Kind of like band-aid or Kool-aid.

I've hooked mine up via hdmi and it works just fine (42" LCD Philips). I just wish I could do a split screen and watch football on one side and mac mini on the other side.

[]

Yeah, get a LCD not plasma. LCDs are much better suited to the mini in general.

[brokenjago]

It's a bit too late for that, now isn't it? He's already bought the Plasma. He's asking if the mini would go well with it.

I don't know if it would though. Sorry!

[CreepDogg]

Yeah, I'd keep the mini away from the plasma unless you want the Mac menu bar burned into the top of the screen. You MIGHT be OK if you only used it for Front Row and DVDs, but it's risky if someone couldcome along and use the Mac interface. LCDs don't have this problem, and thus are generally better suited to computer use. Good luck.

[yaroldb]

Thanks for the input guys, I went to my local Mac store and purchased a Mini-DVI to Video adapter to connect my Macbook using S-Video. I have to say I was disappointed. The letters were not crisp and quit fuzzy. Front Row looked great and the Iphoto slideshow was incredible. While I think HDMI would look better, I do not think the improvement would be that great. That being said, my Mac Mini venture is over.

Thanks again for the advice.

[chefpastry]

Originally Posted by yaroldb

Thanks for the input guys, I went to my local Mac store and purchased a Mini-DVI to Video adapter to connect my Macbook using S-Video. I have to say I was disappointed. The letters were not crisp and quit fuzzy. Front Row looked great and the Iphoto slideshow was incredible. While I think HDMI would look better, I do not think the improvement would be that great. That being said, my Mac Mini venture is over.

Thanks again for the advice.

First of all, I agree with everyone else. I don't suggest using a plasma TV with computers or gaming consoles for fear of burn-in.

Secondly, connecting any computer to a plasma or LCD TV through S-video will always produce very poor image. Try using a DVI to HDMI cable and a DVI adaptor for your Mini and you will see how much of a difference there is.

[CreepDogg]

Agreed - yaroldb, I assume you DO have a plasma and not an LCD, so you can probably disregard this. But anyway, a 'true' (though more expensive) expirement with your Macbook would be to get a mini-DVI to DVI adapter, a DVI to HDMI adapter, and an HDMI cable (or DVI-HDMI cable) and hook it up that way. You should see a big difference.

[quiklee]

s-cable is horrible compared to hdmi

it's like putting on a pair of glasses when you use hdmi

[ChrisB]

You have to remember that anytime you down-convert your Mac's output by using S-Video, you're reducing your output to NTSC's native resolution of 720x486. When using a digital output, like HDMI, you're sending a digital signal, and on a high resolution display, you can take advantage of all those pixels and actually display 1366 x 786 pixel for pixel. If you are going to be using the display for computer related tasks, then use HDMI. But if you are only using Front Row, watching DVD's, and viewing photos, then go ahead and use S-Video or component video. If you have HD content to view, then use HDMI.