Grainy picture with 2009 Mac mini

[TimVanHorn]

I bought a used 2009 Mac mini for HTPC and I am having trouble with the picture quality coming out of the Mini DisplayPort. I tried using an adapter first, but the picture looked grainy and sort of pixelated. I also bought a Mini DisplayPort to HDMI cable taking the adapter out of the equation, but it looks just about the same. By the way, this is with a 46" Sony LCD TV at 1080p. Our DirectTV receiver doesn't look anywhere as bad. I mean, as far as the on-screen menus and stuff. Where my expectations just too high? Are there any other video or gamma adjustments to look at?

[Smithcraft]

You should expect a clear picture, and nothing less. Even with a VGA connection, it should be clear.

Does it also do this when connected to a monitor?

Have you tired other HDMI connections on the sony?

SC
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Grumpy old man of computing.

[Desktop] G4 mini - 1.5Ghz 1GB 80GB HDD - Newer miniStack v2 500GB - 10.5.8

[Media System] Intel i5 mini - 2.33Ghz 8GB 500GB HDD - 4 x Hitachi 2TB HDD in a qBOX-SF - 10.7.5 (Thanks Phil!)

Make sure it has pins!

[mooblie]

Assuming it's a full-HD TV, the ONLY resolution from the Mac that should give you pixel-sharp images is 1920x1080. (Maybe called "1080p Television).

Also, you need to search your TV menus (not the Mac) for a picture display setting such as "Exact fit", "Pixel matched" or "No overscan" or something like that.
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Martin at HeadSpin HD now on Blu-ray

[macmanmacman]

true true very true.....

[Grasshopper]

Some TVs have a 1:1 pixel or pixel to pixel setting on select HDMI ports. I'm not sure if Sony has that setting, but you might want to look into it. It can make a huge difference in picture quality.
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2011 Mac mini with 8GB of RAM
2012 Mac mini Server with 16GB of RAM
46" Sony TV
24" HP LCD
Apple wireless keyboard and Magic Mouse
2 x 1TB MiniStacks